Battle Heights

Battle Heights was a notable New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse.

Battle Heights
Sire	Battle Waggon (GB)
Grandsire	Never Say Die (USA)
Dam	Wuthering Heights (NZ)
Damsire	Avocat General (IRE)
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1967
Died	1999
Country	New Zealand
Colour	Brown
Breeder	...
Trainer	Tim Douglas
Record	115:23-14-15
Earnings	A$212,825
Major wins
Wellington Cup (1974) Trentham Stakes (1974) New Zealand International Stakes (1974) Sydney Cup (1974) Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1974) W S Cox Plate (1974) C B Cox Stakes (1974) Craven Plate (1976) Metropolitan Handicap (1976)
Last updated on 27 December 2012

A son of Battle-Waggon^[1] from the mare Wuthering Heights, he was foaled in 1967 and was trained throughout his career by Tim Douglas.

Douglas was a farmer and all-round horseman based in Morrinsville in the north-eastern Waikato province of New Zealand. As well as being a successful racehorse trainer, he was an accomplished polo player and bought Wuthering Heights, a young thoroughbred mare, with the intention of including her in a consignment of polo ponies purchased for the Sultan of Brunei. That plan had to change, however, when it became apparent that Wuthering Heights was pregnant, forcing Douglas to retain her. She subsequently produced a foal whose sire was believed to be a non-thoroughbred stallion, after which Douglas decided to breed from her himself.

Battle Heights was the fourth full thoroughbred foal produced by Wuthering Heights (the previous three, Gold Heights, Monty and Arctic Heights, also became good performers for Douglas). Battle Heights started in 115 races and raced until he was 10 years old when he was forced into retirement after suffering sesamoid injuries in the 1977 VRC LKS Mackinnon Stakes.

During his career, he raced and won in every season from the age of three until ten, winning 23 times over distances ranging from 1,100m to 3,200m. In New Zealand his wins included the Wellington Cup, Trentham Stakes and New Zealand International Stakes. That led to several campaigns in Australia, where he won the Sydney Cup, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The Metropolitan (ATC) and Craven Stakes in Sydney; in Melbourne he won the Cox Plate, and in Perth the CB Cox Stakes. His many placings included second in the Caulfield Cup.

Battle Heights was awarded the 1974 New Zealand Horse of the Year title, while Wuthering Heights received the Broodmare of the Year title.

In the 1974 Sydney Cup and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (ATC) he was ridden by New Zealand jockey Gary Willetts, who then decided to establish himself in Australia and became one of the leading jockeys of his era when based in Melbourne, where he still lives.

Battle Heights, known affectionately by the nickname 'Fred', enjoyed a long retirement on the Douglas family farm, where for many years he was the trusty mount of Tim Douglas's wife Elaine. He died at age 32 and is buried on the farm.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Battle Heights

Sire Battle-Waggon 1962	Never Say Die 1951	Nasrullah	Nearco
			Mumtaz Begum
		Singing Grass	War Admiral
			Boreale
	Carrozza 1954	Dante	Nearco
			Rosy Legend
		Calash	Hyperion
			Clarence
Dam Wuthering Heights 1956	Avocat General 1950	Court Martial	Fair Trial
			Instantaneous
		Cinnamon	Obliterate
			Buchna
	Merry Fox 1938	Foxbridge	Foxlaw
			Bridgemount
		Merry Way	Arausio
			Merry Jest

See also

• Thoroughbred racing in New Zealand

References

1. "STARCRAFT AND THAT BATTLE-WAGGON LINE". Just Racing. 4 March 2004.