Racing pacers at Callaghan Park

Warren Nunn

Back in the 1970s, I had a connection to harness racing (trots) as part of a syndicate that raced two pacers – Bunalbo and Raiology. Both were trained by a work colleague, John Wedmaier, who had a background in animal husbandry and was The Morning Bulletin’s rural journalist.

Bunalbo wins a 1700m race at Callaghan Park Paceway on 4 October 1975 for the Capricorn Syndicate of which I was a member. The driver was Keith Jones. Bunalbo’s sire was Field Battery and his dam was My Juliet. The 1964 Interdominion winner Minuteman was a son of Field Battery. Bunalbo first raced at the Tweed Heads before we bought him and his name may be an incorrect spelling of the Northern New South Wales town Bonalbo. However, there is a Bunalbo Drive in Melbourne, Victoria, so that may be the source of his name.

At the same time I was the paper’s racing writer, a position I eventually gave up to take on a sub-editing role. Weedy, as John Wedmaier was known, continued his involvement with horses before, during and after his time with the newspaper. As well as harness racing, he was also involved with breeding thoroughbreds and became harness racing chief steward as well.

A decorated Vietnam war veteran, John sometimes spoke of his struggles dealing with what he saw and experienced. He died aged 66 from prostate cancer in 2012 and apparently struggled greatly in later years with depression and also attempted suicide. I spoke to him a few times over the years on the phone. He and his wife Lindy always welcomed me into their home.

Above is audio of Kevin Martin’s call of a race that Raiology won at Callaghan Park.

And in the 1970s we had a great deal of fun with both of the pacers we raced at Callaghan Park. Both Bunalbo and Raiology won a handful of races and it was exciting to see them succeed. Bunalbo last raced in 1977 and had seven wins for us from 41 starts. Raiology won seven races from 50 starts.

Raiology wins a 1700m race at Callaghan Park Paceway on 28 May 1977 for the Capricorn Syndicate. The driver was John Wedmaier. Raiology’s sire was Anthology and his dam was Gavan’s Girl.

The images reproduced are of a race Bunalbo won in October 1975 and a Raiology win from May 1977. There was no real money made but rather the occasional win kept paying the bills which weren’t too bad.

Our ownership group was known as The Capricorn Syndicate and things went sour when Raiology went to other trainers – Phillip Burke and John Milner – and never won another race.

I eventually gave up my share in him. I was in charge of collecting weekly amounts for his training fees which I did not always do and I never kept proper records, so it ended up costing me money. That didn’t detract from the fun I had along the way.