Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Les Jarvis, who became a familiar sight in Greerton Village on his way to walk his dog on the Tauranga racecourse, left behind a direct link to champion racehorse McGinty after passing away recently.

In recent years, Les liked nothing more than to visit the stables of Gate Pa thoroughbred racehorse trainer Jim Pender, as he took his little dog for a walk.

Les was around horses from an early age on the family farm at Waihi and joined the Te Rapa of Joe Crosby in the late 1940's.

His first win as an apprentice jockey came at Tauranga on Master Oretigo for Matamata trainer Bob Martin in 1950.

Life was never easy for aspiring jockeys in the 1950's.

With rides on the flat becoming hard to obtain, Les turned to riding over the sticks, with his biggest win coming on Hunting Vite in the open-class Victoria Hurdles at Trentham.

When interviewed by this writer in 2015, the former jockey reeled off his winners some six decades before with clear-cut accuracy, courtesy of his meticulous handwritten records of every ride that he had before hanging up his boots.

Training from the Paeroa racecourse, Les proved a dab hand with two year olds that included Moon Rock, Ernader and Oranmore.

Ernader turned out to be one of the best two year olds of her year, finishing her career on the track as an open class sprinter, with 12 wins to her credit.

"My sister Hilda, who I raced Ernader with, decided to mate her with One Pound Sterling with the resulting foal being McGinty," says Lee.

"We had entered the colt for the Trentham yearling sales but he suffered a small injury and was withdrawn. We sold him by private treaty to (colorful racing personality) Keith Haub who took in Barney McCahill as his racing partner."

As a juvenile, McGinty was the best in Australasia and probably the best all-time New Zealand two year old to race in Australia.

Mr McGinty, as he was known in Australia, defeated Golden Slipper winner Marscay in the Todman Slipper Trial. While Marscay received the accolades as Australian champion two year old, the kiwi colt sat on the sideline courtesy, of a cracked cannon-bone suffered in the Slipper Trial.

His three-year-old career kicked off with a dazzling Wellington Stakes win, followed by a sensational George Adams mile victory over the older horses, which saw 1.33 broken for the first time in New Zealand.

Then followed the first of his two Air New Zealand Stakes victory, before crossing the ditch again to annex the Canterbury Guineas in Sydney.

Australia became McGinty's second home the following season, with wins in the Caulfield Stakes and Rawson Stakes in Sydney interspersed by his second Air New Zealand Stakes.

Venturing to Asia for the Japan Cup, the kiwi entire ran a gallant fifth in the 2400m race, which was probably a bridge too far in his pedigree.

McGinty retired with 14 wins from just 27 starts, which included six Group One races.

The Les Jarvis life story wouldn't be complete without including his wife, Colleen, in the tale.

Colleen was a very accomplished Country and Western singer who performed in Nashville and Tamorth (Australia) as well as recoding two LP records.

She also owned one of Les's best jumpers in Jazmans Gold, who Les sacked from the stable before Colleen purchased him for just five hundred dollars, giving him back to Les to train. Colleen had the last laugh as Jazmans Gold won two hurdle races and four steeplechases, including the Taranaki Hunt Cup.

RIP Les Jarvis