W. D. Skelton Will Ride Derby Pick

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29046, 7 November 1959, Page 6

W. D. Skelton Will Ride Derby Pick

W. D. Skelton, who returned to New Zealand from Melbourne yesterday, will ride Desert Chief in the New Zealand Derby at Riccarton'today. Desert Chief has been one of the favourites for the classic since his third over a mile and a quarter in an open class handicap at the Gore spring meeting.

He was tested over 11 furlongs in the Buchanan Memorial at Motukarara last Saturday, and his close sixth could be considered a good Derby trial.

Mr G. J. Barton’s Ruthless colt came from the tail of the field in the straight, and finished less than a length and a half from the winner, Bagman. The Derby field is one of the most interesting on an attractive programme. There will be several wellperformed and promising aspirants for honours in the classic. To make matters more interesting several of them have not met before.

The best available North Island three-year-olds are in the field. From Takanini have come Lord Sasanof, winner of the Great Northern and Wellington Guineas; and the highly-regarded Grasher, winner of his last two races as a hack in the Auckland district. Won at Ellerslie

Grasher beat the capable Commodore Roberts at Ellerslie last Saturday, and his trainer, J. Williamson, brought him south by air on Thursday. Williamson will ride Grasher in the classic. Sol d’Or won the Hawke’s Bay Guineas three starts back. He did not manage to improve his record at Trentham, but track conditions likely to be offering today will be more to his liking. Sudak is another Guineas winner in the field. He won the Wanganui race, then ran second to Sol d’Or in the Hastings classic. Hopes for a Canterbury victory will be banked mainly on John Jameson, Screen Play and Surrend.

John Jameson has made steady improvement with recent racing and there is confidence that he will be the third Derby winner from E. J. Ellis’s Washdyke stable. Earlier Derby winners for the stable were Port Boy (1954), and William Paul (1957).

John Jameson is a bay colt by Alonzo from the Salmagundi mare, Colaheen. Screen Play

Screen Play is another son of Alonzo. His dam. Cinema, was got

by Balloch, sire of the 1951 Derby winner Dalray and many other very good stayers. Screen Play was runner-up to Cadiz in the Dunedin Guineas, and he has taken to longer races with good results, having won twice in the meantime.

R. J. Skelton, who won on William Paul, will ride Screen Play. A Riccarton victory will probably depend mainly on the performance of Surrend, the only filly in the field. Surrend was fourth in the Wellington Guineas and the Desert Gold Stakes at the Wellington spring meeting. Each time she was a strong finisher, and there is good reason to believe she will come to her best form, like her dam Surprise Ending did, when she is introduced to middle distance racing. Surprise Ending was the best staying filly of her time.