16 THE CHAMPIONS MILESTONE MEMORIES CHAMPIONS MILE 1965 HEROIC STONE 60 YEARS AGO Heroic Stone’s 1965 George Adams Handicap (now Champions Mile) win delivered one of Flemington trainer Tommy Hughes’ most famous betting plunges. After modest runs in the Epsom and Toorak Handicaps, Heroic Stone was sent out an each-way chance but had improved sharply throughout the campaign. Come Cup week’s final day, the stable’s confidence paid off spectacularly, netting more than £100,000. Legend has it that some of the winnings, stashed in a chaff bag in the horse’s stall, were partially eaten by Heroic Stone overnight. Hughes reportedly laughed, saying, “He won the race, so he’s entitled to eat it.” From his renowned Flemington base, Hughes trained stars including Grand Cidium, Rechabite, No Parole, Rajah Sahib, Gay Master, Umatilla, Symbollico, and Grey Song. While celebrated for his precision in targeting races, it was his gallant second with Salamander in the 1979 Melbourne Cup that perhaps best defined his career. CHAMPIONS SPRINT 1970 DUAL CHOICE 55 YEARS AGO Dual Choice, affectionately known as ‘Julie,’ starred in the 1970 Champions Sprint (formerly the Craven A Stakes) after dropping back from her Caulfield Guineas victory. Ridden by future Melbourne Cup winner Frank Reys, she narrowly defeated Tauto, the following year’s Cox Plate winner, setting a race record of 1 minute 9 seconds down the Flemington straight. One of Australia’s finest sprinting mares, Dual Choice captured consecutive Oakleigh Plates (1971–72), won 16 of 28 starts, and matched the stakes feats of Wenona Girl with the equivalent of nine Group 1 victories. Reys rode her to 11 wins, with Peter Gumbleton adding four more. Bred by Harry McNamara and trained by Geelong’s Ken White, she became the first progeny of imported sire Showdown, winning the VRC Maribyrnong Trial Stakes at her first start. Raced by Mr and Mrs Norm Gilham, she was later repurchased by McNamara for $80,000 but failed to produce notable offspring at stud.
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