RACING PAYOUT WINS LAST RACE BEFORE SPELL

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29827, 21 May 1962, Page 4

RACING PAYOUT WINS LAST RACE BEFORE SPELL

Payout finished his four-year-old racing with a win in the Amberley Cup on Saturday. He is not at ease on winter tracks, and will now be spelled. Payout followed the lead of his stablemate, Sailorman, which won the main race at Ashburton a week earlier when having his final start for the season. Owned by Messrs G. H. Murfitt, Jun - , and R. A. White, Payout was bracketed on Saturday with Hopeful, the Amberley Cup winner last season.

Th* Amberley Cup produced a spectacular finish, in which four runners were heavily involved. Payout got there by a nose from Omaha. Then there was half a head to Flaxman, which was squeezing through on the inside to cut John Jameson out of third by a neck. Flaxman did not find racing room until Just too late, but it would have been hard to deny Payout the honours for he started from the outside at an awkward barrier, and was second to last when the field left the stalls. Payout was vigorously ridden by W. D. Skelton in clinging to a slight lead from the furlong. The Payout-Hopeful bracket was first choice with win and place and doubles betters. It carried £5497 15s of a pool of £20,191 10s. Safe Harbour, the second favourite, never had a chance to show how she would have fared. She was badly checked on the inside when handy early in the race, and had only two of her rivals behind her starting the last half mile. "She would have fallen if the had not been so cleverfooted," Mid Safe Harbour’s

rider, D. N. Hadfield, after the race. Yet after such a setback Safe Harbour managed to finish less than a length from the fourth horse, John Jameson and almost at the heels of the winner. Gabelle, the fourth favourite, finished sixth, and had to come from the tail of the field to get there. As usual, she was slow to accelerate at the start. Abou Ben Adhem, the third favourite, finished seventh, weakening after leading from the half mile to the turn. Little could be said for the others, a thoroughly wellbeaten lot. Picright, which is better at a middle distance, led them in. Surprise Winner The Blenheim-trained Wyebank won the G. B. Starkey Memorial Handicap at long odds for Messrs J. Buchanan and J. A. Fowler. He was the 13/12 favourite in this, his third win for the season, and paid £43 Ils 6d and £8 15s. Wyebank won running away from Tidal Wave and Coral Chief, which looked for a moment as if they would make Ashburton form the best value.

Wyebank, a moderate when trained at Takanini for his early racing, is trained by R. B. Taylor, who has made some successful Canterbury "raids” with members of his small team. F. H. Skelton rode Wyebank just forward of . the near-capacity field. He was about four places back on the turn, where Coral Chief led and Tidal Wave was second, and passed those two Riccarton hacks about half a furlong out. Tidal Wave beat Coral Chief by half a length for second, and then there was half a neck to Surrend. Surrend had her chance; she was just ahead of Wyebank ot the home turn. Bodkin, Magic Flute, and Tremble led the others in. Tremble formed a solidlybacked bracket with Ham, which was wide and near the tail of the field leaving the straight, and finished last.