RACING Castlerae May Succeed In Waikato Guineas

Press, Volume C, Issue 29679, 24 November 1961, Page 4

RACING Castlerae May Succeed In Waikato Guineas

Mr G. S. Walton and his Otaki trainer, L. M. Lewis, have made almost a clean sweep of the guineas races in the north this season with Castlerae and Commanding.

Commanding won the Great Northern and Wellington Guineas. Castlerae’s victories have included the Wanganui and Hawke’s Bay Guineas. The stable was not represented in the Avondale Guineas, won by Dry Martini.

There are high hopes that Castlerae will improve that record tomorrow when he tries for Waikato Guineas honours on the second day of the Waikato Racing Club’s spring meeting at Te Rapa. Castlerae has taken high ranking as a sprinter and middle distance performer this season but as a miler he has been outstanding. He has been tried over the distance four times and as yet is unbeaten.

In the classics at Wanganui and Hastings the other three-year-olds found Castlerae much too speedy a rival to match. On his campaign at the New Zealand Cup.meetiug at Riccartori the Otaki colt was tried againSf older rivals under handicap..conditions with the same encouraging results. Among Castlerae’s rivals tomorrow are several high-class three-year-olds and one of the most formidable for him to cope with could be Cracksman, which is trained at Te Rapa by R. T. Cotter. Unbeaten The Waikato Guineas will be Cracksman’s fifth race this season. He has won each of

the other four and his last two victories have been as a miler. He has not been tried beyond the hack class yet although, like Castlerae, he has open ranking. Foxskin has winning form as a miler but if Avondale and Great Northern Guineas form is to work out well he might find the class here hard to match. He was a fair third behind Dry Martini and Top Rank in the Avondale classic but was clearly outclassed by Commanding and others at Ellerslie. Mr Blue, from Hawera, has compiled a fairly useful string of minor placings in classic races this season and on Wanganui Guineas form—he was the runner-up to Castlerae must be conceded a chance of at least filling one of the places.

Paratu, Persian Star or Poet’s Pride are unlikely to be among those high on the list of fancied runners but there will be solid backing for Santry, a Te Awamututrained colt with a second and three wins on his record in this, his first season.

Santry has proved his ability to run the guineas distance successfully. Since

winning his way out of maidens at Te Rapa last month he has been tried successfully twice as a miler in hack class at Ellerslie and Te Rapa. Seasonal has failed to make a contribution of any description to his record in six races this season but Silver Pelt has platings in both the Wanganui and Hawkes Bay Guineas to support his chance. At Wanganui he finished fourth to Castlerae and was third behind the Otaki colt and Big Mac in the Hastings classic. The fillies in this year’s contest are Catania, Franab’e and Star Countess. Of this trio Catania wilj have the most solid backing. Good .Filly Catania has yet to prove that she is in the same, class as Jalna, the only * filly to have succeeded in the Waikato Guineas since the inaugural contest in 1945, but there seems little doubt that this daughter of Pride of Kildare and Chubin will eventually take high ranking among her sex. Catania showed marked quality when she competed against the colts in the Great Northern Derby and chased Commanding and Kandavu home. She confirmed that form at her next start in the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham where she ran Key to half a head after giving ground at the start . and covering much extra ground in the running. Catania was switched back to sprinting in the Cambridge Handicap at Te Rapa last Saturday. She made ground for fourth and would have improved upon that placing with a more favourable run in the straight.