‘Dobbie’, a harness racing icon, finds finishing line on the morning of his 90th birthday

Ian Dobson, one of harness racing’s most successful owners of all time, died this morning in Christchurch on his 90th birthday.

Dobson, whose name is synonymous with the champion pacer Christan Cullen, started winning races in 1986 but, incredibly, was only now enjoying the best run of his life.

In a February interview before cleaning up at the annual harness racing awards, Dobson said “the horses keep me going. I’m having a bit of fun and I don’t think I’ve ever had such a good run.”

Dobson was a notable absentee at Addington last Friday when his three superstars Akuta, Don’t Stop Dreaming and Muscle Mountain went within a whisker of repeating their unmatched treble of last December when, in a golden 90 minites, they bagged three Group I races, the $250,000 New Zealand Derby, the $100,000 Ace Of Spades and the $86,500 Trotting Free-for-all.

Ian Dobson, with partner Janice, gives the thumbs up after another great night at Addington.Long time close friend Noel Kennard said “Dobbie” always tried to be on course but in the last month his health had gradually slipped.

“I went in to the rest home with his son Stuart to watch the races with him but for the first time he wasn’t with it at all.

“Up ’til about a month ago he could walk unaided and his memory was brilliant. If we talked horses or money he knew exactly what you were saying.”

Dobson’s passing brings to a close one of the most spectacular ownership chapters in harness racing - he won 385 races in New Zealand alone, with 73 individual winners, including 31 at the very highest Group I level.

But while his newest trotting sensation Muscle Mountain has been the most prolific, with 29 wins, Dobson still rates Christian Cullen as his number one champion.

“Christian Cullen was my best horse,” Dobson said in February.

“I still own him - he’s alive and well at the age of 28, at the best old people’s home in New Zealand, Dancingonmoonlight Farm.”

Christian Cullen beats Iraklis to win the 1998 New Zealand Trotting Cup.Dobson’s first foray into ownership in 1984 wasn’t so successful - he shared in a mare called Jam Cover - named after a business he had which made jam covers - who placed three times from 14 starts.

But he had been racing horses with some success for 10 years - his first winner was Lord Christopher at Hutt Park on September 2, 1986 - before “Cullen” came along, winning his first race on November 22, 1996 at Addington.

By the time Cullen retired in June, 2000, with recurrent leg problems, he had captured everyone’s hearts with his arrogant pacing style, winning some of the most coveted prizes in harness racing, including the New Zealand Cup, Auckland Cup and Miracle Mile.

When he left trainer Brian O’Meara’s stable he became the country’s champion sire, giving Dobson more prizes than he could fit in his trophy cabinets.

Kennard recalls how Dobson prized the collection so much, he even contradicted the red sticker ban on his Redcliffs home to rescue the collection after the earthquake demolished his house in 2011.

Scratch golfer

But among the racing trophies were also plenty of golfing memorabilia as Dobson for many years was a scratch golfer, Kennard said.

“After one tournament he won he was flown to Germany to pick up his prize, a Mercedes car.

“Golf meant a lot to him. He played and beat Michael Campbell at Kauri Cliffs one year.” Dobson went on to breed and race a horse with Campbell who, named Cambo, won first-up at Timaru in September, 2007.

“He also caddied for Gary Player and I remember Dobbie telling me the story about how Player asked him for a club and Dobbie said, no, that’s the wrong one, trust me, I know. He was proven right.”

Dobson, a good all round sportsman, proved a generous benefactor for golf, paying for an extension to the Christchurch Golf Club and funding initiatives to help juniors progress up the ranks.

Dobson didn’t always have money. He came from very humble beginnings, growing up in the Depression, biking to work where he earned 10 bob a week as a plumber.

Dobson lived on 10% of his income, saving the rest, and eventually set up his own business, before moving into buying real estate.

“On the one hand he was very scrupulous and on the other incredibly generous with his passions.”

A winning team … Ian Dobson with, from left, his daughter Lynne, partner Janice, and Muscle Mountain’s trainers, Nina and Greg Hope.Kennard admired Dobson for his unrelenting calmness in racing, which routinely threw up setbacks.

“When his horses lost, not once did I ever hear him criticise the driver. And when Muscle Mountain got taken out at the start (badly checked) at Addington recently he copped it on the chin, saying it was just one of those things.”

Dobson took the same c’est la vie approach early on to Muscle Mountain whom he bred and put through the ring as a yearling, only to pass him in for $40,000.

“He wasn’t prepared to let him go for that. If the horse was no good and he ended up losing, sobeit.”

Muscle Mountain was clearly the best of the 10 trotters Dobson raced, giving him his first Group I win as a breeder when he took the NZ Trotting Championship in April, 2021.

Dobson raced 10 trotters who collectively won 64 races but most of his success came with pacers.

His first Group I win as an owner came in 2009 with Joyfuljoy and, while he enjoyed scores of winners in the intervening years, he had to wait until April, 2021 for the next one.

Dobson is survived by his partner Janice, son Stuart, daughter Lynne, four grand children and seven great grand children.

Lynne Dobson said today she will remember her dad as a great father and family man.

‘We didn’t have a lot of money in those days - there were no huge family holidays - but we’d go away a lot to the West Coast and the country race meetings.

“He was quite hard on me but very fair and brought us up to show respect. I remember him saying: ‘what you do in life is look after your family and work hard’, which I’ve taken on board.”