Cup Meeting

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33063, 2 November 1972, Page 13

Cup Meeting

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Stage set for fine Riccarton race carnival

When the curtain rises at Riccarton on Saturday the stage will be set for the enacting of one of the most enthusiastically anticipated racing carnivals in the history of the Canterbury Jockey Club’s New Zealand Cup meetings. Main racing attraction, of course, will be the New Zealand Cup, but the fashion stakes will appeal to the feminine patrons and there could be no finer setting in which to display their finery.

Riccarton at present is looking its delightful best. The racecourse manager, Mr F. Evans, and staff, have done a wonderful job in preparing the South Island’s racing headquarters for the influx of visitors from all parts of New Zealand and overseas and they will be greeted by beautifully groomed lawns, flowering shrubs, gardens and lakes.

An improvement which will be much appreciated by public patrons is the Jockey Club bar which they will find on the first floor of the public grandstand. This retreat, for ladies and escorts, has been completely refurnished and carpeted and will offer much more attractive conditions than formerly. The members’ stand of

course will be assured of limit patronage as facilities here are of the finest and have come to be accepted as such.

For the more practical racing people the track will be at its grandest The course proper having benefitted from regular spring rainfall presents an exceptional sight. There is a splendid sole of grass and except for an unexpected downpour the surface will be at its fastest with going to suit the vast majority of runners.

If the ciro is run in record time the figures are likely to stand for a long period as the metric system will be introduced next year. It is also pleasing that the nameplates on the jockeys’ semaphore are gradually being replaced. Patrons will appreciate the distinction being made between fully fledged riders and apprentices. All names will be shown in yellow on black, but the first letter of an apprentice’s surname will be white in colour.

On Saturday the New Zealand Cup will be the richest race ever contested at Riccarton. Even If ever so slightly, it does exceed the previous best, that of the £lO,OOO stake and £lOO Gold Cup which was offered

at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Centennial meeting in November, 1950. This year the stake is for $20,000 but the Gold Cup is valued at $6OO. It was presented by BACARDI INTERNATIONAL, LTD., BERMUDA.

And this year will be the first the cup has been associated with an organised sweepstake and lottery. The $200,000 prize to the holder of the ticket that draws the winner of the cup will be the first paid on the result of a horse race in the Dominion.

Stakes $99,250 Over-all there will be a distribution of $99,250 including trophies and $13,600 from the Stakes Subsidy

Account of the New Zealand Racing Authority. Of the $13,600, $lO,OOO is equally divided between the New Zealand Derby and the New Zealand Oaks. And on the occasion of its Centennial year the Canterbury Club has donated a Gold Cup valued at $350 which will be presented to the owner of the winner of the Canterbury Gold Cup by Dr M. G. Louisson who, for several years past, has given and presented this particular cup.

NZ. Cup topweight This year’s New Zealand Cup field will be led out by Trelay (shown top right), a horse which seems to be favourably handicapped under Bst 101 b, or 21b more than he carried into second place to his stablemate Princess Mellay in the big event last year, a position which he had also filled 12 months before that. It certainly would not be out of turn if Messrs B. G. and J. W. G.

White’s horse were one the winning end this year. Trelay has shown by his recent consistent form that he will go to the post in peak condition for Saturday’s attempt. He is a tried and true racehorse, he can run two miles, which many are likely to find they cannot, he is possibly the most seasoned runner to line up and he will be in the thoroughly capable hands of A. K. Robinson.

Furthermore, he is trained by Wingatni’s H. A. Anderton, a man who has put the winning polish on the last two New Zealand Cup winners.

So many things appear to be in his favour, even

to his not minding any deterioration in track conditions, but he is attempting something uncommon. How many horses making a third assault on a New Zealand Cup have succeeded, or for that matter how many have tried? If Trelay does win he will give his sire Mellay a rare distinction by siring three consecutive cup winners.

Following his excellent Motukarara run in the Derby and Cup Trial, the Great Northern St Leger winner, Mediate, must enter serious calculations as a New Zealand Cup aspirant. In fact his run was so good that there will be many prepared to name him as the winner of the two mile event on Saturday. In his recent race he showed uncommon acceleration in a race so short —- he had never won over a mile and a quarter before, a fact which bears out his state of fitness. This gelding has made a marvellous comeback after being a very doubtful proposition as late as two years ago when he was fired by a Waikato veterinarian. Mediate has never been tried at two miles but there seems every reason to believe that the distance will be well within his compass. On top of this, having shown such recent and brilliant form over a journey considered too short for him it seems natural to expect him to be even better at two miles. Whatever the result of the race it would appear at this stage that Trelay and Mediate are going to be seen in principal roles when they contest this traditional race on Satur-

Vlsiting horses Not only in quantity will visiting horses from all parts of the country be present but the quality of the visitors, and indeed of the local representation, is better than for the last three or four seasons. The institution of interisland contests and the like have made great appeal to owners, trainers and the general public and there seems little doubt that the chairman of the C.J.C. Mr W. G. Quirk, his committeemen and stewards have done their best to make their racing more and more attractive. Now there seems little doubt that in recent years the club’s image has improved tremendously, particularly through North Island eyes, and the club is daily regaining the recognition it deserves but which at one stage seemed to be fading away. Finally the hard-working secretary Mr W. R. Barberel, after being asked for an opinion about the New Zealand Cup, took time out to consider the situation and came up with a first choice selection of Kartika. Cithers he fancied to be most concerned with the finish were Trelay, Golden Sam and Mediate. .