October
JulyDon't forget Deniliquin
Having enjoyed the great Look Who’s Talking interview with Stephen Theodore (27/6) myself, I expected a prompt correction to the assertion that in NSW only Berrigan raced the Victorian way.
But when it came from Orm McLeod (11/7) and referred only to Broken Hill, Wentworth and Pooncarie, once again the bleeding obvious had been missed, and just up the road from Berrigan.
Regarded by many as the capital of the Riverina, Deniliquin has always raced the Victorian way, and has long had the good sense to sell Victorian beer to boot.
The anti-jumps brigade commonly state that jumps racing finished in NSW before the Second World War, but hurdle races survived in Deniliquin at least into the 1960s.
A jumps rider of great potential was lost to the sport when an outstanding talent then emerging from the amateur ranks suffered a career-ending fall in the late ’60s at Deniliquin.
Tony Cadden fell while leading and brought down another horse, which rolled on him.
Tony had achieved the rare feat for a jumps rider of riding three winners at one meeting, pleasing for headline writers bringing up his treble on a horse called Doubles.
The horse from which Tony fell had been extensively schooled by one of its connections, who had qualified the horse at hunt-club events and won on him at a point-to-point for lady riders. (At that time females were not permitted to ride against male jockeys.)
Roll on 40 years to the Deniliquin Cup, worth a very handy $9500 to the winner, Firetime, owned and trained by a legend in north-east Victorian racing and equestrian circles in Liz Aalbers.
Aalbers in her riding days was the winner of many ladies’ bracelets and nigh-on unbeatable over the jumps in point-to-points for lady riders, and was the very same rider who could not take her rightful place against the male jockeys in that Deniliquin race in which Tony Cadden fell.
As a punter I paid her competence the ultimate compliment — I backed her mounts.
Lizzie Aalbers was born out of her time. Born earlier and she would have inspired Banjo Paterson to write of her as "The Woman from Snowy River", born later and she would be right up there with Clare Lindop.
As a current trainer Liz is a great judge of where her charges can win, and when some look to have more ability she is pragmatic enough to send them down to Pat Hyland to give them every chance and limit the burden of travel.
Liz is of the grass roots of racing, training at Wodonga, providing district runners which progress if they are able to the better midweek meetings and finding now and again a runner to progress further to city class.
Without her and her like, racing cannot be what it is now.
Niddrie (Vic)