Stakes Record In Sight For Star Belle In Leger

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31321, 17 March 1967, Page 4

Stakes Record In Sight For Star Belle In Leger

Star Belle could make history at Trentham tomorrow. If Mr J. Sarten’s brilliant filly wins the New Zealand St. Leger, or even runs second, she will have become the top stake-winning three-year-old filly of all time in New Zealand.

At present the record is held by Passive, which won £14,915 in stakes as a three-year-old 10 years ago. Star Belle got to within £465 of that total when she brilliantly won the North Island Challenge Stakes at Trentham last Saturday.

The winner’s share of the New Zealand St. Leger stake is £1625. If it goes to Star Belle —and most think it will her stake-earn-ings for the season will advance to £16,075. Even the £5OO for second would enable her to create a new record.

Star Belle convinced her admirers and her connexions that she has

never been fitter when she gave the Chalmers Handicap winner, Terrific, a sound beating in training at Trentham yesterday morning.

Star Belle’s Takanini trainer, I. J. Tucker, and her race rider, R. J. Skelton, must have been delighted with yesterday’s gallop.

Tucker must have also been pleased with the way Fair Account worked over a mile. His effort would have convinced his trainer he will be a strong second-string for the stable in the St Leger.

Star Belle and Fair Account are both proven stayers. Between them they made a “clean sweep" of the staying classics—Fair Account won the Derby and Star Belle the Oaks—at the New Zealand Cup meeting.

Near Best Fair Account’s gallop yesterday showed that he was again close to his best Star Belle and Fair Account will have to contend with some well-performed rivals but, as yet, none have convinced they are in the same class. Terrific’s stablemate, What You Will, has three wins this season but he still has to prove he has classic potential. He was soundly beaten by Fair Account in yesterday’s gallop. Avro also has three wins and Nautical won an event for hack stayers at the Ohine-

muri meeting last Saturday. The strongest rival for the Takanini stablemaes could be Jay Ay.

Soundly Beaten Although soundly beaten, Jay Ay was the best of Star Belle’s rivals in the North Island Challenge Stakes. This son of Macquario and Passive was also the winner of two races in the hack class at Trentham in January. Other major attractions at Trentham tomorrow will be the President’s and Suburban Handicaps, the respective legs of the T.A.B. double, and the £3OOO Wakefield Challenge Stakes, a seven-furlong event for first-season performers. Terrific and Carlsberg are “The Press” picks for the main double. In the Wakefield Challenge Stakes Patrida, Le Danois and Ma Jeune are generally expected to battle it out.