N.Z. owner “in the dark"

Press, 20 April 1979, Page 4 (Supplement)

N.Z. owner “in the dark"

NZPA Melbourne The New Zealaned owner of an unraced horse named Torbek, that cost Australian bookmakers thousands of dollars on Tuesday didn’t even know his horse was running at Victoria’s Seymour races. Speaking by telephone from his home, Mr David Higgins, of Cambridge, said he sent the horse to Australia with Alan Jones, husband of the jockey, Linda Jones.

Mr Higgins said he did not know that the horse was now being trained at Bendigo by Barry Fawdry.

Fawdry, a battling trainer, saddled up Torbek which Was backed throughout Australia from 22 to 1 to 5 to 2 before winning the Seymour Maiden on Tuesday.

It has been found that the unraced Torbek was backed in every state in a betting plunge that took an estimated $35,000 from bookmakers in Sydney and Seymour alone.

The horse was also heavily backed in Brisbane and Adelaide and was backed on the T.A.B. in every state. Mr Higgins said today that Alan Jones does his betting for him and he would not know if he was “on” Torbek until Jones telephoned him. Mr Higgins, a welder in Cambridge, bought Torbek from Alan Jones eight weeks ago.

Fawdry said he got a telephone call six weeks ago saying the horse was on a plane from New Zealand, and asking if he could pick it up and take over its training. He denied he had any part in the betting plunge.