RACING Motueka Bracket Will Be Popular

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29145, 4 March 1960, Page 4

RACING Motueka Bracket Will Be Popular

1 lie Motueka-Taniarisk bracket will have solid backing in the Peninsula Handicap, the main race and first leg of the double at the Banks Peninsula Racing Club’s meeting tomorrow.

Motueka and Tamarisk are trained at Riccarton by J. S. Shaw, who races Tamarisk in partnership with Mr J. MacG. Inglis.

1 he stablemates did one of the best trials over a bit of ground in training yesterday and should be tit to last out the hardest gallop oxer 11 furlongs.

Motueka, top weight with 8-11. will be having his twentieth start for the season, and he will be trying for his second win in that time.

Six starts ago he won the Wairarapa Cup under 8-I.’ He failed in richer class at the Wellington Cup meeting, but there is good reason to expect him to make some contribution towards his sound record in this field. Motueka is 131 b above Tamarisk. which did his latest racing at Wingatui. Two starts there produced a second (to Shoal) and a fifth in the Wingatui Handicap last Saturday.

The run of the race went against Tamarisk at a vital stage of the Wingatui Handicap—at a time when it was practically essential to hold a position close to the front before there was a quickening of a rather slack pace. But by the time they quickened Tamarisk had gone right back through the field. He started a likely-looking run from there, but it was not surprising to find him weakening in his big run after the leaders near the furlong. Before his Dunedin campaign 'tamarisk was fourth in the Midsummer Handicap at Riccarton. Fifth, and not far behind him that day, was Count Pierre, which was having his first openclass test. Light-weight Chance Count Pierre should manage 11 furlongs capably enough with 7-7 and from his place in the weights he should take beating. Count Pierre is the only four-year-old in the field and shows more scope for improvement than most if not all his rivals.

Magic Circle, winner of the Timaru Cup and runner-up to Rustic in the Waikouaiti Cup this season, has not raced since the Wellington Cup meeting but anything like one of his best runs would give him a strong chance He was a determined finisher for seventh in the Wellington Cup, but that hard race left its mark on him temporarily, and he failed in the Summer Handicap over a mile and a half on the third day of the meeting.

Cruising. Brookfields Lad, and King Lyn are recent winners in the field, but their successes came in fairly modest company. Brookfields Lad was the highweight winner at Amberley: Cruising won the corresponding race at Riccarton a week later.

Westport Winner King Lyn, one of the lesser lights—he was fifth —in the highweight at Riccarton, has since ■won against milers at Westport. Two he beat at Westport. Whiohau and Gay Tommy, will oppose him again tomorrow. Whiohau was placed in this race last year. He has been busy this season, but has not managed to win. Even a fourth against good stayers in the Summer

Handicap at Trentham was no lead-up. as might have been expected. to early success in much weaker fields. It seems that Whiohau likes to be one of the crowd; of it, not apart from it. Favouritism in the Kinloch Handicap, the second leg of the double, will probably rest with Cheyenne, the top weight with 8-13.

Cheyenne will be having his first race since he won the mile Thomdon Handicap on the final day of the Wellington Cup meeting. One of his unplaced rivals in the Thorndon Handicap was Gay Defoe. This Washdyke galloper started win favourite after winning the January Handicap two days earlier, but. failed to show anything like race-winning dash and ran ninth. Cheyenne is 81b above Gay Defoe tomorrow, but is good enough to come out on top at this distance. I Cruising will run in the Peninsula Handicap earlier in the day, so Gaytana, with 7-10 will be closest to Gay Defoe in the weights. Placed at Riccarton Gaytana. at her last start, was third to Romancing and Roman Maid in the Craven Plate at Riccarton. Much could depend on how Gaytana behaves in the older type of starting stalls at Motukarara. Gaytana was placed on the outside of the Amberley Cup field two starts back and lost her chance from the start. Rayspar and Matauwhi are two of the more interesting prospects on the minimum. Rayspar will probably make a zestful approach to this test to judge from his very good solo sprint at Riccarton yesterday. Rayspar last raced at Reefton on January 6 where he won easily over a mile and 150 yards. While he is down in the weights, Rayspar should be able to run solid races in fairly strong sprint fields in the South Island. He should not be one of the lesser lights in this one. Matauwhi has a record of one win, a fourth, and a sixth in three starts in the South Island. He is a newcomer to open handicap racing, but has a. background of Ininor placings in some strong set-Weight races. He is a fast sprinter and could make an immediate impression in this class.

Search Warrant was sixth at a mile and a quarter in the Midsummer Handicap at Riccarton last month. He has not had a strong form patch for some time; and has not managed to win in a busy programme this season, but he might have to be reckoned with from his position in the weights.