A - Z New Zealand Cup : W

6 November 2020

There are 4 days to the New Zealand Cup

From now to November 10 we will feature some of the great races, horses and personalities with a new letter for each day.

W = Doug Watts

With 27 Cup drives, Doug Watts had the third most New Zealand Cup drives behind Morrie Holmes (40) and Anthony Butt (30).

Born in Morrinsville in 1906, he is regarded as the sport’s first truly freelance driver. After debuting as a jockey he graduated to harness racing, driving for 41 seasons. He was based in Oamaru for a time before moving to Christchurch in the late 1930s.

He won the Cup twice with Integrity (1946) and Our Roger (1955) and was second on four occasions.

In 1954 at Reefton he was the first to drive seven winners on the same day, a feat equalled by Tony Herlihy (2001) and Dexter Dunn (2015).

Watts died in 1985, aged 79.