Montage Seems Sound Nelson Cup Prospect

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31279, 27 January 1967, Page 5

Montage Seems Sound Nelson Cup Prospect

Montage and Warily, from Canterbury, and the Upper Hutt-trained Pleasant Lad are expected to be the principal contenders for the Nelson Cup tomorrow.

Montage, which will be trying to keep a winning record intact, will probably be the popular fancy for the first leg of the Nelson Trotting Club’s T.A.B. double.

This season Montage has compiled a very good record —17 starts for three wins. Only once in the other 14 starts has he been worse than fourth.

Although only three Montage has shown he can master the Nelson Cup distance. His second victory this season was in a two-mile event at Hutt Park Raceway in October.

Montage won as a sprinter at Reefton the last time he raced. Earlier the same day he finished fourth—and could have been closer with better luck in the running—over two miles in the Reefton Cup.

Strong Finish

Warily shaped like a strong Nelson Cup prospect the last time he raced. That was in the Kerrytown Handicap, one mile and three-quarters, at Washdyke a fortnight ago. His strong finishing run for second to Royal Flame suggested he would run out two miles very well.

Although Pleasant Lad will have to give Montage, Warily and six others a start of 36 yards he should not find it an insurmountable task for he is a proven two-miler. He has won three races this season for his Auckland owner, Mr A. Dean, and the second of those victories was over two miles at Wanganui in the spring.

The Washdyke stablemates. Bar None and Sam Scott, have both shaped well at times lately, but only as sprinters. However, they could still be the best of the rest on the limit.

Unreal, which shares the back mark, would be a place

prospect, at least. This Nelson-j’ trained mare has won twice and been placed in six of her 101 starts this season. Dually Engaged The outcome of the Stoke Handicap, the fourth race on the | card, could provide some valuable clues for the second leg of the main double. This will be the Tasman Handicap, in which all are dually engaged. If Rosedale Hanover and Foaming Lass, consistent placegetters, or the last-start win-, nets, Bronwyn and Kaikoura i Chief, shape well in their first) start that should settle the ques-; tion of which will be the Tas-j man Handicap favourite. There will be a concession oncourse double on the Murchison and Brightwater Handicaps. Vice Royal is picked to win the first leg. Kings Guard and Light View could be the best in the second leg. The weather has been fine i and the forecast is good. Thel track will be in excellent i order. 1.50 p.m.— NELSON CUP,

3.45 p.m.— TASMAN HANDICAP, £275; 2:19 class; l}m.

£550; 2:17 class; 2m 0076 Airborne (3) It. 0537 Ali Baba (1) It. 4672 Bar None (2) It. Hal Special <S) It. 2341 Montage (6) It. 4870 Moonlight Bay (7) It. 2055 Sam Scott (5) It. 1062 Warily (4) It. 0135 Pleasant Lad (1) 36 4034 Unreal (2) 36 Bracket: Bar None and Sam Scott.

7070 Alortunado (14) . It. 0000 Braeburn <7) . It. 091 Bronwyn <10) It. 0445 Foaming Lass (4) It. 5040 Hazelburn Lass (2) . . It. 1578 Jinks (9) . It. 3351 Kaikoura Chief (3) . It 1559 Limbala (15) . It. 2758 Look‘Ahead (6) . It 0 Patriacb’s Son (1) . It.

9899 Racol (8) It 7045 Reporter (5) It 032 Rosebelle Hanover (13) It 86 Upright (11) Scratched: Fallout. It