b'The Great Eastern Mail JANUARY 13, 2023 23racing & sportmatch BAIRNSDALE\'SFORGOTTEN CHAMPTHE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Newly appointed Stud Master at StewieDesmond Park. John Rule (left) McSweynwith owner, Ray Richards.(red) andT HEquaintlynamedPARTS THREE & FOUR Bairnsdaleonedayatthe Ollie Hoare (white) battleNevertire is a little village it out instanding at the junction Devonport. oftheMitchellandOxleyoldGrandviewcourse.They highways,525kmsnorthwestcombinedtowinthemile of Sydney. It is typical of thoseopen handicap and then two little,remoteoutbacktownsraceslateralsotookoutthe that nature has had a decentopensix-furlongsprint.That crack at wiping out, dishing uphas not been done since and is yearsofdroughtsandfailednot likely to be. Several weeks cropsandlocustandmouselaterGranatetookoutthe plagues.MothernaturedealtSaleCup,butsadlywithout herbesthandonDecemberJohnny aboard as the higher-28th, 1896 with a cyclone thatclass race meant, down in the world in Bathurst on Februarysmashed the town.Nevertire. pub and a general store. and birthplace of a champion. weightsGranatewasoutof 18th at the World CrossNevertire is a survivor. John\'sweightrangeandthe Country Championships.The2011censusputthethe subject of her poem calledIvill at Mount Taylor. On Worldwinning mount went to Kevin Honours went to Stewie. population at 225 and in 2016"Nevertire". Of Sport one Sunday morning,Mitchell. Extraordinary; it was As with Ollie and Stewieit had dropped to 188. ThereTherearenogreen,rollingafter riding a city hurdle winner,onlytwomonthsearlierthat there are often match racesisapubthatdoublesastheplains of rich, volcanic soil thatJohnny was asked who was theKevin had steered Red Diver to within a race. In 1956 thepost office or a post office thatare found in the Hunter Valley,best horse he had ridden.that infamous win at Moonee brilliant Russell Mockridgedoubles as the pub. There is aNSWorCambridge,New"He wasn\'t a racehorse," JohnValley.and his fellow scratch markercafe,amechanic,andaruralZealand, both famous nurseriesanswered.Arthur picked up Johnny in worked together, againstsupplies outlet and little else. Itfor the formative years of great"HewasSwagman,abluethecarparkatSaleafterthe all odds, in the Melbourneonce had an operating railwaydominion thoroughbreds. roan showjumper I rode for theraces to give him a lift home. to Warrnambool bike race.station, but that closed in theInSummerthepopulationIvills." Throw your saddles in the boot They finally wound in theSean Quilty in action at Stawell. 1980s, as did the school in 2002ofNevertireexplodes.withJohnny was also the regularArthur said.frontmarkers within sight ofPhotos courtesy of Victorianduetoalackofenrolments.annoying little bush flies. AddriderforastuteTyerstrainer,After Granate\'s Sale Cup win the finishing line and RussellAthletic League. The rail line still operates and inthehot,drydustyplainsandArthurHare.ArthurtrainedJohnclaimed,maybeslightly won in a record time that stoodup the entire 196 other starters.goodseasonsofnon-droughtyou would hardly think that, inNangkita Lad, the winner of aembellishing the story, the boot for 25 years. At the gates of Geelongand when the mice and locusts1973, it would be the birthplaceprovincial plate at Flemington.was half full of cash and half full In 2007 the Victorian CrossGrammar, with the winningareonfurlough,Nevertire\'sandearlydaysofoneoftheNangkita Lad also smashed theof syringes. Country League held theirpost in sight, it became a matchmain feature is a busy, large railgreats of the Australian turf. track record for the MelbourneWeight eventually put an end 10k Geelong Classic out alongrace sprint for home for thegrain handling facility. Nevertire is a very long 917Cup hurdle, running faster timeto John\'s riding career and as the Corio Bay track. The twotwo scratchmen with AaronHenryLawsononcekilometres from Bairnsdale. than the Cup winner over thehe hung up his racing saddles scratchmen in the 198 field ofwinning narrowly. It was one ofdescribedtheNevertireJohnny Rule was a talentedsame distance on the same day.opportunitycameknocking. runners were Australian juniorthe great VCCL races. area as the edge of the GreatrideraroundtheGippslandBetween the first race and theLocal owner, Ray Richards was Cross Country representative,Sadly, in the latter partGrey Plain. He also wrote thetracksforquiteafewyearsCup though, a torrent dumpedintheprocessofestablishing Aaron Howlett and Australianof last year Olympian,wonderfulpoem"Nevertirebefore weight caught up withabout four inches of rain beforeDesmond Park Stud and was Commonwealth GamesCommonwealth Games silverJack".TheWarrenHistoricalhimandhehadabriefstintVanDerHumandBobbylooking for a trainer and stud marathon silver medallist frommedallist and multiple StawellSocietyclaimsthenamewasriding over jumps. Johnny wasSkelton ploughed through themaster.Whatbettermanfor Edmonton, Sean Quilty. Aaronwinner Sean Quilty passedgiven to the farming settlementborntorideasbothheandMaribyrnongfloodplainmudthe job than Johnny Rule. He and Doona, as he was betteraway after a courageousbecause the great plain was sobrotherGavynweresonsofto emerge, through a haze oftook up the offer.known, worked together takingthree-year battle with cancer.vast that it just rolled on andEric "Squib" Rule, who rode hisrain and mist to win the Cup, in turns at setting a cracking pace,Australian Athletics had lostonandonandwouldneverfirst winner at age 12 at Orbost.slower time than Nangkita Lad. Missed Parts 1 and 2? Visit gradually picking off eachone of its favourite sons. Rest intire.Popularlocalpoet,BettyJohnnyalsorodeJohnnyalsorodeArthur\'sholstadvertising.com/the-gem runner until they had roundedpeace, Doona. 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