General Boy leads all the way

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32803, 31 December 1971, Page 7

General Boy leads all the way

TIMARU. | The Dunedin-owned, Washdyke-trained General Boy improved a serviceable record for Mr B. J. McCorkindale with a dashing win in the T. J. Lister Memorial, first leg of the! South Canterbury Jockey Club’s T.A.B. double yesterday. ! He was well rated in front! Iby the Riccarton jockey, G. W. Mein, who also partnered! the severi-year-old when he !won this race a year ago. This time, before the race) Iwas half- over, General Boy was out by the best part of 110 lengths, and Mein did not have to make heavy demands! on the horse’s reserves to get: so far clear. Chota, Blank Cheque and I Ali Cat made heavy inroads into General Boy’s lead coming to the home turn. “I could hear them coming, but did not see them,” Mein said later. “I was thinking that if they got! right up to me I would bebeaten. As it turned out they I could not catch me there, and!

I had high hopes from there on.” On that performance General Boy looks an outstanding chance to win again soon. He lis an acceptor for the Waikouaiti Cup tomorrow, but the Kurow Cup, run on a smaller track on Monday,; [should suit him even better. The turning point of the! race for General Boy yester-i day might have come right! at the start when the Riccar-ton-trained Green Light hung fire and lost several lengths. Green Light likes to run [her races out in front, and

I if she had jumped away oq terms with the others yesterday General Boy would never had been allowed to get away to such a long lead halfway through the race. i Ali Cat was a strong (favourite for the Lister! [Memorial after a fast-finish-; ling second in the Timaru Cup! on Tuesday. Like the others she found the task of cutting into General Boy’s long lead strenuous going” and it was clear outside the furlong j that there would be no joy [for her doubles and win supporters. I Ali Cat was a long neck Ibetter than Martha Bell,.

which had finished fourth in the Timaru Cup on Tuesday. Chota saved fourth by a head from the top-weight, Blank Cheque. Red Wolf went down very short in his preliminary and was a late scratching. Grippie’s win in the President’s Handicap, second leg iof the double, was welliearned. He had been racing [consistently for his Temuka [owners, Mr and Mrs K. Taylor, but had been unable to improve on minor placing? earlier this season.

The Washdyke-trained six-year-old showed tenacious qualities to wear down the favourite. Just Ace, for a halfhead victory. Characteristically. Just Ace

was in front straight away, [fought back strongly when challenged and was only inches away from victory. Honey Queen was the best of the others, but was in a gap of two lengths third, after being further away from the pace than in some of her earlier races. Honey Queen narrowly beat Hombre, which was ridden off the pace this time, but ran a one-paced race for his fourth.