Historical information

John Phyland
It was during 1890 to 1918 that John Phyland, son of Irish immigrants, born in 1866, ran a 2000-acre sheep station. The property, Lake Vale, was south of Balranald, towards the Murray River town of Swan Hill.

This would seem to be an unlikely location for a harness racing breeding operation, being more than 400km from Melbourne, where harness racing was centred on the Richmond track.

But, undeterred by distance, Phyland purchased his first trotter in 1882 and proceeded to acquire expensive, high quality standardbred mares and stallions and embark on a venture that saw him:

• Breed and race winners of major races including The Melbourne Thousand, Bendigo JC Handicap (raced almost continuously on the grass track at Epsom, Bendigo, from 1867 to 1946), Boort Cup and numerous races at the Melbourne metropolitan tracks at Richmond and Ascot;

• Acquire Soultline Villa and training stables adjacent to the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds so he could race at metropolitan tracks;

• Develop a large self-contained training facility (including resident blacksmith) and home at 19 Raleigh St, Essendon;

• Become the chair of the Victorian Trotting Horse Owners and Breeders’ Association, which lobbied strenuously for night trotting in the 1930s;

• Breed from imported and locally bred mares that left families that are still active today. Heaven Rocks, the Ballarat Cup, New Zealand Jewels three and four-year-winner, and 1:49.6 ($554,529) export to the US, is six generations on from the Phyland bred mare Dusky Ribbons;

• Saw the start of the training career of colourful and controversial Cedric (Ced) McLean, Phyland’s son-in-law, with a mare left when Phyland died.

Physical description

Blue with yellow stars