RACING PROUD CHIEF FANCIED IN $10,600 N.Z. CUP

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31830, 7 November 1968, Page 4

RACING PROUD CHIEF FANCIED IN $10,600 N.Z. CUP

Success has eluded four-year-olds in the New Zealand Cup since 1956—Jimmy Flash’s year—but Proud Chief could put that age group back in the records of the rich two-mile race at Riccarton on Saturday.

Proud Chief, which sulks when inactive and is lazy when he works—but is every inch a true racehorse with the colours up—has the right credentials for success.

Judge* maintain that to win a race such a* the Canterbury Jockey Club’s marathon a horse must be racing and winning as early as August Mr H. Q. Gregory’s stayer meets that requirement for he won the Avondale Cup in the first month of this season.

Meantime T. J. McKee, who prepares Proud Chief at TakaBini, has continued a well-

planned campaign to have the horse at his peak for Saturday’s $10,600 event. So far everything has gone right with the plan. Proud Chief came back to form again by winning the Watkins Handicap—a race which Jimmy Flash and Oreka both won leading up to their New Zealand Cup successes—at Trantham last Saturday week. Meantime, Proud Chief has

had two further races for a third in the weight-for-age Harcourt Stakes and a close second in the New Zealand Cup and Derby Trial at Mdtukarara last Saturday.

Only A Rumour McKee is not greatly concerned at the possibility of a firm track. He knows, contrary to popular opinion, that Proud Chief is almost at much at ease on top of the ground. “He has earned the reputation of being a “mud-lark” only because there hasn’t been any other type of going in the north for months,” he said yesterday. Point Duty, from Levin, and the Riccarton mare Millie Small, are closest to Proud Chief in the weights. They both have 7-13, 61b less than the Takanlni stayer. Point Duty, although fourth last time out in the Watkins Handicap, faces a big task with a preparation of only three races in a fresh campaign. Millie Small la generally expected to be one of Rlccarton's brightest hopes after wins in the Booth’s Gin Handleap at Ranglora and the New Zealand Cup and Derby Trial at Motukarara last Saturday. The Ranglora event has been a good guide to the cup in recent years. Fieldmaster was successful at BangiOra before winning the cup in USS and Royal Bld was an unlucky second in the North Canterbury Racing Club's event the following year leading up to his victory in the two-miler. Northerners fill the next four positions in the handicap and the most discussed contender among them is the Woodville stayer, Noir Filou. Although the Wellington Handicap winner will be trying the cup on a preparation of only four races, his trainer, S. A. Brown, is confident he will get the distance and his opinion—he was the Dominion's leading trainer last season—will command respect. Healthy and Fit One look at Noir Filou would convince anyone that he is as healthy and fit as hands can make him. For that, and several other good reasons, bls chance must be highly regarded. Be Is a dyed-in-the-wool stayer—being by Le Filou from Royal Vesta, a Contact mare—and Is an easy-going type which can bo ridden anywhere In a field.

This will be Master Brynn’s second attempt in the twomiler. He finished eighth, one place behind Foxonewa, In last year's contest.

The Levin trainer, F. C. Pratt, will, no doubt, be hoping Mammoth, a good front-runner in form, will emulate the feat of Foglia d'Oro, which gained an tll-the-way win in the 1959 cup in the colours of her trainer and his wife.

Although Automaton is inclined to mix her performances, one of her generous runs could get her into the finish. She certainly looked like New Zealand Cup material when she came far back to finish third In the Watkins Handicsp at Trentham last month.

Cassarook, from Gore, and the Invercargill-trained Segundo are both proven at the distance —both have cup placlngs on their records—but they might be hard pressed to improve tbose records in a hard-run two miles at this stage of their careers.

If consistency was the only requirement for success, Watallan. from Wingatui, and the Washdyke stayers. Beau Supreme and Sandbank, would all be high on the list of popular fancies but each would have to be takon on trust tn this, their first tests beyond a middle distance.

Likely Light-weight But the best of the lightweights could be Styleman, which was flown south from Takanlni yesterday. Styleman, like Proud Chief, is also a four-year-old with sound form close up on his recofd. Last Saturday Mrs I. J. Tucker’s Arragon gelding ran a sound race for third in the Alison Cup at Ellerslie and not long beforehand he was successful among the stayers at Whangarei.

Twelve months ago Styleman was still a hack when Mrs Tucker, whose husband has made several successful "raids” at Riccarton, brought him south for the New Zealand Derby. Styleman failed in the classic but he paid expenses for the trip with a second to Royal Encounter in the Otaio Plate. Golden Silver, which managed 13 furlongs successfully in the Invercargill Gold Cup last season, is the only one of 11 acceptors On the 7-4 minimum with last-start winning form. This Gore-trained stayer raised hopes of a light-weight victory for Southland in the cup by winning the Spring Handicap at Wyndham last Saturday. if any of the out-of-form runners on the minimum are going to be involved in Saturday's fln-

ish it could be Royal Matter. He might have finished a lot closer than ninth In the cup last year had he not been left out in the open and pulled hard for the best part of a mile and a half.

In spite of his recent efforts Royal Master showed fitness in his semi-final trial with Noir Filou on Tuesday and another sound run in training this morning could bring him further into favour.