Pukekohe’s Wednesday meeting marked the end of an era for Auckland Thoroughbred Racing, as Ross Coles, a treasured figure in the industry, retired after 60 years as Clerk of the Course.
Coles couldn’t have scripted his final day in the role, but despite a few theatrics, it was just another day at the office, and he didn’t have any last-minute reservations about retirement.
“You take it as it comes, yesterday had it all, with young Sam McNab having his first winner,” he said.
“I listen to George (Simon, commentator) very carefully when he says the winner, because we can’t judge it from where we sit. He said it was tight, but looking at the monitor, Muscovado has got up.
“So I said to Sam, you’ve won your first race, we trotted in and I told him where to salute, only to find out when we got to the stables that they’d called it the other way. And, after all that, it was turned over in the judicial room.
“I made my mind up about 12 months ago that I was retiring, so I didn’t have any drama with wanting to come back or anything of that nature.
“I got out of the saddle yesterday, gave the horse a pat, and said ‘thanks mate, that’s us’.”
Coles was just 14 years old when he put on the red coat for the first time, following in the footsteps of his father Ray Coles, who was Chief Clerk of the Course at Ellerslie for over three decades.
“I went to Avondale to fill in for someone that was sick in 1963, I was 14 at the time,” he said.
“My mother made me a red coat in three days because I was so small and no one had a coat that would fit me. I was tiny, and I’m still not very big now, but I thought, ‘I can ride a horse, I can do that’.
“My father had been clerk of the course at Ellerslie since 1953, so I suppose it was a natural progression that once I was strong enough to handle it that I would be available. I didn’t think about whether it was an honour or a possible career, I just filled in for the day and it grew from there.
“I became one of the three that clerked in those days, and in 1983 I took over as the boss at Ellerslie. I was already working Pukekohe and Avondale at the time.”
While fulfilling his role as clerk of the course, Coles’ presence was felt across New Zealand equestrian sport, firstly as a national show jumping representative in 1972, and later, Chef d’Equipe and team manager for various Olympic and World Championship teams.
Coles also tried his hand in raceday riding, which would offer an invaluable insight into how to best assist jockeys and horses in the clerking role.
“The two flat races as an amateur were terrifying, but the nine steeplechase rides I had were a lot of fun, I loved it,” he said. “In those days, there were a lot of point to point and picnic meetings, and I rode a lot in those.
“I worked for Baggy Hillis when I was about 14, thinking I may like to be a jockey, but other things beckoned.
“It gave me a huge understanding of what they are going through, where we can help, and where we can’t. You can’t script it, you just have to think about the safety of the jockey first, and the horse second.”
In his role at Ellerslie, Coles had a front-row seat to all of the unforgettable moments, from Great Northern Steeplechases to Derbys.
“There are a lot of memories there, in the steeplechasing, there was Hunterville, and then Deductable, who we actually taught to jump, so that was pretty special,” he said.
“Another was Lester Piggott coming out from England to ride, he rode four or five winners in the day. He was the James McDonald of 40 years ago, just a super talent.
“One year, an Irishman called Paddy Lynch came to New Zealand, he was training and put a horse in the Derby. He sent a photo back to Ireland of ‘Patrick Lynch riding past the post first in the New Zealand Derby’. He didn’t tell a lie, he did go past the post first, it was just on the first lap and then the horse ran last.
“It was very funny. There were many one-off things that happened, that you probably won’t see again.”
In more recent times, the introduction of Karaka Millions Night, and this year’s inaugural Champions Day, provided a difference perspective on the sport.
“It’s what racing’s about now, special days bringing all the people,” Coles said. “On the other days, we are just going through the motions, but having Karaka Millions, and now Champions Day, brings the younger generation back to the races.
“On the grey horse, you see it all, the good, the bad and the ugly, but when they come, they’re excited to be there.
“They may not know much about a racehorse, but they’re dressed up, enjoying the day and possibly having a bet.”
Racing may have evolved over the past six decades, but there was always a constant for Coles, a grey horse clerking at Ellerslie, a tradition introduced by his father.
“In my father’s days as an assistant, the clerk of the course would supply the horses, which were black, brown, chestnut, anything – as long as they did the job,” he said.
“In those days, the Auckland Star and the Auckland Herald would put a coloured photo of the clerk of the course bringing the winner back to scale in the paper, and my father decided the greys looked the best, and that’s how it’s continued to be.”
A countless number of grey horses have assisted Coles in his duties on raceday, but the most popular of them all, ‘Mister Grey’, also retired after 14 years of service on Wednesday.
Racing under the same name, Mister Grey won two races in the care of Palmerston North trainer Kevin Gray, before the son of Pins was offered to Coles.
“After he retired, the Grays rang the racing club and asked if I’d want him to clerk on at Ellerslie,” he said. “I knew their stable foreman and his wife really well, and he said Mister Grey would ‘suit me down to the ground’.
“He raced in July, arrived in early August, and was clerking at Ellerslie on Melbourne Cup Day.
“He’s smart, he thinks he’s king of the roost, which makes him better and a bit more showy. He doesn’t like getting beaten, which makes him strong at times, and he will push another horse around if he has too.
“He fitted the bill and he’s got better with it, as he’s gotten older. You’ve got to be up and running before the horse gets to you, so when you do get it, you’re going about the same pace. If I catch a horse, once I grab it, I can let the reins go on him, tell him to pull up and he’ll slowly stop.
“He watches the horses, you can feel him looking back and waiting for the loose horse. They need the right attitude, and he’s got that.”
Coles is taking a deserved weekend away following his retirement, but he doesn’t plan to stay away from Ellerslie for long.
“I won’t be missing, if it’s raining or something similar I won’t be going, but I’ll still go for all the big days,” he said.
“I enjoy the racing, and for 60 years, I’ve had the best seat in the racecourse.”