Racing: Cullen sons sponsor race in dad's honour

PARENTS: Linton "Shorty" Cullen and wife Helen. PHOTO/Warren Buckland

Hastings trainer Grant Cullen and elder brother Brent are sponsoring a race for the first time tomorrow in memory of their father, the late Linton "Shorty" Cullen.

Grant and fellow co-trainer Guy Lowry have two horses, Chic and Broadwalk, in the 1600m, rating 75 Shorty Cullen Memorial Mile at 4.33pm tomorrow.

Shorty settled in Napier as a 4-year-old with his Scottish parents, William, a joiner, and Jean Cullen, of Dumbarton, and six other siblings.

The youngest, he became a an apprentice jockey to Yorkie Berry and had his first ride at12.

"He had a lot of winners in Hawke's Bay, Wairoa and Ruatoria," says Brent, 65, of Hastings, who also rode for five years but, like Grant, "was too big" for a professional stint.

"Grant rode in the country circuit in Australia where he had winners," he said of the 49-year-old who had his grounding from his father before heading to Victoria but returned in 1993 to become a trainer after honing his trade with Ken Newman, of Melbourne (Mornington) for four years.

With several grandchildren from Australia here in the Bay for the Christmas holidays, Brent and Grant thought it was an opportune time to sponsor a race in honour of their father.

"I was brought up with horses around my father," said Grant of Shorty, who also worked at the now defunct Tomoana Freezing Works.

Brent said Shorty was "world renowned" for refining the art of getting out of the "strand" because in those days they didn't have barriers.

"Dad got too heavy in the 1940s, before I was born, and became a trainer until the day he died in 2001 at the age of 81."

Brent, who started riding when he was 15, said their eldest sibling, Kevin Cullen, was the more accomplished jockey of the three brothers.

The 74-year-old, who cut his teeth in Hastings as an apprentice with Davy Jones, eventually moved to Te Awamutu and now lives in Te Aroha where he trains after a Brisbane Cup success.

Grant trained Miss Bailey to Wellington Cup victory in 1992 "just before dad died and she paid $142 as second-ranked outsider", said Brent.