Del Charro’s Winning Run Was Deceptive

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31384, 1 June 1967, Page 4

Del Charro’s Winning Run Was Deceptive

(From the Australian corspdt. oj “The Press”) SYDNEY. Del Charro’s performance in winning the Beecroft Handicap (12f.) at Rosehild on Saturday did not look as impressive as it became after the time went up in the semaphore showing that the New Zealand gelding had run a race record.

The race certainly had begun at a reasonably fast pace with Del Charro never further back than third, but it did not seem that record breaking speed was the order.

Then when Carnival took charge, Del Charro challenged and ran to the front.

But Gin and Bitters, which has had a lot of recent failures, made hiis bid and it took a long time and a ton of hard riding for Schumacher to clinch the win, although, to be sure, Del Charro was going away from the tiring Gin and Bitters in the last few lengths.

Del Charro is the three-year-old by Alcimedes for which S. Fox paid 125,000 on the advice of the trainer, T. J. Smith, who was impressed by the gelding’s third in the Derby at Trentham last January. His first two runs in Sydney were not particularly impressive, but apparently they were far from his best.

In fact, his rider, Schumacher, says the gelding stiM is not at his top, and declares that Dei Charro is a true atayer, which is advantaged by a fast run race because he will continue with a finishing run for furlong after furlong.

If the jockey’s summing up te correct, Del Charro has an excellent chance of adding another Brisbane Cup to the record of the Smith stable, and will bring the record of New Zealand horses to seven wins in the last 12 years. Tea Biscuit (by Dalray) was favourite for the race, but finished only fourth under punishment over the last three furlongs. His Brisbane Cup prospects disappeared especially as he wlflfl meet Del Charro 51b worse in Brisbane, and is not likely to be as much improved as Del Charro in the meantime. Another attractive performance at Rosehiil by a Brisbane Cup runner was the win by General Command in the Graduation Stakes run over 10 furlongs. This Agricola three-year-old :s a son of Sunbride, the mare which became dam of Straight Draw, Ilumquh, and other winners, with one exception bought as yearlings by the late E. Norton. CUR PROSPECT Still another New Zealandbred brought himself into notice as a cup horse—Auto FHou, which is being named a Doqmben Cup candidate after he had won the Thornleigh Trial Handicap (7f.). Auto Filou te by Le Fllou and earlier in the season was held to be a Derby prospect. He did not reach that class at the time, but undoubtedly he has made further improvement as Staurday’s sprint win disAnd in Melbourne Bore Head, a Caulfield Cup winner with a second in a Brisbane Cup to his credit, turned on one of his best runs to finish fourth in the mile Southern Stakes at Caulfield.

His rider in the race, R. Hig* gins, said the finishing sprint was “fantastic.” It all adds up to a pretty open cup this year. Another New Zealander was impressive in a winning performance at Rosehiil. This was the two-year-old 'SJuelough (by Pharamond), which won the colts’ division of the two-year-

old race from the highly rated Karloon Pride, a colt by Aidmedes, also owned by S. Fox. In Adelaide, Farmer's Daughter, by Agricola, landed a plunge when she won a five furlong sprint. Farmer’s Daughter was racing for the first time since a spell, following her success in the A.J.C. Oaks dim.) at Randwick at Easter.