RACING Kumai Improves Great Record At Trentham

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31114, 18 July 1966, Page 4

RACING Kumai Improves Great Record At Trentham

Kumai carried top-weight of 10.1 to a decisive win in the Winter Hurdles at Trentham on Saturday.

This was his seventh win on the course and his second in as many starts as a hurdler there. He has become a great favourite on the course where he has also won three Winter Oats Handicaps, two Parliamentary Handicaps, and a Trentham Hurdles, and his win on Saturday was the most popular of the meeting.

Kumai’s Trentham earnings now total £9050. His win in the second of the “Big Three” hurdle races of the winter also gave the Southland-based imported sire Kurdistan a big double.

Macdonald, winner : of the Great Northern Hurdles in June, was also sired by Kurdistan.

Kumai’s programme at the Grand National meeting next month will include a start in the Grand National Hurdles, In which he was second to Bagush last year. He may also run in the Lincoln Steeplechase on the final day of the meeting. Jumped Well B. J. Anderton, who has now won more than 20 races on Mr T. K. S. Sidey’s big ■grey, was pleased with Ku-

mai’s jumping and his game finish after being forced wide for a good way. “We missed the start a bit from the inside and he kept jumping up on the heels of horses in front of him,” Anderton said later. Anderton said that influenced him to take Kumai wider to give him a good look at the hurdles and to search for better going. "The going was not much better wider out, but at least we kept out of trouble,” he said.

Kumai carried £3477 10s of a win pool of £19.370 and £2552 of the place pool of I £11,135 10s. i The first sensation of the

race came a round from home,' where the win ’ favourite, Treble, struck hard at the stand hurdle, and was pulled up. He carried £5976 10s for a win and £2805 10s for a place. At this stage Kumai was being brought forward from the tail of the field to get fairly close to the leading bunch, comprising Jumping Joe, Regal Ruler, Cornstalk and Royal Ransom. Ran Clear

Kumai was upsides with Regal Ruler at the five furlongs and then inside the next furlong. Revello moved to second and followed the Wingatuf horse around to the straight.

but in a gap of four lengths. Confer was plugging into third position, but in a wider gap. Kumai gave his backers on the course an uneasy moment when he ran down the last hurdle. Revello got closer to him, but never looked likely to draw level. At the end Kumai had a decisive margin of two and a half lengths over the Waikato jumper. Confer was the next best, but six lengths back. He had tailed the field for a fair way but moved into the middle of the field inside the last mile. Coral Reef was a fair fourth two lengths behind Confer and 20 lengths clear of Cornstalk.

Macdonald was right in the race going to the half-mile, but drifted out to finish seventh.