Racing career
Young Quinn made 133 starts for 59 wins and 36 placings for NZ$752,587 in stakemoney. His record of beating off strong rivals and big names was noticed by the public, and thus he was sometimes sent out odds on. He raced against many good horses of the time like Arapaho and Robalan.
Notable races in New Zealand included:
International racing
In the 1975 Miracle Mile Pace, Australia's premier mile, at Harold Park, Young Quinn won from barrier six, the outside draw on a very tight track, beating the two acknowledged Australian champions of the time, Paleface Adios and Hondo Grattan.
The 1975 Inter Dominion was held in Auckland, New Zealand. A strong team of Australian pacers including Hondo Grattan, Paleface Adios, Just Too Good and Royal Gaze, made the trip across the Tasman. He won the three heats and the Pacer's final, beating locals Hi Foyle and Speedy Guest. Starting as a short-priced favourite in the final, he was driven by John Langdon, following the injury to his regular driver and trainer Charlie Hunter. Ironically, Langdon also won the Trotter's section of the Inter Dominion driving the Hunter-trained Castleton's Pride. These two wins gained Langdon a spot on the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Young Quinn later raced in the United States and Canada with considerable success which included at least one victory over the USA champion of the day, Rambling Willie, until returning to New Zealand in 1980 for a few starts prior to being retired. [2]
Cardigan Bay was a New Zealand harness racing pacer foaled 1 September 1956. Affectionately known as "Cardy", he was the first Standardbred to win US$1 million in prize money in North America. He was the ninth horse worldwide to win one million dollars,. Cardigan Bay won races in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Paleface Adios (1969–1989) was an Australian harness racing horse which competed as a pacer throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. He raced from 1972 to 1981, when there was top competition from the likes of the Hondo Grattan and Pure Steel.
Pure Steel is the only pacer to win the A G Hunter Cup, a race over 3,050 metres and the richest handicap race for pacers in the world, three times, in 1977, 1978, and 1980. He was the first Standardbred horse to win A$500,000 in Australia. Pure Steel also won the WA Benson & Hedges Cup four times. Affectionately known as Steelo, he raced from 1974 until 1983 and won just under $1 million, at a time when competition was strong, with the great horses Paleface Adios and Hondo Grattan as competitors.
Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.
Hondo Grattan was a Standardbred pacer from Bathurst, New South Wales known as the "Bathurst Bulldog". He won the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship in both 1973 and 1974, becoming the first horse to successfully defend an Inter Dominion title. Hondo Grattan was the first horse in Australia to win (AUD)$200,000 and also the first horse to win 21 races at Harold Park Paceway. He was a winner at a time of top competition, that included horses such as Pure Steel and Paleface Adios. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Harold Park Paceway was a harness racing track in Forest Lodge, New South Wales, in use from 1890 to 2010. It was a half-mile track but was just 739 metres in circumference until some changes in its later years. Races at the track were run over distances of 1,760m, 2,160m, 2,565m and occasionally 2,965m. Before its configuration, events were run over one mile, 9 furlongs and 170 yards, 11 and three quarter furlongs, 13 furlongs and 98 yards and 15 furlongs and 92 yards - these distances were all for standing starts. For mobile racing, the distances were one mile, 9 and a half furlongs and 11 and a half furlongs.
The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand.
Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style:
Peter Tom Wolfenden is a former New Zealand driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses. He is most notable for his victory in the New Zealand Trotting Cup when he drove New Zealand's top pacer Cardigan Bay. He won the New Zealand drivers' premiership 14 times, including eight consecutive years from 1974, and twice won the Australasian Drivers Championship. He represented New Zealand seven times in the World Drivers Championship in harness racing, placing second in 1977 and third in 1971. He had 1762 career race wins in New Zealand as a driver, and 798 as a trainer.
Anthony Grant Herlihy is a driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and has been a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Mark Purdon is a driver and trainer of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in New Zealand and Australasia. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
The Inter Dominion Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the world of the Harness racing industry, particularly in the Inter Dominion series. The hall of fame was created to honor the standardbred annual races of the Inter Dominion which includes the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and the Inter Dominion Trotting Championship. The races are held in a rotating cycle in Australia and New Zealand. The 2020 race is being held in New South Wales.
David James "Doody" Townley was a driver of Standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and was a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand.
John Langdon is a former driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He was associated with many champions and was a leading driver of harness horses in New Zealand.
Chokin is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse who was notable in winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, which is New Zealand's most prestigious horse race. Chokin is also one of the few horses to have won Harold Park Paceway's prestigious Miracle Mile Pace twice.
Gammalite was an Australian bred Standardbred racehorse who was the first Standardbred to win A$1 million in Australia. He was regarded as one of Australia's most successful pacers with 16 Group one wins. He won the Inter Dominion Championship twice and was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame.
Lazarus is a former champion New Zealand Standardbred race-horse and is now a stud stallion.
Natalie Clair Rasmussen is a driver and trainer of Standardbred racehorses in Australia and New Zealand. She has been associated with many champions and is one of the leading trainers and drivers of harness horses in Australasia.
Self Assured is a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, notable for winning the 2020 New Zealand Trotting Cup.
Christopher Vance was a Group One-winning New Zealand Standardbred racehorse, trained by Roy and Barry Purdon and generally driven by Barry Purdon or Tony Herlihy.
