RACING Saboteur Wins Harcourt Stakes From Ray Ribbon

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27490, 26 October 1954, Page 4

RACING Saboteur Wins Harcourt Stakes From Ray Ribbon

(From Our Own Reporter)

October 25. unlucky horse in the !5?”£ Ca ?£ 3? toe and second days of the Wellington spring meet- , L £’ rewarded at Trentham today ' WOn the Harcourt Stakes at Ight ’£ or ’age for Mr J. A. Higgs, for A.^R 11 T^Beal trained at Awa Puni by The four-year-old Sabaean gelding '■ 1116 first time at the 4 meeting by W. L. Aitken, and he shone ‘ fP ri “ te L a < l ualit y necessary in a race run half a second slower than the time recorded by the winner of the • ai^r* nce h3ck race, the previous event. - Hiccarton three-year-old, Ray .!. on * gave Saboteur strongest oppo- ' £• 1O « n * He £ amel y. attempted to hold , his lead after sharing the pacemaking ■* ? r . om th® half-mile, but Saboteur was ‘ "ULsuperior in finishing speed. ” P 1! race c °uld have certainly been a better test for stamina, but Ray Rib- - 5P n , s Pacing was still an encouraging .Derby trial. Third was the Trentham four-year- ' ’ ° which had his chance. j. —. T* l ® Hawke’s Bay Guineas winner, ■ • Privy Council, was fourth, Golden Tan showed little of his last ! , season s , dash. He was fifth, and never looked likely to be any closer, but he ' gallop with any freedom on the hard track. Golden Tan was the favourite. Showed Great Class Aureomycin showed his great class to win the Pearce Handicap for the - second successive year. He had to run » the mile in Imin 36? sec, equalling the - track Record, to master Sombrero, .. which gave him a hard chase from the 9 -furlong. G. F. Hughes earned top marks for his handling of Aureomycin, which has . not been able to stand an orthodox preparation, because of hard tracks at , Awapuni. Hughes nursed Aureomycin \ as long as he could—too late for com- *• fort, in the opinion of many backers—and a brilliant late run gave him a if. half-head victory in the last stride. A powerful run from near the rear t. carried Some Tiki into third place, a full length and a half back, just beati ing the top-weight, Hutton; and five others, in as thrilling a finish for a - minor placing as it would be possible to imagine. This was Trentham racing at its best. Pharoah’s Castle rounded off the . day’s _ double by winning the Nainai Handicap at good odds. Ninth favourite in a field of 10, he won too well to admit of excuses for the others, because he had the whole field in front t of him at the end of a furlong. 5 Pharoah’s Castle also won the second ? leg of the double on the final day of the winter meeting at Trentham. The Aureomycin-Pharoah’s Castle _ combination carried 644 J tickets on the 1 double, and paid £147 10s for £l. Pharoah’s Castle is a stablemate of I Sublime, the beaten favourite in the i Pearce Handicap. Both are owned by g G. S. Walton, of Otaki. | The programme was run in ideal weather, and on a fast track. I The on-course totalisator turnover ? for the day was £206,928, including • £19.788 on the double, compared with g £ 185.872 last year. The total for the L meeting was £605.918. Last year it f was £555,725 10s. Saboteur’s Win Ray Ribbon appeared likely to take up 5 the winning record of the three-year-olds t- in the Harcourt Stakes where Beaumaris i left off five years ago. He ran into a r. clear lead early in the run home, but he L beaten in the sprint by Saboteur, k whose wttning margin was a length. Idaho was a length and a half back, [: third. After a furlong Idaho was in front, but . going only at half pace. C. McDonald did !