Caduceus was a New Zealand bred

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

racehorse. Caduceus is notable for winning the 1960

Inter Dominion Trotting Championship :''for winners of the pacing event see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship'' The Inter Dominion Trotting Championship Grand Final was a race for trotters within the overall Inter Dominion series. The series is held each year, and is a harness raci ...

, trotting's premiership event in Australia and New Zealand, from a handicap of 36 yards, in front of a world record crowd. Prior to this in New Zealand, he had won major events including the

New Zealand Free For All The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand. History of the race Horses which have won the ...

sprint race on three occasions plus the

Auckland Pacing Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park, Auckland, Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major h ...

. In 1960, he went to the United States, the first to prove he could match the very top US horses. He ended up winning more than £100,000, with gallopers

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and

Sailor's Guide Sailor's Guide was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse that was conceived in England and foaled in Australia. He is notable in that he won races in the United States, Canada, and a number of principal Australian races, and was a high stakes ea ...

as the only horses bred in Australia or New Zealand to have achieved this distinction at that time.Horses to exceed the £100,000 mark
/ref> He was an inaugural inductee into the

New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame The New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame is an organization created to recognise and honour those whose achievements have enriched the New Zealand Harness racing industry. History In 1969, Noel Taylor, who was President of the Auckland Trotting ...

with the immortals

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Harold Logan Harold Logan was a New Zealand bred Standardbred pacer that won two New Zealand Trotting Cups. He was a leading performer in 1931 and 1932. In 1932, he won the New Zealand Trotting Cup with a handicap of 60 yards. Pedigree Harold Logan was b ...

Highland Fling The Highland Fling is a Solo dance, solo Scottish highland dance, Highland dance that gained popularity in the early 19th century. The word 'Fling' means literally a movement in dancing. In John Jamieson's 1808 ''Etymological Dictionary of the Sc ...

Johnny Globe Johnny Globe was an outstanding New Zealand bred Standardbred pacer that held four world records. He is notable in that he won the New Zealand Trotting Cup. Johnny Globe is also notable in winning 15 free for all pacing events, which at the time ...

and Ordeal.

1960 Inter Dominion

The most notable race took place on 13 February 1960 at

Harold Park Paceway Harold Park Paceway was a harness racing track in Forest Lodge, New South Wales, in use from 1890 to 2010. It was a half-mile track (804.5 metres) but was just 739 metres in circumference until some changes in its later years. Races at the tra ...

, Sydney, when the "mighty atom" Caduceus from New Zealand defeated Australia's Apmat in the final of the

Inter Dominion :''for winners of the Inter Dominion see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. It is ...

before a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

crowd of 50,346. Caduceus and Apmat had been singled out as the best two chances in a star-studded final field, and throughout the heat series, it could be seen that the rivalry which existed between these two great horses had been carried on to their drivers Jack Litten of New Zealand on Caduceus, and the local champion, Bert Alley on Apmat. People crammed every vantage point to watch the race. They were jammed on every square inch of the inside greyhound circuit and packed into what is now the centre-course carpark. Those who were unable to see in the grandstand tore down timber and three ply partitions in the main grandstand. At finish, Caduceus passed the post half a length clear of Apmat, with the Victorian Maestro's Melody a neck away third and Fettle a close fourth. Caduceus received one of the most deafening ovations ever heard on a racetrack, but whilst the cheers were still sounding, the news was announced that a protest was lodged by Bert Alley against Caduceus being declared the winner. This produced a most unfavourable reaction from the crowd, strange in the circumstances for they had turned against their own local horse. The Stewards, however, dismissed the protest and Caduceus was the winner of one of the most exciting sporting events ever held in Sydney.

United States

In 1960, aged nine, Caduceus went to the United States to compete in the annual

Yonkers Raceway Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New Y ...

International Series. Caduceus showed he was just as good as the top American horses, even winning the last race of the series, only to be disqualified. He was then leased to American interests, and at 10 years was still winning races. He won 82 races before he was returned to New Zealand and sired 18 winners before his early death after only two seasons at stud.Agnew, Max, "Silks & Sulkies – The Complete Book of Australian and New Zealand Harness Racing", Doubleday, Sydney, 1986,

Major races

* 1960

Inter Dominion Pacing Championship :''for winners of the trotting event see: Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western ...

* 1959

* 1958

* 1956

* 1954

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caduceus (Horse) Auckland Pacing Cup winners Inter Dominion winners New Zealand standardbred racehorses New Zealand Trotting Hall of Fame horses Harness racing in the United States Harness racing in Canada 1950 racehorse births Inter Dominion Trotting winners

1960 Inter Dominion

United States

Major races

See also

References