Australian Campaign For Surprise Ending

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27407, 21 July 1954, Page 4

Australian Campaign For Surprise Ending

RACING

Surprise Ending will race in Australia in the spring if this good Riccarton staying filly progresses satisfactory in the meantime. Surprise Ending, winner of the New Zealand St. Leger and Great Northern Oaks this season, has been weighted at Bst 41b for the Melbourne Cup. She has made encouraging progress in her work lately, and it is intended to race her at the Grand National meeting before she leaves for Australia;

This programme was followed with My Hero last year. My Hero was placed in the Islington Handicap at Riccarton before his departure, and a few weeks later he won the Caulfield Cup.

Most New Zealand horses are taken to Melbourne by way of Sydney, but Surprise Ending will . probably be shipped direct from Bluff to Melbourne about the end of August. Flying Feet, a rising three-year-old filly also owned by Mr J. F. Kerr, has been freely nominated for races in Australia and will be taken with Surprise Ending if the trip comes off. Flying Feet has raced for a win and a third. She is small, but has good speed and marked gameness.

Riccarton Schooling Avonhead (Mr C. Cox) went over seven of the trial steeplechase fences at Riccarton yesterday at a strong pace. He took risks at the first of the double each time, but recovered cleverly. Avonhead wilL run in the Pareora Steeplechase at the South Canterbury Hunt Club’s meeting at Washdyke next Saturday. This will be his first race for about 14 months, but runs in point-to-point events have brought him to fitness.

Spike Jones (J. W. McDonald) jumped four hurdles cleanly and at a good pace.

The smart North Island hack, Sir William, is now at Riccarton to prepare for races at the Grand National meeting. He arrived under the care of his trainer, J. Nicholson, yesterday. Sir William was unbeaten in three starts this season leading up to the winter meeting at Trentham, and his reputation lost little of its lustre from his failure to carry big weights to victory on bad ground in the hack sprints on the first and third days. He was third under 9st 71b in the Woburn Hack Handicap on the first day, ana sixth last Saturday. Another arrival yesterday was the Ellerslie jumper Dunwold, winner of

the Great Northern. Steeplechase for the last two years. Dunwold had only one race at Trentham, where he plodded along at the tail of the field all the way in the Wellington Steeplechase. He failed in the Wellington Steeplechase and the Grand National last year, and may not have enough pace to do any better at Riccarton this year. Dunwold’s best performance on that southern trip was his second to Mandeville in the Lincoln Steeplchase. The Canterbury Jockey Club’s handicapper, Mr F. A. Jarrett, has scaled the Grand National Handicap down slightly on the Wellington weights, and Dunwold has got into the Grand National with lOst 131 b, 41b less than he carried at Trentham. Jumpers Return South. Colonel Argosy and Parsifal, the only South Island horses to race over country at Trentham, will be sent back to Southland this week, and will be spelled until next- year. Colonel Argosy failed in the Trentham Hurdles on the first day of the Wellington meeting, but ran second to Beauform in the Matai Steeplechase. He bled in both races, and that affected him, particularly in the hurdle race. Parsifal failed in his two races at the meeting. He had a setback after winning two races at the Dunedin winter meeting through being trapped in a float that capsized, and he may not have been at his best at Trentham. He is only five, and has plenty of time yet to make his mark in the best steeplechase class.

Colonel Argosy’s trainer, P. J. Boyle, jun., will return to Riccarton at the week-end. Two members of his team, Culton and Gold Mine, arrived from Invercargill last week to complete their preparation for races at the Grand National meeting. Culton won the Otago Hurdles in June, and Gold Mine was narrowly beaten by Blackfellow in the Quqpn Elizabeth Handicap after finishing - a close fourth in the sprint on the second day of the meeting. Parsifal’s trainer, M. J. Tait, has King’s Lace at Riccarton to prepare for races at the Grand National meeting.

King’s Lace is a rising three-year-old gelding by Timanova from Gay Lace. He showed ability to run second to The Boss in the two-year-old race on the second day of the Dunedin Jockey Club’s spring meeting last September. The Boss, the winner by half a length, ran the half-mile in 48 l-ssec, which equalled the track record.