While never a driver, Jim Hand was one of the top trainers in Perth between the years 1915 and 1950, preparing 238 winners in that period.
Born 1877 in Victoria, Hand came to WA as a child and, like many others, made his way to the Kalgoorlie goldfields as a teenager. He would spend many years there and make the foundation capital needed to pursue a dream of becoming a trot trainer.
An interesting footnote to the goldfields adventure is that in 1908, Hand successfully sued a man over the ownership of a share in a prominent goldmine.
Hand bought his first pacer in 1913, however with the outbreak of World War One the initial dabble was necessarily modest, but it was during the great conflict that he truly learned how to train. After the war though, Hand began a quest to seriously accelerate the fledgling struggles of the WA trotting industry by importing horses to the West in droves, from both the eastern states and New Zealand. He then sold them or leased them, helping populate the sport with participants.
In 1923, for instance, he offered 60 pacers and trotters for sale at Albert Cockram’s Stock Bazaar. By the end of the decade he was regarded as the state’s leading importer of harness racing stock. Brennan, now Gloucester Park, opened in 1929.
It had been built on reclaimed swampland, a 15-acre plot purchased for just £6000 from the WA Cricket Association, yet was destined to become arguably the pre-eminent trotting track in the world at that time. Jim Hand was inspired by the prospect of the greatest horses in the
Southern Hemisphere making their way to Perth to race at the new course, and he envisioned tremendous profits to be gleaned by successful horsemen in the subsequent industry boom. But he did not envisage the Great Depression that hit in the wake of the crash of 29 and swallowed up the 1930s. Despite this, Hand thrived. He was successful enough, in fact, that it appears he was targeted in 1930 with an unscrupulous plan to negate his progress.
An edition of the Truth newspaper had alleged that Hand’s maiden seven-year-old import, Sir Marvin, was a ‘ring-in’. Outraged, Hand went to WATA President James Brennan to seek action to either prove or disprove the allegation.
Hand and his reinsman Andy Sheahan had spent a great deal of time working on Sir Marvin’s shoeing, correctly suspecting the gelding’s poor gait was restricting a hidden talent.
Now the horse had started to shine, Hand felt the motive behind the accusation was to force the horse out of the forthcoming WA Trotting Cup. However, Sir Marvin’s bona fides were quickly verified by the WATA and he went on to contest the Cup, finishing eighth in the final.
Hand would make amends though, in 1934, with Solvista winning both his heat and the final.
In 1936 the Inter Dominion Championship was inaugurated at the newly named Gloucester Park complex and a pacer named Chic ran second in a heat and ninth in the final for Jim Hand.
While an Inters win would elude him, Jim Hand’s impact continued all through the 30s and 40s, winning a plethora of feature races and premierships twice during World War Two.
He won his second WA Trotting Cup in 1949, with Superman, which occurred just a year before he died.
During his career, Hand won eight heats of the Trotting Cup with eight different horses and aside from his two wins in the race, was placed in four others.
In 1943, he qualified a then record four horses for the final. Jim Hand was a specialist at readying horses for first-up victories and won WA Derbies twice with horses on debut, namely Valista in 1944 and the brilliant Hilda Grattan in 1948.
He liked a bet, too.
Some months later, when Hilda Grattan raced first-up as a fouryear- old, in the spring, she was plunged from 3/1 against into 5/4 on and won. Jim Hand, a champion horseman of yesteryear, now takes his place in the WA Racing Industry’s Hall of Fame.Breeder: B H Daff, A I Daff Trainer: George Kennett Owners: George Kennett, John Kennett
FIRST PLACE 14 Jun 1924 June Handicap: Scotch Heather, 21 May 1927 Imperial Handicap: (2nd Div Globepool, 28 Dec 1929 ht WA Pacing Cup: Don Gale, 1 Jan 1930 New Year Handicap Don Gale, 23 Dec 1933 ht WA Pacing Cup:Jenny Alto, 22 Dec 1934 ht WA Pacing Cup: Solvista, 26 Dec 1934 WA Pacing Cup: (Gr.1) Solvista, 20 Apr 1935 ht Easter Handicap: Northwood Lady, 11 April 1936 ht Easter Handicap: Chic, 27 Dec 1937 ht WA Pacing Cup: Earl Pronto, 16 Apr 1938 ht Easter Cup: Greta Realm, 23 Dec 1939 ht WA Pacing Cup: Lee Derby, 19 Dec 1942 ht WA Pacing Cup: Swift Lady NZ, 19 Dec 1942 ht WA Pacing Cup: Lee Tennessee, 19 Dec 1942 ht WA Pacing Cup: Huon Cloud, 19 Feb 1944 3yo WA Derby (Gr.1) Valista, 13 May 1944 ht Autumn Cup: Jewels Heir, 26 Oct 1946 Stratton Cup (Gr.3) Loyal Rey NZ, SECOND PLACE 21 April 1930 Easter Handicap: Don Gale, 6 Oct 1934 Gloucester Cup: Northwood Lady, 26 Dec 1935 WA Pacing Cup (Gr.1): Chic, 12 Feb 1936 ht Inter Dominion (Gr.3) Ht 6: Chic, 1 Jan 1938 WA Pacing Cup (Gr.1): Earl Pronto, 3 Jan 1938 New Year Handicap: Earl Pronto, 6 Aug 1938 Caris Cup: Gentle Bobbie(1932), 1 March 1941 3yo WA Derby (Gr.1): Huon Cloud, 9 Jan 1943 WA Pacing Cup (Gr.1):Huon Cloud, 26 Feb 1944 3yo WA Sires Produce Stakes: Valista, 28 Jan 1946 Fremantle Cup (Gr.1): Johnnie Robert, 9 Oct 1946 Gloucester Cup: Loyal Rey NZ, 19 Feb 1947 ht Inter Dominion (Gr.3) Ht 7: Loyal Rey NZ.