Michael "Jack" Holt (14 November 1879 – 10 June 1951) was an Australian horse trainer and philanthropist. Popularly known as the "Wizard of

Mordialloc Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . ...

", Holt headed the Victorian trainers' premiership at least twelve times.

History

Holt was born in Berwick, Victoria, a younger son of Michael Holt ( – 5 April 1910) and his wife Mary Holt, née Corkery (c. 1843 – 13 June 1913). He may have been christened "Michael" but called himself "Jackson", invariably shortened to "Jack". He lived with his two spinster sisters in the suburb of Mordialloc. He first trained horses at

Berwick, Victoria Berwick () is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Casey local government area. Berwick recorded a population of 50,298 at the 2021 census. It was named ...

, and won his first race, the 1911 Standish Handicap, with his own mare, Carette. Some of his more notable wins were: *VRC

Ascot Vale Stakes The Coolmore Stud Stakes, registered as the Ascot Vale Stakes, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, at set weights, run over 1200 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Victoria Derby Day ...

: Heroic (1924) * AJC Breeders Plate: Heroic (1923) Eurythmic 1921 AJC Sydney Cup Randwick Racecourse Trainer Jack Holt

*AJC Derby, later

Australian Derby Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

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 ...

(1924);

Hall Mark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can als ...

(1933); Nuffield (1938); Reading (1939) *Australian Steeple: Kinlark (1920) for J. M. Niall * Bagot Handicap: Picatus (1934) *

Bill Stutt Stakes The Bill Stutt Stakes is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old, under open set weight conditions, over a distance of 1600 metres, held annually at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Austra ...

: Chanak (1947) *

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

3 times:

Eurythmic Eurythmic (1916–1925) was a versatile Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who had the ability to produce a brilliant finishing run in staying races and he also won important sprint races, too. At four he won 12 of his 13 starts including the ...

(1920) for E. Lee Steere; Maple (1928); High Syce (1929) for Mrs. L. R. Buxton *

Caulfield Guineas The Caulfield Guineas is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held over 1600 metres (1 mile) at set weights for three-year-old horses at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. Total prize money is A$3 million. The race ...

: Trice (1917); Heroic (1924); Young Idea (1935); Nuffield (1938) *

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 ...

7 times: Eurythmic (1920, 1921 and 1922); Heroic (1925); Royal Charter (1927); High Syce (1929); Hall Mark (1934) *AJC Champagne Stakes: Heroic (1924); Hall Mark (1933); Young Idea (1935) * Chatsworth Plate: Noorilim (1919) *

Chelmsford Stakes The Chelmsford Stakes is a Tattersalls Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race run over 1600 metres at Weight for Age at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, Australia in September. Prize money is A$250,000. History The race was first run in 1895. ...

: Heroic (1924) * W. S. Cox Plate 6 times: Easingwold (1923); Heroic (1926); Hall Mark (1935); Young Idea (1936 and 1937); Chanak (1947) * Futurity Stakes: Eurythmic (1922) *

Herbert Power Stakes The Herbert Power Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race held under quality handicap conditions, for horses aged three years old and older, over a distance of 2400 metres. It is held at Caulfield Racecourse in Melb ...

: Tangalooma (1920); Eurythmic (1921); Easingwold (1923); Second Wind (1930) *King's Cup (Hobart): Second Wind (1932) for E. Lee Steere *VRC

Maribyrnong Plate The Maribyrnong Plate is a Victoria Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds, at set weights, over a distance of 1000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on the Oaks day of the VRC Spring Carnival in Novemb ...

: Heroic (1923); Nuffield (1937) *

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

: Hall Mark (1933) *

Memsie Stakes The Memsie Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under weight for age conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1400 metres. It is held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australi ...

11 times: Eurythmic (1920, 1921 and 1922); Englefield (1924); Heroic (1925 and 1926); Royal Charter (1927); Highland (1929); High Brae (1932); Hall Mark (1935); Noble Prince (1946) *

Moonee Valley Cup The Moonee Valley Gold Cup is a registered Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and upwards under Set Weights with penalties conditions, over a distance of 2,500 metres, held annually at Moone ...

: Telecles (1919); Royal Charter (1926) *

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carnival. Prize ...

: Blue Cross (1921); Heroic (1926); Mildura (1940) NUFFIELD 1938 AJC SIRES PRODUCE STAKES HAROLD BADGER

* ATC Sires' Produce Stakes Thrice (1917); Nuffield (1938) Chanak (1947) * St Kilda Handicap: Second Wind (1930) * Standish Handicap 8 times: Carette (1911); Blue Cross (1920 and 1921); Trice (1926) for Lady Stradbroke; Manrico (1939 and 1941) *

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...

: Eurythmic (1921); Lilypond (1925) * Tullamarine Handicap: Second Wind (1929) *V.R.C. Handicap: Second Wind (1929) *

Victoria Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbour ...

: Hall Mark (1933); Nuffield (1938) *

Underwood Stakes The Underwood Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race, run over 1800 metres under weight-for-age conditions, held at Caulfield Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late September each year. Total prize money for the ra ...

7 times: Heroic (1926); Royal Charter (1927); Highland (1928 and 1929); Hall Mark (1933 and 1934) * William Reid Stakes: Heroic (1927); Chanak (1948) * Williamstown Cup: Tangalooma (1921); Second Wind (1930 and 1931) Other horses he trained were: Avenger, Beau Fils, David, El Ray, Gallantic, Hyperion, Idea, King Pan, Man at Arms, Metellus, Radiant Lady, Royal Joker, Sailing Home, Sir Ibex, Smoke Bomb, Studio and Victorian King. His jockeys included

Frank Dempsey James Franklin Dempsey (May 27, 1925 – June 1, 2013) was an American college and professional football player who was a linebacker and lineman in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL) for six seasons in the ...

, Theo Lewis and W. Duncan. Holt was a devoted Catholic. When he died he was accorded a

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

at his local church, St. Brigid's, Mordialloc, to which he had been a faithful and generous adherent. His remains were interred in the Berwick Cemetery.

Recognition

Holt was inducted into the

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 ...

in 2001.

Benefactions

Holt's estate was valued at something over £100,000, and most it was willed to charitable institutions: *Establishment at

St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne St Vincent's Hospital is a major hospital in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. It is operated by the St Vincent's Health service, previously known as the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne. It is situated at the corner of Nicholson Stree ...

, of a Medical Science Research Institute. *St. Brigid's School received £1000 to continue funding the prizes at their annual picnic, a tradition begun by Holt many years before. *A considerable sum was left in the care of his sister Madge Holt to be left on her death to be distributed to each of: Royal Melbourne Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, Alfred Hospital. Prince Henry Hospital, Children's Hospital, St. Joseph's Foundling Hospital, Little Sisters of the Poor, St. Anthony's Home, Caritas Christl Hospice for the Dying, Nazareth House, and Mercy Public Maternity Hospital. Holt had also made generous donations to these charities during his lifetime, as well as lending his name and influence to the running of fund-raising carnivals and annual billiard displays by

Walter Lindrum Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE (29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australian professional player of English billiards who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his retirement in 1950 ...

In popular culture

"Jack Holt" has been used in Australian rhyming slang as a synonym for "salt".

Family

Michael Holt ( – 5 April 1910) was married to Mary Holt ( – 13 June 1913), who was born in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

. *Margaret Mary "Madge" "Maggie" Holt ( – 14 May 1952) significant bequest to charities. *William "Willie" Holt ( – ) *Jackson "Jack" Holt (c. 1880 – 10 June 1951) never married and lived at "Lethe", 8 Francis Street,

Mordialloc, Victoria Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . H ...

with his two sisters. *Catherine "Kitty" Holt ( – 19 April 1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Jack 1879 births 1951 deaths Australian racehorse trainers Australian philanthropists Australian Roman Catholics 20th-century philanthropists People from Mordialloc, Victoria