RACING Easy Auckland Cup win to Riccarton stayer

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32804, 3 January 1972, Page 7

RACING Easy Auckland Cup win to Riccarton stayer

"The Press" Special Service

AUCKLAND. As undeniable as Sailing Home’s complete superiority in the Auckland Cup on Saturday was the sad fact that the 16 behind her were proved to make up one of the weakest fields for years in the big race.

Three of the next four home — .Monty. Zorba and Lord Syntax—have yet to take an open race. The soft track only partly excused the winning gallop being no better than 3.27. the slowest for 30 years.

It was disappointing enough when Johnny Cash and Dunmoy, two of the most capable stayers in the field were scratched on race morning, one because the going was unsuitable, the other because of injury. More disappointing was Breathalyser’s being put out of the running after less than three furlongs, and Anne Gable’s severe injury just moments before. Breathalyser fell and crashed partly through and under the running rail and Anne Gable was struck by a flying plate. Breathalyser hurt an eye and her back, and Anne Gable suffered a deep cut on a fetlock. Both horses had to receive veterinary attention. Anne Gable was lame on returning to scale after finishing second last. “She just did not gallop,” said her rider, R. B. Marsh.

Goiug keenly By way of contrast, Sailing Home was full of running all the way. and about the only worry she gave her rider. J. P. Riordan, was that she might have started off too! keenly for her own good. But as it happened she soon settled, easily improved to trail the first two, Papahu and Zorba, in the home ' straight, then very quickly , came to the front. When Riordan asked her! for a little extra quite close to the finish Sailing Home widened the gap on Fort ' Street and Monty and won: by two lengths. Fort Street 1 held off Monty, the rank out- 1 sider, by inches for second, 1 and Zorba was two lengths ’I away fourth. As if there had not beenp sensation enough with the I accidents to Breathalyser and : Anne Gable, it was an- « nounced almost immediately!! after the race that a protest i had been lodged. |: It was lodged by the sti-'l

pendiary steward, Mr A. E. Bird, against Fort Street on the grounds of her alleged interference to Zorba about a furlong and a half from the finish. Fort Street seemed indeed to hamper Zorba by shifting out suddenly for a few strides. But she straightened quickly and the judicial committee found that any interference she caused was not sufficient to warrant a change in the judge’s placings. Sailing Home, a big six-year-old mare, was on her third trip from Riccarton trying for the Auckland Cup. She became the fourth South Island winner since Frances in 1948. On her first visit to Ellerslie. when a four-year-old. Sailing Home beat ail except II Tempo in the Ellerslie twomiler, and last year she finished unplaced. Her next big assignment will be the Wellington Cup in about three weeks, an event she was forced to miss both last year and the year before. The weights for the Wellington Cup are due to be declared on January 12, and the handicapping of Sailing Home against Silver Knight, the Melbourne Cup winner, is going to be interesting. The Auckland official gave both horses 9-7 for the Nathans’ Memorial tomorrow but it was never expected either would be a starter. Sailing Home carried 8-9 in her Cup win, the same amount II Temoo won with in 1970. As well as beng the owner of Sailing Home, Miss J. Edgar-Jones is the trainer, and she is able to claim the distinction as well of having bred the mare, all this while 72 years old. Bred from twin A horsewoman ever since she is able to remember, Miss Edgar-Jones got Sailing Home by Dogger Bank from Chocolate, another of her own breed, by Massowa from Patria by Siegfried. Chocolate was a twin, and, as her owner recalls, so small that it was a toss-up whether she would be retained for anything. Racing was out of the question, but from her second mating when nine years old Chocolate produced Sailing Home.

“She is a great stayer,” was how Riordan describedl Sailing Home immediately! after her triumph. 1 Riordan, now 35, won the Auckland Cup 12 years before on Marie Brizard and reckons to have had five or six other mounts in the race. He has regularly shown him-' self the rider for a big occason, especially at Ellerslie yesterday, when he won the Great Northern Foal Stakes' as well as the Cup. Fort Street and Monty sur-i passed themselves with their! minor placings and Zorba, all things considered, turned in! a quite remarkable performance. Great run Always a slow starter, Zorba this time lost lengths at the get away but improved to midfield at the mile then made a great run to be on the heels of the leaders from the three furlongs. Wiremu, the expensive failure, apart from Anne Gable and Breathalyser, struggled all the way to end up sixth.; Quetta, another Riccarton visitor, shaped a bit better than he did in the Queen Elizabeth Handicap on the) first day, but even then came only tenth. The 17 Cup starters drew $253,919 in win and placet

bets—of which Sailing Home ! I carried $38,666 and Anne Gable (1/1) sso,4B9—and $21,516 on the quinella. A crowd of 28,579 saw the big race, a decrease of 5504 on last year. The weather was fine mainly and the track very • soft to start with and much drier for the second half of the programme.