Orient Night Bargain Horse

Press, Volume C, Issue 29480, 5 April 1961, Page 5

Orient Night Bargain Horse

When Mr H. Lxngrid<r, of Barry town. purchased the first lot sold at the 1958 national yearling sales for a meagre 60 guineas. few in the crowd gave his purchase more than a passing glance. Mr Laiigridge’s judgment was obviously sound and the filly, named Orient Night, has advanced her earnings to £2780 as a result of a win and a third from three starts at the Hawera Trotting Club’s annual meeting, which ended yesterday. Orient Night showed that •he had improved considerably in recent weeks when she gained an impressive win at trials run at Addington on March 21. As a result she was solidly supported at New Brighton the next Saturday, but she lost all chance at the start. She fell from favour as a Hawera Cup prospect as a result of that effort. Orient Night showed that her New Brighton failure was only a temporary lapse by outfinishing the hot favourite and pacemaker, Scottish Light, beating him by a long neck. She paid £l9 9s for a win in the £lO5O race. On Monday she paced a grand race from 24 yards to finish third in a “blanket” finish to Bannock and Dew Heath in the President’s Handicap. Orient Night is trained at West Melton by R. G. Morris, who has enjoyed considerable success during the short time he has been a public trainer. Orient Night joined his team

after finishing second to Sentimental in the Hororata Cup at the end of January. Before joining Morris’s team Orient Night had been wayward in a number of her races, refusing to pace straight w*hen racing in the open. In recent weeks she has raced more generously and she looks as though she will live up to the high opinion formed of her early in her career.

As a two-year-old Orient Night finished fourth on three occasions. She ran up against some top-class pacers, including Sun Chief, Arania, and Blue Prince. Last term she won three times, two of her wins being at Greymouth and the other at Hutt Park. This season she had an exasperating run of placings before she won at the Otaki meeting on February 14 after pacing the 12 furlongs in 3min 13 l-ssec. Earlier she had recorded 3man 26 3-ssec for 13 furlongs when third in the Four-year-old Stakes behind Spangled Princess and Loyal Brigade at Addington in February.

At the start of the season she finished fourth in 2min 37 l-ssec for 10 furlongs in the Canterbury Challenge Stakes at Addington. She also finished second to a smart pacer in Peebles at New Brighton on September 3 after receiving an interrupted run. Orient Night was bred at Orari by Mr L. W. R. Pierce. She is a four-year-old mare by the Light Brigade horse, Attack, which graduated to New Zealand Cup class. She is out of Orient Girl, by U. Scott from Dual, by Author

Dillon from the imported mare, Nulgeria. Orient Girl is also the dam of Dual Flight and Orient Walla. Other winners descending from Nulgeria include Lady Inchcape, Our Nulgie, Lady Baffelan, Punakai, Don Chenault, and Royal Palm.

Orient Night’s record is:— Age Starts Wins Plcgs. Stks. 2yrs . 6 3 90 3yrs . 13 3 5 765 4yrs . 28 2 12 1925 Totals . 47 5 20 2780