Maurice McCarten ranks as one of New Zealand’s great gifts to Australian racing.

McCarten, who was born at Hawera and apprenticed to Fred Tilley at Whanganui, won two jockeys’ premierships in New Zealand before making a permanent move to Sydney in 1927, aged 24.

He starred as a rider and trainer in Sydney and remains the only person to win Sydney premierships as both a jockey and trainer.

He also went close to winning the Melbourne Cup as a jockey and trainer, a double that has still not been achieved. McCarten rode the runner-up in the 1929 Melbourne Cup, behind Nightmarch, and finished third in a blanket finish four years later. As a trainer, he recorded two minor placings before gaining the treasured win with Delta, in 1951.

McCarten made an impression early in his riding career. He won the first of his two Wellington Cups as a 17-year-old and his first New Zealand premiership – in an era of tough competition - at 20.

Though his New Zealand career was comparatively brief, his tally of feature wins also included the NZ Cup (2), Auckland Cup, Great Northern Derby (2), Telegraph Handicap, NZ Oaks (2), NZ St Leger, Canterbury Gold Cup, Awapuni Gold Cup, Manawatu Sires’, Manawatu Cup (3), and Ormond Memorial at Hastings.

He recorded his first major win in Australia in the 1923 AJC Derby, on Ballymena, who was trained at Riccarton by Fred Jones. McCarten and Jones returned to Sydney with a team the following year but were both suspended for 12 months, a decision that was not popular in New Zealand.

McCarten went on to ride four AJC Derby winners and won the VRC Derby twice as a jockey. His other feature wins as a jockey in Australia included the Doncaster (2), Epsom (2), Sydney Cup (2) and Brisbane Cup (4).

His first Doncaster win came on the great New Zealand mare Cuddle and his shift to Sydney was confirmed when he had a wonderful run in Australia with Limerick, the horse he rated as the best he rode.

Limerick, who was a half-brother to Ballymena and also trained by Fred Jones, campaigned extensively in Australia and 22 of his 29 wins came in Australia. McCarten won 20 races on Limerick in Australia and another two in New Zealand.

Limerick was the runner-up in the AJC Derby, VRC Derby, Cox Plate and Sydney Cup as a three-year old but was almost unbeatable as a four-year-old, with 14 wins and two seconds from 16 starts. Between September 3, 1927, and September 29, 1928, Limerick recorded 18 wins and two seconds from 20 starts, including a run of 13 wins in succession.

Though McCarten, a member of both the New Zealand and Australian Racing Halls of Fame, had a standout riding record, he was to forge an even greater reputation as a trainer.

He is credited as winning 66 Group I races as a trainer and won four successive Sydney premierships, before Tommy Smith began his 33-year reign.  McCarten was also runner-up to Smith 10 times and between 1943 and 1964 finished in the top two on the premiership 17 times.

His list of feature wins as a trainer includes the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate (2), Golden Slipper, AJC Derby, VRC Derby, AJC Oaks (2) and One Thousand Guineas.

Melbourne Cup victor Delta won 22 races, 20 of which would be regarded today as stakes races. Delta won the Cox Plate, VRC Derby, Canterbury Guineas and VRC St Leger as a three-year-old and as an older horse was also successful in the Mackinnon Stakes, Metropolitan and Chipping Norton.

He first contested the Melbourne Cup as a three-year-old, finishing fifth and, on McCarten’s advice, had only a light spring campaign as a four-year-old. Delta benefitted from that approach and won 11 of his 14 starts as a five-year-old, including completing a rare Metropolitan-Melbourne Cup double, carrying 59.5kg in both races. He was just as effective the following autumn, winning six weight-for-age races.

But Delta does not rank as the best McCarten trained. That honour goes to the brilliant Todman, the inaugural Golden Slipper winner, who had 10 wins and a second from 12 starts.

Todman won the Golden Slipper by eight lengths, the Champagne Stakes by six lengths – beating Tulloch - and the Canterbury Guineas by eight lengths. His only failure came when he broke down as a three-year-old and he did not race at four. He returned as a five-year-old, when he was unbeaten in three starts, including the Lightning Stakes and Futurity Stakes.

He also made a mark as a sire, leaving a host of quality two-year-olds and sprinters, including two Golden Slipper winners and two Blue Diamond winners.

McCarten also trained Todman’s brother Noholme, who won 12 races, including the Cox Plate, Epsom Handicap, Fisher Plate, Champagne Stakes and All-Aged Stakes and prepared Delta’s brother, Deep River, to win the AJC Derby.

Champion mare Wenona Girl was another outstanding performer for the stable and like Delta and Todman is in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Wenona Girl won 27 races, including 21 which are currently ranked as Group races, with 14 having Group I status. Her major wins included the AJC Oaks, One Thousand Guineas, Rosehill Guineas, George Adams, Lightning Stakes (twice), All-Aged Stakes, Rawson Stakes (twice), Flight Stakes and George Main Stakes.

McCarten also played a significant role in the career of fellow Australian Hall of Fame inductees Neville Sellwood and Neville Begg.

McCarten encouraged Sellwood to shift to Sydney, from Brisbane, to become his stable rider, in 1946, when Sellwood had a comparatively low profile. It was the start of a long and rewarding partnership.

Sellwood won six Sydney riding premierships between 1949 and 1960. He won 22 races on Delta, including the Melbourne Cup and added a second Melbourne Cup on Toparoa. His other major wins included the Caulfield Cup (3), VRC Derby (5), Epsom (4), Sydney Cup (3) and AJC Derby (2), along with the Cox Plate and Golden Slipper.

He made several trips to Britain and France and won the Epsom Derby in 1962, but a few months later was fatally injured in a race fall in France, aged 39.

Begg, who trained the champion mare Emancipation, worked for McCarten for 22 years and was stable foreman for a decade, before setting on his own account in 1967.

McCarten’s stable began to wind down in the late 1960s and the great horseman died from cancer in 1971, aged 68.