Memories as Pure Steel is induced into the Victorian Hall Of Fame

On Saturday evening the former great pacer Pure Steel was inducted into the Victorian Harness Racing Hall of Fame. He is the only pacer to achieve this award who was trained outside of Victoria.

The ceremony brought back memories of the former superstar who swept all before him during the mid to late 70s. The only horse to win three AG Hunter Cup winner also won a Miracle Mile and four Western Australia Pacing Cups and was known for his relentless style of wearing his rivals into the ground no matter how hard a run he would have.

Saturday evening’s event was especially poignant for trainer Mark Roberts whose father Russell raced the Toledo Hanover stallion over his entire career.

Relatively lightly raced in his younger days Pure Steel under trainer Fred Kersley won the Western Australian Derby as a three year old.

Mark recalls that: “I was 17 years old when Dad decided we would go the Adelaide for the Inter Dominion. After he finished second to Carclew in the Final Fred Kersley went back to Perth and left him with us.”

“He had a brief stint of two or three races with Kevin Brook. Dad wanted to race around Australia so we brought him back home and gave him a break.”

“As a five year old he was in the hands of Phil Coulsen. We trained but we had a stable with second stringers. Jack Retzlaff also had him for a while. I took him in 1977 to Melbourne and we stayed at Tommy Taylor’s place at Kilmore. Stephen Shinn drove him when he won the Kilmore Cup.”

“We had a meeting regarding his future and then I obtained a trainers licence. He went to Miracle Mile. We trained him at Home. Dad would take him away and I would look after the team. Whenever he raced in the Eastern States Dad would go to Ted Demmler’s stables at Carrum Downs in Victoria and work things from there.”

“He was unlucky when he finished third to Koala King in the Sydney Inter Dominion. But a few weeks later we won the Lord Mayors Cup with Laurie Moulds driving him.  We retired him at eleven years of age.”

What makes Pure Steel’s career all the more remarkable was his ability to perform amongst the best all over the country. In fact he raced in every mainland Australian state including Tasmania where he finished behind San Simeon in the Inter Dominion Final. This is a feat that would be difficult to match in today’s harness racing scene.

In 1980 Pure Steel was voted as Australian Harness Horse of the Year and he was also Australian Grand Circuit Champion in 1979/80.

Roberts recalls Pure Steel’s quirky temperament. “He was full of himself, he knew he was boss.” You had to stand over him and not let him get away with it. He would try it out with you.” “Despite his nature we never had a problem travelling with him, whether it be a plane or long road trip.”

“I was fond of him and at times not so fond of him. He was particular the way he was shoed. He needed at least four days to adjust to new shoes.”

Pure Steel passed away in 1996 at the age of 25.

At stud he left a few good ones but nothing as good as himself. Desert Patrol in Western Australia was his best performer. Despite this at stud Pure Steel produced 362 foals for 85 individual winners who, between them, won $1,048,656 a bit more than the grand champion won in his entire career.

Today Mark has a small team based at Northam.

“I was so happy when he was inducted into Victorian Hall of Fame. I was really chuffed as well when he entered in the Hall of Fame in Western Australia.”

Pure Steel’s memory is etched into a Free For All that is staged annually at Gloucester Park as well as the Steelo Bar that is a feature of Perth’s home of harness racing.

Although Saturday evening’s award was richly deserved Pure Steel’s exploits and brilliance are a permanent feature of harness racing and that is why he’ll never be forgotten.

By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink