Fay wheels into Manuaku
Peter Fenemor • May 27th, 2025 3:03 PM • 4 min read
You cannot keep a good lady down. That expression certainly applies to 81-year-old Fay Lockhart who is making a strong recovery from an accident which resulted in a broken ankle.
Fay Lockhart is a popular member of the greyhound community who is a successful owner and more recently breeder.
Lockhart's involvement in greyhound racing began in 1994 through an association that her father had with the late trainer Ron Smith as she explains.
"Ron was training greyhounds at Whitford and then moved to Ardmore. I started going with Dad to Manukau meetings to watch Ron's greyhounds’ race.
"My interest in greyhounds grew from there and I started going to Cambridge race meetings and that's where I met Ray Adcock."
Ray Adcock was referred to as the doyen of New Zealand greyhound trainers having topped the NZ Trainers Premierships table on numerous occasions. He was also the inaugural inductee into the GRNZ Hall of Fame.
"One day Ray asked me if I wanted to race a greyhound and when I said yes, he said leave it to me. We raced the greyhounds Happy Days, Scotch Miss, Ringside and Disclaimer with moderate success.
"Ray told me that he felt they would be more competitive racing in the north so I approached Phil Green to see if he would train them. They enjoyed moderate success up here," advised Lockhart.
"I became aware of some nicely bred pups owned by Jose Arthur. I wrote to Ray asking him if we should buy some of those pups.
"Ray rang me back saying there's one here that looks alright. We finished up buying two of the pups who raced as Alternate Shot (31 wins) and Victoria Lu (16 wins) and I started flying down to Christchurch to watch them race," recalls Lockhart.
Ray Adcock passed away in 2021 and Fay Lockhart was determined to keep the master trainers name in the limelight.
In association with the Christchurch GRC, she instigated the Ray Adcock Memorial specifying that the race had to be for staying greyhounds who Adcock was a successful mentor off.
The Ray Adcock Memorial is now a Group 2 $20,000 event raced over 732m with the next edition to be contested at the Addington Raceway on July 17.
Lockhart attends the memorial race annually, providing the race trophy, along with prizes for the minor placegetters.
"I work in with Rays daughter Vanessa (Townsend) and together we keep Rays' name in the limelight," she explains.
Meanwhile Lockhart, along with Townsend carried on racing Alternate Shot and Victoria Lu under the ownership of F Lockhart & Estate of Ray Adcock with the Pokeno based conditioner Green.
When Victoria Lu came into season Lockhart sought the advice of leading northern breeding expert Dave Bryn who recommended the Victorian sire Bernardo with the resulting progeny racing under the same ownership structure.
Two of the litter has raced with You Turn indicating promise by winning three of his seven races (3 minors), while Highs And Lows has placed in all four of his C0 Manukau 318m sprints.
"Fay has been a long-time owner and a great friend - she is part of the family. She is full of humour, and we all love her to bits.
"It is fantastic the way Fay is determined to keep Dad’s name alive via the Memorial race and along with the ownership of Victoria Lu's pups," expressed Townsend. "We always have a great catch-up when Fay comes down to Christchurch sharing many laughs together.
"Fay is so loyal with a fabulous sense of humour. She sends us lovely handwritten letters and when Ray was under the weather, she would always provide friendly advice. We started calling her Doctor Lockhart.
"You just can't keep Fay down," advised Townsend and that factor has been illustrated since Lockhart's March 7 accident, resulting in ten-days in Middlemore Hospital, which was followed by a rest home recuperation period before being allowed home under care.
"I couldn't be more excited about being able to go back to Manukau," enthused Lockhart. "I have been very well looked after, and I have enjoyed the valued support provided by so many industry people."
And it was a successful May 11 return to Manukau where Fay Lockhart was able to watch You Turn win his 318m sprint and then celebrate at the post-race podium while being confined to a wheelchair, wearing a moonboot.
"Ray must have been looking down at us," reflected Lockhart, who is looking forward to bringing home her pet greyhound Cos (Disclaimer), who has been looked after by Green.
