COURSE DOUBLE

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30361, 10 February 1964, Page 4

COURSE DOUBLE

Dimtroon Winner Inky Prince, from Duntroon, and the Templeton - trained Phoebe Martial completed an on-course double worth £45 16s for £1 at Blenheim on Saturday. The dividend was shared by the holders of 92 5s tickets. Inky Prince was at generous odds in the first leg, the Seddon Handicap. He was the seventh fancy each way and paid £l4 15s 6d and £4 2s 6d for win and place. Phoebe Martial, a three-year-old Court Martial gelding in A. M. Purdon’s team, was the popular fancy for the second leg, the Healy Handicap. This was his third race at a totalisator meeting.

Inky Prince ran on the outside of Westward Ho behind the joint leaders, Vaggi and Real Song, till the straight in the Seddon Handicap, working into the lead at the furlong then survived a strong late challenge from Ruapuna by a head. Ruapuna, which had run on the inside of Sooty in the third line to the straight and was late working into the clear, beat Cattach for third by a length and a half. Cattach lost ground in a break at the start He was still at the rear of the leading bunch three furlongs out but finished strongly in the middle of the track and outfinished Sooty for third by half a head.

The best of the others, but a length atid a half back, was Stormbank, which had shared the fourth line to the straight.

Cattach checked Adio Command at the start and R. A. McKenzie was tipped from the sulky. The win favourite. Gay Gordon, broke badly at the start and was pulled up before the finish.

Phoebe Martial worked into a clear lead a mile from home in the Healy Handicap and kept clear of all challengers for the rest of the race. He was followed to the straight by Wayren on the inner of Self Contained, Bell Brigade, Houtman and Vague. Self Contained broke when leading the chase after Phoebe Martial at the furlong and it was left then to Bell Brigade to try and bridge the gap to the leader. But Phoebe Martial had the situation well In hand and won with something to spare by a length and a quarter. Wayren battled on for third a length and a half away and Houtman was fourth a similar distance behind him. There was another gap of a length and a half to High Note which was followed in by Seven Nights and Marcus Aurelius.