A famous night. The crowd still holds the record for the largest crowd ever at moonee valley. So many household names in this race, let alone the many champions that were around at the time. The trots at the valley was awesome
Just so you are aware Wayne Wilson was the caller here. In the preamble they say Sporting Son was the local hope. Debatable, he was brought up from Melbourne for this campaign and although prepared by Kevin Thomas (a Queenslander) for the series I see Sporting Son as a Victorian horse.
Cocky Raider was famous for flying home at the very last moment and winning . I remember one night at the Melbourne Showgrounds, which was about the same set up as Harold Park , as the horses came into the straight the last time , famous racecaller Bill Collins ( known as The Accurate One ) said of Cocky Raider who was a long way back “ well , Cocky Raider can’t win tonight “ and you guessed it , he absolutely flew home and won . He had an amazing burst of speed at the end of his races .and was a great horse - as so many of them were in those days , and unfortunately a big percentage of them ended up in America .
@@Magictoliver Thanks for the reply , you are really on the ball !! . Great nights indeed and huge crowds which of course equated to a magic atmosphere - especially if one was blessed with a payout or two from the bookies .
A wonder the connections of the second horse didn’t put in a protest . Either way , even though we only saw a lap looked like a big run from a future champion - a great horse who went on to capture a huge following.
Congratulations to The Conroys - once again this win shows the beauty of harness racing where no matter how big or small the Stable , how flashy or down to earth , everyone can succeed, and over the years Bob Conroy did a marvellous job , which is now being done by family members . A great win by Amazon who didn’t even need a tap with the whip !!!!
Rex Hocking realised he had gone too slow in the 1972 Miracle Mile and gave Bay Foyle a chance to out sprint him in the last furlong. Hocking made amends next year and gave nothing else a chance after leading and using the horse’s natural brilliance. I got 9/2 about Reichman in 1973 and it never looked like a losing bet!
A huge run by the South Australian champion Gramel . From my knowledge both the Race Caller and Voice Over pronounced her name incorrectly- the word is basically split into two and pronounced “ Gra Mel “ but written as Gramel . On another note , who would have thought that one of the field would go on and produce arguably the greatest trotter in the world - Maori’s Idol , I doubt there will ever be a horse to take his crown , certainly here in Australia
A fit Maori’s Idol would have beaten this lot easy. Healy drove him like he was injured. If you don’t believe that check out his other drives & you will see the difference.
Observations - poor drive by Kevin Robinson on Frosty Imp. Not a lead the field horse, had to have the trail. Had he waited in the death for a short period he would have had the trail on Pure Steel that he needed and the race could have turned out differently for both of them, with Steelo a big chance of winning this race from the death or Frosty Imp a chance from a trail with his whirlwind finish. Have to say the run of the race was Pure Steel.
None of us were aware of course , what tussles these two champions would have over the next few years - two absolutely marvellous pacers , the likes of which are few and far between .
2024 drivers have the audacity to just stop driving. Going to run 2nd don't count on it 4th now. Not to mention the usual. Break up at the start. Break up at the start break gear. Break up in the race. Go and stay on the fence. Favourite claim the death. Favourite claim the death and put pressure on 2nd favourite leading (there's a special on it at the moment). Favourite in the lead runs too faster rate then needed. And on and on Go on form, think like a crook, really think like a crook. You might not be thinking crooked enough.
Same thing with the Melbourne Showgrounds- the horses were virtually in your lap . Huge crowds , lots of noise and great excitement- my treasured memories of The Trots during the late 1960s
Hoy the driver on Lone boy first attacked Lehigh Lad, then wrecked Frosty Imp's chances in trying to hold the lead. And then after all that early work he comes off a perfect trail on Frosty Imp's back and instead of taking the one - one on Pure Steel's back which would have also been a great place to be, he posts Steelo 3 wide. Worst case of rush of blood (extended version) I have ever seen. I backed Steelo and Paleface and both were tragedies in this race. I'm still upset so many years later with what should have and could have been.
The Fords had some very smart performers over the years - three that I had money on during the 1960s were Honest Reward , Stormy Lodge and Bar Adios . Stormy Lodge was most promising as a youngster but suddenly disappeared off the scene and I assume he got sold to America as around 1967 / 68 it seemed every second horse headed over there unfortunately. The Fords came from Campbells Creek just out of Castlemaine and had a lot of success .
W.A horses at Harold Park.It seemed they weren't with the program.Drive like a mug to get the lead ,at all cost.Only chance of winning.Same for Melbourne.Gammalite deserved an easy one.
Such a great horse. I believe Master Musician qualified for the final but was scratched due to injury, should have been an inter champ. Ran a slashing time when he won the Victoria Cup in this same year and accounted for Jack Morris in that race, and his battle with Golden Reign in the 95 Victoria Cup was epic.
I was at Harold Park that night and had a good win off Paleface as his ability was unknown and he was a decent price. I am not saying I knew he had any ability at that time. Where I only backed him because at his prior and first start at Harold Park he fell during the race right in front of the grandstand, where he looked to be in big trouble as he was tangled up bad and not moving much. My father and myself watched this poor two year old horse (Paleface) down on the track looking like he was dead, where it took them maybe 10 mins to untangle him from the cart and gear, before he miraculously stood up and the crowd cheered. I can distinctly remember his big white blaze and thought what a good name Paleface was. When he returned to racing the night of this video, I had to back him because he was the young horse who survived the fall. When he let rip down the back straight going from Last to First, that was it for me where he became one of my favorite horses, as he had so much potential. Great memory
Yes Cocky Raider won several races at The Showgrounds ( MELB ) , as stated above , coming from seemingly impossible positions , flying home and winning well . I remember on one occasion, race caller Bill Collins , known as the Accurate One , and a terrific judge of finishes , calling the race on the home turn , and stated “ well , Cocky Raider can’t win from there “ . You guessed it , Cocky sprouted wings and got up for yet another win. It was a great shame that he, like so so many horses in the late 60s and early 70s got sold to America and disappeared from our trotting tracks . I have no knowledge of the number , but it seemed like every second horse got snapped up ( well perhaps not every second one but there were a lot ).
