A Stirling effort

HRNZ records show that M.B.(Bruce) Stirling of Clydevale has bred 246 horses over the fifty one years he’s been involved in harness racing.

As a sixteen year old he tried to buy into the Dennis Brothers thoroughbred family but proving to be too expensive, he turned his attention to standardbreds.

Shirling became interested in harness racing through the enjoyment of having a flutter and negotiated to buy Ev’s Pride.

“I wanted a mare by Garrison Hanover and Frank Young had Ev’s Pride. He lived down in Balclutha and I went down to see him. He showed me a picture of Gay Paree the mother of Ev’s Pride and the Queen Mother presenting a trophy after she won at Addington (1966),” Stirling said.

Ev’s Pride had won a race at Nelson in 1973 when trained by Ces Donald and when Stirling bought her she was in foal to Smooth Hanover.

“She also had a foal at foot by Gaines Minbar which I couldn’t afford and that was Eden’s Joy. She ended up with Henry Skinner and won six races. She ended up being the mother of Young Eden who won the New Zealand Oaks (1987).”

In order to buy Ev’s Pride, Stirling had to sell his car. But the sale provided only half the purchase price so he had to pay off the balance off.

“I was working on farms around the district and I loved the thought of having a horse. It was a big thing back in those days.”

Thus the journey began, with foundation mare Ev’s Pride.

“I remember the radio commentaries with Young Charles and Johnny Globe. Young Charles was at the end of his career as a sire so I thought I’d put her (Ev’s Pride) in foal to him. She was one of the last mares he served.  We called the foal Young Pride.”

Young Pride was the first winner Stirling bred.

“We put him through the National Yearling Sales and got fourth top price.”

There were 138 yearlings sold that year for an average of $5,104. The top price for a filly was $25,000 and purchased by NSW breeder Jack Honan. She was a full sister to Wee Win while the top colt was Marconi a brother to Markovina which sold to Les Purdon for $23,000.

Young Pride won five of his twenty starts for Jack Carmichael before he headed to Australia to win a further twenty six races.

“He raced in the New Zealand Derby, broke twice and flashed home for third to Amaze.”

Her next two foals were by Lumber Dream.

“With Ev’s Pride I wanted a Lumber Dream, so I kept on going back to him. I got some nice horses like Congoleum and Ev’s Dream. Ali Malcolmson had her (Ev’s Dream) and told me she was an Oaks horse. She had three starts and hurt her shoulder. I could have put her back in work but I decided I wanted her as a broodmare.”

Ev’s Dream had moderate success at stud and her sixth foal by Holmes Hanover was Vera’s Dream.

She was trained at Ashburton by Denice Swain and qualified in a New Zealand record time of 2-23.5 for the 2000 metre stand at Timaru in February 1996.

“She won the Nevele R Stakes by five lengths. Paul Davies rang us up and offered us $200,000 on a racing lease and I’d get her back after she finished racing. Also at that point, I was talking a lot to Paul Beilby and he had Kate’s First. He said his trainer wouldn’t come south to race against Vera’s Dream because they wouldn’t be able to beat her.”

Vera’s Dream only raced nine times, recording two wins before she went to stud.

“One of her foals was Vera’s Rose who was by Live Or Die and she had a big reputation with Denice. She was favourite for her first start (Wyndham 2005), but pulled up lame.”

Stirling send Vera’s Dream to Life Sign, Elsu and Grinfromeartoear before he took the plunge and send her to Bettor’s Delight who stood for $20,000. The resulting foal was Vera’s In Heaven who had two starts for Geoff Dunn before she caught a bad virus and never raced again.

At stud her first two foals, both by Rocknroll Heaven have been Harold Hanover the winner of three and Rocknroll Ivy, which has won one. Her next foal was Bruciebytheseaside, a promising three year old by Downbytheseaside which has won one of his eight starts for Stephen Boyd.

“I made a mistake and he missed a preparation and was out for five months. So he’s always been on the backfoot. It’s just that he’s been a nice pacer and trained by a good trainer, he’s been able to catch up a wee bit. There’s no reason that Brucie won’t be a good horse. You’ve got the Garrison Hanover, Lumber Dream, Holmes Hanover, Live Or Die then you throw in the Bettor’s Delight and that updates it.”

