When Nancy Latour makes her debut at Alexandra Park on Friday it will be an extension of a family breeding record stretching back 70 years almost exclusively featuring fillies and mares who have been trotters.
And still as well remembered as any might be the filly’s 4th dam Dianthus Girl, almost a cult trotter in her time even if not the best of the era. Sometimes personality and character matter more than ability.
It also had something to do with longevity. Dianthus Girl was bred, raced and trained by the Taylor family, originally from Nelson before moving to Canterbury to concentrate on trotting horses. She had 120 starts racing from three to nine years and the highlight may have been setting a new mile record for trotters of 2.03.4 in the early ‘60’s breaking a record the great Worthy Queen had set in a strong nor’wester at Addington in 1934.She didn’t hold the record long but she did hold it.
She was also seriously unlucky to run into the outstanding mare Au Fait and another superb drive in a trotting feature from Bob Young in the 1961 Dominion Handicap. Dianthus Girl set sail from the 600m and only the masterly Young could have got Au Fait up in the last few strides in a time which would have won nearly all previous Dominions and several afterward.
She was also something of an idol at Forbury and,especially, Hutt Park holding track records at both venues. Before Cardigan Bay’s record smashing mile trial on that track the reception given to Dianthus Girl after a major win by a crowd of over 8000 was considered the highlight of night trotting there.
Bear in mind Hutt Park crowds of that era were as likely to throw pies at as cheer a winner -sometimes with good reason-so to win over such a hard-bitten lot took some doing.
Her fame also had something to do with her eyes. In this case unlike the saying she did not quite have it.
A children’s arrow had injured her left eye and at one stage there was a move to ban her from racing. A leading vet suggested the eye be removed.In stepped colourful co-owner Lena Taylor who raced the mare with her son Bertram (her husband Archie trained and drove her too) and she wasn’t having it.
Lena maintained there was some sight in the eye still and embarked on her own treatment.
“Twice a day every day for two months I gave her eyedrops” Mrs Taylor told iconic Nelson journalist, Barry Simpson, in an interview many years later. She was then in her mid 90’s and was planning a trip to Australia selling some of her horses. She lived another 3 years.
“She was a tall mare and I was short.” she said “ We dug a trench for her front feet so I could reach her eye”
The colourful Lena had already hit the headlines back in 1950 when she scored a win over the hard -nosed stipendiary steward legend Len Butterfield. Few ever did that.
Bertram Taylor had applied for an amateur driver licence. He didn’t even get a response never mind a reason.
Lena drove herself over 450km to Christchurch in mid winter at the time of the national Trotting Conference in July to stage a 1 woman protest. The end result was an apology and Bertram -all the Taylors had been with horses all their lives- being given a professional licence right off the bat. Len Butterfield muttered about a communication breakdown. Bert Taylor drove Dianthus Girl in several of her wins with Maurice Holmes guiding her in most of her big successes.
Mrs Taylor did not miss many Nelson meetings where she was always a popular figure and Dianthus Girl-who also lived to a great age- was always in the conversation even from 20 years ago. She was a champion to Nelson fans.
The racing family has a chequered past. The first filly named in it,Typewriter,won the 1906 Auckland Cup by 20 lengths paying 10/1. Then followed Typist (8 seasons racing) Linotype and Stenographer,all fairly solid but all pacers until Dianapolis, by champion pacer Indianapolis, came along. Not that anyone noticed. In 46 races from 6 to 11 years old she did not win a race.
Preston, the sire of Dianthus Girl, was not well known in racing either though all-American bred ,rare at the time, and a descendant of the 1919 NZ Cup winner, the American mare Trix Pointer. But he went amiss early in his career of high promise so his record did not match his potential. Yet in the end gained more fame than most of his contemporaries.
Preston Farm the hugely successful training and breeding operation operated by Jack Litten at West Melton for so many years and later by Robin and Jakcie Butt, was named after his old favourite. It is now a housing development and retains its name.
Dianthus Girl charged up the breeding success of the family as well as the racing side with Dick Mugford , a co-breeder of Dianthus Girl,taking over and breeding the outstanding trotting mare Framalda:then Picotee the dam of In the Pink ( dam of Sundowner Bay Mike De Filippi’s best trotter but up against first Lyell Creek then Take a Moment) ,Perfume etc a branch led to a stars for the Paul Nairn stable like Enthuse,Enthusiast Inspire etc) while her daughter, moderate racemare Miss Dianthus (Mrs Taylor back in partnership) , pushed on further leaving among others the dam of Miss Warbucks who raced in Victoria’s top trotting races before going to stud winning over $150,000. And the dam of Nancy Latour.
A special aspect of this family is its toughness. Framalda raced 122 times and several others went for years without major soundness problems.Even the ones who didn’t see too well.
For that reason Nathan feels the bold Nancy Latour will need racing to show her best. Her size is up to the family tradition.
“She is a bold trotter but a big girl and time is on her side. So we are not expecting great things from her with the lack of experience. But in time she has the scope to do well”
Barring accidents. Unlikely surely now boys with bows and arrows no longer roam the countryside.
Pic: Jack Litten salutes an all time record crowd at Harold Park after Caduceus had won the Inter Dominion. He stood Preston the sire of Dianthus Girl at stud