Sir Dane Made Quick Return After Auction

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30677, 17 February 1965, Page 5

Sir Dane Made Quick Return After Auction

'from the Australian Racing Correspondent of “The Press’’) SYDNEY. When the dispute between interests led to Sir Dane being auctioned some time ago, the price—2o,loo guineas seemed terrific.

It now could safely be held that at that figure Sir Dane was a very good buy. In actual money, of course, the present ownership did not have to expend the full amount, since only one third was destined to the other party in the “argument.”

On Saturday Sir Dane won his first race for the new ownership. Starting at oddson he won the Blarney Stakes at Flemington from another New Zealand-bred, Bon Filou, with Caulfield Cup winner, Yangtze, third. Sir Dane had to travel at something like his top and in the last couple of furlongs was challenged several times when out in front making for the post. He stalled off the final of these made by Bon Filou to win by a length, but he had to run the 10 furlongs in 2min 2 l-ssec.

The Blarney Stakes carried a first prize of £1504, so if Sir Dane is kept to weight-for-age racing his cost price will soon be recovered.

Now the question is whether he will run in the Australian Cup, again a 10-furlong race this year. His trainer R. Shaw, says “wait until after the St. George Stakes

at Caulfield and we may know more about that." The St. George Stakes is a weight-for-age race run over nine furlongs. It is seldom an easy race to win. and is looked to each year as a real test. Sir Dane complicates the position of the people who like taking doubles on the big races. They have enough trouble as it is because of the upsets that have placed the Newmarket Handicap—the first leg—in the melting pot. Unexpected Another of these unexpected results came along on Saturday when Marmion won the Lightning Stakes, beating the odds-on favourite. Star of Heaven, by I half a head, and running the five furlongs in 57 4-ssec, to set a course record for the distance.

In the Newmarket Handicap, which is now the special mission for Marmion, Star of Heaven is handicapped to concede 131 b. On Saturday the two ran at level weights, and if there is anything at all in handicapping. Star of Heaven’s Newmarket Handicap chance has disappeared. Marmion is another of the tribe by Orgoglio (imp.) whose stock have been winning all types of sprint races in the last few months, and on all types of courses—at least one each week for the last two months.

Until the end of September. Marmion was a maiden galloper. Now in seven starts he had worked his way to be a winner at standard weight-for-age starting with the September win, two seconds in his next two starts, and then four successive wins.

One of the four wins was at Woodend where he ran a course record of Imin lljsecs for six furlongs. His is an old, old family tracing back to the colonial mare, Sappho, probably one of the greatest foundation mares. Scarcely a year goes by with-

out a top-class galloper coming from this taproot. Comic Court was strongly imbued with its roots, and this season another outstanding galloper came along in Royal Sovereign, winner of the three eastern Derbies. The Sappho family has spread to all states and to New Zealand and in the first 50 years of its existence had won the greater part of 200 top “name” races and weight-for-age events. No-one knows the origin of the old mare, except that she was by Marquis from an untraceable mare by Zohrab. it was not uncommon for pedigrees to be lost in those days! Stock Of Wilkes Trust the stock by Wilkes (imp.) to do the right thing as the yearling sales approach. Not that they fail month by month to keep the sire's name well in the public eye. But on Saturday they excelled by running first, second, and third in the Flying Handicap at Rosehill—Attentive, Grammar Lad, and The Tempest. It was a great set-too in the last halffurlong, and not until the post was reached was it certain that Attentive could turn the trick. Attentive ran the six furlongs in Imin lO.Ssec, against the race record of Imin lOsec, held by Son of Tod. She will now be taken to Melbourne for the Newmarket Handicap, and so, too, will Brandy Lad, heavily backed against her on Saturday, but a disappointment in the way he raced over the concluding stages. Chasing Record The Victorian jockey, R. Higgins, has a programme set to enable him to break a Melbourne riding record. W. Williamson, now in England, rode 67 winners and a dead-heater for first in one season, and no rider has ever beaten that tally. Higgins brought his total for the season to 41 with a treble at Flemington on Saturday. His winners were Glensharold, Ennis and Sir Dane, giving him a good start on the schedule. Glensharold is the South Australian colt by Faux Tirage from Poor Little Rich Girl. He won the Criterion Handicap on Saturday by three-quarters of a length from Slainte Mhath and the A.J.C. Breeders’ Plate winner, Peace Council, fulfilling the prophecy of his trainer, J. B. Cummings, that the colt’s two wins in Adelaide had stamped him one of the best two-year-olds in Australia. Glensharold went to the front in the middle stages and scarcely looked in danger of defeat from then on. Peace Council, however, was having his first run since the spring, and is bound to take considerable improvement from the effort. Dunedin Owner Buys Mastiff Mastiff will do his future racing for Mr J. A. Wilson,

of Dunedin. The four-year-old Dogger Bank gelding changed hands after the Canterbury Jockey Club’s summer meeting and is now being prepared by J. C. Me- ' Kerrow at Washdyke. Mastiff has his last race for , his Halswell breeder, Mr P. ; D. Hall, in the Bealey Stakes > —in which he finished third . —af Riccarton last Tuesday 1 week. Mastiff is the first foal of , the Sun King mare, Rise and , Shine, a good winner in Mr ; Hall’s coloqrs. Although he has yet to win a race, Mastiff has compiled a useful record of minor , placings. Last Tuesday week’s placing was his fifth from seven starts this season. As a three-year-old he was also placed in five of his seven races. For all his racing till now Mastiff was trained by C. G. Humphries, formerly of Riccarton, but now at Blenheim.