Race meeting closes chapter of family history

Nearly a 100 years of family racing history came to a close at Forbury Park, in Dunedin, last night, but it was not a fairytale finish.

Lionel Sinnamon was not complaining, though — his family have had their share of winnings, going back to the Roaring Twenties.

Six generations have been at the track over the years, but that came to an end last night

Forbury Park has been a winning home for the Sinnamon family for the best part of a century.

Omakau trainer Lionel Sinnamon (83) has been coming to the Forbury Park Trotting Club since 1960.

But he was actually the fourth generation of his family to line up horses at the track in 1960.

The family can trace its first winner on the the track back to 1927, when Sinnamon’s great-grandmother’s brother Philip Brady trained Logan Hanlon to a win.

He only discovered the win of his distant relation when a trotting register book was given to him a few years ago; he glanced over it and discovered his family connection and the win in 1927.

Since that win, the Sinnamon family in one guise or another has had horses racing at Forbury Park and bagged wins on the track.

‘‘I’ve always liked coming down here. It has been good to me and plenty of nice people. That family connection shows how much we’ve loved it,’’ he said.

Sinnamon, who won a race at Addington for the first time last year, has been coming down for more than 60 years; it all came to an end last night.

The course will close next month and has three meetings left, but Sinnamon, who has two horses in work and another injured, needs to turn them out for a rest, so this was the final chance to bag a win.

He had two horses lining up, Forty Wives and Southern Starr, and although they had a sniff at one stage, they ended up fourth and fifth respectively in separate races.

‘‘Forty Wives had a huge run but you can’t win them all. You can’t complain.’’

The family, who farm around Omakau, have been big supporters of the Central Otago Trotting Club.