Brian Anderton is a name synonymous with every aspect of the thoroughbred industry - including jumps racing, where he has excelled not only as a trainer, but also an owner, breeder and jockey.
Prior to establishing the renowned White Robe Lodge in Otago, Anderton commenced his career in racing as a jockey at just 13 years of age, riding in his first jumping race at 15. He travelled across the country riding over the fences, and closer to home, won two editions of the Otago Steeplechase aboard his father Hector Anderton’s horses through the 1950s.
“I had my first ride in a hurdle race when I was 15 and my first steeplechase ride when I was 17,” Anderton said. “My father was a very keen jumping man and schooling them was part and process of it all.
“I won the Centennial (Otago) Steeplechase here at Wingatui on a horse called The Tongs and that was a sought-after race in those days, and I went on to ride that horse in a Wellington Steeplechase.
“I rode my 100th winner as a jockey in a hurdle race at Wyndham on a horse called Golden Morn.”
While talented in the saddle, Anderton later turned his focus to training and continued to succeed in the jumping game, with the likes of Lord Venture, Narousa, and Bymai, and more recently, High Forty and Jackfrost bringing a multitude of success for the stable.
Anderton reflected fondly on his eight victories in the Grand National (Hurdle and Steeplechase), with each success having its own backstory, including when his son Shane joined him in partnership in 1993.
“I’ve won eight Grand National Hurdles and Steeples as a trainer, and my son Shane (Anderton) also won a National Hurdles and Steeples riding Narousa and Lord Venture,” Anderton said. “Those were great days.
“Bymai won two Nationals, Lord Venture won two Nationals and Narousa won a Hurdle - he was a very good horse who won a St Leger on the flat. Jackfrost was a pretty special little horse. When I first got him, I thought someone had already jumped him because he did it so naturally. I’ve still got him in retirement here (at White Robe Lodge).
“Debbie Henderson was the first female rider to win the National on Noble Express, that was a great moment. She was apprenticed to us, and she was a game rider.”
Their treasured grey Jackfrost went on to defeat the northerners on their own turf when doing the National-Northern Hurdle double in 2018, but the Great Northern Steeplechase was a race that eluded the Wingatui horseman, at least as a trainer.
“Rock Crystal, who I owned a part of, was trained by my brother Hec (Anderton), and he beat my horse Lord Venture by a head in the Great Northern Steeplechase,” he said. “Lord Venture was ridden by Neill Ridley, who did a lot of riding for me over fences and was a very good rider, and Rock Crystal was ridden by Snooky Cowan.
“The Waikato Steeplechase was a great race, and Hawke’s Bay had some good fences there as well, I won the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase with Gold Jet. I couldn’t win a Wellington Steeplechase and Hurdles, but we got a few placings.
“I had another horse that won the Prime Minister Hurdles at Auckland called One Chance, he was a marvellous leaper that horse. He would take off a mile back and you’d think, ‘is he too far back?’, but he’d always get over.
“The National was a good race to me, and of course the Great Western at Riverton, I trained quite a few winners of that. It was a race you had to get horses ready for early because it was the first jumping race and you had to have them pretty forward.”
Anderton’s success was the result of proven, practiced methods behind the scenes, with many months of schooling and preparation from capable riders coming to fruition on the track.
“I was lucky, I always had a good jumps rider which is essential,” he said.
“We schooled our horses a lot, they jumped a lot, but once they were ready to race, they wouldn’t jump much at all. If we were going to race them next season, we would be schooling and getting them ready this year and possibly give them a race at the tail end of the season, which meant that they were made.
“It doesn’t matter if the horse is big or small, they’ve just got to be balanced and want to do it. Although, some of the hardest ones to get going were my best jumpers, they don’t all take to it straight away. It’s a matter of perseverance and confidence, and having a good rider makes a hell of a difference.
“You start off slow and gradually increase their speed as they go, but the big fundamental is taking off and landing, they’ve got to measure their fences right. There’s no use going into a fence at 100 miles an hour, closing your eyes and hoping for the best. As they get more confident, the jockey can ask for a bit extra.
“I always found that sprint horses made good hurdlers, they couldn’t get the distance on the flat but when they’ve got the jumps in front of them, they got it. But, in those days, we did have mile-and-a-half hurdle races and they went along pretty lickety split.”
Aside from the Grand National Festival of Racing at Riccarton in August, jumping races were removed from the South Island a couple of years ago, and with that went the Andertons’ presence in the sport. While disappointed to see it go in his region, Anderton had been struggling to operate in his normal fashion with only one jumps rider, Stewart Moir, working for him in the end.
“The last few times I ran jumpers I cringed a bit because I used to have a great schooling system sending four or five out, but in the end, I only had Stu Moir and the horses were virtually jumping on their own,” he said. “Because of that, although I was sad, I was a bit relieved to see it go in the finish because I wasn’t able to train my jumpers the way I thought they should be trained.
“It’s great when you’ve had a fella school a horse for you and they have confidence in it, to get on at the races. All the good ones have often got a ride, that made it very difficult for us in the finish.
“I still love watching the jumps races, I watched over the weekend (Te Rapa) and you’ve got to give it to Paul Nelson, that horse of his (Nedwin) jumped marvellously. Mark Oulaghan and Kevin Myers also, they are very astute horseman with both jumpers and flat horses, they are dedicated and do a great job.
“I hope it all carries on well, and I think with those three who are renowned and know the game, they are the backbone of it. It is good to see more trainers coming through as well.”
While the Anderton name may not be in the racebook, White Robe Lodge continues to be, with a particular presence in Australia with the likes of homebreds Ablaze, Riding High and Flying Agent by resident sire Raise The Flag.
“Ablaze won nearly a million dollars over there, quite a few of them ended up with Ciaron Maher and did well,” Anderton said.
“I had a lot of luck selling horses in New Zealand to Ken and Ann Browne, they were great friends of mine. They bought a lot of Trelay horses and did well with them, they are very astute people.
“When their horses went to the races, you know they could jump. The old master, Ken, he would ride them himself, he never had to worry about anyone else riding. He was a great man and a very sad loss.”
Many look at Anderton’s career as an aspiration, but he maintains there was a standard set in the jumping ranks that all participants should look to emulate.
“The doyen of them all were Bill Hazlett and Bill Hillis, they had some fantastic horses that had a future on the flat, but they weren’t frightened to line them up and jump them,” he said.
“Bill (Hillis) schooled them all and rode them too, he was a man who got up there and did it. He was a great mate and a great person.”