Top Stake-Winner Retired

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32073, 22 August 1969, Page 4

Top Stake-Winner Retired

"The Press" Special Service

INVERCARGILL.

Palisade, the third-great-est stake-winning galloper in New Zealand racing history, has been retired and i will spend the rest of his ; days on the West Otago pro- I perty of his owner-breeder, ; Mr A. T. Ottrey. Now a 12-year-old, the Ruth-■ less gelding has bowed out' with $67,375 to his credit, the, result of 25 wins, 13 seconds, seven thirds and three fourths in 33 starts.

Only gallopers to have won; more in New Zealand are the: triple Wellington Cup winner, 1 Great Sensation, with 878,916; from 20 wins, 11 seconds, nine thirds and five fourths nr 68 starts, and Tatua, which is back in work at 10 years and has won 575,530 from 26 wins, 18 seconds, 19 thirds and five fourths in 118 starts. "The old fellow has still got a lot of his dash,” Mr Ottrey said yesterday. “But there was a doubt about him standard up to racing.”

’'Soreness in the shoulder has been the trouble, and no-one ba* been able to get to the bottom of it. He i« aU right one dav, but not all right the next—age might be starting to catch up with him.” Mr Ottrey paid high tribute to the veteran Wingatul trainer. D. P- Wilson, who trained Palis•de throughout bis career. "He deserves top marks, not only for what he has done with

my horse, but also for hi* success with a great many horses over a great number of , years,” Mr Ottrey said. One o! the secrets of Wilson’s success had been that he always gave his horses plenty of time. There is a good deal of ! similarity in the careers of the iWingatui stayers. Palisade and 'Great Sensation. • Neither began racing until ithey were four-year-olds, both | began with modest earnings In i their first season—Great Sensation with 31090 from two wins and a second in six starts and Palisade with 31580 from three wins and: two placings in eight starts—both reached their full powers at an age when most : horses are well past their best, and both recorded their greatest triumphs over two rnllss at ITrentham. Great Sensation won the first iof his three successive Wellington Cups at the age of eight in 11961. Palisade won the two-mile ■Chalmers Handicap at Trentham i m successive years, the first jtirne in 1965 when he was seven. He was nine when he went i: under by a nose to Michael ; Molloy in the 1*67 Wellington ' Palisade won four races and , 826,600 in stakes at Trentham. > He also won six races at Biccarton. six at Wingatul, three at Biverton, two at Awapuni, i and one each st Ashburton. . Motukarara, Hastings. and , Wyndham. I Looking back on Palisade’s i career, Mr Ottrey thought that one of his best wins was his Awapuni Geld Cup, in which he equalled Key’s race record J of 2mio 2 4-ssec. 1 "But the greatest race he . ever ran. and never won, was . the 1967 Wellington Cup," he J said. “Dave Wilson thought he was unbeatable that day, and , he was a certainty beaten." Carrying *st 61b, he met a bad • check with half a mile to run and went under by a nose to . Michsel Molloy, which had 231 b ‘ less with 7st 51b. - B. J. Skelton, Palisade's rider that day, described the horse’s Trade Mission.—Mr F. S. 1 Penman will represent Amalgamated Batteries, Ltd, on a i manufacturers’ trade mission •to South Africa and East 3 Africa in October.

: performance as phenomenal. "I had to check him when Cassarook was checked ahead of me at the four furlongs and ’ we lost three lengths,” Skelton , said. "Furthermore, be covered a lot' of extra ground on the , turn and it was only in the last ; stride that he was caught."