Vera’s in Heaven lives at Wai Eyre Farm.

“I’ve got 25 acres for the horses, but they’re all retired horses so I don’t have any young stock here at the moment. I’ve got about a dozen old mares that I’m attached to, so I just look after them.”

Included in the aging horses in his care are Stirling Express (aged 30) Verasprideandglory (19) and Vera’s Twilight (18).

As an owner Bruce Stirling has won 92 races.

Another early purchase was Byebye Lady. Stirling paid $2,600 for her in 1979 at an Ashburton Sale. Despite being of pacing breed, she won four races in the trotting gait for Patrick O’Reilly.

“She went back to the Lordship family. She was a trotter, but had pacing blood. I wasn’t worried about that.”

One of her first foals was Lord Dalrae who was Stirling’s first race winner, at Ascot Park in December 1982.

“We got offered $50,000 for him. He won the Fireball Series in America.”

When he paced 1-54.4 at the Meadowlands in July1984, Lord Dalrae became one of the fastest New Zealand pacers exported to America.

“He was one I probably should have kept.”

Byebye Lady also left Rhodesian Lilly (Lumber Dream), the unraced dam of Stirling’s biggest winner, Tartan Clansman.

Tartan Clansman won the 1991 Superstars Championship and was placed in the Hannon Memorial, New Zealand Junior Free for All, Invercargill Cup, Taylor Mile and New Zealand Messenger.

His family goes back to Emulous which won the 1948 Interdominion Pacing Final for Wally Tatterson.

He raced Tartan Clansman with Derek McCarthy and Jo Maynard.

“I was the best man at his (McCarthy) wedding. He lives in Melbourne now. He’s got a horse called Fly Bye Eden who’s out of daughter of Eve Of Eden.”

Early in his career the ownership group turned down an Australian offer of $200,000 for Tartan Clansman.

“At that stage he was probably the best horse in the country. The price was going up all the time but before we got the opportunity to sell, he got injured and was lame. Warren Stapleton took him over and we almost got him right but he became lame again.”

Perhaps Ev Of Eden’s (Sir Dalrae – Biblical) third in the 1990 G1 DB Draught Fillies Series Final was one of Stirling’s biggest hard luck stories.

“We won a heat at Forbury and in the final she came flying down the outside and hit the front. Driver (Alan Scobie) gave her a wee tap with the whip and she went sideways.”

Some Legacy won the race by half a length from Paula Vance with a nose back to Ev Of Eden.

And one that got away?

“Paul Bielby rang me and said ‘I’ve got a horse called Steen James’ and he said he’d do a swap for a filly.”

The filly was Scent, who was by Holmes Hanover out of Adio Annie. She won a race at Gore for Tommy Behrns and went on to win the 1997 NSW Oaks. The colt was no other than Christian Cullen.

“I didn’t like his pedigree.”

So the deal didn’t go ahead.

In all, horses bred by Stirling have won 192 races including Milton Vance (Vance Hanover-Ev’s Lady) and Touch Of Silver (Mach Three – Vera’s Motoring).

Milton Vance won five of his eight starts for Denice Swain as a four year old while trainer Mark Purdon and owner Neil Pilcher had a high opinion of Touch Of Silver.

“I talked to Neil and he said he was the best horse he’s had. He had Russley Rascal and Touch Of Silver at the same time, but got offered this massive amount of money for Touch Of Silver from Western Australia. Russley Rascal won the Derby while Touch Of Silver went to Western Australia, got colic before he raced and died.”

As an owner, outside of Tartan Clansman Stirling has had success with Vera’s Delight (9), Elmer Fudd (8), Stirling Express and Silver Ranger (4 each). Bruciebytheseaside is the latest horse out of the breed and is trained by Stephen Boyd.

“I was told that when your horse gets broken in, Stephen Boyd doesn’t say a lot but what he says you listen to. When Stephen said he couldn’t fault the horse and that he was a nice horse. I was pretty happy about that.”

When Bruce Stirling purchased his first mare at the age of sixteen, he was responding to a strong desire to be a successful horse owner. He reached that goal and more, producing over the course of fifty odd years quality stock he can be rightly very proud of.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink