TROTTTNG Cardigan Bay Popular Auckland Cup Fancy

Press, Volume C, Issue 29702, 21 December 1961, Page 5

TROTTTNG Cardigan Bay Popular Auckland Cup Fancy

A representative field of 14 will compete for the richest holiday prize for pacers in the £5OOO Auckland Trotting Cup at Alexandra Park Raceway next Wednesday evening. The popular fancy for the principal event and first leg of the double on the opening night of the Auckland Trotting Club’s summer meeting is Onehunga-trained Cardigan Bay.

Cardigan Bay, which P. Woolfenden prepares for Mrs 1 A. D. Dean, will try for his | tenth win in succession. It : was evident on his latest cam- . paign at the New Zealand ; Cup meeting last month that he was a pacer much above < average in ability. He out- : i classed a strong field, which included several New Zealland Cup class pacers, in the New Zealand Free-for-all Such a feat has seldom been achieved by horses having their first start in top company. Altogether the Auckland district will be represented by eight runners but none has a record which even approaches that of Cardigan Bay. The province’s next best would probably have been Blue Prince but a start for him is now doubtful. A swab taken from Blue Prince after he had won the Adios Handicap at Hutt Park on December 11 showed traces of nicotine. Unless a hearing of the case can be arranged and completed before Wednesday he will be automatically barred from active competition. Solid Record Blue Prince’s record would have entitled him to solid backing. The Adios Handicap marked his third win in succession and his fifth of the season. One of those was the two-mile Author Dillon Handicap at the New Zealand Cup meeting last month. The only other northern runner with a two-mile win on his record this season is Caricature but his Franklin Cup success at Alexandra Park last month has been his only worth-while show of form in eight starts. He will share the limit mark with Cardigan Bay, Dundee, Samantha and Takitimu. It is more than a year since Dundee won his last race and he has been well tried but Samantha and Takitimu, two of the five South Islanders in the field, could both add interest to the finish Samantha has failed to win this season but some of her recent efforts for minor placings have been encouraging Last season Samantha won five races and proved her ’ worth as a two-miler at the 1 Inter-Dominion Champion- | ship meeting by running the ; Australian pacer, Three Aces, i to a nose over the distance i in one of the championship ; heats. ; Successful Owner i Samantha is owned by Mr i R. A McKenzie, of Wellingi ton, whose horses have al- [ ready won two Auckland • Cups. He was represented > successfully in 1957 by High- ! land Air and again two years ! ago by Scottish Command. ! The latter will be trying for I cup honours again this year.

Scottish Command is on the back mark of 42 yards. He gave Cardigan Bay the same start over 13 furlongs at Alexandra Park in October and managed to run him to two lengths and a half. The extra distance this time should enable him to make the favourite work harder for victory. Takitimu, a last start placegetter at Hutt Park, was a sprint winner at the New Zealand Cup meeting last month. She showed at the corresponding meeting the previous year that when in top form She can manage two miles just as competently. But there will be stronger hopes of a South Island victory from among the handicapped horses. They are King Hal, Aldora and Srnokeaway which share the 12-yard mark with the Takaninitrained. Scottish Ensign. King Hal, a four-year-old. is the youngest but one of

the most promising pacers in the field. He has been out of a place only once in eight starts this season and has won three including the two mile Le Lievrt Handicap at Addington last month. Aldora has sound form too but on previous campaigns at. Auckland he has not always taken kindly to the right-hand going. However, he seems to be a much improved horse this season and must be included among the strong possibilities. Runner-up Smokeaway’s form background is not as strong as either King Hal or Aldora but he is a proven two-miler which has run some of his best races at Alexandra Park. In the Auckland Cup a year ago he was the runner-up to Damian. Fitment, Panui and Guiseppe all showed winning form earlier in the season but their recent efforts have not been highly encouraging. Fitment and Panui have to give Cardigan Bay 24 yards start and Guiseppe’s task will be even more difficut from the 36-yard mark. Answer to Correspondent.— “C.C.C.”, Spreydon.— Real Scott’s best winning sequence was five. He won at his last four starts as a five-year-old and at his first appearance the following season.