• something towards avoiding a complete farce when he allowed Lucky Cast to run along in front before going to the mile, and soon after Ray Ribbon, which had - been squeezed back soon after the start, »- moved into second place. h- Lucky Cast and Ray Ribbon were on ; terms at the half-mile, where they led Idaho and Privy Council by a length. ' Golden Tan and Saboteur were next another length back. Then there was a length to Gold Ember, and another to Glenkay. There were no changes among • the leaders on the home turn, but Lucky -Cast reached the end of his run soon - after. - Ray Ribbon led to the furlong, but Saboteur brilliantly closed on him. The Z Riccarton three-year-old did not go under X without a determined fight, but Saboteur iheld him safely. £ Idaho beat Privy Council by two lengths for third, and the favourite. Golden Tan. was another two lengths back, fifth. Then there was a gap of four lengths to Gold 3 Ember, a length to Glenkay, and four lengths to Lucky Cast. j Last-Stride Victory -- Sombero had the Pearce Handicap won • at all stages of the last furlong, until a stride from the post. He went under very to a brilliant challenge from .fa Aureomycin, which was cleverly nursed fa by G. F. Hughes. There was a magnificent .fa finish for third, a length and a quarter

Ien < th ; same. Waioeka was fourth. Time, Imin 25sec. Dividends.—Win: £4 18s 6d_ Places: £2 2s 6d, £2 10s 6d, £6 3s 6d 4> a nn RO t? NEATH HANDICAP, 3. 3—Ten Grand car. 7-131 7. 7—Luckydale car. 7-1 U Hughes 2 Mideer °a d a‘ e p ?: *’ * started’ 8 ' 8 Popcorn: 6 ’ 8 Lacom also Halt a length; halt a head. Lacom wa, fourth. Time. BOsec. £?'lte! e £3 S IT. Wln: £2 ’ Pllces: £1 58 M - PEARCE HANDICAP, Of £2500. One mile. 2. 2—AUREOMYCIN 8-12 „ _ _ G. F. Hughes 1 7. 6—Sombrero car. 7-13 a a o - - W. J. Broughton 2 1 ,, 4 7, 5 ?? i 3 Tlkl 7 ' lo N - E. Eastwood 3 . t 1 ’.. 11 Hutton; s. 8 Kingship; 3, 3 Way In; 10, 10 Elixir; 12. 12 Lovtly Bouquet; 5. 5 Santiago; a, 9 Beau Areal 8 7 tesfwrado; 1. 1 Sublime; 13, 13 Poetical; IS. 15 Sleipnir: 14. 14 chattan; 16. le General Grant also started. Half a head; length and a half. Hutton was fourth. Time, Imin 38fsec (equals track record). Dividends.—Win: £5 15s. Places: £2 Bs, £3 15s, £3 4s 6d. HINEMOA HACK HANDICAP, Of £9OO. One mile and three furlongs. 1. I—BONNY ANNF 8-9 V. J. Sellars 1 4. s—Swift Flutter 8-4 W. L. Aitken 2 3. 4—Locherbie 8-9 .. C. A. Bowry 3 6, 7 Redcraze; 5,2 Annexe bracketed Bulla; 7, 6 Indian Sue; 8, 8 Bowater; 12, 12 Dalmarnock; 11. 11 Strathcarron; 2, 3 Va Vite; 15, 15 Exultant; 14, 14 Harleston; 10, 9 Bernard; 9, 10 Silver City; 13, 13 The Trappist also started. Length; three-quarters of a length. Redcraze w’as fourth. Time, 2min 19jsec. Dividends.—Win: £5 3s 6d. Places: £2 Is. £2 16s 6d. £2 Bs. HARCOURT STAKES, Of £2OC Weight-for-age. One mile and three furlongs. 3. 3—SABOTEUR 9-0 .. W. L. Aitken 1 4. 4—Ray Ribbon 7-11 N. E. Eastwood 2 2. 2—ldaho 9-0 .. K. A. Nuttall 3 1, 1 Golden Tan; 6, 6 Lucky Cast; 8, 8 Glenkay: 7, 7 Gold Ember; 5, 5 Privy Council also started. Length; length and a half. Privy Council was fourth. Time, 2min 19isec. Dividends.—Win; £5 ss. Places: £1 15s, £2 2s. £1 9s. NAINAI HANDICAP, Of £1750. Seven furlongs. 9. 9—PHAROAH’S CASTLE 7-6 P. M. Mudgway 1 5. s—Rutillant 7-5 .. B. P. Wood 2 4. 3—Crusoe Bay 7-10 N. E. Eastwood 3 10, 10 Fo’c’sle; 1, 1 John Gilpin; 2,2 Seven Bells; 8, 7 Sanford; 7, 6 Ruletta: 6. 