Southland “Exiles” To Go To Riverton

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 4

Southland “Exiles” To Go To Riverton

Something in the nature of a pilgrimage by “exiled” Southlanders will take place within the next few days. It could have a bearing on the results of main races at the Riverton Racing Club’s Easter meeting. The Riccarton-trained Water Boy will be taken south for the Riverton Cup and other races at the meeting. Water Boy is owned by Mrs K. A. McKenzie, who lives at Oxford, but is a former Southlander. He is trained by C. G. Humphries, another former Southlander, and will be ridden by Cohn Wilson, who served his apprenticeship in Invercargill.

Water Boy has been bothered by a sore foot, and Wilson has a sore knee, but unless something goes seriously wrong with the horse the trip is on. Wilson has had his sore knee since Water Boy kicked him a week or two back. But it has been definitely established that Water Boy’s foot trouble did not arise from the fact that he had kicked his regular jockey. Anyway, Wilson’s knee is

on the mend, and the Riccarton jockey win fly south for the first day of the southern meeting, which opens on Easter Saturday. Good Record Wilson has ridden six Riverton Cup winners, the first of them— it was First Song—as long ago as 1935. Two years later he won on Last Refrain. For the Price Bros., then of Invercargill and now of Auckland, he won on Wild Career in 1940, and Secret Flight two years later. Wilson’s next winner was Great Coon, and that In-vercargill-trained galloper had to share the honours with Joygiver. That was in 1948. A year earlier, when Royal Flight dead-heated with Signal Officer for first. Great

tion with racing as an apprentice in Invercargill. He never managed to ride a Riverton Cup winner, but he won an Invercargill Cup on Milford. Humphries will also take Water Boy’s half-sister. Happy Holiday, south for maiden races at Riverton. She is a three-year-old by Treasure Hunt.

Coon, with K. Nuttall up, ran third. The unusual feature of that day’s racing was that Great Coon's son. Royal Coon, won the opening event at very long odds. Wilson's latest Riverton Cup winner was St Bruno, one of the top-ranking three-year-olds in 1948-49. St Bruno won the Riverton Cup again when he was four. Unlucky Second Water Boy will be making his second bid for Riverton Cup honours this year. Two years ago he was an unlucky second to the long shot Bright Bridge, and then earned fairly rich compensation by winning the Tweedie Memorial on the second day of the meeting. Water Boy was then trained by R. E. Humphries, who has since gone out of racing. C. G. Humphries, who has trained at Riccarton for some 20 years, started his associaForensan Resigns.—The resignation of Mr D. W. Columbus. who has been foreman and works inspector for the Lyttelton Borough Council for the last year, was received by the council at its meeting on Monday evening. The resignation was accepted with regret