Time Trial Should Create Interest

Press, Volume C, Issue 29707, 28 December 1961, Page 5

Time Trial Should Create Interest

The Trotters’ Time Trial, run over one mile from a moving start, will be the highlight of the first day of the Canterbury Park Trotting Chib’s summer meeting at Addington next Monday. The event will be run at 1.35 p.m., 40 minutes before the first race on the programme. The totalisator will not open on the event, but there will be a stake of £3OO, of which the winner will receive £2OO and the second horse £lOO.

The Canterbury Park will also pay an extra £3OO to the winner provided it breaks Worthy Queen’s New Zealand mile record of 2min 3 3-ssec established in 1934. The five horses entered tor the race held their places when withdrawals closed yesterday. They are. in order of barrier draw: Indianna, Dianthus Girl, Coronet Lass, Resistor, and Reprimand. The field is not as good as had been hoped when first the chib decided to run the event. Ordeal, which showed brilliant speed at Addington in November, is racing at the Auckland meeting this week and will not return south in time for the meeting. Moon Boy and Mighty Hanover have had to be eased in training because of soreness, while Au Fait. When, Merry Nora and Front Line, four other highly-regarded trotters. were not nominated. Few serious attempts have been made on Worthy Queen’s record in recent years. Often attempts have been made in unfavourable conditions, but at times several years have passed between time trials. More outstanding trotters have been racing during the last two years than during any similar period in the past. Some of them have gone close to Worthy Queen's figures during races, while Ordeal was privately timed to equal the record during one of her races at Addington. Dianthus Girl has drawn

favourably and after her fine third to Spinster Scott and Chances Are in the Winslow Handicap at Ashburton on Tuesday, she looks the most likely of the five runners to threaten Worthy Queen’s record. Dianithus Girl trotted sound races at the cup meeting in November, by far her best effort being her second to Au Fait in the Dominion Handicap. In that race she lost ground in the early stages and trotted an outstanding race to record 4min 18 l-ssec for the two miles. Reprimand has great speed, but at times he is unreliable. He failed to begin cleanly in the Winslow Handicap at Ashburton on Tuesday, but two starts earlier he was promoted to first in the New Zealand Trotting Free-for-all. Reprimand has drawn the outside of the five runners at the difficult mile starting point. However, he usually accelerates quickly and should soon get in close to the rails. Indiarma, which has drawn No. 1. made most of the pace in the Ashburton race on Tuesday. She has impressed more as a stayer than a sprinter and might find it difficult to hold her position early. Resistor, from No. 4. and Coronet Lass, from No. 3. both broke in the Winslow Handicap at Ashburton. Resistor has shown fine frontrunning qualities in many of her races. However, she would find it hard to approach Worthy Queen’s figures. Coronet Lass is more of a plodding type. She was placed in two of her races at the cup meeting, but the mile in this race is unlikely to suit her. If conditions are favourable and the pace is on from the start, the winner of Monday's race should record 2min ssec or better tor the mile, but it win be surprising if Worthy Queen’s record is broken.