A galaxy of star trotting horsemen assembled for this photo in the Penrith Paceway Function Centre at the end of the 1976/1977 racing season - a season which marked two significant milestones in the remarkable career of P.J. “Perc.” Hall.
Perc. Hall's fellow trainers held a dinner in his honour following his retirement from the sulky in 1977.
Front row from left - Frank Willis, John Binskin, Laurie Moulds, Wally Wood, Perc. Hall, Kevin Newman, “Snowy” Finn, Colin Watts, Ron Purnell and extreme right is Vic Frost.
Those clearly visible in the back row are from left Bob Allen, Peter Morris, Peter Tritton, Jack Young, John Heath, Dr. Maurice Renshaw (Pres. Penrith AH&I Society). Attempting to calculate the number of winners these people provided between them, would be an impossible task.
Guest of honour Perc. Hall proudly displays a first class portrait commissioned by the NSW Professional Trotting Horsemen’s Association, and presented to him on the night. Just over five months earlier the veteran horseman had made history by becoming the first driver to reach five hundred wins on the iconic Harold Park track since the commencement of night trotting in 1949.
Actually, the official figure was five hundred and a half wins which includes a dead heat on a horse called Retinue on the occasion of the second night meeting at Harold Park. Amazingly Perc. wasn’t involved in another winning dead heat in 28 seasons up to his retirement. His golden era at Harold Park embraced five driver’s premierships and four trainer’s titles against powerful opposition.
Perc. Hall had a cult like following among the Harold Park punters in the 50s and 60s. Here he is in the winners circle in 1959.
Only weeks before his tribute dinner at Penrith Perc. had been forced to bring down the curtain on his race driving career having turned 65 in August 1976 - the mandatory retirement age under the NSW Trotting Club regulations of that era. He was allowed to compete until the end of the season and went out with a full book of eight drives on the final night. A huge crowd was with him all the way, but the legendary horseman failed to visit the winner’s circle. Perc. would have been extremely miffed to see Brian Gath drive a winner in Victoria recently at age 77.
Many of his contemporaries believed that P.J. Hall trained and drove more elite horses than any other horseman of his generation. The fastest was Ribands whose career was over before the mobile barrier was introduced in Australia. He was unpredictable from the standing starts of the era, but still managed to win a string of feature races including an A.G. Hunter Cup from 48 yards behind - some said he gave them more like 70 yards!
Twenty two thousand people turned out one Wednesday night in 1954 to watch Ribands go against the clock over the Harold Park mile. Assisted by two galloping prompters, the son of Lawn Derby gave P.J. Hall an enormous thrill when he recorded 1.58.7 - insignificant by today’s standards, but at the time the fastest mile ever paced on a half mile track in the Southern Hemisphere.
Inter Dominion history would not be complete without the inclusion of Perc. Hall’s name on the honour roll. Happily, he won all three heats and the grand final of the 1962 Perth Inter Dominion with one of his all-time favourites James Scott.
He spoke reverently over the years about prolific Harold Park winners like Dixie Beau, Blazing Globe, Tarcoola Frost, Van Hall, First Test, Danny Hanover, Malyandry’s Pride, Born To Trot, and trotters Queen Bee, Going Gay and Lucky Song. Perc. lost the trademark sparkle in his eye when forced to relinquish his race driving licence in 1977. He continued to train horses for clients old and new for another four and a half years.
A guest spot on This Is Your Life was one of many tributes accorded Perc. after his retirement in 1977. Here he is with wife Ruby, grandchildren Mark and Melissa, family members and guests in the Channel 7 studio. On the left is host Roger Climpson.
For a man who’d enjoyed robust health all his life, it came as a shock to Perc. late in 1981 when he experienced several bouts of dizziness while working horses and attending to stable chores. He said it was more prevalent when shoeing horses. He visited a doctor and may have slowed down for a week or two, but it wasn’t long before he was back in full swing.
“That’s the way he would have chosen to go” is an adage frequently used by the families and friends of those who pass away doing something they enjoy. Just a week before Xmas in 1981, the seventy year old was about to load a yearling onto a float at an Agnes Banks spelling property. He was in the company of property owner Adrian Devlin who was shocked to see Perc. suddenly collapse near the tailgate of the float. The great horseman had passed before medical help arrived.
Author Ron Jenkins timed the release of his biography “P.J. Hall - A Famous Name In Trotting” to coincide with the legendary horseman’s retirement from race driving in 1977. He enlisted the services of respected thoroughbred and harness racing journalist Bill Whittaker to write the foreword. A small excerpt from Bill’s contribution captures the esteem in which Perc. was held by those who knew him in the golden days of the sport at Harold Park.
“I’d like to point out that Perc. Hall is symbolic of all that’s good in the sport. He was tough, hard, fearless and at times ruthless but never asking any favours from his rivals. He has tremendous self confidence yet bears a naturalness which carries him through the large variety of social contacts in trotting - wealthy owners, stewards, officials and the press.
Wherever there is trotting in Australia or New Zealand, “P.J.” will be talked about, perhaps criticised but he’ll never be forgotten.”
As a genuine fan of the horseman’s talents, Bill Whittaker’s tribute came from the heart. There’s little doubt Perc. Hall’s magnificent contribution to the sport was inspired by a boundless love of the standardbred horse.
(Banner image - Perc. Hall's fellow trainers held a dinner in his honour following his retirement from the sulky in 1977.)