RACING Rising Fast Had Last Start In Fisher Plate

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28130, 20 November 1956, Page 4

RACING Rising Fast Had Last Start In Fisher Plate

The champion gelding Rising Fast, Australia and New Zealand’s greatest stake winner, had his last race in the C. B. Fisher Plate at Flemington last Saturday, according to a message received from Melbourne yesterday. He will return to New Zealand, and will spend his remaining days in retirement. on the farm of his owner's son at Whakatane.

Rising Fast, now a seven-year-old. has won £66,765 in stake money as the result of 24 wins, 16 seconds, and a dead-heat for second, and two thirds from 66 starts.

Rising Fast was bred by Messrs F. R. and B. A. Robertson at Platform Farm, Grey town, in the Wairarapa. He was a late foal, being born on November 23, 1949, and he was sold by his breeders at the 1951 national sales at Trentham for 325 guineas. The buyer was Wright, Stephenson and Company, as agents for Mr L. R. Spring, who has newspaper and farming interests in Whakatane. Mr Spring asked Mr C. E. Robertson, sales manager and father of the breeders of Rising Fast, to select him a medium-priced colt that would develop into a stayer, and Mr Robertson’s choice of the Alonzo—Faster colt, which became Rising Fast, was a happy one for all parties concerned. Rising Fast raced for three seasons in New Zealand, and won seven races and was six times placed, for stakes valued at £4055. In his last season in New Zealand an incident occurred which nearly cost the champion one year of his racing career. Rising Fast became a storm centre after his failure, when favourite, in the Te Awamutu Cup at the Waipa Racing Club’s meeting at Te Awamutu on December 12. 1953. At a subsequent inquiry into the horse’s performance his trainer, J. W. Winder, and the apprentice jockey, R. P. Salisbury, were suspended for not running Rising Fast on Kis merits.

The horse was not penalised by the club’s judicial committee, and the following week, from the Te Rapa stable of A. Winder, Rising Fast decisively won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ohinemuri from Mt. Denby and Red Jester.

Two days later the Waikato District Committee issued its findings on the appeals of the suspended trainer and jockey, and both sentences were increased. In addition they disqualified the horse for 12 months.

Mr Spring, who had been exonerated from any part of not running Rising Fast on his merits in the Te Awamutu Cup. appealed to the New Zealand Racing Conference against the disqualification of his horse, which in the meantime had not been able to run in either the Royal Auckland or Wellington Cups. The appeal proved successful, and on March 30, 1954. the appeal judges appointed by the Racing Conference lifted the disqualification on Rising Fast. Australian Campaign Rising Fast was then transferred to the Takanini stable of I. Tucker, and under his guidance the horse wa* taken across the Tasman to begin a campaign which was to make Rising

Fast the idol of the Australian public His first start produced a second ii? the Flying Handicap at Doomben on June 5, and his only win in the Brisbane area before moving south to Victoria was in the Barnes Plate, but from then on Rising Fast went from success to success. By the end of the season he had added another £32.275 to his stake earnings His most important wins were the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, and he also excelled at weight-for-agc, winning the Feehan Stakes. Turnbull Stakes. Caulfield Stakes, Cox Plate MacKinnon Stakes, Fisher Plate and the Carbine Stakes. He also finished second in the Underwood Stakes, St. George Stakes, Queen's Plate. Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Autumn Stakes.

In the autumn of 1955. Rising Fast suffered a setback which indicated that his racing career may have ended, but he returned to form to win his second Caulfield Cup, and then run a gallant second to Toparoa in the Melbourne Cup. This season, Rising Fast has won the Memsie Stakes, weight-for-agc, at his secqnd start, but in his most recent efforts it has been evident that age and weight are starting to dim his brilliance, and the news of the decision of his owner to retire the champion will be well received. Rising Fast’s sire, Alonzo, a son 01 the English Derby winner. Mid-day Sun. was imported to New Zealand by Mr W. R. Stead, of the Sasanof Stud. Hastings. Rising Fast’s dam. Faster, is by Mr Standfast (halfbrother to Beau Pere and Balloch) from Cutie by Nigger Minstrel (brother to Desert Gold) from Miss Cute, a Charles O’Malley mare imported to Okawa Stu,d, Hawke’s Bay, by the late Mr T. H. Lowry.

Visiting Jockeys from Australia Five of Australia’s leading jockeys will be making a holiday visit to New Zealand in January and wii! attend the Wellington Cup and the National Yearling Sales. N. Sellwood, who rides for M. McCarten. is accompanying that trainer who regularly patronises the sales. The others are A. Ward and G. Moore, who ride for T. J. Smith. J. Stanfield, a leading Brisbane rider who is accompanying the prominent Queensland trainer F. Best, and R Hutchinson, a leading Melbourne jockey, who is coming with C. Hayes, one of the leading trainers in Adelaide.

It is understood that some, if not all. of the visitors will seek licence? and ride here during the visit. Moore is the only one of the five to have ridden previously in New Zealand. At the Wellington Cup meteing in 1953 he won the Nursery Handicap on Surrey Gold. Manawatu Cup Distance The distance of the Manawatu Cup. to be run at Awapuni on December 22. has been increased to two miles, making it the sixth race of that length in the season. Last year, the Manawatu Cup was run over a mile and three furlongs, and from 1943 to 1954 inclusive, it was a mile and five furlongs. The stake this year will be including a gold cup valued at £135.