There’s nothing like looking at past results of major races to trigger a trip down memory lane. In glancing at Spring Champion Stakes history last week, I was reminded that twenty five years have passed since Nothin’ Leica Dane won the Randwick feature. This bold striding son of Danehill was one of the most underrated horses of his time.
The leggy colt attracted little attention when he stepped out for his first race start at a low key Sunday meeting at Warwick Farm on August 20th 1995. It was the first of Shane Dye’s nineteen rides on Nothin’ Leica Dane. Not surprisingly he’d run last of nine in his first barrier trial over 804m, but had improved sharply to finish second over 1200m in his second trial.
He was quoted at $13.00 when the eighteen horse field jumped away in a 1400m race for non metropolitan winning three year old colts and geldings. The colt overcame a slow start and heavy traffic to storm home and grab a last stride win from Darren Beadman’s mount Madjic - a tidy effort but certainly not an indication of the heights he’d reach in the months ahead.
He was back at Warwick Farm a fortnight later to finish ninth of twelve in a 1600m one metro win race, only 2.8 lengths from future Group 1 winner Shindig. Next assignment was the listed Spring Stakes over the Newcastle mile in which he finished a close third to Vernai and Slav Defence after being slowly away and striking some trouble in running.
Even in the hustle and bustle of race day, Nothin' Leica Dane had the perfect temperament. Shane Dye says he was like a "kids pony" - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Shane Dye, currently riding out the covid crisis in the relative safety of New Zealand has fond memories of one of his favourite horses. “Gai Waterhouse indicated that she wouldn’t run Nothin’ Leica Dane in the Dulcify Quality prompting me to take the ride on Super Slew for Clarry Conners,” recalled the former ace jockey. “Gai made a snap decision to accept for that listed race, and Larry Cassidy picked up the ride. He won very easily from Catalan Opening with Super Slew third.
“I made sure I got back on him when Gai decided to press on to the Spring Champion Stakes one week later. He was never going to get beaten and won easily from Super Slew and Catalan Opening. Although it was his first preparation, Nothin’ Leica Dane was absolutely thriving, and the decision was made to take him to Melbourne for the Derby.”
Three wins and a placing in five starts had already generated four times the colt’s yearling purchase price of $75,000. Scottish born businessman the late John Hodge was the original buyer on the recommendation of Tommy Smith who was in the process of winding down his training career. Hodge immediately offered a forty five per cent share to his coal mining business partner Helen Dalton, whose cheery disposition became almost as well known as the deeds of her glamour colt. “Gai was the official trainer, but John placed a lot of credence in T.J.’s opinion on all matters,” said Helen.
The partners came up with a novel idea for their racing colours - tartan with a black band and a tartan cap displaying a very conspicuous black pom pom. “The Royal Stewart tartan symbolised John’s Scottish background, while the black band represented the coal seam which had become so important in our lives,” Helen explained.
Shane Dye wore the tartan and black silks in 19 of Nothin' Leica Dane's 27 starts - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Eighty four year old Helen Dalton is now in retirement in Sydney. Twenty five years on from Nothin’ Leica Dane’s glory days, she cherishes the memory of an exciting ride with a special horse. “I have a magnificent print of him on my lounge room wall which was taken from an oil painting commissioned by the Hawcroft family, who stood him at Byerley Stud in his post racing days,” said Helen.
Three weeks after the Spring Champion Stakes, Nothin’ Leica Dane was at Caulfield for the listed Norman Robinson Stakes, now known as the Caulfield Classic. He raced on the pace throughout before outstaying Catalan Opening, who by now must have been developing an inferiority complex about his Sydney foe.
One week later Shane Dye’s extraordinary discipline saw him ride at 48.5 kgs to win the W.S. Cox Plate on three year old Octagonal. I clearly recall his reply when a Nine Network interviewer asked if he would stay with Octagonal in the Victoria Derby seven days later. “No I’m riding Nothin’ Leica Dane,” said the jockey. “I believe he’ll prove the better stayer on the day.”
How right he was! It’s now history that Nothin’ Leica Dane parked outside the leader in the blue riband while Octagonal raced midfield on the fence. He was held up at a crucial stage on straightening up, but Shane Scriven got him into the clear at the 300m. “If you watch the replay closely you’ll see Octagonal got out in time to win, but his run definitely ended short of the line,” said Dye. “The ‘Dane’ was just getting warmed up.”
The colt’s tendency to swish his tail on occasions was evident in the closing stages of the Derby. Many horsemen believe this trait is a sign that a horse isn’t enjoying the task at hand, but that can’t be said of Nothin’ Leica Dane. The more he swished, the harder he tried. On the day it was almost a gesture of defiance to his celebrated adversary Octagonal.
A long way from his first win at Warwick Farm just 11 weeks earlier. The Dane safely holds Octagonal to win the Victoria Derby - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
When the euphoria subsided after the Derby presentation Tommy Smith dropped the bombshell. He insisted Nothin’ Leica Dane should back up in the Melbourne Cup three days later. John Hodge, always amenable to the master’s opinion, instantly agreed. Gai needed a little persuasion, but horse loving Helen was horrified. She couldn’t imagine her gallant colt could be set such a task. After all he was at the tail end of a long preparation, and she was aware he was still a few weeks short of his official third birthday.
Despite Helen’s protests the decision was made to attempt something that hadn’t been achieved in fifty four years. To make matters worse the rain started to tumble down, and by Cup day the track had deteriorated to a Heavy 10. Helen quickly reminded the Nothin’ Leica Dane camp that the colt’s seven runs had all been on good tracks - her plea fell on deaf ears.
