RACING Gay Tommy-Le Cheval For Westport Double

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29324, 1 October 1960, Page 6

RACING Gay Tommy-Le Cheval For Westport Double

Gay Tommy, from Riccarton, and the Washdyketrained Le Cheval will form a popular combination for the double at Westport today. The double on the first day of the Westport Jockey Club’s annual meeting will be the Licensed Victuallers’ Handicap and the Roche Hack Handicap.

Gay Tommy came strongly into favour for the Licensed Victuallers’ Handicap following two sound placings in the main distance races at the Dunedin spring meeting last month. He is a noted soft track galloper and his prospect of victory heightened after heavy rain in Westport yesterday.

Gay Tommy will be ridden by the Riccarton horseman, C. T. Wilson, who is riding in form at present and was successful on Water Boy in the Geraldine Cup last Monday. Gay Tommy, top-weight with 8-7, is one of five Riccartontrained gallopers in the field. The strongest of his locallytrained rivals are expected to be Rayspar and King Lyn. However, the prospect of a victory for either of them would have been brighter had the ground remained firm.

Form at Orari last Monday suggests that either Hunting Melody or London Tower could be the best of the South Canterbury representatives but Kalinta, 'a stablemate of Landon Tower and W. D. Skelton’s mount, might be much improved by her race against the open sprinters at Orari and could switch beck to middle distance racing successfully

Le Cheval will be W. D. Skelton’s mount in the second leg of the double. He has the necessary brilliance to run six furlongs in the lead all the way. He did just that when he outran 12 rivals and beat them decisively in the Orari Hack Handicap last Monday. Le Cheval is a dual acceptor today and is reported as likely to fulfil both engagements but his speed is expected to

serve him best over the shorter distance of the Roche Handicap than over seven furlongs in the Scanlon Hack Handicap earlier in the day. Orari form will have proved valuable if Korallion fills one of the places. He finished third three length# behind Le Cheval on Monday. Royal Bag and Centesimo will strengthen the chance of a Riccarton victory. The former, which makes her three-year-old debut today, has shaped well in

her pre-race trials on her home course. She showed good speed as a two-year-old and could start her second season successfully. Centesimo, a stablemate of Gay Tommy, finished weakly after sharing the trail to the straight in the hack sprint at Orari last Monday, but her chance might be better assessed by her winning run in maiden class at Ashburton one start earlier. Centesimo in six furlongs that day as quickly as Le Cheval when he was successful at Orari. Dual acceptors are numerous throughout the programme and in at least two races scratchings have already reduced the fields to less than the number required for three dividends to be paid. The scratching of Pyrites and Golden Rhapsody has left only six runners in the Scanlon Hack Handicap. The Colvin Handicap, for hack milers, has also been reduced to six starters. Starwyn. Golden Rhapsody and The Toft have dropped out of the field. Marsana is the only defection from _ the Licensed Victuallers’ Handicap and Dark Jester has been scratched for both maiden races. ,