Karak May Visit Trentham

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29851, 18 June 1962, Page 4

Karak May Visit Trentham

Karak may represent Southland in hack steeplechases at the Wellington Racing Club’s winter meeting. He earned a trip to Trentham by winning the Burnside Hack and Hunters’ Steeplechase at Oamaru on Saturday.

Karak is a five-year-old half-brother to Partris, a useful handicap horse under winter conditions a few seasons back. Karak, like Pa tris, is owned by Mr P. H. McGrath, of Invercargill, and is trained there by T. E. Pankhiurst. The favourite, Van Da Hum, was the only one of the others to test Karak. There was only a neck between the winner and run-ner-up, and six lengths to Sea Buoy. It was no fault of jockey A. Cowan that Van Da Hum did not win. Cowan saved every inch on the favourite and his skill in that way must have been worth at least three lengths at the fence leaving the straight starting the last round. Cowan also took the short-

est way home after the second lasrt fence, and took a short lead. But the Columcille gelding fiddled at the last fence, and Karak was able to cut deeply into his lead. Sea Buoy would have lost third to Mandalay in another strid.- or two. Mandalay lost four lengths or so at the start and jumped the first fence carefully and inexpertly. But he gathered confide.iCJ as he went along, and came from what appeared to be a hopeless position late in the race. Sea Lord was a fair fifth two lengths behind Mandala • and the tcp-welght, Vroer, was sixth. The Ranger tired to seventh after leading for a fair way. Packwood jumped the first fence badly, and his rider. K. Quayle, lost an iron The Riccarton jumper ran the course, beating only Grand Monarch, which was taken back after running off early in the race. Meridian also ran Off. He was taken back and jumped that fence, but was pulled up a round from home. Placings Altered The Frenchman lost first place in the Hack Hurdles after a protest by Mr P. H. R. Andrews, whose Targui gelding, Tarmine, had finished second. A close three-sided finish seemed likely when Sura pt, The Frenchman and Tarmdne came to the last fence almost in line. But Surapt bungled his leap, and Tarmine, on the inside, had to be checked before being brought out wider to go after The Frenchman The latter lasted to win by a long neck. Surapt lost third place to Pilot Dancer in the last few strides, but would not have done so if his rider had ridden him out. Pilot Dancer was bleeding badly from a leg after the race. He was injured when there was some crowding fairly early.