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Our Sir Vancelot and Brian Hancock after their 1998 Ballarat Cup
victory
copyright ©
Gary Wild
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1997 WA Pacing Cup – Brian Hancock holds the trophy high
copyright ©
William Crabb
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Our Sir Vancelot NZ and Brian Hancock head to the finish line in
the 1997 Pacing Championship, Globe Derby
copyright ©
Atkins Photography
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1997 Miracle Mile - Our Sir Vancelot and driver Harry James hold
off Quantum Lobell (MA Tracey) on their heels
photo courtesy NSW Harness Racing Club
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Our Sir Vancelot and Brian Hancock take out their
2nd Inter Dominion at Hobart in 1998
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| 1999 Bathurst City Gold Cup - Our Sir
Vancelot, Brian Hancock and Trevor Allamby |
Our Sir Vancelot and Brian Hancock after
their 1998 Inter Dominion win
copyright ©
Geoff Ampt |
Third Inter Dominion win – Our Sir
Vancelot reaches the finishing line ahead of Iraklis NZ (RT
May) and Bogan Fella (M Purdon) – Auckland, NZ, 1999
copyright ©
Race Images Palmerston North Ltd |
| photo courtesy
Harness Racing Victoria |
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CHAMPION PACER - TRIPLE INTER DOMINION WINNER (1:55.4MS)
“We can measure the stature of a champion by the length of time he remains
one”. John Hervey one of the great authors of harness racing
history in the 20th century.
Using this yardstick as a measure of perfection or selection,
Our Sir Vancelot outclasses all those that have appeared so far
in Australia and New Zealand and he is regarded as one of the
best Australasian standardbreds of all time. Winner of three
successive top-class Inter Dominion Pacing Championships in
1997-98-99 and numerous Grand Circuit and Group One events, Our
Sir Vancelot triumphed over the best pacers of Australia and New
Zealand on their own terms for virtually three years and the
stallion set records that will take a very long time to equal,
let alone beat.
Foaled in New Zealand in 1990 by imported Vance Hanover USA (by
Albatross) from Teeny Teeny, the stallion was bred by the
Allamby family of Victoria Farm, Junee, NSW, who went to
considerable effort in their breeding activities.
Semen transportation was not sanctioned prior to 1989, and Teeny
Teeny was sent to Auckland NZ for service, initially by Smooth
Fella USA and then Soky’s Atom USA. As a last choice before
returning the mare to Junee the Allamby family consulted with
leading trainer/driver Brian Hancock and selected Vance Hanover
USA at $8000 service fee. This was a wise choice for his
bloodlines matched perfectly those of the mare Teeny Teeny
against the outcross North American bloodlines available through
Vance Hanover USA.
Teeny Teeny P.3,2:04.9; 2:03 a winner of 9 races was a product
mix of old American bloodlines through her sire Overtrick USA
(by Solicitor) and old Australian breeding which traced
maternally to the Foundation Mare Our Nell foaled in the mid
1880’s by the imported Von Moltke Junior USA.
Our Sir Vancelot is a 7th generation descendant of Our Nell -
each one of his maternal line (six of whom were winners) being a
polar outcross to the preceding outcrosses. The strike rate of
the dams in the maternal pedigree has been extremely effective,
with 37 winners from 62 foals so far and this does not take into
account other successful offshoots of the family.
As a yearling, Our Sir Vancelot was shipped to NSW in 1991 and
given to the south coast located Brian Hancock a long term
successful trainer/driver for the Allamby family. Their
association dated back to 1965 when Hancock commenced training
Teeny Rena - the dam of Teeny Teeny.
Our Sir Vancelot commenced racing as a three year old and won
his first eight races, including two at Harold Park, and much
was expected of him. However, he failed in his next three races
before rounding off the season with another three wins totalling
eleven wins from 15 starts.
At four year old Our Sir Vancelot had inconsistent results,
winning only three races from thirteen starts whilst as a five
year old he improved to win seven of fifteen starts. However,
Brian Hancock must have had some inkling of the latent ability
of Our Sir Vancelot for they travelled to Moonee Valley for two
wins and later in the season he was raced for one heat win in
the 1996 Inter Dominion Championships in Perth before failing in
the Grand Final.
At this stage of his career Our Sir Vancelot had won twenty one
races and had been placed thirteen times from forty seven starts
for $128,366 but little did the owners realize that Our Sir
Vancelot was to win another two million dollars over the next
three seasons’ racing.
In sixteen starts as a six year old Our Sir Vancelot won nine
races and took four placings for $643,306. Highlights were wins
in The Legends Mile at Moonee Valley, two Qantas Sprints which
included his lifetime record of 1:55.4, the 1997 Western
Australian Cup, and the Treuer Memorial. He also won the most
important prize of Australasian harness racing - his first Inter
Dominion Championship Grand Final in a close finish at Globe
Derby Park, Adelaide, SA.
After a spell, Our Sir Vancelot returned in October 1997 and
commenced his build up to defend his Inter Dominion Championship
at Hobart, Tasmania in March 1998; this presented some problems
because of the circumference of the small Hobart Showgrounds
track.
