Tom Mahar’s Memorable Moment

It was described as the “plunge of the century” and nothing has happened in the ensuing fifty or so years to lessen that statement.

The year was 1973 and astute bloodstock agent and trainer/driver Eddie Sims found himself with an unraced pacer named Roseland Count who could break a minute for a half for fun. Eddie loved pitting himself against the bookies and sniffed an opportunity.

Eddie was going to set up a betting plunge not in Sydney or in Brisbane but at Globe Derby Park in Adelaide some 1,000 miles away from his training complex.

He knew he had to keep the horse’s identity a secret for his plan to come to fruition so he told associates of the stable that the horse’s name was Black Hanover. Even the stablehands did not know the horse’s real name.

National Trotting Weekly takes up the story. “Sims floated the horse to Bankstown for a special trial, however, he was spotted by a “spy” employed by a bookmaker who clocked the horse’s trial.

Sims realised that the colour and markings of the horse would have been noted by the “spy” and reported back to the bookmaker ready for when the horse was produced. If Sims ran the horse in a race under his own name as the trainer, it would not take long for the locals to learn the horse’s identity.

Two weeks after the sensational trial the mystery horse was loaded aboard a float at Sims’ stables. Those close to the stable thought the horse was headed to Brisbane, as Sims had landed a large plunge or two there in the past. The float, however, headed in the oppositie direction to Victoria.

Sims’ collaborators in the plot were well known Melbourne horsemen Ron “Tubby” Peace and Tom Mahar. Unbeknown by anyone else Roseland Count was transferred to Peace’s Whittlesea stables, with Tom Mahar listed as the official trainer.

No one was suspicious when Mahar entered Roseland Count for the Ray Fewings Three-Year-Old Handicap at Globe Derby on July 13, 1973. On the eve of the race, Peace and Sims drove to Mahar’s home at Wendouree near
Ballarat, and “kidnapped” him. Even Mahar’s wife Eily had not been told he was going to Adelaide.

The three trainers and a punter – Mahar remembers the punter had a lot of trouble sleeping with so much money stashed under his bed – headed to Adelaide via Mildura. They stabled the horse at the vacant Mildura racecourse and locked themselves into their hotel room. At 6.30 on the morning of the race they continued their trip to Adelaide.

Everything went smoothly until the meeting started. Rain and plenty of it started to fall. Roseland Count had never once worked in the wet since arriving in Australia. So another element of risk soon developed.

Roseland Count opened at odds of 10/1 with some bookmakers. There was solid support for him until he was backed into 5/2, before he drifted slightly after money came for other runners.

Then, the “big” money went on, the official fluctuations being 8/1 into 9/10 favouritism. Although a reported $15,000 was invested at Globe Derby Park alone, major bookmakers in Sydney at Harold Park and in Victoria were being hit with some big bets for Roseland Count. Bets were placed all around Australia, with every avenue tapped, including all the betting shops in Tasmania.

The race itself went without incident. Mahar stepped Roseland Count away smoothly, and he sat outside the leader until the home turn. Given full rein, Roseland Count streaked away to win effortlessly by 10 yards, rating 2:09.5.

A protest was lodged but dismissed. The big wagering did not go unnoticed by the Stewards, who swabbed the horse, and did a “double check” on the papers.

It was “all clear” on both counts.

Sims recalled in 1973 that as much as $100,000 had been collected. He was unsure of the exact amount but he did know it took from race three until race eight to collect the money, which filled an overnight bag.”