Shane Dye only needed to watch his diet after having ridden Octagonal at such a light weight in the Cox Plate. He comfortably made the 47.5 kgs.
To this day he regards his ride in the 1995 Cup as one of his best. “I came out of barrier 15 to be three back on the fence at the winning post,” he recalled. “I came around only one horse at the top of the straight and had clear running from there. Doriemus was a seasoned five year old and absolutely relished the heavy ground. He beat us easily but what a run by the colt.”
It was indeed an amazing run and an amazing preparation. This kind and gentle colt had gone from a Warwick Farm win as a maiden to a Melbourne Cup second placing in eleven weeks - an unthinkable journey and one that stamped him as one hell of a horse.
Happy scenes after the 1995 Victoria Derby. Between Shane Dye and T.J. Smith were Helen Dalton, Valerie Smith and John Hodge - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
The many who believed the Cup experience would prove detrimental to the Danehill colt, were stunned to see him score a brilliant first up win in the Hobartville Stakes. “His work had been fantastic and he felt enormous in the Hobartville,” said Shane Dye. “He actually led early, travelled in second spot to the turn before beating Octagonal, Catalan Opening and Filante. Let me go on record as saying the Melbourne Cup run had done him no harm.”
An inherently sound horse, Nothin’ Leica Dane did develop a few back complications after the Hobartville Stakes. Shane Dye believes he can pinpoint the exact source of the problem. “He got to gallop on the course proper one morning and slipped behind as he went over the 2000m crossing,” he said. “His hind end was almost on the ground and I believe he was touchy through the back when he cooled down. He had to be treated by a chiropractor.”
Gai Waterhouse was obviously of the opinion the horse was over his problem when she shipped him to Melbourne for the Australian Cup rather than follow the traditional path to the Canterbury Guineas. Dane led for most of the trip before weakening to fifth 3.3 lengths from Saintly whose win was explosive. “Jumping to 2000m second up was too much for him,” said Shane. “Saintly was having his third run back and was sensational on the day.”
On returning from Melbourne the colt finished a gallant third in the Rosehill Guineas, and a fighting fourth in the Australian Derby after which he went for a well earned break. Looking back today, Dye is still of the opinion the horse felt the effects of his Australian Cup run. “He raced well in the Guineas and the Derby but didn’t feel quite as good as he had the previous spring.”
Sadly, Nothin’ Leica Dane never won again but continued to race well at the elite level. In subsequent campaigns he ran seconds in a Metropolitan and Sydney Cup, while he registered placings in a Hill Stakes and Chelmsford Stakes. He was far from disgraced in a second tilt at the Melbourne Cup finishing fifth only 3.6 lengths behind Saintly in 1996.
There's nothing like a Derby win! Helen Dalton and Gai Waterhouse with the amazing Nothin' Leica Dane - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
In the Australian spring of 1997, Helen Dalton decided to put into play a plan designed to help her realise a lifelong dream. She had long fantasised about having a runner in the iconic Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe, and felt Nothin’ Leica Dane was the horse to make it happen. Hurried preparations and huge expense saw her beloved horse on a flight to Paris, and a campaign with the respected trainer John Hammond at the famous Chantilly training precinct.
He hadn’t raced for four months when he stepped out for a Gr 3 at Deauville with American jockey Cash Asmussen on board. Lack of fitness saw him finish last of five, but the run brought him on significantly. Helen’s Arc dream looked a little more realistic a couple of weeks later, when “NLD” as she now called him, ran a cracking second in a Gr 3 at Longchamp with Gerald Mosse replacing Asmussen.
Publicity about the Dane’s European mission had generated the interest of a number of Australian racing enthusiasts. To Helen’s amazement a group of thirty five supporters arrived in Paris to help fly the Aussie flag at the famous Longchamp course. The stallion got no favours in the eighteen horse field and finished with the tailenders - a disappointing result but an unforgettable adventure for the trailblazing Helen Dalton.
Back in Australia Helen had to face the daunting task of finding a commercial stud prepared to stand the well bred entire. “He had an impressive record of six wins and eight placings for almost $1.8 million,” she said. “You’d think a Derby win and a Melbourne Cup placing would speak for itself, but that wasn’t the case. He had the reputation of a dead set stayer, and nobody wants to stand a stayer in this country.”
Eventually Nothin’ Leica Dane found a home at the Hawcroft family’s Byerley Stud at Sandy Hollow in the Upper Hunter Valley. His subsequent record as a stallion far exceeded expectations. From 666 foals, Nothin’ Leica Dane has so far sired 258 winners of 772 races for total prize money of over $16 million dollars. In one season (2001/2002) he got a very impressive 55 winners.
The stallion’s headline act was unquestionably the brilliant Hot Danish who won 16 races including two Group 1’s. On a dry track the mare possessed an astonishing turn of foot. Cinque Cento gave his sire another Group 1 with a Doomben Cup win in 2007. Nothin’ Leica Dane also sired three Group 2 winners and one at Group 3 level. His daughters have left an impressive 112 winners of 345 races to date. One of those winners was fifteen time Singapore winner Stepitup.
Nothin’ Leica Dane was twenty five years old when he developed an incurable ulceration of the throat. Hunter Valley vets tried several treatments, but were unable to correct the disorder. The stallion found it difficult to swallow food and lost condition alarmingly towards the end. The decision was made to euthanise the gallant horse in 2018.
On the twenty fifth anniversary of his amazing three year old deeds, we pay this tribute to a horse of kindly nature and unwavering determination. Horses just don’t do what Nothin’ Leica Dane did in the spring of 1995.
( Banner image - Nothin' Leica Dane and Shane Dye were airborne towards the finish of the 1995 Spring Champion Stakes - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.)