RACING Red Crest May Win Tomorrow

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31726, 9 July 1968, Page 4

RACING Red Crest May Win Tomorrow

Red Crest (above) is selected to win his second Parliamentary Handicap at Trentham tomorrow.

Red Crest has won a Wellington Cup, missed victory by inches in the last Melbourne Cup, won last year’s Parliamentary Handicap hands down, and the Watkins Handicap over the same distance at Trentham earlier in the season.

The first leg of the Wellington Raci n g Club’s T.A.B. double should not be a formidable test with 8-13. Red Crest won this race with the same weight last year. Red Crest ran tenth after a slow start against the milers in the Whyte Handicap on Saturday! Being essentially a distance runner, he was one of the long shots in the Whyte Handicap, but his run up to the middle of the field should have helped to sharpen him for his test tomorrow.

Jay Ribbon, Royal Theme and Gus, the first three in the Whyte Handicap, are engaged in the Parliamentary Handicap and their first-day form could make them the top fancies. All three are accomplished gallopers at middle distances and Gus showed he was a master of winter conditions at Trentham in winning the Parliamentary - Winter Oats double as a three-year-old in 1966. There was some uncertainty whether Royal Theme would

master Trentham’s winter footing before he raced on Saturday, but his run was most reassuring and might have been attended with a victory if he had dodged trouble near the home turn.

Top weight of 9-1 sets Royal Theme a solid test in a field containing cup winners like Red Crest and Laramie but unless the footing gets a good bit worse the Woodville chestnut should be in the battle for the honours.

The Whyte Handicap winner. Jay Ribbon, showed his mastery of middle distances in winning a treble at Riccarton at Easter, and again when he won the Waimate Cup in May. Dark Song and Whiti Te Ra won the main handicap races on rain-affected tracks at the Wellington meeting in May and they should be the strongest challengers from the middle of the handicap.

Second Leg The Washdyke-trained Giatnis Lad's run for seventh in the Whyte Handicap on Saturday appeared to have just as much merit as the performances of Redaire in running a distance second and Damar’s distant third behind Cam-

bridge Fair in the Stewards’ Handicap, six furlongs. Whether this was, in- fact, the case should be known after the Members’ Handicap, second leg of tomorrow’s T.A.B. double. Glamis Lad made a short dab to reach the lead for a few strides about two furlongs but in the Whyte Handicap. He had been forced over a fair amount of ground coming to the straight and it was not surprising that he weakened slightly. Glamis Lad carried 8-3 in the Whyte Handicap and has 8-9 on a 71b higher scale in the Members’ Handicap. Bijali, Dunraven, and Redaire will be attempting to give him weight. Bijali is a newcomer at the meeting, but a recent winner on the North Island provincial circuit. She lacks size and a winning run under 9-4 may be beyond her. Dunraven found a mile well beyond him in the Whyte Handicap and he finished behind the middle of the field after being responsible for much of the pace. If the ground is loose and slushy he could be hard to peg back at seven furlongs tomorrow. Golden Summit and Diamond Red, both from A. G. Macdonald’s Gisborne stable, are competent gallopers in bad ground. Diamond Red is a newcomer at the meeting, but Golden Summit was close up eighth in the Whyte Handicap. There was some doubt about a start for Golden Summit yesterday, and if Diamond Red is left to run for the stable this light-weight will come in for strong backing.