CENTURY PROVES ELUSIVE

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32351, 17 July 1970, Page 1 (Supplement)

CENTURY PROVES ELUSIVE

By

J. J. Boyle

Only Two Days Left

A month ago the leading jockey, E. J. Didham, hardly gave a thought to the chances of riding 100 winners this season.

But he admitted last week that as the end of the season got closer the matter was more often in his thoughts.

The two-year-old, Igloo, took Didham’s .score to 98 when he won oh the second day of the Wellington winter meeting. But through the rest of that programme and all through the final day at Trentham he remained stuck on that figure. “I wouldn’t mind a bit if there were one or two more of the right kind of races for Igloo before the end of the season,” the Wingatui horseman remarked the other day. Didham has committed himself to the South Canterbury Hunt and Christchurch Hunt meetings to get him to his century. His mounts at both places, and at Washdyke this week in particular, will come in for much attention throughout the country.

He has won before on Glamis Lad and Pinetree, his mounts for the T.A.B. double races, and there is little doubt these horses will form the most strongly-fancied combination. A win for Glamis Lad in the Claremont Handicap on his home track would be well earned.

He has been one of the biggest winners trained at Washdyke but in his latest races on his home track he

has had to settle for minor placings. Didham rode him when he ran third to Stephanair and Watchman in the Donald Grant Memorial on the first day of the South Canterbury winter meeting. • A week later, the day Didham won the .Wellington Whyte Handicap on Baghdad Note, Glamis Lad came from last for second to Superspan over a mile and 35 yards. Glamis Lad will not have Stephanair, Watchman of Superspan in opposition this

week. Still, there are some talented gallopers in the field, the very size of which will not smooth the path of a good galloper which at this stage of his career is probably better at a middle distance.

The Claremont Handicap field contains some interesting newcomers to open company. One of the more interesting is the Orari three-year-old, Lloyd, which quit hacks with two wins at the Dunedin winter meeting. L. H. Pratt has sent Lloyd out for 14 races this season and the Llanstephan colt has returned six firsts, three seconds, four thirds and one fourth.