TROTTING Norlight Looks Set For Win At Forbury Park

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31976, 1 May 1969, Page 4

TROTTING Norlight Looks Set For Win At Forbury Park

Norlight will only have to race as well as she did at the Easter Gup meeting to gain an overdue win in the Dunedin Winter Cup at Forbury Park on Saturday evening.

Norlight gained a second, a sixth, and a fifth in the 110,000 final and with a little luck her record at the carnival would have been even better.

In her only start since the Easter meeting she started from 48 yards in the J. McCloy Memorial Handicap at Methven won by her stablemate, Jacquinot Bay. and she did well to finish eighth in a race which developed into a gruelling test of stamina. The class of the field at Forbury Park does not look to be as strong as that she encountered at Addington or Methven and she will only need to receive a reasonable run to graduate to within two wins of New Zealand Cup class.

Newport Maid has not raced since March 29 when she finished fast for third to Stella Frost and Udette in the Plains Handicap. A week earlier she finished fourth to Stella Frost in the two-mile Bryndwr Handicap, pacing the distance in 4min 18 3-5 sec after staring from 24 yards. That run showed that she was close to her best and if she repeats that effort, she should run Norlight close. Diarac entered calculations for this race with a dashing win at the Methven trials last week. Diarac has shown splendid form over all distances and now that he looks to be back to his best, he should go well. He won over two miles at Hutt Park in January and soon after did well to finish seventh in a fast-run mile race at Addington Raceway. He has been off the scene since then, but has come to hand quickly. Chaman has raced disappointingly since he won the Timaru Cup in February. He is not noted for consistency, but a peak run would give him another chance of upsetting calculations. Disappointed Lustre Scott, Merry Morning, Torrent and Vantage will start from 24 yards. They have disappointed in their latest racing, but Merry Morning was third to Chequer Board and Cardinal Garrison in the Easter Cup Final on April 5. Merry Morning is racing most generously and if he

can be covered up until tbe final furlong, he might outsprint most of his rivals. Lustre Scott looks particularly well, but she has not been racing impressively. She is capable of better and might be close to staging a comeback. She might surprise, but will find it hard to beat two other fine mares, Norlight and Newport Maid. The second leg of the main concession double, the Taieri Pace, has drawn a field of very mixed quality. Seven runners are down to start from the limit, while two— Bethel and Sandy Mac—are handicapped on 36 yards, a

mark which would give them very little chance of success if their recent efforts have been their best Bramble Hall was a shade disappointing when he finished sixth at Addington Raceway last week. However, he did not receive a particularly good run and In this small field he should be a much better proposition. Ballytrue enjoyed a most successful innings on the recent Taranaki circuit and be should make Bramble Hall work hard for a win. Ballytrue finished the trip with a fifth, a win, a second, and a third. With a little luck,

he would have won at least one other race. He is seldom guilty of a bad run and in this field he should at least earn some of the stake.

Zhivago had a strenuous race when he won at Methven and he disappointed by finishing eighth at Addington last week. Perhaps he was still feeling the effects of his race at Methven, He has had a chance to freshen up and might be more difficult to beat this week. Johnny Kawa appeals most of the others, although Blonde Sister will be a great chance should the track become heavy.