Risque Was Favoured By Conditions Of Race

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30981, 10 February 1966, Page 4

Risque Was Favoured By Conditions Of Race

‘The Press” Special Service

SYDNEY. Sydney Turf Club’s system of automatically handicapping its restricted races enabled two coups on Saturday with horses which had failed at their previous starts when at odds-on for regular handicaps. Risque, daughter of the Australian sire, Wilkes (imp.) and bought from New Zealand at a landed cost of about £26,000, had won a three-year-old maiden fillies race at Randwick and then had contested a novice race for fillies on the same course, handicapped at 181 b above the minimum. She was beaten into third place in a fastrun race. On Saturday, Risque contested a division of the Belmore Stakes in which she was rated as a novice horse, and as such, had to carry only the minimum weight, 7-7. Naturally, there were others

in the race similarly treated, but the comparative low weight suited Risque, which won as she liked after a lot of use had been made of her early to reach the lead from a wide barrier position. At Randwick, Argentina, raced in partnership by New Zealand breeder, D. H. Blackie, and Sydney trainer, T. J. Smith, had 8-7 or 141 b above the minimum in a maiden handicap run over 10 furlongs. This weight probably was given because of previous good runs by Argentina, one of them culminating in a close second in a three-year-old graduation stakes run at fixed-weight at Rosehill. On Saturday, under the conditions of his race, Argentina was on the minimum, and he streaked away to win by six lengths in the easiest possible fashion. The amazing feature about each win was the price bet against the horses. As much as 6 to 1 was bet about Risque, and 9 to 4 Argentina.