Dictation (right) and Semper Magico going head-to-head over the final stages of a maiden hurdle race at Hastings last Saturday. Only a nose separated them at the finish.
Tom Lowry, an immensely influential figure in the New Zealand thoroughbred industry, passed away on July 1, aged 88.
He was the third generation to operate the famous Okawa Stud in Hawke’s Bay, a property first established by his grandfather and then successfully run by his father for many years.
Thomas Russell Lowry was born in Hastings on April 13, 1936, and educated at Christ’s College in Christchurch and then the Royal Agricultural College in England.
Like his father before him, Tom quickly became heavily involved in Hawke’s Bay thoroughbred circles, both as a successful breeder and owner.
He became a member of the former Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club in 1963 and a committee man in 1969. He was vice-president of the club from 1978 to 1986 and president from 1987 to 1991, whereupon he was made a life member.
The Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club became part of Hawke’s Bay Racing Incorporated in the early 1990s and Lowry served as a director on the Board of the new body before becoming Chairman from 2000 to 2002. He retired from both positions in October 2002.
He was also heavily involved in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Association, becoming a council member in 1976 and serving as vice-president from 1983 to 1987.
He was the NZTBA representative on the Board of the New Zealand Racing Conference from 1994 to 1996 and was also made a life member of the NZTB Association.
In the mid-1970s Lowry decided to import a European-bred stallion to stand at Okawa Stud and purchased Three Legs from Ireland.
The son of Petingo went on to become one of the most successful sires of his time, being crowned champion New Zealand stallion for three years and producing a steady stream of Group race winners including the champion mare Horlicks, winner of the 1989 running of the prestigious Japan Cup.
Horlicks was by Three Legs out of the Okawa Stud-bred mare Malt and was bred and owned by Graham de Gruchy, a brother-in-law of Tom Lowry.
The steely grey mare recorded 17 wins from 40 starts and, besides being the only ever New Zealand-owned and trained winner of the Japan Cup, she also recorded Group 1 victories in the Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) in Melbourne, the DB Draught Classic (2100m) at Ellerslie (twice) and Television NZ Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie. She was also runner-up behind fellow New Zealander Poetic Prince in the 1988 Cox Plate (2040m) in Melbourne and went on to become the dam of the 2000 Melbourne Cup winner Brew.
Another outstanding early daughter of Three Legs was Burletta, bred by another Hawke’s Bay man in Tom Mulcaster. She won 16 of her 33 starts and was crowned New Zealand Three-year-old Filly of the Year in the 1983-84 season when her victories included the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and Group 2 Bayer Classic.
Three Legs also left the 1984 New Zealand Derby winner Jolly Jake as well as the multiple Group race winners Random Chance (15 wins), Our Secret Weapon (11 wins), Eastern Joy (12 wins) and Shannon (5 wins).
Lowry, in partnership with his brother Pat and their sisters bred and raced a number of successful horses under the Okawa Partnership banner.
They included Cure, winner of the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and runner-up in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby.
He also bred and raced the high-class racemare Dare, whose eight wins included the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and, although he had wound down his thoroughbred interests in recent years, he celebrated another memorable success on his home track at Hastings this year when Testwin won on debut over 1600m on January 6.
The Time Test gelding was bred by Tom Lowry and raced by him from the Hastings stable of his nephew Guy and training partner Leah Zydenbos.
Testwin is out of the Don Eduardo mare Edwina, who was purchased out of a 2013 mixed bloodstock sale as a four-year-old for just $2250.
“I got another person to buy the mare for me and she traces back to a good Okawa Stud family,” Lowry said.
“She was unbroken when I bought her but was an outstanding looking mare. If you saw her in a paddock with other mares you would pick her out on looks just about everytime.”
He decided not to get Edwina broken in and sent her straight to stud, getting her in-foal to Niagara who was standing at Okawa Stud at the time.
The resultant foal was Nedwin, who started in Guy Lowry’s stable but was sold to Gisborne couple Mick and Suz Gardner. He won three races on the flat before entering the Hastings stable of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal and has since won another three on the flat and six over fences, including last year’s Great Northern Hurdle (4200m).
Edwina didn’t leave another live foal until 2018, when she produced a filly by Darci Brahma that Tom Lowry also raced from his nephew’s stable and was named Darwin.
