Sea Bird Too Fast For Rivals In Derby

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30768, 4 June 1965, Page 4

Sea Bird Too Fast For Rivals In Derby

(N.Z.P. A .-Reuter—Copyright) EPSOM (Surrey). Sea Bird 11, the 7/4 favourite, flew in yesterday to win for France their seventh Epsom Derby since the war. It was exactly 100 years since the French took their first Derby with Gladiateur.

Superbly ridden by the 38-year-old South Australian jockey, P. Glennon, Sea Bird won comfortably by two lengths, leaving his 21 , rivals standing as they t raced for the post. Sea Bird’s victory came ■ only two hours after it was i revealed that two attempts , had been made to hobble the third favourite Niksar. Sea Bird, owned by the French industrialist, M. J. Ternynck, and trained by Etienne Pollet at Chantilly . was followed home by the Irish colt, Meadow Court, owned by the Canadian publisher, Mr M. Bell, and ridden by L. Piggott, three times winner of this great race, i Meadow Court, a chestnut i son of Court Harwell, was second favourite at 10/1. Second Fastest Sea Bird’s time of 2min 28 2-ssec is the secod fastest i for the race. However, the . record of 2min 26 ■ 3-ssec set ; by Dante in 1945 was recorded at Newmarket, where the i Derby was run during the Second World War. Third place was taken by the English colt, I Say, a 28/1 chance, which finished just in front of his betterfancied stable companion, Niksar, which started at 100/8. I Say, a son of Sayajiroa, was ridden by the French I jockey, R. Poincelet. He is trained on the course by W. : Nightingall. Sea Bird was only the; third favourite to win the i Derby—the 186th of the i ■ series. His first prize of over! £65.000 meant that he was earning for his wealthy 1

French owner more than £4OO a second. He will now be worth at least £250,000 for stud purposes. The French were right when they said before the race that Sea Bird was a super horse. Glennon was able to ride him home with his hands. When he went to the front about two furlongs out and Glennon “changed gear” and Sea Bird’s great acceleration and lengthy strides soon took him past his struggling rivals. It was third time lucky for Glennon, the winner of two Melbourne Cups, for this was his third Derby ride. It was his thirteenth winner for the season. So far ahead was the French chestnut as they neared the post that Glennon was able to ease him up when he saw there was no danger. He would otherwise have won even more easily. Meadow Court, which drew the inside berth, was always among the leaders, but it was | not until they battled up the' 1 final furlongs that the Irish i colt, showing great stamina, kept his rivals out of second place. Before dismounting. Glennon said: “A good horse and a great trainer. Mission accomplished.” He said later: “I had no i anxiety throughout. Sea Bird; was always travelling well and the race was never in doubt.” 1 “No Bunching” Last year's winning jockey,, the Australian. A. W. Breasley. who rode Cambridge yesterday, declared: "It was one of the best Derbys in which 1 have ever ridden. There was no bunching and no incident of any kind. My mount failed to: stay." For once the bookmakers said ' they had a good race, though | the winner was heavily backed on the course where one luckv punter won £BOOO.

The winning owner. M ; Ternynck, said: "I did not have | a sou on the winner. I never I bet. But I was always con- .: fident that my colt would win." Two attempts were made to i nobbl* z Niksar. th* third favourite for th* *vcnt, which

is stabled at South Hatch, only half a mile away from the Derby course, the colt’s trainer, W. Nightingall, who also had I Say in the classic, revealed before the race. “We had two warnings that Niksar might be got at, one from the local police and one from another source. I had a strong guard on duty and the nobbiers were driven away in their two attempts which happended about two and three o’clock this morning,” Nightingall said. “The police drove them away and there were no arrests. The men, who were attempting a break-in, were in two cars. 1 have had six guards on duty with dogs for some time.”