1924 - 2024
Tall, dark and handsome, as in the story books, Douglas Grant at the age of 20 in 1914 had gained his father’s permission, just weeks after the outbreak of war, to enlist with the Australian Infantry Force. He fought at Gallipoli and then on the Western Front in France, where in 1917 he was gassed, and evacuated to hospital in England. Diagnosed with ‘cardiac dilatation’ or enlargement of the heart, he was eventually sent home to Australia to convalesce. There was plenty of time to study the racing news.
ABOVE: Frame of 1924 Victoria Derby winner, Spearfelt. OPPOSITE: Spearfelt returns to scale after winning the 1926 Melbourne Cup. (All images courtesy of Australian Racing Museum)
Four years later, using deferred army pay and on the advice of Melbourne trainer Vin O’Neill, Douglas Grant bought the yearling who became Spearfelt. The studmasters at Widden, where Spearfelt had been raised, had a high opinion of the colt. ‘Very full of class, all wire, fine head,’ they noted, long before the sale. Journalists loved the family tree. The sire was an imported English stallion, Spearhead, son of an English Derby winner, Spearmint, grandson of the mighty Carbine himself. There was an English Oaks winner high in the pedigree. So why did he sell for just 120 guineas when the top priced colts fetched thousands?
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