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Jack Phillips (right), newly elected President of the NZ Harness
Racing Conference, with outgoing President, Dewar Robertshaw |
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Jack and his wife, Mary, at his
induction into Addington Raceway’s
Harness Hall of Fame
Photo courtesy NZ Harness Racing Weekly
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SENIOR LEVEL
ADMINISTRATOR AND STANDARDBRED ENTHUSIAST
Born John Gordon Phillips in 1929 at Kurow, New Zealand, he was
known as Jack from his very youngest days. His father Gordon
Phillips was a successful horseman in harness racing in the
South Island of New Zealand, and Jack inherited his father’s
love for the standardbred.
Reared in farmlife, Jack went to school at Seadown and later
married Mary McDonald, a daughter of an eminent thoroughbred
trainer. Settling down at Timaru, the Phillips engaged in dairy
farming; however, the breeding, rearing and ownership of
standardbreds in a partnership with his brothers came naturally,
and it was to be many years before Jack and Mary retired to a
smaller farm closer in to Timaru where they still own
standardbreds to race within the family circle.
Jack Phillips boasts a long personal involvement and association
with harness racing administration that lasted over forty years,
not only in New Zealand but in Australia and North America as
well. His contribution at Inter Dominion and International level
was recognized in 1994 when he was awarded the Ern Manea Inter
Dominion Gold Medal for significant long term contribution to
Australia/New Zealand harness racing affairs and/or the Inter
Dominion Pacing and Trotting Championship.
Phillips proudly claims to have attended the Inter Dominion
series at every venue at which they have been conducted and in
the process to have made many lifelong friends at each location.
These, and many other associates, were pleased when Jack was inducted
into the Addington Raceway’s Harness Hall of Fame in late 2009, as
further testimony to his extensive support to the industry in so many areas.
Joining the Timaru Trotting Club’s committee in 1962, he served
his home club continuously through to 2002, capped by five years
as vice-president and ten years as President. For thirty six
years he was a Trustee of Timaru’s famous Phar Lap Racecourse,
with eleven of those years as Chairman.
A member of New Zealand Harness Racing’s executive for sixteen
years, he was the South Island vice president for four years and
then President of the New Zealand Trotting Conference for five
years from 1989 to 1993. During his term of office the difficult
process of dealing with doping came to the fore and it was in
this time the procedure of pre-race testing was brought into
being.
At a higher level he served on the Inter Dominion Grand Council
for five years and was senior vice president of the Inter
Dominion Harness Racing Council 1988-1993. He also represented
New Zealand at five World Trotting Conferences and worked on
various standing Committees, as well as being vice president of
a standout World Conference when it was held in Auckland in
1991.
The World Conference in 1991 in particular was noted for its
aggregation and the combining of the Inter Dominion Pacing
Trotting Championship Carnival and the World Driving
Championship, intermingling with a week long exhibition of
trotting veterinary products, craft and equipment. In addition
the administrations of the World were represented by Canada,
USA, France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand, exhibiting the
latest at that time in computerization of records within their
own countries and the first electronic links between nations.
An ardent breeder and purchaser of young standardbreds,
Phillips, mainly in partnership with his brothers, Rex, Ian and
Bruce, has enjoyed his share of success with numerous good
performers. The best of them included the trotting mare Pure
Adrenalin NZ Tr.1:57.4 winner of eleven races in New Zealand and
a further twenty seven in North America for total earnings of
$USD284,587 in North America.
Another exported to North America was Camero NZ P.1:54.4 winner
of 21 races overall, whilst of recent times Spring Alot,
P.1:58.6 and a winner of nine races and placed in fifteen races
from thirty eight race starts for the family partnership has now
been sold to North America for a new career there. Owned by JG,
WI, and RB Phillips when raced in New Zealand, Spring Alot NZ
was one of the first crop of foals of triple Inter Dominion
Championship winner Our Sir Vancelot in New Zealand and was good
enough to run third in the 2004 New Zealand Derby. The gelding
is expected to do well on North American tracks.
Other New Zealand winners owned by the partnership include Three
O’Clock Rock NZ (winner of six races), Extraordinaire (five
wins), Victory Ball (two wins), Lord Vance (five wins),
Bronnie’s Fella (five wins), Magda Sorrell (five wins), and so
forth. However, Jack utters a note of caution when he says “and
there have been a number of others who had only one or two
wins…. and others who never had any”.
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