“She won a race but then her form started to drop away so we pulled the plug and we have retired her to stud too,” Lowry said.
Testwin is the third living foal out of Edwina and his win belatedly fulfilled one of Tom Lowry’s breeding rules.
“I usually say that if a mare can’t produce three winners before she is 12 years old then you should get rid of her. Edwina is 14 years old now but she has now produced three winners so I think she’s worth keeping.”
Lowry had a life-long passion for thoroughbreds and was a special guest at the Hawke’s Bay/Poverty Bay Thoroughbred Breeders annual weanling walk last Sunday, which culminated in a luncheon at Linden Estate winery.
He was in fine spirits then but sadly passed away the next day.
Hastings-trained Dictation broke through for a maiden hurdle win at last Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay meeting but the final outcome could have been different had the rider of the second horse protested in time.
Dictation and race favourite Semper Magico went head-to-head after jumping the last fence in the 2500m event and only a nose separated them at the finish.
A head-on video of the final stages of the race showed Dictation, on the inside, moving out and briefly making contact with Semper Magico although neither rider actually stopped riding their mount.
After weighing in and returning to the jockeys’ room Portia Matthews, rider of Semper Magico, belatedly viewed the stewards head-on film footage of the race, after which she indicated that she wished to lodge a protest against the winner.
As correct weight and the all-clear for payment of dividends had already been declared, the indication to protest was out of time and was unable to be proceeded with under the provision of the rules of racing.
Dictation was having his second hurdle start, following a close second over 3100m at Te Aroha on June 3, while Semper Magico was making his jumping debut.
The pair hail from two of the most successful jumping stables in the country with Dictation prepared by the partnership of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal and Semper Magico trained at Awapuni by Mark Oulaghan.
Semper Magico’s inexperience was evident from the first fence in the race, where he put in an awkward leap. But he soon settled into stride for Matthews while Dictation was all business, up near the front, in the hands of Hamish McNeil.
The pressure went on coming to the home turn where Dictation and Semper Magic sorted themselves out from the rest of the field and settled down to do battle.
Neither horse gave an inch in the run to the line but it was Dictation who got his head down at the right time to get the decision on the line.
Bred by the Dowager Duchess of Bedford, Dictation is by Tavistock out of the Volksraad mare Solo and was purchased by Paul Nelson for $20,000 from the Gavelhouse auction site in 2022 on behalf of the I See Red Syndicate.
The horse won two races on the flat for the syndicate in the winter of that year, both in amateur riders’ races when ridden by Hastings trainer Leah Zydenbos.
Last Saturday also marked 20 years since Nelson recorded his first training success for the I See Red Syndicate, a large group of jumping enthusiasts who have raced a number of top performers from the Nelson stable.
Just A Swagger was the syndicate’s first winner when he took out a maiden hurdle in 2004 and he went on to win two Grand National Hurdles (4200m) and a Grand National Steeplechase (5600m).
A change in training methods and a step up in distance proved a winning formula for Hastings-trained Eyegeegee when the four-year-old bounced back to form with a game win in a Rating 65 race over 1600m at Otaki on Friday of last week.
The four-year-old Time Test gelding had created a big impression when winning on debut over 1200m at Hastings in July last year but then finished only 10th out of 13 at his next start.
Guy Lowry, who now trains in partnership with Leah Zydenbos, decided to turn the horse out for a lengthy spell after that run and he didn’t resume until May this year.
Eyegeegee turned in an encouraging fresh up fourth over 1200m at Wanganui but then disappointed again when only sixth of 14 over 1340m on the same track three weeks later.
Lowry expected the horse to be hard to beat that day and felt he wasn’t living up to his potential.
He decided to increase the horse’s workload in trackwork and also added in some schooling over pony hurdles in the centre of the Hastings track.
Eyegeegee showed a glimpse of his true potential again when winning a 2000m jumpout at Hastings on June 5 and the horse had followed that up with good trackwork gallops leading up to last Friday’s win.
Jockey Kozzi Asano restrained the horse back behind midfield in the early stages of the race before letting him improve quickly around the field to sit outside the leader coming to the home turn. He took the lead soon after and kept up a strong finish to the line to win by a neck.
Eyegeegee is owned by Masterton’s Little Avondale Stud and is a half-brother to Belluci Babe, who is a Group 3 winner of six races in Australia.