By Garry Howe
Leading 1973 Melbourne Cup winner Gala Supreme up the race and into the Flemington mounting yard in front of 103,000 people was an experience that stays with Ian Hutchins to this day.
He still gets emotional when talking about what he describes as an experience of a lifetime.
“I am one of the 100 or so people to have led a Melbourne Cup winner,” he said.
“Coming up the race that day was like running out on to the MCG on Grand Final day.”
Ian acted as strapper that day for his father Ray Hutchins, Gala Supreme’s trainer. His mother Rita grew up in Dandenong.
Ian’s son Darren Hutchins is a founding partner of O’Brien Real Estate and is based in the Keysborough office, which he owns.
Darren was a toddler at the time and was in the family home at 14 Woods Avenue in Mordialloc, right next door to Ray and Rita at number 12, as the events unfolded.
He has grown up with stories of that first Tuesday in November that changed the lives of not only the Hutchins family, but that of veteran jockey Frank Reys, whose victory speech is still considered one of the best delivered in the history of Australia’s most famous race.
One of Darren’s most treasured possessions is a photo of him when still “knee-high to a grasshopper” being dwarfed by Gala Supreme’s ample frame.
Darren grew up around racehorses and spent the first 13 years of his working life as a stipendiary steward and clerk of scales.
Now living in Berwick, he branched into real estate 14 years ago and, having worked for Noel Jones for seven years, then co-founded O’Brien Real Estate with Dean O’Brien. He is still a corporate director of the franchise.
Darren and Ian reminisced about the win this week in a phone hook-up with The Journal.
They said Gala Supreme’s preparation followed the tried and true formula, with a bit of a twist at the end.
He started in the Liston Stakes, then won the Herbert Power Handicap, was second in the Heatherly Handicap then ran a close second to Swell Time in the Caulfield Cup.
Ray then caused a bit of a sensation when he decided not to give the horse another run between the Caulfield and Melbourne cups.
Common belief back then was that a horse needed to top the preparation off on Derby Day – the Saturday prior – with an run in either the Dalgety or Mackinnon Stakes.
Legendary trainer Bart Cummings was quoted as saying that Gala Supreme couldn’t win but was among the first to congratulate Ray after the race.
What the punters didn’t know was that Ray had given Gala Supreme a searching trackwork gallop on the Saturday, using three stablemates to tag team him to keep the pressure on over a mile and a half (2400m), which he figured was as good as a run anyway.
Frank Reys pleaded with Ray – his good mate – to give him the extra run but the trainer held firm.
He was proven correct, with Gala Supreme surging home to pip the hot favourite, Kiwi visitor Glengowan, and Daneson to take the race.
At 41, Reys was the oldest jockey in the field and had almost given up any hope of ever riding a Melbourne Cup winner.
The previous year he was to have ridden Piping Lane and had to watch from home, after being badly injured from a race fall, as John Letts booted him home.
He had almost considered agreeing to wife Noelene’s pleas to give the game away, but decided to have one last crack. His victory speech has gone down in Cup folklore.
“I kept picking myself up off the ground and hoping I would win a Melbourne Cup. It’s something every jockey dreams about,” he told the huge crowd.
“I still can’t believe it. I don’t know what to believe. It’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to me… I’ll never forget this.”
Nor will the Hutchins family.
