Hall Mark was a versatile chestnut

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

. He performed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, trained by

Australian Racing Hall of Fame The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000. The numbers in brackets afte ...

trainer Jack Holt. He raced from a two-year-old to a five-year-old, recording 18 wins from 6 furlongs to 2 miles. Ridden mostly by champion jockeys Bill Duncan and Frank Dempsey. Hall Mark was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.

Breeding

Hall Mark was bred by his owner Charles Kellow at Tarwyn Park stud Rylstone, New South Wales by

Heroic Heroic may mean: *characteristic of a hero *typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse *belonging to the Greek Heroic Age *Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization *Heroic (horse) Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...

(AUS) a leading sire and classic winner of major races in

was purchased for 16,000 guineas. Dam Herowinkie (AUS) a failure on the racetrack was purchased for 800 guineas by Charles Kellow. Breeder, Charles Brown Kellow born in

Sutton Grange, Victoria Sutton Grange is a small country town located approximately south of Bendigo in Victoria, Australia. It has a very small population of approximately 150 people, most of which consist of old sheep farming families. In the 1930s Sutton Grange was ...

in 1871 originally exploited the bicycle boom of the 1890s as a racing cyclist and salesman and in 1910 began importing a range of expensive motor cars under Kellow Motor Co. In his forties then diversified into sheep grazing and horse racing ownership notables being

, Hall Mark and Nuffield 1938

AJC Derby AJC may refer to: * Agreement on Journey Continuation, an agreement between European rail operators to allow passengers in case of a missed connection * Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C), an architectural practice * American Jewish Committee, an advocacy g ...

& VRC Derby winner.

Racing career

Hall Mark raced between 1932 and 1935 over four seasons and is best known for winning the 1933 Melbourne Cup a dual classic winner of the 1933

& VRC Derby in the same year with success in signature W.F.A and Handicap races in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, wins in the 1934 VATC

Caulfield Stakes The Might and Power, registered as the Caulfield Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race run under weight-for-age conditions, for three-year-olds and upwards, run over a distance of 2,000 metres at Caulfield R ...

defeating

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and the 1935 VRC Kings Plate defeating

Rogilla Rogilla was a chestnut Australian thoroughbred gelding, who was a versatile racehorse performing in Australia. Known as the ''Coalfields Champion'' from Newcastle, Rogilla raced during a vintage era of the Australian turf. He won in each of the ...

confirming his ability in a vintage era. In recognition of past success each year the Hall Mark Stakes is run at

Randwick Racecourse Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney ra ...

. Standing at stud his best horse was Hall Stand 1942

AJC Sires Produce Stakes The Inglis Sires', registered as the Sires Produce Stakes, is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds at Set Weights run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in April dur ...

, 1942 Hobartville Stakes and 1942 Rosehill Guineas. On his owner Kellow's death in 1944, Hall Mark was sold to Burnside Stud in Ingham, Queensland. For the next nine years, he was predominantly used to sire working horses. In this capacity he had an enduring influence as a progenitor of the emerging specialist breed, the

Australian Stock Horse The Australian Stock Horse (or Stockhorse), has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for endurance, agility, and good temperament. Its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Aus ...

. Hall Mark died in 1953 aged 23. Hall Mark's racing colours: Gold, green sleeves and cap. Hall Mark's racing record: 52 starts for 18 wins, 16 seconds, 9 thirds and 9 unplaced runs.

1933 racebook

File: 1933 VRC Derby Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1933 VRC Derby racebook. File: 1933 VRC Derby Racebook P22.jpg, Starters and jockeys showing the winner, Hall Mark. File: 1933 VRC Derby Racebook P3.jpg, Back cover showing train timetables.

References

{{reflist Sport horse sires Australian racehorses 1930 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Australia Racehorses trained in Australia Thoroughbred family 2-e Melbourne Cup winners Victoria Derby winners Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses