Brilliant season remembered with Ruakaka trot

By Garrick Knight

Nearly 30 years on, one of the single best seasons by a trotter in New Zealand is being recognised.

Harness racing returns to the grass at Ruakaka on Monday for the first time in more than 11 years and the theme of the day is acknowledging Northland’s past greats of harness racing.

The day’s feature is the $20,000 Neville Bros Watch Me Trot Cup, so named for the unsound but prodigiously talented square-gaiter who went on a remarkable run in the 1996/97 season.

In his first and only season of racing from Neil Brady’s Pakiri Beach stable, Watch Me Trot won 12 races at Alexandra Park, many off huge handicaps.

At the time it equalled the New Zealand record for most wins by a trotter in a season (tying No Response and Idle Scott) and the record for most wins by any horse on one track in a season (tying Delightful Lady, also at Alexandra Park).

Watch Me Trot was raced by Dargaville chemist, Hugh Price, who sent the horse to Brady for beach training as a last roll of the dice to combat his chronic unsoundness.

Both Brady and Price died in 2024 but the horse’s prior trainer, Andrew Neal recalls fondly just how good the son of Chiola Hanover was.

“Hugh was an old family friend - my father, Peter Neal roomed with him at Nelson College.

“We went back a long way and always had an association.

“He was also a big part of the Nelson Trotting Club when I first got going into the game – he used to train and drive his own ones.”

Price started out training Watch Me Trot and in 1994 got him to the races, but he proved too much to handle due to his quirks at the start.

“It got away on him several times and then he took it to New Plymouth for a few races and it ended up getting stood down for four trials.”

“He asked me to have a look at him and said, drop him off on the way home.

“He’d done some damage to a hind suspensory and it wasn’t looking good.

“The thing was, he had a huge amount of ability, so it was worth persisting with him.”

Neal figured out that the horse would swing sideways when the tapes released so to combat it he came up with a canny plan.

“I put him on the unruly and stood him facing the outside fence, at a right angle to the field.

“Then he’d swing left and go away with the field.”

Watch Me Trot recorded two dominant wins at Cambridge for Neal in his only two starts from the stable, seven months apart.

“But the leg was bad, and we decided to spell him on the hills for six months.”

Price then moved the horse to Brady without telling Neal.

“We read in the Trot Guide that he’d lined up in a trial.

“He’d had a fair few months out and then somehow got to the trials after only about five weeks’ work.

“After that, he just won them in row; Neil Brady did a wonderful job with him.”

Eight wins in nine starts at Alexandra Park were followed by a trip to Addington where he started favourite on Show Day but swung sideways, injuring himself and taking no part.

When Brady got him back to the races the following June, he won four more races off handicaps of 40m, 50, 50m and 65m, many of them class records at the track.

Soon after, Brady recommended his retirement, but Price tried him a couple more times himself and once with another Northland trainer, Jabie Gardiner.

“More than likely that bad leg gave up,” said Neal.

“But he did an amazing job do what he did.

“He was the total package and a bloody good trotter.”

Monday’s field has drawn a competitive line-up with nine-win trotter, Confessional the 40-metre backmarker for trainers, Bernie Hackett and Michelle Wallis.

The in-form Luca and consistent Castana will give punters plenty to think about, as will Travellin Soldier, who returns after 11 months away from the races for trainer/driver, Tony Herlihy.

Hugh Price’s son, Julian and his family will be on course to take part in the post-race presentation.

To see the Ruakaka fields click here