RACING Palley to run at Trentham next

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32801, 29 December 1971, Page 6

RACING Palley to run at Trentham next

Palley will be prepared for rich sprint races at the Wellington Cup meeting next month. This was announced after Mr L. R. C. Macfarlane’s speedster outclassed her rivals in the Gordons Gin Handicap, the second leg of the South Canterbury Jockey Club’s T.A.B. double at Washdyke yesterday.

Fancy’s victory rounded off a good double for the Riccarton trainer, R. B. Taggart, who switched Alamein from sprinting, for a successful assault on the Timaru Cup yesterday. Supporters of the AlameinPslley combination received $8.15 for $1 on the straight double. Palley’s win yesterday was her eight from 11 starts, and it was right in character with the most impressive of her earlier victories. Hombre, which has fairly formidable powers as a front-runner, had ■

to be hunted along early in quest of a clear lead. But while this was going on Palley appeared almost to be coasting along at Hombre’s girth. The pace was so strong that the others were straggling, but Palley still found another gear without effort to pass Hombre before the home turn, and it was as good as over. Her winning margin of a length and a quarter flattered the performance of the runner-up. Grippie, which beat Honey Queen by half a head for second. Hombre weakened to fourth in a gap of a length and a quarter.

Bad check | To win the Timaru Cup i Alamein had to overcome a , check close to home that i would have put paid to the : chances of many horses. But the Haikett-owned, Riccartontrained chestnut recovered and responded in the style of a good horse to win gamely by three-quarters of a length from Ali Cat, which beat the favourite, Blank Cheque, by a similar margin. Alamein

will not race again on the holiday circuit. “He’s a young horse yet, and there’s no point in rushing him,” said his owner, Mr F. G. Watson, after yesterday’s race. Alamein is an attractive chestnut son of Fountainhead and Jivaro, a White Heather mare which was unable to race because of an injury and dlso had a short stud career. Jivaro was owned by Mr W. P. Spencer, a brother-in-law of Alamein’s owner. “I had a free return service to Fountainhead with one of my mares, and because it was not possible to get her in foal, Mr Spencer gave me Jivaro for a season. The result was Alamein,” said Mr Watson. Alamein’s recovery left his rider, D. Reed, marvelling in the courage of the four-year-old in clearing a tight spot. “I was not quite sure what side of the rails we were going to be on for a moment,” Reed said after the race. "But he just put his ears back and gave it another go and just pushed his way through.”