Written by Jessica Owers
Cover image courtesy of Newcastle Racecourse
Newcastle Jockey Club (NJC) hosted a midweek meeting on Tuesday, and folded into the race card was the Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame inductions for 2023.
The region’s Hall of Fame has been running since 2017, and every second year it admits two inductees in the categories of racehorse, jockey, trainer and associate.
Over the years, the elite collection has added such horses as Rogilla (Roger De Busli {GB}), Choisir and Fastnet Rock, and such people as Max Lees, ‘A.O’ Ellison of Baramul fame, and vintage veterinarian Bill Howey.
Gallery: Some of the elite horses inducted into the Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame over the years
At the heart of the Hall of Fame is an ambition to recognise and honour outstanding achievements in the region. Eligibility clauses among the jockey, trainer and associate categories demand that nominees are born in the Newcastle or Hunter region.
Among the horses, nominees include any trained at Newcastle or Hunter racecourses that have excelled at extraordinary levels, and this category also includes horses that have made a significant contribution to the breeding industry after retirement.
On Tuesday at Newcastle, the eight inductees kicked off with the smart race mares Ortensia (Testa Rossa) and Samantha Miss (Redoute’s Choice).
Ortensia | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Ortensia, during a globetrotting career for Paul Messara and owner Alister Fraser, raced in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Dubai and England, in the latter winning the G1 Nunthorpe S. and G2 King George S.
Samantha Miss, meanwhile, proved one of Kris Lees’ most brilliant fillies, running away with three Group 1s that included the Champagne S. as a 2-year-old and the Flight S. and VRC Oaks the following season. She also won the G2 Furious S., G2 Tea Rose S. and G3 Silver Shadow S., and, as a breeder, is the dam of Tea Rose winner Miss Fabulass (Frankel {GB}).
The pair joined such others in the Hall of Fame as Rogilla, Choisir and Fastnet Rock, as mentioned, but also Luskin Star, the brilliant Beauford (Beau Soult {NZ}) from the 1920s, and the state-hopping Romantic Dream.
Samantha Miss | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
In the trainers’ category, legends Neville Begg and Clarry Conners were inducted to join Max and Kris Lees, Paul Perry, Roy Hinton, Peter Snowden and Pat Farrel in the region’s Hall of Fame.
Begg, who is 92 years old and kicking along, entered the racing game in 1945, taking up his own trainers’ ticket at Randwick in 1967. Since then, he has handled the likes of Emancipation (Bletchingly) and the Golden Slipper winner Dark Eclipse (Baguette).
Connors, meanwhile, has been a local institution for decades, at first alongside his father, Clarry Conners Snr. His career has posted such good horses as the four-time Group 1 winner Research (Imperial Prince {Ire}), not to mention four Golden Slipper winners, namely Burst (Marauding {NZ}), Tierce (Victory Prince), Prowl (Marauding {NZ}) and Belle Du Jour (Dehere {USA}).
Gallery: Trainers inducted into the Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame, images courtesy of Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame
The category of jockeys is always a competitive one, and in this instance, the Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame has previously inducted Wayne Harris, Robert Thompson, Bill and John Wade, Rae Johnstone and Alan Scorse. On Tuesday, the two inductees were Jim Pike and Albert Shanahan.
Pike needs little introduction, the gaunt and pale figure one of the best hands-and-heels rider of the 1920s and 1930s. His association with Phar Lap (NZ) (Night Raid {GB}) gave him immeasurable fame, but he was also a pilot aboard such horses as Rogilla and two-time Melbourne Cup winner Peter Pan.
Jim Pike and trainer Mick Polson at Randwick in 1930 | Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia
Shanahan, meanwhile, was a son of a butcher, originally hailing from the Goondiwindi region. He won the 1912 Melbourne Cup aboard Piastre, and a second in 1913 aboard Posinatus (Fortunatus {GB}). By the time of his sudden death in 1949, he was a decorated Newcastle jockey of some 30 years, domiciled at Beaumont Street in Hamilton.
In the category of associates, which was sponsored by the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (HTBA), John Messara and Roy Mahony were inducted. Traditionally, this is an exemplary category in any racing jurisdiction, but when the jurisdiction includes the Hunter Valley districts with all their heritage in breeding, it is bound to be an illustrious honour roll.
Previous inductions into this category include, as mentioned, Alfred ‘A.O.’ Ellison, whose tenure at Baramul saw the era of Star Kingdom (Ire), and race caller Athol Hill, along with Howey, the Thompson family of Widden Stud, committeeman Bob Dawbarn and commentator Gary Harley.
Alison Hush and John Messara | Image courtesy of Newcastle and Hunter Racing Hall of Fame
Messara, therefore, is in good company, and the master of Arrowfield Stud is only two years on from his induction into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in the same category. Roy Mahony, meanwhile, has served a near lifetime of administration work as a former chairman and board member at the NJC. He was a popular inductee.
The selection committee for Tuesday’s inductions featured its Chairman, Brian Judd, as well as Ray Thomas, Greg Radley, Sam North and Gary Harley, who were all on the same page when it came to the hard decisions of who would enter the Hall of Fame this time around.
“We were unanimous with all of this year’s inductees, all of which have contributed greatly to our racing industry,” Judd said.
