N.Z. Derby Might Be His Grace’s Lone Race

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 5

N.Z. Derby Might Be His Grace’s Lone Race

Although plans are not yet finally settled, the New Zealand Derby might be His Grace’s lone race at the New Zealand Gup meeting. Much will depend on how he fares in the classic.

His showing will determine whether he returns home next Sunday and is then prepared for the Waikato Guineas the following Saturday week.

His Grace will have his first run at speed since last Saturday week when he continues his preparation for the New Zealand Derby at Riccarton today. The pre-post favourite from the Riccarton classic will be accompanied by Picright in a trial over ground. They will probably sprint the last six furlongs of a mile and a quarter but this could be changed. The distance they sprint will be determined by the state of the ground. His Grace and his stablemate Trial by Jury arrived at Riccarton during the weekend. Trial by Jury was brought south on Friday night’s steamer express by the stable apprentice. By the time he arrived His Grace had barely left home. The Knight’s Romance colt had a 13-hour trip from Otaki on Saturday. He left home in the care of his trainer, B. A. B. Preston, at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. They crossed to Picton on the Aramoana and arrived at Riccarton at 8 p.m. in the evening. Today’s Arrivals

Thirteen more North Island horses are due by the morning’s steamer express. When they arrive the New Zealand Derby field will be all but complete. Combination, Faloose and Reprise are already at Riccarton. This mornings arrivals include Rashid,

Sir Martin, Clipjoint and Trial Offer. Royal Chase, which completes the field for the classic, is expected to arrive here on Thursday. This morning’s consignment will also include the New Zealand Cup rivals, Big Bill and Beauzami, Blyton, second top-weight for the Stewards’ Handicap, and the Welcome Stakes candidates, Rural and Tinsel.

Count One, which is not engaged on New Zealand Cup day but has been entered for the Canterbury Gold Cup and the Churchill Stakes on the later days of the meeting, is due at Riccarton in the . early hours of tomorrow morning. Bad Travellers

Count One, which is not the best of. travellers at any

time, is being brought from the Waikato by rail. He would have done his spring racing in Australia but had to be offloaded from the aircraft. Another notable arrival from the south yesterday was Great Sensation, the winner of three Wellington Cups and second top-weight for the rich two-miler on Saturday. Two plane loads of horses from the central North Island are due here on Thursday. They will definitely include four or five horses from E. Ropiha’s Woodville stable. Although there is no definite report about the others in the consignment they will possibly be from the teams of W. L. Aitken, T. R. Howe, J. W. Harris and S. A. Brown which are all due here on Thursday.