Philemon justifies late inclusion in series

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32531, 15 February 1971, Page 8

Philemon justifies late inclusion in series

(By

W. R. CARSTON)

Philemon, a horse lucky to be in the series at all, caused a major upset when he led for the last 10 furlongs of two miles for an easy win in the Second Trotting Championship Heat at Addington Raceway on Saturday night.

At the time of with- 1 drawals Philemon was * among the horses on the J list of reserves but he i had the first right of reentry in the event of scratchings before 3 p.m. last Monday. i i The stroke of good luck. came for his joint owners,; Messrs W. A. Strachan and 1 G. R. Taverner, when the Vic-; torian trotter, Just Money, t failed to make the airlift of < Australian horses from Sydney last Saturday week. , For Saturday’s victory—his i fourth for the season and his t third at Addington Raceway s —Philemon earned 15 points, t Another sound run in the j Fourth Trotters’ Championship Heat on Wednesday I night would almost certainly < assure him of a place in the \ $10,200 Trotters’ Grand Final j next Saturday week. f Tutira, from 24 yards, and I the Te Awamutu-trained Inferno, from 12 yards, were r the best of Philemon’s rivals, i The former could not find [ the finishing speed to peg i Philemon back but battled s gamely to keep Inferno out t of second by a head. Both t should add further points to f their totals on Wednesday 1 night when the heats will be r run under free-for-all condi-\ tions. I Fair Play, Beau Winter c and Cardigan Lass were next

home, in that order, after the dividend-payers but each was close enough throughout the running to have done better had they been good enough. Improver The horse most likely to be improved by Saturday’s run was the beaten favourite, Johnny Gee. He was far back and on the inside till fairly late in the contest but made ground in promising style in the latter stages to finish a close seventh. He is obviously much improved from the infection which caused him to miss a bit of work leading up to the series and should be seen to advantage under the free-for-all conditions on Wednesday. Geffin, a former South Islander now prepared by C. S. Hunter, at Cambridge, won the First Trotters’ Championship Heat at good odds for his Wellington owner, Mr R. A. McKenzie. Geffin, which has ruined many of his chances by failing to trot solidly, gave a polished display on Saturday night. He was in front for a short time early in the contest but secured a perfect trail behind Frosty Lass before they had reached the half-way mark. Geffin mastered the pacemaker with ease a furlong out and kept going strongly to keep clear of all challengers. Geffin, whose only other

win this season was at Alexandra Park in December, beat Light View by a length and a half. There was much merit in the runner-up’s performance, also that of the third place-getter, Dingle Bay.

Light View, began smartly from the 24-yard mark but still in the fifth line running into the last half mile.

Unlucky

Dingle Bay, from 12 yards, was much handier early but each time the lead changed—that happened four times in the first six furlongs—she was gradually pushed back and was on the inner of Light View half a mile out. In the run home she appeared to have a lot more traffic problems than either the winner or runner-up. Dingle Bay narrowly beat Johnny Fling, which had a turn at the early pacemaking then ended up three places

back on the inner for much of the last 10 furlongs. Frosty Lass’s effort was highly encouraging. She lost a big stretch of ground at the start, ran round the field to lead after six furlongs and although under pressure on the home turn did not give up the fight easily. She battled gamely into fifth only inches behind Johnny Fling. Salvander, which led for the first furlong before breaking and drifting far back, made good progress in the latter stages to finish sixth, just ahead of Tony Bear, which appeared to have his chance. The favourite, Merrin, beat only Retep’s Pride home. The former was close up on the outer and co-leader on the home turn but broke badly a furlong out The Victorian trotter never raised the hopes of her supporters. She drifted quickly to the rear group and was one of the tailenders throughout.