8 Intellect; 3, 4 Style; 11, 11 Admiral’s Choice also started. Length; half a head. Ruleta was fourth. Time, Imin 24Jsec. Dividends—Win: £l7 15s. Places: £4 3s, £2 7s 6d, £2 5s 6d. RUAHINE HACK HANDICAP, Of £750. One mile. 1. I—SIR WILLIAM 9-4 C. McDonald 1 3. 3—Geelong 9-1 .. C. A. Bowry 2 2. 2 Tarwe 8-4 .. N. A. Crombie 3 5, 4 Sugar Bowl; 12, 12 Aer Lingus; 6. 6 Fairmile; 10. 8 Golden Offer; 8, K) Amber Inkpot; 4, 5 Arabian Chief; 11, 11 Chateau; 7, 7 Cool Air; 9, 3 Josiah also started. Half a length; same. Fairmile was fourth. Time. Imin 28Jsec. Dividends.—Win: £2 ss. Places: £1 8s 6d, £1 19s, £1 17s. MINOR EVENTS AT TRENTHAM BERSERK OUTSTAYS HURDLERS (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 25. Berserk, ninth favourite in a field of 11 clearly outstayed the others in the Rona Hurdles at Trentham today. It was his first race as a jumper at the meeting. He drew up to Puketoi going to the last hurdle, and mastered the top-weight and

favourite on landing, going on for a length victory. « Cabana made Puketoi work very hard to earn second placing. Puketoi ran into 4 a clear lead at toe three furlongs, and battled on gamely under his weight of , 10-11. Cabana, ridden this time by S. A. ! Waddell instead of R. B. Hill, was pro- ; minent all the way, and ran Puketoi to a ; long head in their struggle for second place. Canadian showed improvement to take : fourth, close by. He was just behind the pacemaking Puketoi on the home turn. : but, there. Berserk, which was on toe outside, ran past him with ease. ! Bullenzo was two lengths back, fifth, five lengths clear of the South Island horse, Irish Saint, winner of the hurdles < on Saturday. Irish Saint was close be- ( hind the leader starting toe last half- : mile, but drifted from toe three furlongs. Only one failed to get round. Mere- i light dropped his rider at the second : jump, when tailed off. Berserk is a slx-year-old gelding by i Beau Vite from Kotou. trained by P. Burgess, of Woodville, for Messrs T. W. ; Bognuda and E. R. G. Steere. Copenhagen in Form Copenhagen challenged strongly from a handy position early in the home run to reach toe front at the furlong in toe Tararua Handicap. Kept up to his work by A. J. Stokes, he ran on well for a : half-length victory over the fast-finishing ! Macduff, another Riccarton-trained candidate. It was an overdue win for Copenhagen, which has run few bad races for Mr D. , W. J. Gould, for whom he is trained by J. C. Tomkinson. Copenhagen was in the first half dozen at the end of a furlong, and from the half mile to near the home turn he was racing on his own, with Eulyth, Tups, Jaffa, Lucky Admiral, and Waioeka in , front of him. Copenhagen was galloping very keenly coming, to the home turn, but Stokes did not call on him for his final effort until after straightening up. The Admiral’s Luck gelding responded boldly, closing the gap to the leaders with ease. After reaching toe front, he never looked likely to surrender his lead, strong though Macduff finished. Macduff’s placing was creditable, however. He was slow to jump' away, and was at the tali of the field after a furlong. He still had seven horses In front of him on the home turn, but his strong run in the straight carried him into second place, half a length in front of the top weight, Delude, which had been in front momentarily just outside the furlong. Waioeka was a fair fourth, after having every chance, two lengths clear of Shaun, one of the slow beginners from near toe outside of the field. - Jungle and Cromarty were next, at length intervals. Hot Favourite Wins The hot favourite, Warwick, did not have to work