Jim Dalgety won with Time Traveller at Forbury Park on Thursday night 58 years after he caused a boil over on the Dunedin track.
Dalgety (84), who has had a lifetime association with harness racing as a reinsman, trainer, owner, stud master and breeder, was discharged from hospital in Christchurch on Tuesday after a stroke two months ago. He was in hospital for seven weeks.
He watched the race on Trackside television at his home in West Melton with his trainer son Cran, who has been caring for Time Traveller.
“We watched the race and the win sparked him up. He is talking well but is still physically lethargic,’’ said Cran.
“My brother Blair is helping manage the farm.’’
Cran originally trained Time Traveller but the gelding was transferred to Jim earlier this year as the 3-year-old was not making the grade.
Jim shares the ownership of Time Traveller with Cran’s wife, Chrissy, Hazel van Opzeeland, of Christchurch and Daryl Brown, of Perth.
Chrissy and Brown were in the ownership of Bit Of A Legend and Katy Perry, trained by Cran. Bit Of A Legend won Breeders Crown races at two and three and a New Zealand Yearling Sales Final at two. He has won 16 races and $US917,000 and run 1.51 in the United States after being sold.
Katy Perry won a Breeders Crown at two and 22 other races. She has also been sold.
Time Traveller was a $71,000 purchase at the 2015 Pyne Gould Guiness premier yearling sale when offered by Cavalla Bloodstock and J C International Ltd. He is by Mach Three and the first foal of Timeless Perfection, a Christian Cullen mare who won seven races and took a record of 1.56.9 in the Ladies Mile at Ashburton.
Jim Dalgety had his first win as a trainer and driver with Vanity Scott at Forbury Park in January, 1959 at odds of 156 to one.
Jim had taken over the training of Vanity Scott from his father Jim for whom she had won four races.
The Dalgety family was based at Kakanui (Otago). Vanity Scott was the outsider in a 15-horse field. Vanity Scott, driven in five of her eight wins by Maurice Holmes, was starting afresh after a seven month break when she won for Jim.
Time Traveller was among four wins on Thursday for leading reinsman Dexter Dunn, who took his tally to 200 for the season when he won the opening race with Lord Roydon. He added wins with Audi Hare and Elusive Flight. It is the sixth time he has reached 200 wins in a season with a best tally of 220 in 2010-11 when he was a junior. He is headed for his tenth straight premiership with a lead of 32 wins over Blair Orange.
Elusive Flight, who won the claiming race, is the first horse raced by Mike Kerr, of Mosgiel and the first standardbred winner for Wayne Stewart, the manager of the stud side of the White Robe Lodge thoroughbred operation at North Taieri. They share ownership with trainer Graeme Anderson, Ray Chalklin, Stephen Pulley and Tony Gow.
Lord Roydon raced four back on the inner and stormed home wide out from seventh at the 350m in his first win as a trotter. He is raced by the Griffins syndicate and Peter Hynes, of Greymouth and trained by Michael House.
“He (Lord Roydon) has been sacked by a couple of other trainers. He has a lot of ability but is a bit of a nut case,” said syndicate member Greg Crawford. The syndicate have also won races this season with Dark Horse, Monty Python and Majestic Man.
Lord Roydon, a 4-year-old by Monarchy from Dear Diedre, is a brother to The Earth Moved (six wins) and Duchess Diedre (five) and a half-brother to President Roydon, who ran second to Enghien in the Harness Jewels.
Aveross Rustler had his third win over 1200m at Forbury Park in a heat of the Sprint series. Trained and driven by Andrew Faulks for Dunedin breeders Ross and Averil Pettitt, the 8-year-old Aveross Rustler had not raced for three months.
“We set him for this because he has such speed but I did not think he would handle the wet track,” said Ross Pettitt.
Aveross Rustler won heats of the sprint series in 2014 and 15.
The John Howe-trained Mighty Empire, who has been in the care of Amber Hoffman at Waikouaiti the past fortnight, led over 2200m to post his third win and win number 499 for driver Jonny Cox.
The Murray Edmonds-trained Fatal Reunion was left in the care of Darryn Simpson at Mosgiel after leading for most of the way against trotters for her second win. Neville Ellen, who races her with Kelly Edmonds and Dave Cousins, made the trip for Christchurch to see her race.
Blair Orange drove Fatal Reunion and Den’s Legacy, a winner trained by Ken and Tony Barron for the Spriggs Bar Burnside No 1 syndicate. They have the Live Or Die – Pocket Royce 3-year-old leased from Toliman Lodge Limited.
The 3-year-old Toby O’Gara won at his second start, Trained by Nathan Williamson for breeders Ross and Robyn Jones and Barry Dent, Toby O’Gara is a half-brother by Western Ideal to Statham (six wins) and Bernie Winkle (three). Statham is back jogging with Williamson after being side-lined with a viral infection.
