RACING Personify Picked For Kurow Cup Tomorrow

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29713, 5 January 1962, Page 4

RACING Personify Picked For Kurow Cup Tomorrow

Personify, from Waimate, Matauwhi, from Riccarton, and Royal Chant, from Wingatui, may battle it out for Kurow Cup honours tomorrow'. The Kurow Cup is the main event and first leg of the double at the Kurow Jockey Club’s annual meeting.

Matauwhi, Personify and Royal Chant were second, third and fourth respectively behind Valaris in the President’s Handicap at Oamaru on Tuesday and only noses separated them at the finish.

Royal Chant had tried for an all-the-way win and Matauwhi had run close to the lead from the start. But Personify had come from one of the tail-end positions in the last half-mile for his placing so it made his performance look very good. It also showed that his race in the Waikouaiti Cup the previous day had worked an improvement. Personify finished a fairly distant eighth in the Waikouaiti Cup. But that was not surprising tor he had missed some work before the meeting and was still showing some of the sears from an incident when he got down in the float after returning from Wingatui. Personify's only race at the Dunedin Cup meeting was the Dunedin Cup. in which he finished third to Great Sensation and Quick Tune. He will not have rivals of their calibre tomorrow and probably none better than those he beat decisively in the Hororata Cup at his previous start. In Solid Form Although success has eluded Matauwhi on his holiday campaign, he has been in fairly solid form just the same. He failed rather badly as a miler on the first day at Washdyke but was fourth in the Timaru Cup last Saturday and second in the Waikouaiti Cup on Monday. Because of a further second at Oamaru on Tuesday he now meets Personify on 41b worse terms. Royal Chant's fourth at Oamaru was his best showing in five starts in a fresh campaign, but he was competing on a turning track and that seems to suit him best. The Kurow course is another on which front-running tactics could prove successful. Ocean Melody is the only last start winner in the field. He came out best in a tight finish to the Pukeuri Highweight at Oamaru on Tuesday. Brown Watch was the beaten favourite in the Waikouaiti Cup on New Year’s Day. He finished fourth after receiving the run of the race to the furlong. The prospect of firmer going on a turning track should enable him to run out 10 furlongs more competently here. The best of the others lower in the handicap could be Safe Harbour or Flaxman. The former has shown her best form as a sprinter but there was promise that she might run a middle distance very well on a less testing course when she came strongly from the tail of the field for fourth in the open sprint at Waikouaiti on Monday. This will be Flaxman's first race in open company, but he comes into the field with a record of two wins and a second from his last four starts in hack class. Last Link Favoured If Last Link has benefitted from his race against the hack milers at Washdyke last Wednesday he will be difficult to beat in the Gillies

Hack Handicap, the second leg of the double. Last Link’s sixth was a highly encouraging performance for a horse having his first start for almost seven months.

There are several strong form runners among Last Link's rivals but many of then may now be starting to feel the strain of solid holiday campaigns. Last Link has 8-3. His most formidable opponents higher in the weights will probably be the top-weight. Tarmine, and Julloch. which is second in the handicap. High Score and Rustle, which like Last Link are Riccarton-trained, will make Waikouaiti form valuable if they get into the finish. TTie best of the remainder below 8-0 may be Master Main and Corrieonzo. the minor place-getters behind Panther in the hack mile at Oamaru on Tuesday, and Blue Harken, a winner against the maiden milers at Washdyke last Saturday. Double fields, with form, are: KUROW CUP, Of £456; one mile and a

quarter. lb 1303 Personify (10) .. 8 12 0004 Royal Chant (2) .. 8 3 0431 Ocean Melody (4) .. 8 1 0422 Matauwhi (5) .. 8 0 1214 Brown Watch (3) .. 7 13 0000 Canon (6) .. 7 7 0104 Safe Harbour (1) .. 7 5 1120 Flaxman (7) .. 7 3 0000 Night Sock (») .. 7 3 0300 Royal George (8) .. 7 3 GILLIES HACK HANDICAP, Of £230; nine furlongs. 0030 Tarmine (8) .. 9 1 0090 Munster King (11) .. 8 10 0 Last Link (5) .. 8 3 0100 Fare Ye Well (19) .. 8 1 0102 Leslie Bell (9> .. 8 1 3341 High Score (16) .. 7 12

0000 Great Heights «> . 7 12 4002 Master Main (10) . 7 11 0000 Lyn Leigh (7) . 7 S 0003 Corrieonzo (14) . 7 9 21 Blue Harken (1) . 7 8 0304 Vienna Woods (18) . 7 8 0 Chaud Froid (2) . 7 7 000 Grand Lad (8) . 7 7 0000 Jimmy Hill (13) . 7 7 0000 Lightning Girl (15) 7 7 Balloted out with the right of of re-entry in the following order:— 2104 Julloch (17) . 8 11 4202 Rustle (3) . 7 10 1000 Black Simper (12) .. 7 7 Bracket: Chaud Froid and Grand Lad.