In four successive Grand Circuit races Our Sir Vancelot won the
Miracle Mile, the Treuer Memorial, plus the S.A. and W.A. Cups
before going on to Hobart. There he captured two heats and the
Grand Final, more easily than his win in the same race at
Adelaide the previous year - the expected obstacle of a small
track presented little problem to Our Sir Vancelot.
Rested again immediately after the Hobart win, Our Sir Vancelot
came back in October 1998 to win the Australian Pacing
Championship at Albion Park, The Newcastle Mile, the Legends and
the Ballarat Cup before a succession of placings in the
Tasmanian Championship, SA Cup and WA Cup.
Before going on to Auckland, NZ, to achieve the impossible dream
of winning three successive Inter Dominion Championships, Our
Sir Vancelot had a brief spell after running second at
Gloucester Park, Perth, on 22nd January. He travelled to
Auckland for his first heat on 5th March 1999 where the opposite
way of going and local New Zealand champions were expected to
overcome the aging champion who appeared to have lost his edge.
After winning a heat, and the field of contestants losing some
of its notable New Zealand stars, Our Sir Vancelot was locked in
by New Zealand pacers in the third heat and his sixth placing
meant he only just qualified for the Grand Final on a count
back. Hancock had also qualified Quantum Lobell and for the
fourth consecutive year he had two pacers for the Grand Final.
In the Grand Final the New Zealand horses on form seemed to have
a mortgage on the race but as usual in the Inter Dominions the
attrition rate helped to place the outcome in great confusion.
The great New Zealand pacer Iraklis was believed to be the
greatest threat to all the Australian pacers that qualified
particularly Our Sir Vancelot who had drawn outside Iraklis.
However, with Hancock’s driving skills, Our Sir Vancelot
overcame age (nearly 9), distance (untried over 3200 metres),
and challenges from several horses to lead all the way and
defeat Iraklis. His victory created a new record of three
successive wins in Grand Finals of the Inter Dominion
Championships.
After the Inter Dominion Carnival Hancock and Our Sir Vancelot
returned to race at Bathurst, NSW, on 27th March where in his
last ever race he won the Bathurst City Gold Cup.
Our Sir Vancelot was bred by VL & SL Allamby and raced by ML (Maree) Allamby, T (Tracey) Harty & RL (Renee) Hancock - a triumph for Junee harness racing. His impressive record shows career prizemoney of $2,197,990, with 47 wins and 26 placings from 97 starts, he was twice Australian Grand Circuit champion (1997, 1998) and his significant achievements were recognised with three Australian Harness Horse of the Year awards (1997, 1998, 1999). He went to stud in New Zealand for two seasons after his retirement, and then returned to Australia. He sired some very good winners from his initial seasons in New Zealand and has enjoyed good patronage in his new surroundings at Shepparton, Victoria.
By mid-2009, his progeny in Australia numbered 590, with 160 winners and over $4.5m prizemoney in Australian races – strong performers included Triple Vance, Mesmerising, Just Pretend, Fox Street and Touch Me Toes.
main races/honours
won by
OUR SIR VANCELOT NZ |
| Inter Dominion Championship Grand Final |
(3) |
1997, 1998, 1999 |
| Inter Dominion Championship
Heats |
(5) |
1996 (1), 1997 (1), 1998 (2), 1999 (1) |
| Qantas Sprints |
(2) |
1996 (2) |
| MH Treuer Memorial |
(2) |
1996, 1997 |
| The Legends Mile |
(2) |
1996, 1998 |
| Miracle Mile |
(1) |
1997 |
| Western Australian Cup |
(2) |
1997, 1998 |
| South Australian Cup |
(1) |
1998 |
| Australian Pacing Championship |
(1) |
1998 |
| Newcastle Mile |
(1) |
1998 |
| Ballarat Cup |
(1) |
1998 |
|
HONOURS |
| Australian Grand Circuit
Champion |
(2) |
1997, 1998 |
| Australian Harness Horse of the
Year |
(3) |
1997, 1998, 1999 |
seasonal career
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AGE |
STARTS |
WINS |
PLACINGS |
STAKEMONEY |
BEST TIME |
| 3 |
15 |
11 |
3 |
$35,239 |
1:58 |
| 4 |
14 |
3 |
6 |
$27,279 |
2:01 |
| 5 |
18 |
7 |
4 |
$65,848 |
1:56.1 |
| 6 |
16 |
9 |
4 |
$643,306 |
1:55.4 |
| 7 |
17 |
11 |
3 |
$863,504 |
1:55.5 |
| 8 |
13 AUST |
4 |
3 |
$297,189 |
1:55.8 |
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4 NZ |
2 |
0 |
$265,625 |
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97 |
47 |
26 |
$2,197,990 |
1:55.4 |
| race footage |
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1999 Pacing Final
Race footage copyright © NZ Trackside Tape Sales |
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1998 Pacing Final
Race footage courtesy EVD Pty Ltd |
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1997 Pacing Final
Race footage copyright © John Rothe |
| pedigree |
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Pedigree - Our Sir Vancelot NZ |
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