Free Holmes
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Free Holmes
OR:
Free Holmes on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Freeman Wright Holmes (6 June 1871–21 February 1967), better known as Free Holmes was a New Zealand jockey, horse driver, trainer and breeder. He was born in Ashburton,
South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
on 6 June 1871. He was known as "The Grand Old Man of Trotting". He is notable for being both a champion driver and formerly a champion jockey. He won a unique double of the
New Zealand Cup The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch. New Zealand Cup week The New Zealand Cup is raced on the final Saturday of Christchurch "Cup week" held each year in the second week of Nov ...
in 1888 for thoroughbreds, at
Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scot ...
, riding Manton, and in 1919 driving Trix Pointer to win the NZ Trotting Cup at the
Addington Raceway Addington Raceway or The Met is the home of the Metropolitan Trotting Club in Addington, Christchurch in New Zealand. The venue consists of a trotting track, a greyhound track, conference centre and restaurants. It is also home to many feature ...
. As a jockey, he also won the 1894 Grand National Hurdles and 1895
Great Northern Hurdles The Great Northern Hurdles is one of New Zealand's feature jumping races. History In June 1971 Brian (Baggy) Hillis rode Brockton to win both the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Steeplechase. In June 2001 Smart Hunter, trained by ...
and
Great Northern Steeplechase The Great Northern Steeplechase is New Zealand's richest steeplechase jumping race. The race exceeds six kilometres, making it New Zealand's longest horse race, and usually takes over eight minutes to complete. It is one of the great tests of stam ...
with Liberator. He also won two
Auckland Trotting Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with ...
s. "Old Free", as he was reverently known in the trotting fraternity, was also an expert in the management of thoroughbred horses. He successful raced, trained and owned horses both over the fences and on the flat. He also rode and drove trotters. His son Maurice Holmes was also a driving legend.


Major wins

''Standardbreds'' * 1936
Inter Dominion Pacing Championship :''for winners of the trotting event see: Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. The Inter Dominion was the brain child of Western ...
Evicus * 1935
Auckland Trotting Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with ...
Graham Direct * 1934
Auckland Trotting Cup The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with ...
Roi L'Or * 1932
New Zealand Free For All The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand. History of the race Horses which have won the F ...
Roi L'Or * 1922
New Zealand Free For All The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand. History of the race Horses which have won the F ...
Trix Pointer * 1919
New Zealand Trotting Cup The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in C ...
Trix Pointer ''Thoroughbreds'' * 1895
Great Northern Steeplechase The Great Northern Steeplechase is New Zealand's richest steeplechase jumping race. The race exceeds six kilometres, making it New Zealand's longest horse race, and usually takes over eight minutes to complete. It is one of the great tests of stam ...
Liberator * 1895
Great Northern Hurdles The Great Northern Hurdles is one of New Zealand's feature jumping races. History In June 1971 Brian (Baggy) Hillis rode Brockton to win both the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Steeplechase. In June 2001 Smart Hunter, trained by ...
Liberator * 1894
Great Northern Hurdles The Great Northern Hurdles is one of New Zealand's feature jumping races. History In June 1971 Brian (Baggy) Hillis rode Brockton to win both the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Steeplechase. In June 2001 Smart Hunter, trained by ...
Liberator * 1888
New Zealand Cup The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch. New Zealand Cup week The New Zealand Cup is raced on the final Saturday of Christchurch "Cup week" held each year in the second week of Nov ...
Manton * 1888
New Zealand Derby The New Zealand Derby is a set-weights Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (12 furlongs) at Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, New Zealand. It is held in March each year. History The New Zealand Derby i ...
Manton


See also

*
Harness racing in New Zealand Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style: * pacing is where the two legs on the same side ...
*
Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand The racing of Thoroughbred horses (or gallopers, as they are also known) is a popular gaming and spectator sport and industry in New Zealand. History Thoroughbred horse racing commenced soon after European settlement. The first totalisator ma ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Free 1871 births 1967 deaths New Zealand jockeys New Zealand racehorse owners and breeders Sportspeople from Ashburton, New Zealand New Zealand harness racers New Zealand racehorse trainers