TROTTING DERBY STAKES AT ADDINGTON

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31221, 19 November 1966, Page 6

TROTTING DERBY STAKES AT ADDINGTON

Holy Hal May Extend Outstanding Record

Holy Hal will have made another notable contribution to an outstanding record if he succeeds when first up for the season in the New Zealand Derby Stakes at Addington Raceway tonight.

Messrs J. R. Rogers and D. Keenan's brilliant Hal Tryax colt probably will be a firm favourite for the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's classic, although he lacks competitive racing since June.

Tonight Holy Hal, which was unbeaten as a two-year-old, will try for his sixth successive win. He will have td cope with some notable and more seasoned rivals, but that is unlikely to deter his supporters. Holy Hal is only one of the strong form runners which will represent Southland stables in a representative field. Killadar, which won the Second Riccarton Stakes in style on Show Day, and Fort Nelson, a winner at Forbury Park last month, will strengthen the possibility of a victory for the province. Cardinal King, which was nosed out of first by Stewart Hanover in the First Riccarton Stakes on cup day, prob-

ably will have the strongest backing of the three-year-olds representing Canterbury stables. At his previous start Cardinal King beat his three-year-old rivals hands down at the Forbury Park meeting. They included Killadar, Montage, Darcon, Dark Son and Stewart Hanover, which will oppose him again in the classic tonight Auckland people will hope for a Miles Gentry victory. Their confidence may not be misplaced, for his third from 36 yards in the Second Riccarton Stakes on Show Day was a first-class performance. The New Zealand Derby Stakes will be the second leg of a double for course patrons

only. The first leg of this double will be the Harold Lo-1 gan Handicap, in which Raven! Song, Bill Adonis and Don 1 Caesar are expected to fare best. If form in the races for the tightest-class pacers proves the best guide, Waitaki Hanover, Robin Dundee and Lordship should dominate betting and the finish of the Ollivier Handicap, first leg of the T.A.B. double. Le Chant, which outclassed her rivals in the New Zealand Trotting Free-for-all on Tuesday, is expected to keep her winning record intact in the Greyhound Handicap, second leg of the main double. Queen’s Cord and Asia Minor, both of which have raced consistently but have failed to win at the meeting, might be the hardest for Le Chant to beat. Although continued unsettled weather is forecast, the track should be in good order.