RACING Robin Hood Picked For Washdyke

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28950, 18 July 1959, Page 6

RACING Robin Hood Picked For Washdyke

Robin Hood, runner-up to Kastenea in the Otaio Handicap on the course a fortnight ago, is generally expected to gain his first win for Mr D. W. J. Gould in the Levels Handicap, the second leg of the oncourse double, at the South Canterbury Hunt Club’s annual meeting at Washdyke today. Robin Hood, a Count Rendered three-year-old trained by J. C. Tomkinson at Riccarton, has shown steady improvement in each of his three previous races. He showed race-winning fitness in his final trial at Riccarton on Thursday when he proved capable of matching his open class stablemate, Copenhagen, at a mile.

Cassock Rose, the Novice Stakes winner at Waimate last Saturday, is top-weight with 9-2. This Wingatui-trained Cassock mare has proved herself capable from six furlongs to almost a mile and a half of late. At Washdyke a fortnight ago she was tried against the staying hacks and performed creditably to finish third. A mile and 35 yards should not bother her, but to give Robin Hood 101 b and a beating will not be an easy task. Tarmine, a place-getter against the hack milers at Te Awamutu last month, had his first start from the Waimate stable of P. H. R. Andrews in the Otaio Handicap on this course on July 4. In that race he came from a long way back in the field to finish a close sixth. If he can be kept closer to the front this time Tarmine may prove more difficult than Cassock Rose for Robin Hood to match. The best of the remainder might be Glare, Mary Brown and Night Sock. Fair Flow and Gypsy Gay have been scratched from the Levels Handicap. Gleniti Stakes The first leg of the on-course double will be the Gleniti Stakes, in which Attention and Happy Link have been scratched. The two-year-olds. Sudd el Nil and Race Book, are expected to be fully tested for the major honours by the Rlcearton-trained mare. Lady Minto, in this event Montrose and Royal Avon have dropped out of the Claremont Handicap, the main flat race and first leg of the TA..B. double. Royal Avon’s defection reduces Riccarton representation in the field to two runners and somewhat diminishes the hope of a local victory. He was considered a stronger form candidate than his stablemate. Ration Time. However, if Ration Time is caught in one of her more generous galloping moods success would not be beyond her. Waterfall, the other Riccarton candidate, will probably find a mile and 35 yards too far in this —her first start in a fresh campaign. X. \ Appreciate, last year’s winner, will not find the class here as testing as that which opposed him in two starts at the Wellington winter meeting. With average luck in the running Appreciate may be capable of carrying top-weight of 9-7 to his second victory in the race. Jesse Owens, a decisive winner against the open milers on the course a fortnight ago, and Pink Rose, a last-start winner over a mile at Ashburton in May, may be Appreciate'* strongest opponents. Penlow Handicap Underbid, a powerful Alonzo gelding trained at Washdyke by W. P. Hogan, should come out on top in the second leg of the T.A-B. double, the Penlow Hack Handicap. Underbid was definitely the unlucky runner in the Otaio Handicap On the same course a fortnight ago. He was one of the stragglers away from the mile and 35 yards barrier and had only three of 20 runners behind him at the end of half a furlong. A powerful run which had to be made wide out on the

home turn carried him into third place behind Kastenea and Robin Hood at the post. Sir Edwin is racing more consistently at present than at any other stage of his career. Three starts back he was runner-up to Kaseno over this distance at Washdyke on June 27. His two races since have been over hurdles and at his second try in that role, at Waimate last Saturday, he finished second to

Aquarius. It would n<ft .surprise to see him switch back to flat racing again successfully. The top-weight. Archway, may prove best of the others. He had to be used up in the first two furlongs of the Studholme Hack and Hunters* Flat Handicap at Waimate last Saturday and was left without a finishing run when the challenges came. That was his second start for the day. He had been successful earlier under 12-0 in the non-totalisator hack sprint in which the runners had the services of amateur riders. Peraea is to start in the-Pentlow Hack Handicap in preference to the Kennels Hack Handicap. Jumpers are well catered for on the programme. There are two races for ’chasers, and the Hadlow Hack Hurdles. In the Pareora Steeples the runners will be ridden by amateur riders. The Teschemaker Steeplechase is the principal cross-country race on the programme. Struggle, a form runner and dual acceptor, will contest the Pareora Steeplechase in preference to the Teschemaker Steeplechase, a race in which De Gaulle is also Scratched. Nonplussed is to contest the Teschemaker instead of the Pareora Steeples. Bargain, Erin's Isle and De Bracey, which were all reserves in the Hadlow Hack Hurdles, failed to get back into the field The weather in South Canterbury has continued fine during the week, and the track will provide first-class winter going.