TRIBUTE TO TRAINER

Hokitika Guardian, 19 November 1929, Page 5

TRIBUTE TO TRAINER

NIGHTMARCH’S GREAT IMPROVEMENT,

“I attribute the success of Nightmarch very much to the great ability of his trainer, A, McAulny, He is a truly wonderful man with horses/’ said Mr A. Louisson, owner of the New Zealand champion, to “Vigilant,” the sporting writer of the “ Sun News Pictorial,” Melbourne, last month after Nightmarch had done so well at Randwick . “McAulny is the best man with horses that I know, You see; he began with R. J. Mason (Gloaming’s trainer), wfio, of course, is a master of his craft. Often 1 have said to McAu--1 y, ‘ Would you like me to buy sfTclf and such a horse? ’ and the reply has come, ‘I would not train him.’ You understand,” explained Mr Louisson, “ McAulay will not train ‘duds.’ He works from daylight to dusk, and attends to everything that is important himself. Why, we have only had Nightmarch about 15 months. I bought him privately in July, 19-8. That was at the end of the two-year-old year. 1 think he had then won one race, and deacl-beated for first in another. It is difficult to recognise the Nightmarch of to-day with the horse I bought. McAulay’s skill with the addition of the training facilities afforded by Ricrarton (Christchurch), have changed him out of all knowledge. He was bred by Mr George Ivain, one of the finest sportsmen in the Dominion. Mr Ivain owns the dam. Marsa. Mr Ivain’s property is at Gladstone Park at Oruri, in the South Island, Racing is just a hobby with me,” he continued. “It does not pay owners fd bet in New Zealand, where 40 per cent is taken out of the totalizator total before the winning dividend is declared. That 40 represents 15 per cent for the Government and the club, and 25 per cent for the second horse’s hackers. I had planned,” added Mr Louisson, “ a holiday trip to Australia, and so Nightmarch was nominated for your principal spring handicaps. When we saw the weights the trip was nearly abandoned. The horse received several pounds more than we expected, Rflt Nightmarch improved, and we decided to carry on. He has kept on doing well from the time he landed in Sydney. In that regard, he has done far beyond the expectations of either McAulay or myself.”