Mark Bradley sent me a rare piece of memorabilia which will be of interest to those who were around when Tails was racing in the eastern states.
The astonishingly handsome stallion bowed out of Sydney racing with a win over Gunsynd in the 1972 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick. Before leaving for a short Brisbane winter campaign he made a guest appearance at a Wyong meeting and cantered down the straight for an appreciative crowd with regular jockey Sammy Howard on board.
Tails had five runs in Brisbane before being retired to the Darling Downs property of his breeder and owner C.E. “Ceb” Barnes. He won the Winston Churchill and P.J. O’Shea Stakes before finishing second to the top flight mare Mode in the Doomben Cup conceding her a massive 10kgs. The stallion was unplaced at his final two starts, indicating the Brisbane Cup run may have taken its toll.
The stunning chestnut raced 79 times for 23 wins and 14 placings. He won a Queensland Derby, AJC Metropolitan (twice), VRC Hotham Hcp, VATC Coongy Hcp, Doomben Cup, Chelmsford Stakes, Tancred Cup (later Tancred Stakes WFA) Rosehill Cup (twice) and STC Cup (three times). Tails contested three Melbourne Cups with a third to Silver Knight in 1971 his best effort. He didn’t handle two miles as well as his sire Dalray had done in winning the 1952 Melbourne Cup.
Tails was trained by H.M. Philp up until his Queensland Derby success after which he was transferred to Randwick trainer Pat Murray. The affable Murray trained Tails for the remainder of his career.
Thanks to Bradley Photographers for allowing us to share these memories of a special horse.
A healthy Wyong crowd farewelled Tails after his final Sydney start - a win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Sammy Howard cantered the imposing chestnut down the Wyong straight - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Tails and Sammy Howard towards the end of the classy stayer's career - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)