RACING Murfitt Stable Has Heavy C.J.C. Entry

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30091, 27 March 1963, Page 4

RACING Murfitt Stable Has Heavy C.J.C. Entry

The Riccarton trainer, G. H. Murfitt, will have easily tiie biggest team racing at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s autumn meeting next month. Fifteen members of the Murfitt team, five of them unraced two-year-olds, have been entered for races at Riccarton. They include Mutineer, a winner at Oamani on Monday, and Picca Leigh, which was placed in open sprints on both days of the Oamaru meeting.

Two of the more successful members ot the team this year may be Shakes and Tremble. They will be making fresh starts at Easter, but should Quickly show form. Shakes won two races and Just missed a bat-track in his two-year-aid racing last season. He won twice at Ashburton in successive starts last winter before a dose second to Mali Peter in the Juvenile Handicap at the Wellington winter meeting. He was placed in two starts at the last Grand National meeting, then ran fifth in the Wellington Guineas. He was spelled after running unplaced in the New Zealand Derby. Tremble was put aside after the Grand National meeting, where she had a fourth and a fifth. She won two races, both on her home course, as a four-year-old last season. The first of them was the Gimcrack Handicap last Easter, and the other was the Camla Hack at the Christchurch Hunt Out’s meeting in July.

Shakes and Tremble are brother and sister and they are both owned by Mr A R. Busse il. Unraced two-year-olds in the Murfitt team are Smuggler’s Bank, Vivien Robe, Gold Bank, Pay Rise, and Mate d'Or. Smuggler’s Bank Is a filly by Dogger Bank from the Treasure Hunt mare.

Smuggles, a winner in the Murfitt colour*. Pay Rise is a bi* Pictavia gelding from Sun House,' a winner in the colours of the late Mr O. F. Watson. Vivien Robe is a filly by Dogger Bank from Ideal Robe and Gold Bank is a brown gelding by Dogger Bank from Lady Goldwyn, a dose relation of the good winner. Balmacara. Acting-Trainer The successful jockey, W. D. Skelton, travelled north yesterday to resume duties as stand-in trainer for F. C. Pratt, who is on holiday. Skelton was placed on Fhirassan, a member of this Levin team, at Awapuni on Saturday, but returned south to ride at Oamaru on Mon-

day and wen there on the Gore-trained Julietta. Newcomer The Riccarton trainer, J. L Barr, will prepare Navarone for his future racing. Navarone was educated and prepared for his earlier racing by W. N. S. Barr, who has gone out of racing because of bad health.

Navarone is a six-year-old gelding by Perilous from Lady Trecarne. He looked better than average in some of his early racing, but much of his open-class form has been mixed.

He has been three times placed in nine starts this season. The first of them was the C.J.C. Islington Handicap, in which he was third to McGregor and Strategy. He was also third in the Hororata and Timaru Cups, and has not appeared since the .Washdyke race.

Barr has made another start with Katrine, a two-year-old Fair’s Fair filly owned by Mr D. W. J. Gould. This filly is closely related to the Takanini-trained Commodore Roberts, which has recaptured his best form lately. He won the Maurice Millar Handicap at Awapuni last Saturday.

Katrine had two runs under colours in parades early in the season, and was then put aside. She thrived during the spring and summer.

Barr is also educating a filly by Messmate from the useful race mare, Balkis. She will be raced by Messrs D. F. Dailey and C. R. G. Woodham, who race the successful Pictavia gelding Picket in partnership. Picket is now in work at Ashburton.