RACING Royal Tudor Favoured In Gold Cup At Riccarton

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32142, 11 November 1969, Page 5

RACING Royal Tudor Favoured In Gold Cup At Riccarton

In Royal Tudor and Game, Hawke’s Bay stables have formidable contenders for Canterbury Gold Cup honours at Riccarton tomorrow.

Royal Tudor has earned favouritism for the first leg of the Canterbury Jockey Club’s TA.B. concession double after a win over the same distance in the Harcourt Stakes at Trentham last month.

Royal Tudor is top weight with 9-0. He has 51b more than Game, and between them in the weights is the New Zealand Cup winner, Middy, on 8-11. Middy will write a brilliant chapter into a splendid record if he can come back to win at a mile and a quarter so close to his New Zealand Cup victory. His owner* trainer, Mr' G. B. Thomson, will delay a decision about a start until today to reassure i himself that the seven-year* I old has recovered from the

exertions of his cup run. Middy’s robust qualities command respect and it would not be surprising if he came up with another bold run. He is essentially a top-of-the-ground performer, and it looks as if he will have footing to his liking again. Better Fitted Game “blew out” after jiacemaking in the Harcourt Stakes, but in this, his third start for the season, he should be better fitted to run out a mile and a quarter. Proud Chief might not find the brilliance to come out on top at this distance unless the track conditions deterior-

ate, and Shipmaster»and the three-year-old, Far Time, might fare better. Shipmaster won the Wellington Racing Club’s Wainui Handicap two starts back. His only start since was atßangiora, where the ground was all against him.

Gay Gabador started his seven-year-old racing brilliantly with a win over seven furlongs on the second day of the Dunedin spring meetin& ....

This will be a formidable first middle-distance test for the season, but he should be one of the improvers in the field and should not be one of the lesser lights. Outstanding Chance Stewards’ Handicap form gives Canitostian an outstanding chance in the mile Jockey Club Handicap, second leg of the T.A.B. double. He came from last for his third in the feature six-fur-long sprint race on New Zealand Cup day. Everything about his run suggested he would be even better at seven furlongs or a mile. Sharif, the runner-up in the Stewards' Handicap, will again meet Cantostan, but with a slimmer chance, it seems, of edging out the Otaki four-year-old at a mile. Mica is an obvious prospect after a record-run nine furlongs in winning the Riccarton Handicap on cup day. That was her third start for the season, and she was following up thirds at Gore and Wyndham. Form from these southern meetings showed in a favourable light through the wins of Middy and Shewetta, besides that of Mica, on Saturday. The South Island will have two fresh, bold challengers in the top weight, Red Chips, and the light-weight, Sliderule. Red Chips was an easy win-

ner the last time he raced on his homer course, at the Westport meeting held at Riccarton last month. At his next start he was a close second to Tara’s Pride in the Wellington Racing Club’s Nainai Handicap. He then failed in the mile Pearce Handicap on a track slightly affected by rain.

Red Chips will be ridden by E. J. Didham. Sliderule is owned and trained by E. J. Didham’s father, A. E. Didham, and on past campaigns at Riccarton he looked a cut above the average.