Australian Racing Hall Of Fame inductees

Eleven racing identities will be formally inducted to the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame on Friday.

HORSES

ARCHER: Won the first two Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 62 and still shares the greatest winning margin of eight lengths with 1968 winner Rain Lover.

LIGHT FINGERS: Won the VRC and AJC Oaks and the 1965 Melbourne Cup with a then weight-carrying record for a mare, giving Bart Cummings the first of his 12 Cups.

SAINTLY: Bart Cummings described Saintly his favourite horse. After winning the Australian Cup as a three-year-old in 1996, Saintly returned later that year to win the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup.

WINX: Started her career in June 2014 with a win over 1100m at Warwick Farm. Began a run of 17 straight wins at the Sunshine Coast in May 2015 which now includes two Cox Plates among 12 Group One wins in the sequence.

JOCKEYS

TOMMY CORRIGAN: Regarded as one of Australia’s greatest jumps jockeys, winning seven Grand Nationals. His skill and courage as a jockey were legendary and when he died after a race fall in 1894, a cortege of 250 vehicles attended his funeral.

JOHN MILLER: Rode over 2200 winners with his most memorable successes coming in the 1966-67 season when he won Melbourne, Caulfield and Sydney Cups on Galilee. In 1970 he resettled in Perth winning every major race including the WATC Australian Derby six times.

TRAINERS

BRIAN COURTNEY: Won three successive Victorian trainers’ premierships in the 1960s. Horses he trained included Dhaulagiri, New Statesman, Coppelius and Better Lad. Among his feature wins were two Victoria Derbys, a Cox Plate, Caulfield Guineas and Brisbane Cup.

DES JUDD: Had a career spanning four decades winning the Victorian trainers’ premiership three times during the 1950s and 60s. Feature race wins included the VRC Derby and Oaks, Newmarket Handicap and Oakleigh Plate. He was just as prolific with jumpers preparing Crisp before he ran second in the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree.

ASSOCIATES

EDWARD SPENCER ‘ALAN’ BELL: After a short career as both a jockey and trainer he was appointed a steward with the Northern District Racing Association of Victoria before joining the VRC in 1931, becoming chairman of stewards in 1945 until his death in 1955.

LLOYD WILLIAMS: One of the most successful owners in modern racing who also served on the VRC committee. Has owned five Melbourne Cup winners, Just A Dash, What A Nuisance, Efficient, Green Moon and Almandin.

Some of his other wins include the Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane Cups, Golden Slipper and both VRC and AJC Derbys.

LEE-STEERE FAMILY: Prominent in Australian racing for more than a century. Augustus Frederick Lee-Steere was the third chairman of the WATC from 1868-70. His son Sir Ernest Lee-Steere (sr) held the position for 21 years as did his grandson, Sir Ernest Lee-Steere (jr). The Lee-Steere family have been great supporters of the WA racing and breeding industry.