LIGHT-WEIGHTS At OAMARU

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28540, 20 March 1958, Page 4

LIGHT-WEIGHTS At OAMARU

Compensate And Promise

It is some time since a provincial handicap field in the South Island has contained two light-weights of the ability of Compensate and Promise, which are candidates for the Oamaru Cup on Saturday. The performances of these two recent graduates will be of special interest in view of their campaigns at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s autumn meeting next month.

Compensate has 7-3, and will be ridden at a few pounds overweight by the leading jockey, W. D. Skelton.

Skelton has been associated with- the Kurow-owned, Oamarutrained Balloch gelding in his four successive wins, and that partnership will continue at Riccarton at Easter.

Skelton will be at Ellerslie to ride Cardinal King in the Easter Handicap on Easter Saturday, but two days later he will be at Riccarton for the mount on Compensate in the Great Easter.

Promise will be ridden in the Oamaru Cup by N. Eastwood, who has been associated with many good horses in their first successes in open company. Promise has not raced since the Wellington Cup meeting in January, where he was a close and rather unlucky second to Insignus in the Ruapehu Hack Handicap, 11 furlongs. Promise carried 9-4 and went under by only a head, a performance of considerable merit for a three-year-old.

Nineteen days earlier, on a track not to his liking, he won against the hack stayers at Waikouaiti. That was his first race since he won the Southland Guineas, which followed a Campaign at the New Zealand Cup meeting.

Mr V. Herlihy’s Golden Souvenir gelding had the Derby as his main mission on his campaign the last time he was at Riccarton. He finished sixth, but very close behind the winner, William Paul, in a spectacular finish.

In his only other start at the New Zealand ' Cup meeting, Promise was an unlucky second to Broken Wings in the Stonyhurst Handicap, nine furlongs.

Promise was the second foal from Frances, winner of the Auckland Cup, the C.J.C. Great Autumn Handicap, the W.R.C. Thompson Handicap and several other races for D. P. Wilson.