(Photo courtesy of Bruce and Liz Robertson)
“DEATH OF FAMOUS RACING MAN
The death occurred in Melbourne during the week of Mr. Andrew Robertson, brother of the famous Melbourne trainer, Lou Robertson. Mr. Robertson, who was 78 years old, had a colourful career in racing, not only in Australia, but also in America, England, France and other countries. An acknowledged judge of breeding he was responsible for scores of racehorses, sires and breeding mares being imported to Australia.” The Chronicle, 18 March 1948, page 39
Born in Spring Grove, near Brightwater, just south of Nelson, New Zealand in 1869, Andrew Robertson and younger brother, trainer Lou, grew up in the same town as Nobel Prize winning physicist Sir Ernest Rutherford, a close family friend.* Most settlers in the Waimea Valley at this time either made the perilous four to six month journey from Great Britain or were the first generation children of those who had. His father, James, a blacksmith, ventured from Fife, Scotland in 1860. James was an immensely strong individual, able to throw a 22lb (or nearly 10 kilo) stone 26 feet (8 metres) at their local Caledonian Games.** Blacksmithing skills passed down by their father provided a sound basis for Andrew and Lou understanding horses, literally from the ground up. The brothers’ entry into racing was not as trainer and bloodstock authority but farriers.
** Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 6, 19 January 1870
Recognising his younger brother’s brilliance, Andrew Robertson made it his life’s mission to support Lou and the owners he trained for. While Lou Robertson is better known today as an Australian Hall of Fame trainer, at the turn of the 20th century, he was viewed as one of New Zealand’s great trotting drivers. He began managing Brooklyn Lodge at Brighton, near Christchurch in 1902, for a New Zealand founding father of trotting, cordial manufacturer Henry Mace. Unfortunately, Mace passed away six months into Lou’s appointment and Brooklyn Lodge was forced into a dispersal sale. Lou brought in his brother to catalogue bloodlines for the upcoming sale in October 1902. At the auction, the Robertson brothers were approached by Allen and George Tye, Canadian born furniture manufacturers, and retailers with a chain of successful stores around Melbourne. Even though Victorian harness racing at this time could be best described as a chaotic mess, the Tye brothers harboured dreams of racing and importing standardbreds and developing a magnificent stud in Mentone, such as Brooklyn Lodge. With Lou driving, training, and managing their farm, Andrew was sent to America to research bloodlines and import quality stock to build their stud farm.
Andrew Robertson visited some of racing’s most famous stud farms including Leland Stanford’s Palo Alto Stock Farm, Robert Alexander’s Woodburn, James E. Madden’s Hamburg Place Stud and August Belmont II’s Nursery Stud. He revealed himself to be a skilled negotiator. He developed into an invaluable bloodstock authority for the Tyes and his brother, Robertson also assisted many other breeders in Australia and New Zealand in their stock selection. Beyond his importing of horses, organising auctions and developing sophisticated breeding programs to improve standardbred bloodlines in Australia and New Zealand, he wrote newspaper articles and bloodline catalogues for the racing industry. When Allendale Stock Farm transferred their attention to thoroughbreds, he developed into an exceptional thoroughbred authority advising breeders running stud farms throughout the United Kingdom, America, India and Australasia. Looking behind Lou Robertson’s incredibly successful training record stands the long shadow of Andrew responsible for importing or breeding almost every major standardbred and thoroughbred winner his brother trained or drove.
Up until 1936, almost all the bloodstock and breeding choices at Sol Green’s stud “Underbank” were the responsibility of Andrew Robertson. Many of the sires and mares during this period imported for Percy Miller at Kia-Ora stud, Alexander Creswick at The Nook, Alex Hunter at Northwood Park and Paddy Wade at Borambola Park Stud can also be attributed either directly or indirectly back to Robertson’s involvement or bloodstock influence on these breeders. Later he would also build up Shirley Park Stud for Aspro King, George Nicholas and assist shirt manufacture Alf Griffith with his bloodstock.
Robertson’s contribution overall to both standardbred and thoroughbred importing and breeding, even decades after his death, sees almost every race in Australasia with at least one horse tracing back to his influence. In the 1950's, it was a common occurrence to see half a field in any given race trace back to his imports. Over 15% of all Hall of Fame horses,* both thoroughbred and harness racing can be traced back to him. Melbourne Cup winners Comic Court, Galilee, Gala Supreme, Think Big, Just A Dash, Gurner’s Lane, Black Knight, Kingston Rule and Saintly. Champions Railings, Fawkner, Gunsynd, Taj Rossi, Fields of Omagh, Surround, Redding, Plastered, Provoke, Rose of Kingston, Taj Eclipse, Kirramosa, Pinot, Gothic, St, Razzle, Wenona Girl, Manikato, Vo Rogue, Mufhasa, Placid Ark, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Brazen Beau and Sydeston, along with thousands of other horses have genetic traces back to his breeding and imports.
The extraordinary effect he had on Australasian standardbred bloodlines is equally as impressive with his breeding influence found in New Zealand Cup winners Ahuriri, Haughty, False Step, Stanley Rio, Il Vicolo, Flashing Red, Monkey King and Arden Rooney. Other harness racing champions include Dan’s Son, Dusty Miller, Minuteman, Jack Morris, Our Sir Vancelot, Shakamaker, Lennytheshark, Smolda, Tiger Tara, Paleface Adios, Tricky Vic, Bellas Boy, Divisive, Tanabi Bromac, Pure Steel, Grand Voyage, Happy Voyage and Hands Down. It is easy to see why so many breeders and owners wanted Andrew Robertson’s opinion, and just how widespread during this era his influence really was.
In the first few decades of Australian thoroughbred breeding, many owners and breeders favoured a St. Simon sire line. Andrew Robertson became a vocal advocate on matching a Bend Or sire line with a St. Simon dam line. His influence helped see Valais imported to Australia. It is therefore unsurprising Andrew Robertson’s opinion also influenced Alec Roberts and Harry Telford. The latter, a long standing family friend of the Robertson’s, long before the story of Phar Lap.
Andrew Robertson's real skill, beyond his extraordinary knowledge and understanding of horses, was his ability to read people and be able to converse on almost any subject with some authority. He was a voracious reader and avid student of history. His travels were not confined to just looking for horses. A frequent visitor to South America, Japan, and other Asian countries, he spent months every year in the warm, dry climate of Egypt to keep his asthma at bay, when Cairo was a multicultural hub.
Robertson also understood business. Most meaningful business decisions and transactions by Lou Robertson were made by Andrew on behalf of his brother. This came about in part from Lou being both disinterested and unskilled in running his stable commercially. When the breeder of Lawrence and Counsel, Les Aldridge sent Lou a cheque after going months without an invoice from his trainer. Attached was a note, “I must owe you this!”* Traveling to obtain the best horses, he was physically absent from his boys for most of their life. Andrew Robertson constantly offered his three sons' financial advice often enclosing rare stamps and stock tips. More than Lou, Andrew continually stressed the importance of building networks of breeders and owners around the world over his long career.
*Lou Robertson's oldest son, John Robertson
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