hard for victory in the Roseneath Handicap, after being in front all the way. Ten Grand and Luckydale were closest to him in toe straight, but W. J. Broughton rode the Woodvilletrained Count Rendered colt confidently, sitting quite still to hold them to half a length. » Ten Grand challenged on the inner from close behind the leaders, and Luckydale came fast wider out, showing good speed and promise of an early win in a long run from near the tail of the field. Lacorn led toe others home, but was four lengths back. She had every chance, although she started from the outside after giving trouble. Gold Sieve disputed the lead with Warwick running down the chute, but he ran about greenly racing over the junction, and bored out, losing ground. He made no impression on the leaders, but finished fifth ahead of Official. Bonny Anne Wins Bonny Anne, runner-up to Half-a-Crown on Saturday, had easier opposition in the Hinemoa Handicap, and she won neatly by a length from the Te Rapa-trained Swift Flutter and Locherbie. Bonny Anne, the favourite, but at good odds, had nine runners in front of her at the half-mile, and had improved only slightly from there to the home turn. She galloped powerfully early in the run home, however, to get to the front at the furlong, and from that point she easily had the measure of the others. Swift Flutter did very well to get up for second. After being at the tail of the field starting toe last half-mile, he was at a big disadvantage, because there had been a dawdling pace early in the race. He had to show speed to challenge when the pace went on. Locherbie was just in front of Bonny Anne starting the run home. He gave ais backers some hope when he moved into > second place going to toe furlong, but ; he was safely held by Bonny Anne and swamped for finishing speed by Swift [ Flutter. Redcraze, winner of two races earlier at the meeting, gave a further glimpse . of his ability by carrying 9-9 into fourth place, after being at toe rear at the half- . mile. Annexe end Va Vite also came from well back for fifth and sixth respectively, and Bowater. which had done most of ( the pacemaking, was seventh. > Sir William Succeeds 3 Sir William, a firm favourite, recorded g his first win since he joined L. J. Ellis’s _ RiccartBn stable in the Ruahine Handicap. 1 He had the run of the race on the inside, behind toe leaders, and was pulled

'■-back. Some Tiki just getting up to beat 1 ; Hutton. ' : 2 The favourite, Sublime, was one of the slowest beginners, and was last at the ’ ■ 5 end of a furlong. Other slow beginners ifa were General Grant, Kingship, Some Tiki, ’ fa and Elixir. Santiago led in the early . •Z- stages from Desperado. Hutton, Way In, ! -s Aureomycin, Lovely Bouquet, Sleipnir. ' ■fa Poetical, Chattan, Elixir, Kingship, and 2 Beau Area; Some Tiki and Sublime being 1 ® the tail-enders. fa Hutton ran to the front going to the | ,S half-mile, where Lovely Bouquet, Santi- , fa ago, Elixir, Desperado, and Sleipnir were '■ fa next, just ahead of Aureomycin, which was going freely on the inner. Kingship • . - was pulling hard and improving his posi- , ■fa tion wider out on the track, a little way < • back, with Sombrero close by. fa Hutton and Lovely Bouquet were to- , “ gether in front on the home turn. Santiago was in the trailing position, alongside S, the Riccarton-trained Desperado. and > fa Kingship was showing up wider out, with fa Sleipnir, Aureomycin, and Somberero in- . fa side him. l E Hutton dropped Lovely Bouquet going to the furlong, but Sombrero ran past the I 2 