RACING Proud Chief Showed Family Flair In Bad Ground

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31731, 15 July 1968, Page 4

RACING Proud Chief Showed Family Flair In Bad Ground

Proud Chief improved a notable family mudlarks’ record at Trentham in winning the Winter Oats Handicap, first leg of the Wellington Racing Club’s T.A.B. double on Saturday.

One of his close relatives, Trench Fray, won the Parliamentary Handicap at the 1950 Wellington winter meeting and a year later was runner-up in both the Parliamentary and Winter Oats Handicaps. Another relative, Phoenician, performed great deeds as a weight-carrying sprinter in the mud at Trentham before he was sold to the United States. Trentham has seldom provided more taxing conditions than it did on Saturday when Proud Chief, with 7-10, won hands downs by three lengths from Red Crest which carried 201 b more. Three days earlier Red Crest had to settle for the same position in the Parliamentary Handicap, in which Proud Chief was a weakening ninth.

Proud Chief is owned by Mr H. Q. Gregory and trained at Takanini by T. J. McKee. There was some stable confidence in an improved run from Proud Chief on Saturday because the colt had been given an easy time for a week or two between the time he raced at Trentham in May and the Avondale meeting early in July. Proud Chief is from the second crop of the Sicambre horse Proud Look and he showed the potential of his sire as a producer of stayers when he beat Ben Lomond by six lengths on a heavy track in the Great Northern St Leger last Easter. Proud Chief’s latest win is certain to attract much interest in Australia because he is an entrant for the spring cups in Melbourne. Foxonewa helped to dominate the race for the north by finishing third at long odds Master Brynn was the best of the Central Districts runners in finishing fourth with a stayer’s run. The Wingatui-trained Jay Ribbon, one of Red Crest’s most soldily-backed rivals, made a bid for the lead near the home turn, but could not

find race-winning finishing speed in the final furlong and finished fifth. The Southland chestnut, Chango, could have hardly had a better chance. He had the inside trailing run behind Whiti Te Ra, came to the front for a few strides before the home turn, but dropped right out to finish thirteenth. Second Leg Red Crest’s stablemate, Cambridge Fair won the Onslow Handicap decisively and so came through the meeting unbeaten in two starts. He was the each-way favourite, and won by a length and a half from Redaire, his most solidly-backed rival. Redaire showed she was nothing if not consistent with her second—her third minor placing in open sprints at the meeting. R. W. Taylor always had Cambridge Fair fairly close to the pace. They followed Diamond Red, Head Off, Dunraven and Golden Summit to the home turn and it was clear a furlong out that the Cambridge sprinter was going well enough to win. Redaire followed Cambridge

Fair round the home turn and she was not challenged for second. Bottle Top came from behind the middle of the field for third, outflnishing the weakening Dunraven. Head Off tired to fifth after being in the leading bunch to the home turn. Surf Boy, one of those to drift early, did well to finish sixth. Glamis Lad, the only South Island runner, never reached a contending position. He finished eighth.