He was clunky, angular and more carthorse than racehorse, but his bulk mattered little 

Gloaming was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse, owned, trained, and based in New Zealand. He set many records which included the Australasian record (jointly held with Desert Gold, Black Caviar and Winx) of 19 plus successive wins, many in Principal Races. Gloaming was unusual in that he was a champion who won many major races in both Australia and New Zealand. Gloaming still holds the Australasian record of 45 seconds for four furlongs, (804m). He was a robust bay gelding standing 15 hands 3 inches high, a solid horse with a good length of rein and a stride capable of covering 25ft. Gloaming was sired by the good imported racehorse and sire, The Welkin (GB) out of the unplaced mare, Light (GB), who was by the good sire, Eager. His paternal grandsire was the English Triple Crown champion, Flying Fox. Gloaming was sold as a yearling in 1916 for 230 guineas to H. Chisholm acting on behalf of George D. Greenwood, of Teviotdale in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Following the sale he made his first of 15 crossings of the Tasman Sea, often aboard the vessel, the Ulimaroa, and he was a devout traveller of over 35,000 miles in the name of racing.

Unraced as a two-year old, Gloaming commenced his career by winning the 1918 WFA Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick by eight lengths in record time. He followed this with wins in the AJC Derby and the New Zealand and Great Northern Derbies. From 1919 to 1921 he won 19 races in succession, equalling the Australasian record of Desert Gold. Gloaming had a long career, racing from age three to nine years, which included victories over other champion racehorses such as the brilliant Desert Gold, Beaufort, Kennaquhair, Whittier and The Hawk. In the spring of 1922 the seven-year-old engaged in a series of four legendary match races with his arch rival, Beauford; the score being two wins each. As a nine-year-old Gloaming was still a top performer, winning eight of his ten starts. In his swan song at the age of ten, Gloaming beat the latest Kiwi champion, The Hawk, in the Ormond Gold Cup. He was successful at distances from four furlongs to a mile and a half. From 1918 until 1926, he won 57 races from 67-lifetime starts. Gloaming was runner-up nine times, leaving just one thorough defeat, and that occurred in the North Island Challenge Stakes. of 1919 when he fell while entangled in the barrier tape.

Gloaming was retired in 1926 as the greatest money-spinner in Australasia. He had eclipsed Carbine (NZ) and Eurythmic in that respect, and he lived out his days on good grass at Teviotdale, sharing a fence with the stallion Sutala (NZ). In 1928, Greenwood’s wife published Gloaming: The Wonder Horse, a copy of which was accepted by King George V in England, and on May 5, 1932, the great old gelding died at home. Gloaming succumbed to an inflammation of the stomach, and a week to the day later, his trainer, Dick Mason, followed his great horse into the afterlife at 79 years of age. His list of victories are too immense to mention, but he won most major features on both sides of the Tasman making him close to the greatest.

RACE RECORD - 67: 57-9-0
EARNINGS - £43,100

Chelmsford Stakes (1918)
AJC Derby (1918)
New Zealand Derby (1918)
Wanganui Guineas (1918)
Great Northern Derby (1919)
Arc Islington Plate (1918, 1919, 1920)
WRC Wellington Stakes (1919)
Wanganui Jackson Stakes (1919,1921,1922, 1924)
North Island Challenge Stakes (1922, 1924, 1925)
Craven Plate (1919, 1922, 1924)
Hill Stakes (1922)
Ormond Memorial Gold Cup (1922, 1925)
Melbourne Stakes (1924)
AJC Spring Stakes (1924)

Australian Racing Hall of Fame
New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame (2006)
Gloaming Stakes run at Rosehill Racecourse