N.Z. Owners Fared Badly At Carnival

Press, Volume C, Issue 29672, 16 November 1961, Page 4

N.Z. Owners Fared Badly At Carnival

[From the Australian Correspondent of "The Press”!

SYDNEY, November 13. The present spring racing carnival is the worst ever for New Zealand owners. Their horses won only £4850 compared with more than £40,000 at the carnival in Melbourne last year. Their failure would have been even worse at the Sydney meetings but for the success of Waiperi in the Metropolitan at Randwick. The VB.C. meeting at Flemington which closed on Saturday virtually ended the carnival.

The V.RC. provided £166.250 in stake money and visiting horses won exactly half of it with 30 wins and 30 minor placings. Sydney owners had one of their best carnivals in Melbourne. winning £66,675 of which £53,425 was gained by 19 winners. Adelaide did rather better than usual with 11 firsts end 19 minor placings for £ 19,725 The figures would be different, of course, if the New Zealand-bred horses are taken into account. Winner of the Caulfield Cup. Summer Fair. and others played -their part in keeping the Dominion breeder before the racing public. Most successful owner was Mt N. S. Cohen, of Sydney, wtvoee horse Lord Fury, won the Melbourne Cup and was second in the Caulfield Cup and tn the C. B Fittoer Plate. Handicapping Freak Lord Fury, a four-year-old by the Naerultah horse, Edwards H (imp.) got the Melbourne Cup through one of the greatest freaks in handicapping for many years. When wrecks were issued be was given 7-7 and even that weight was a bit more than he deserved for be bad done little, if anything, to suggest be should even be entered for the Melbourne Cup. Then he showed form, winning a race based on weight-tor-age in wteti be had an allowance at 141 b. This induced a Mart in the Epsom Handicap agahtrt the acknowledged champion. Sky High, and Lord Fury ran

into a place. Wag at Welght-fer-Age Next thing was success at genuine over one mile and a half at Randwick, but his only opponent* were Whipari. which broke down, and Valerius, which showed in later runs that he was a sick horse. But toe run was enough to warrant Lord Fury being given a chance in the Caulfield Cup, in which be was second to Summer Fair sifter his jockey bed ridden what now is acknowledged as a poorly judged race. In the Melbourne Cup Lord Fury went -to the front to make a scorching pace which so upset the moderates opposed to him that he won easily to equal the race record Of 2min IHeec. I On the form Lord Fury

should have had about 8-5 in the Melbourne Cup and ttie big puU he had was solely responsible for his success. This was proved on Saturday when fee contested the C. B. Fisher Plate at Flemington, which carries a £5OOO stake. This time, with standard weigfet-for-age in the saddle Lord Fury went into a lead of about 12 lengths, but entering the last furlong he tired almost to a walk and Dhaulagiri, top-weight in the Melbourne Cup ran past him without difficulty to beat him running away. At the four days at Flemington the crowds were 191,868 compared with 226,000 at the centenary meeting last year. Last year the totalisator figure for the four days was £1.010.030 and this year it was dow n to £867,602. However, the off-course totalisator, which was not in operation last year, handled £654.213 for the four days, so that the revenue to the Government and to the VR.C. was well up from totalisator sources. The doubles totalisator on the course set a record with a handle of £287,635, the previous best being last year when it was £275,459.