Doubtful Starters At Washdyke Meeting

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29398, 28 December 1960, Page 4

Doubtful Starters At Washdyke Meeting

A doubt about a start for some and more definite plans about the immediate holiday programmes for others is almost certain to reduce the number of starters in the Christmas Handicap at Washdyke tomorrow.

The top-weight, McCool, will be scratched. Watei- Boy, which is second in the handicap, will not be competing. His next race will be in the Invercargill Gold Cup early next week.

The defection of these two will leave the brilliant Orari filly, Gold View, at the top of the handicap.

Gold View has been rehandicapped 51b for her win in the open sprint at Wingatui on Monday and will now carry 8-6. Plans for her also are not definite but her trainer, L. H. Pratt, said last evening that he will not make a decision until later. If Gold View does run it is expected that she will take beating in the principal event and first leg of the South Canterbury Jockey Club’s double. She will be trying for her third successive victory. Each of her last two were over less ground than a mile, but earlier in the < season she was successful over that distance in the Dunedin Guineas and' was placed behind Challen and Moy in the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham. Solid Backing

If Kelton makes the trip to Washdyke he will have solid backing after his very sound winning run in the Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap at Wingatui yesterday. Two hard races in two days—he competed against the open milers on Monday—might be considered by his trainer, D. P. Wilson, to be enough in the meantime and he too might be missing. If Gold View and Kelton are absent then betting will be fairly evenly distributed. One of the stronger form runners closest to them in the handicap is Gaytana, a close third in the Hororata Cup at her last start. That was one race after she had won as a miler at Greymouth earlier this month.

Gaytana has 7-9, 41b less than Jesse Owens, which will be having his first race since April. This Waimate-trained six-year-old last ran in the Templeton Handicap, one mile, at the C.J.C. autumn meeting and was runnerup to McCool. If he can produce anything like that form fresh he should get into one of the contending positions at the finish. Waimate Stable Clean Hart, the Tinwald Handicap winner at Ashburton the last time he raced, will

strengthen the possibility of a n for the Waimate stable of P. H. R. Andrews, who also trains Jesse Owens and two other form runners at the tail of the handicap, Medbury and Personify. The Riccarton horse, Gay Tommy, which will be having his first race since October, could also add interest to the finish if his race form matches his recent track gallops. Aquinas, Hand Over, Medbury and Personify will probably be the most strongly supported lightweights.

Aquinas came through a fairly stiff campaign at Wingatui with a second to hip credit in the open mile on Monday and a fifth in the Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap yesterday. If those two races have not left him. jaded, Aquinas could easily fill one of the places again Hand Over, fifth in the Hororata Cup, her first race in open company, Showed encouraging evidence of her fitness by running the best mile in .training at Riccarton yesterday. She is a member of the Riccarton team of C. G. Humphries, who also prepares Quite Able, the Dunedin Cup winner, and Water Boy, the runner-up in the Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap yesterday. Medbury and Personify will both have their first race in open company. They were last start winners in hack class. Smithfield Lola, the runner-up to Abou Ben Adhem over six furlongs at Ashburton last month, is selected to win the Smithfield Hack Handicap, the second leg of the double. She ' will have opposition in strength from several smart hack sprinters, but some of those which were expected to be her strongest rivals have drawn very wide at the start in what is almost certain to be a capacity field of 22. Lola has drawn the No. 1 barrier position. Her ability to run close to lead in her races should enable her to hold one of the contending positions throughout. Stradbroke, Awatere, Glancing and Sigurd are all handily drawn runners capable of running six furlongs smartly, but the latter two Will not get a run unless there are scratchings. The best of those drawn wide might be Derailment which overcame a bad check half-way through the Sandbwn Hack Handicap at Hororata then finished fast for fourth. Double fields, with form, are:— CHRISTMAS HANDICAP, Of £500: one mile and 35 yards.

SMITHFIELD HACK HANDICAP, Of £275: six furlongs. st. lb.

ing. OAMARU JOCKEY CLUB (INC.). ACCEPTANCES close TODAY, DECEMBER 28. 1960, at 4 p.m. Handicaps in this paper. H. L. ROSS. Secretary. •Phone 4925, Oamaru. Telegrams: “Mackismlth. —Advt.

It. Ib. 3020 McCool (15) . 9 0 1202 Water Boy (3) .. . 8 13 3411 Gold View (5) .. 8 6 0001 Kelton (16) Jesse Owens (7) . 8 5 . 7 13 3313 Gaytana (9) . 7 9 0024 Ray spar (6) . 7 9 1001 Clean Heart (10) . 7 7 3400 Gay Tommy (17) 0224 Aquinas (11) 000 Fair Catch (19) .. . 7 7 . 7 3 . 7 3 3010 Hand Over (4) .. . 7 3 00 Hunted (12) . 7 3 0 Kastanea (18) . 7 3 4000 Matauwhi (1) . 7 3 0021 Medbury (8) . 7 2400 Pendennis (2) .. . 7 3 000 Pilot Dancer (14) . 7 3 101 Personify (20) . 7 3 0440 Struan (13) . 7 3

0244 Hundred Grand (23) ..9 0 0104 Stradbroke (87 .. ..9 0 0414 Awatere (12) ..8 5 002 Lola (1) ..8 5 3040 Underbid (11) ..8 5 0000 Lalbhai (19) ..8 3 1022 Ascend (22) ..8 2 John Jameson (2) 0031 Candida (21) .. 8 1 ..7 9 0120 Star of Athens (25) ..7 9 0 Tocsin (3) .. ..7 9 01 Mary Tee (14) .. ..7 9 0004 Derailment (24) ..7 9 0 Aloment (15) ..7 8 2000 Bon Salut (20) .. ..7 8 Esla (17) 0 Ginger Mac (10) ..7 8 ..7 8 0000 Kent (16) ..7 8 3400 Panam (9) ..7 8 00 Reiana (13) ..7 8 0 Sweet Grass (18) ..7 8 0000 Understand (4) .. ..7 8 Balloted out with right of re-entry in the following order:— 0033 Glancing (7) ..7 8 0000 Sigurd (5) ..7 8 0032 Persuasive (8) .. .. 7 13 Bracket: Ginger Mac and Glanc-