top-weight so strongly that W. J. Brough - '*2! ton seemed certain to win on the Wood5 ville four-year-old. The post was very fa near when Aureomycin drew up to him, •fa and only the last stride gave the handfa some Awapuni horse one of the narrowest fa of victories. fa Some Tiki’s brilliant run from the home turn gave him third place, a length and sS a half back. Hutton was a neck back, 2 fourth, and then there was half a head to Aureomycin's stablemate. Beau Area, fa Kingship was a nose away, sixth, a neck in front of Poetical. Then there was a fa head to Way In, half a head to Elixir, a tg neck to Sublime, and a head to Santiago. ;«■ Desperado faded to fourteenth, fa Won Decisively fa Pharoah’s Castle drifted to the tail of fa the field inside the first furlong in the ft Nainai Handicap, the second leg of the fa double, but came strongly into the picfa ture just outside toe furlong, and won fa decisively by a length. The camera had S 3 to separate Rutillant, Crusoe Bay. and Ruletta in a hard finish for the minor fa Bells led early from Style, fa Rutillant. and Sandford, but Intellect fa dashed through to reach the front going fa to the five furlongs. Style and Ruletta \Z were closest to Intellect at the half-mile, fa and John Gilpin and Seven Bells were ■S together next, just in front of Admiral’s 6 Choice. There, Pharoah’s Castle had only Fo’c’sle behind him. Intellect held his lead to toe furlong. I. but Pharoah’s Castle dashed past him bee fore he got much further. The grey was fa kicked up over the last half-furlong, and fa never looked likely to surrender his. ~ lead. ... - fa- Rutillant beat Saturday’s winner, Crusoe ’ Bay, by half a head for second, and Sg Ruletta was right up in line, fourth. The * favourite, John Gilpin, was a weakening fifth, three lengths back, and was foli* lowed by Admiral’s Choice, Seven Bells, fa Style, Intellect, and Sanford. fa Fo’c’sle broke down and was pulled up fa near the post. .fa Results:— KONA HURDLES, Of £lOOO. Two miles. 7 9. 9—BERSERK rar. 9-0 j J. Walker 1 1. I—Puketoi 10-11 .. A. G. Waddell 2 B 3. 4—Cabana 10-4 S. A Waddell 3 5. 5 Canadian; 7. 7 Opposition; 2,2 Irish 13 Saint; 4, 3 Sasin; 8. 8 Bullenzo; 16, 10 ftg Golden Spa: 11, 11 Merelight (lest rider); [-S, 6, 6 Rory O’Moore also started. Length; long head. Canadian was L— fourth. Time, 3mm 352 sec. I - Dividends—Win: £32 14s 6d. Places: £6 2s, £1 14s 6d, £1 19s 6d. ! x TARARUA HACK HANDICAP, Of £750. Seven furlongs. I’2 1. 2—COPENHAGEN 9-0 A. J. Stokes 1 f 3 3. 4—Macduff 8-0 .. N. E. Eastwood 2 tfa 16. 10—Delude 9-6 W. L. Aitken 3 f.E 2. 1 Shaun: 5. 6 Waioeka; 9, 9 Jaffa; 8, 8 Lucky Admiral: 7. 7 Eulvth; 13. 12 Kata- £•;'*= ban; 6, 5 Cromarty; 4. 3 Jungle; 11, JI | Tups; 12, 13 Full Rate also started.

out to challenge wider out going to toe furlong, where he was in front. C. McDonald had to pull the whip on the big Gold Nib gelding inside the last 100 yards, when the top-weight, Geelong, challenged, and the favourite held on /or a half-length victory. Geelong was about two places behind Sir William at the half-mile, but did not get really into the picture until well inside the last furlong. Tarwe, which had nine horses in front of him at toe half-mile, ran on strongly for third, another half-length back. The others, led home by Fairmile, were beaten off. Fairmile just shaded Chateau, Josiah, and Amber Inkpot. Canterbury Jockey Club Acceptances Acceptances for all events on the first day of the New Zealand Cup Meeting to be held at Riccarton on Saturday next, will close at 4 p.m. Today. Advt,