Duo join the NZ Racing Hall of Fame
For a dozen years the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame has formally honoured our very best horses and horse-people, placing on record achievements and recognition that ensures a lasting place in racing folklore.
In 2006 father-and-son champion trainer and jockey Dave and Lance O’Sullivan were in the inaugural draft of NZRHOF inductees and since then others with that Matamata connection have followed.
In 2010 the mighty racemare Horlick was inducted, two years later it was the turn of one of our very best trainers and jockey mentors, Jim Gibbs, then in 2014 champion sprinter Mr Tiz joined the illustrious.
Home-grown jockey Shane Dye, who plied his trade from a young age in Sydney, Hong Kong and other hotspots of the racing world, and Waikato Stud principal and industry administrator Gary Chittick were inducted in 2016.
Last Friday at the 2018 NZHROF induction ceremony in Hamilton, Waikato Stud’s favourite son, champion racehorse and sire O’Reilly, and that unique champion jockey Noel Harris joined seven other inductees whose names were added to the list that now numbers 74 in the pantheon of stars.
O’Reilly was born at Waikato Stud in the same year that the Chittick family bought the Tower Road property and moved north from the Manawatu. Under the training of Dave and Paul O’Sullivan, the son of international shuttle stallion Last Tycoon and Golden Slipper Stakes winner Courtza shot like a meteor across the 1996-97 season.
At three years he was unbeaten in four New Zealand starts, including the Gr. 1 Bayer Classic and Telegraph Handicap, before meeting his first defeat when second in the Australian Guineas at Flemington and in his remaining start suffering career- ending injuries.
O’Reilly was able to make a recovery that ensured his future at his birthplace, joining the stallion roster as the reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year.
In the two decades since, O’Reilly has established a place as one of the very best stallions to have stood in this country, with multiple premiership titles and now a lasting tribute alongside fellow stallion greats Foxbridge, Sir Tristram and Zabeel in the Hall of Fame.
Noel Harris became a member of the New Zealand community at the start of the millennium, having begun as an apprentice in the early 1970s with his father Jock in Woodville and gaining fame for perfect balance and timing matched only by the uniqueness of his distinctive short irons style in the saddle.
Retirement at age 60 as a member of the exclusive 2,000 wins club three years ago didn’t mean Noel was lost to racing, as he has since made an invaluable contribution as NZ Thoroughbred Racing’s official jockey mentor and advocate.