Maynard made life member

Bruce Stewart Journalist

Southand Harness Racing identity Colin Maynard was made a life member of the Winton HRC at the Club’s meeting on the 27th February.

Maynard was involved in the sport from an early age and as a twenty two year old he bred his first horse, False Queen. She ran third on debut in the Southern Stakes and had three more races in the pacing gait before she was converted to a trotter.

False Queen won for Maynard and trainer Alex Townley in that gait at Winton in December 1962 and she was subsequently sold to clients of Peter Gallaghers for whom she won another two races. 

Colin spent a good part of his life working as an auctioneer for JG Wards which merged into National Mortgage.

“In 1972 Peter Smellie who worked for Wrightsons and I formed our own company and it was very successful.”

The partners sold the company in 1981 with Colin becoming a Real Estate Agent. But unfortunately at that point he developed sight issues.

“In the finish I couldn’t even see the property I was selling. One of my sons (Mark) came out one day to help. I told him the far away boundary was the hedge line on the right hand side. Mark said to me, ‘hang on Dad, it’s moving.’ It was a mob of cattle.”

Colin Maynard flanked by his two sons Mike (left) and Peter (right) (Bruce Stewart Photo)

As an auctioneer Colin sold horses throughout the country, including at the National Sales. 

“I worked with Peter Kelly fifty or sixty years ago. After the sales Sir Roy McKenzie told me he was having a private sale and asked me to be the auctioneer. I went out to Roydon Lodge and sold top yearlings for $5,000. We both said that that price would never be beaten but when you go to the sales now you can’t even start the bidding at $5,000,” he said.

Colin was also behind the setting up of the Southland Standardbred Number One Syndicate which raced horses bred by Grant Sim.

“Twenty of us put in a thousand dollars each and bought five yearlings. We got Allan Beck to train them. All of them were winners.”

The best of the five yearlings was Widows Way which won three of her eighteen starts. 

Maynard said he didn’t join the Southland Standardbred Number Two Syndicate because the horse the syndicate were going to be racing was a trotter.

“That trotter turned out to be Diamond Field (laughter).”

Colin also successfully raced gallopers including Secret Power, Ice Pack and Cockatoo.

“Peter Smellie and I were given a horse to sell and Peter said ‘I think we should buy it.’ We bought Ice Pack.”

Colin who spent more than sixty years serving on the Winton committee and a term as President, has many memories of the Winton course and was instrumental in getting Haughty Romeo to time trial over a mile.

“He was turned out and I rang Maurice Skinner and told him the track was much better than he thought. So he came in and with an American speed cart, established the record.” 

Over the sixty years he’s been involved in the sport Maynard says he’s met a lot of fine people.

“You could go to the races in the early days, leave the binoculars on the roof of the car, leave the boot up with plenty of grog and tucker in it and no one pinched anything.”