Passing of Invercargill HRC stalwart Murray Faul

Long serving Invercargill HRC committee member, administrator, successful breeder and trainer Murray Faul passed died on Tuesday, aged 97.

Murray worked for his father Clive as a heating engineer at well known heating company CH Faul in Invercargill.

“Dad was more into the gallopers when he started, because his father had gallopers. Dad used to ride them but he fell off and hurt his back so then he went to the trotters,” Murray’s daughter Andrea Tither said.

Murray and his wife Denise bred outstanding thoroughbred race mare Koiro Corrie May who ran second (by a short head) to outsider What A Nuisance in the first million dollar Australian horse race, the 1985 Fosters Melbourne Cup.

“We were jumping at the TV that day.”

She was by Sir Tristram who stood at the time for $1,500.

Murray was young when he got a job working in the office on racedays for the Secretary of a number of clubs, Jack Cuthill.

“He started off as a fifteen year old putting up the names on the semaphore board. He then became Clerk of the Scales at the gallops, then he became a judge at the races.”

He was a judge for both codes for twenty five years and also served in an honorary capacity as a timekeeper, steward and committeeman for the Invercargill Trotting Club.

“He only stopped being the timekeeper about five years ago. Even when they didn’t need him because it was all electronic, he still used to go and do it (laughter).”

Murray served a remarkable eighty one years on the committee of the Invercargill Club before standing down in 2025. He was Treasurer for forty of those years.

In acknowledgement of those efforts, he was awarded a Life Membership to the Club in 2005.

“That was a big thrill to him.”

He also served on the Ascot Park Consortium Board.

Faul learned the skills of training a standardbred from renowned Southland horseman Jack Duncan and the first horse he owned, Hurricane Kiwi, was trained by Duncan.

Later in life Murray decided to start training himself.

“He was busy bringing up his five daughters and taking us to Pony Club. Then he met up with Jack Duncan and got a horse with him and it went from there.”

As a trainer, Faul trained thirty six winners between 1984 and 2014.

“He started training at Kennington where he had his own track before he moved into East Road where he trained for thirty five years.”

His first winner was Nardin’s Belle on his home track at Ascot Park in February 1984. She was driven by Andrea and this was her first win as well.

Murray’s last winner was Windermere Lad at Wairio in October 2013.

The best horse he trained was Windermere Girl who won nine races. Her first win came at Addington when as a two year old she won by sixteen lengths.

Her feature wins were in the 1998 G2 Nevele R Stud Stakes at Rangiora, the 1999 G2 Southland Oaks and the 2000 Northern Southland Cup.

Windermere Girl also ran third in the Nevele R Three Year Old Fillies Final and third in the Forbury Park Four and Five Year Old Championship.

Other good horses trained by Faul were Innocent Mac which won eight, including the 1994 Roxburgh Cup and Mister Windermere which won six.

His grandson Reon Tither also drove successfully before moving to Australia. Murray also provided him with his first winner in OK Windermere at the Northern Southland meeting in January 2004.

“Reon is still breeding off BD Windermere over in WA.”

The Windermere name comes from Lake Windermere in England and was chosen by Denise.

“That’s where she saw the name. They named the East Road property Windermere.”

Murray owned forty winners spanning fifty six years. His first was Hurricane Kiwi at Forbury Park in 1977 and his last was Sophie at Gore in February 2023.

Murray Faul will long be remembered for his service to harness racing over an incredible eight decades and the distinctive blue overalls he worn to the track when he had a runner in.

“He got all dressed up to got to the races and put his old blue overalls over the top,” chuckled Andrea.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink