Lester Smith - law and a life in harness racing

Bruce Stewart Contributor

Prominent Southland horse breeder and owner Lester Smith died on Monday after a battle with cancer. He was 71.

Last month I spoke to Lester about his life in racing.

For all of his adult life the retired Southland lawyer had had a keen interest in harness racing and he certainly had his share of success.

As an owner he won two Southern Supremacy Stakes, bred from a mare that produced the winners of fifty six races, won a New Zealand Kindergarten Stakes and an El Dorado Gold Classic.

He also sold three high profile pacers - Atitagain, Duke Of Wellington and Duke Of Cornwall with the latter selling for a reported $500,000.

A born and bred Southlander, Smith was educated at Southland Boys High School where he played first eleven soccer. He was also a very good age group tennis player winning the New Zealand Under 15 championship on the grass in Blenheim.

“I kept playing tennis right up until University and then found other things to do (laughter),” Smith said.

His love of tennis never waned and he attended the Australian Open in Melbourne for the past twenty years.

“The oldest pub in Melbourne is called The Duke Of Wellington and that’s how the horse got his name. I’ve got a photo of me standing outside it next to the plaque on the wall. It was compulsory to go there every time I went.”

 Lester outside the Duke of Wellington pub in Melbourne

It was while he was attending Otago University that Smith experienced the fun of harness racing for the first time.

“I was interested and started to go to Forbury Park at the end of University.”

Once he graduated he returned to Invercargill, taking a position at law firm Scholefield and Skipworth.

“I worked for them for a couple of years and then I was poached by Cruickshank Pryde.”

His career with Cruickshank Pryde commenced in 1979 when he was twenty six. A year later he was made a partner and he practiced law with the company for forty four years.

Lester Smith Lawyer Supplied

“The last fifteen years I commuted between Cromwell and Invercargill, staying with my mother during the week.”

The first horse Smith owned was Hal Cherie (Holy Hal).

“I bought him off Robert Cameron for five grand. He was out of a Tuft mare, but he paced.”

Hal Cherie was trained by Lin Thomas and won for Smith at Invercargill in January 1981, beating Cedar Chance by a nose.

More pacers were purchased and entrusted to Winton trainer Alan Scobie. They included Championship (Mark Lobell) which won twice and Hit The Tape (Saigon-Roue) the winner of five.

“I bought him off Jimmy Newton. He had two for sale. One out of Roue and the other was out of La Roue. I had the choice and I picked Hit The Tape, and it was by far the better one.”

He also raced Koau Major (Valerian) out of the Scobie barn in the early days.

“We kept him in work during the winter and when he came back in the spring he won three in a row.” All three wins were at Invercargill in September 1987.

After having a good run with moderate horses things were about to ramp up.

“I bought a couple of horses off Sam Ballantyne - First Glimpse and Calypso Bay. Both were by Preux Chevalier.”

First Glimpse was initially trained by Ballantyne and then Peter Jones trained him for a handful of starts. He began racing for his new trainer Wayne Adams in the spring of 1990 and won first up at Invercargill by two and a half lengths. He won two more races at Ascot Park before taking on stakes company at Addington in the Sires Stakes Final, finishing fourth. He came in 8^th in the G3 Cockram Nissan Three Year Old Stakes.

After further wins at Gore and Invercargill, in March 1991 First Glimpse was taken to Australia to race in the $271,000 El Dorado Gold Classic at Moonee Valley. He finished last in the second prelude but won his repechage.

“He broke a carrier strap in the first heat.”

After coming second in the semi-final he reappeared again that night and won the big prize.

Lester Smith with the El Dorado Gold Classic trophy and rug

First Glimpse returned home and from ten more starts won the Waikouaiti Cup.

Lester didn’t have to wait long before his next good pacer Atitagain (Bo Scots Blue Chip) came along.

“His dam Rain Girl and Atitagain were both for sale as a package for $20,000. I told them I only had ten and would just buy the colt. He went to Frank Cooney’s to be broken in but we couldn’t get him to pace. I thought bugger this, so he came south and he went to Wayne’s. Wayne got onto Mike Brown (vet). They got the horse reshod and he never looked back.”

Atitagain qualified at Wyndham in August 1996 before winning on debut at Ascot Park in the September.

He had ten more starts for Smith and Adams, winning three races including the Group Two Southern Supremacy Stakes before being sold to Australia.

“The Dominator Syndicate hounded me for about three months. I was sad to see him go and told them that this would be the best horse I’d ever owned but the money was too good at that stage.”

Atitagain went on to be a genuine grand circuit horse and won a further twenty two races including the Group One Australasian Pacing Championship. He earned $787,945. He also ran second to Yulestar in the 2001 Interdominion Pacing Championship Grand Final at Albion Park.

“I actually went over for that.”

Other good winners for Smith during that time were White Star Sam (Nero’s BB) 4, Weka Lass (Badlands Hanover) 6, Frugel Lord (Frugel Gourmet) 5 and Unsurpassed (Holmes Hanover) 1.

Unsurpassed raced just six times in New Zealand. His only win was in the 1996 Kindergarten Stakes in which he beat a full field of fourteen, winning by two and a half lengths in the hands of Simon Pavlovich. He was sold to Australia where he proved a bit of a warhorse. His lifetime stats were 280-47-38-33 $412,390.

Of all the horses he owned, Smith regarded Atitagain as the best.

In June 2010 Lester made a very good move in buying Galleons Honour (Christian Cullen) at a Kerry Hoggard dispersal sale in Auckland.

“I got Peter Lagan to do the bidding and got her knocked down for $25,000.”

The mare had won her first start for Northern trainer Gareth Dixon and had been placed on numerous occasions. Smith transported her south where she had three starts for Winton trainer Lauren Pearson before heading to the breeding barn.

Galleons Honour’s first foal Dazed And Confused qualified and headed to Australia where it raced under the name of Laszio and won nine races.

Following Dazed And Confused, Galleons Honour has left Venice Beach (Somebeachsomewhere) 11 wins, Duke Of Wellington (American Ideal) 8, Rise Above This (Bettor’s Delight) 9, 2 Broadbeach (Somebeachsomewhere) 4, Duke Of Cornwall (Sweet Lou) 14 and Duke Of Scotland (Sweet Lou) 1

The latest foal to qualify out of the mare is Duchess Of Kent (Art Major) which qualified for Pearson recently.

Duchess Of Kent (2) qualifying at Invercargill with Wild East Bruce Stewart Photo

Lester said, “She’s pretty bloody good. She’s not for sale this one, because she’s the last out of the breed. The mare died of laminitis about six of eight months ago.”

Duke Of Wellington which won five of his ten starts as a three year old including the 2018 Southern Supremacy Stakes was sold to Australian Merv Butterworth prior to his Supremacy win. He had the potential to win more before tragedy struck.

Duke Of Wellington winning the Southern Supremacy Stakes Bruce Stewart Photo

“He died after having a heart attack on the training track at Kerryn Mannings.”

Duke of Wellington after his win in the Southern Supremacy Stakes Bruce Stewart Photo

Duke Of Cornwall after winning four of his nine starts for Pearson (including a mile in 1-52.6 whilst sitting parked) was sold for a reported $500,000 to American owner Richard Poilluci.

Duke Of Cornwall winning at Wyndham -Monica Toretto Photo

In all, Galleons Honour has left eight foals all of which have qualified. The seven who’ve raced have won fifty six races between them. Not a bad investment for $25,000.

Over the years Lester attended many yearling sales.

In 2021 he bought La Romana, an Art Major colt out of Spanish Armada. The colt was initially passed in for $60,000 and Smith was able to secure him for $50,000.

The colt caught Smith’s attraction as his dam Spanish Armada is out of Galleons Supreme, a full sister to Galleons Honour.

After looking good at trials and workouts and having just one start, La Romana went in the wind.

“He was going so well that I went back to the sale and bid on the next one (by Captaintreacherous) and missed out,” which Lester reckons was a blessing. The colt was sold to an American buyer for $120,000.

Last year he bought an Always B Miki colt out of Bay Jet for $30,000. Named Wild East, the two year old is a half-brother to Wild West a half million dollar earner in Australia.

When I spoke to him for this interview Lester was focused on his enjoyment of the sport which gave him many thrills over the years. He certainly made a substantial contribution to harness racing in Southland.

Lester and Julia Smith after Duke Of Cornwall's win at Gore Bruce Stewart Photo

Our thoughts are with Lester's wife Julia, their children Matthew, Jana and Sam and the late Francesca, Zoe and Michael and Lester's five grandchildren.