Piping Lane (40 to 1) wins Melbourne Cup

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33068, 8 November 1972, Page 10

Piping Lane (40 to 1) wins Melbourne Cup

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) MELBOURNE. Piping Lane, a Melbourne-trained outsider at 40 to 1, unleashed a storming finish to beat the favourites, Magnifique and Gunsynd, in the Melbourne Cup yesterday.

The ordinary-looking, lightly-weighted Piping Lane beat the New Zealand mare, Magnifique, by a length and a quarter. Gunsynd, gallant under top weight, was third a long neck behind Magnifique. Magnifique was backed into favouritism at 7 to 2, half a point shorter than Gunsynd. Piping Lane was one of four horses started by the Melbourne trainer, George Hanlon. He is a six-year-old gelding bred in Tasmania by

Lanesborough from Londonderry Air. Hanlon also started Dark Suit, Haarle, and Tipping Time in the race, with the Sydney Cup winner Dark Suit easily the most favoured. CROWD ROARED The crowd of 100,000 roared when, on the home turn, Magnifique and Gunsynd made their runs together. Magnifique got to the front with 300 metres to go, and it was obvious that she was holding Gunsynd. Then as the two good horses battled, along came Piping Lane and put them both out of business. From being a deafening roar the Melbourne Cup subsided almost into silence as Piping Lane took over. Piping Lane did not have an encouraging background of form, and yesterday’s win was only his thirteenth in 47 starts. At his last three starts in Melbourne he finished fourth in the Navy Day Handicap, won by Willow Prince at Flemington on October 7, third in the Caulfield Cup Day Welter behind the New Zealand stayer Hayburner and Chiming, and third in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup last Saturday week behind Double Irish and General Filou. It was the first Melbourne Cup win by Hanlon and the jockey J. Letts and came as a grand consolation for Hanlon who regarded Vansittart as unlucky not to have beaten Baghdad Note in the 1970 cup. For Letts it was his first cup ride. In fact, it was the first time he had ridden on the Flemington track. 70 WINNERS Letts, aged 28, has ridden more .han 70 winners, and his biggest previous win was on Kain Lover in the 1968 Adelaide Cup. Lansborough, the sire of the 1970 Caulfield Cup winner Beer Street, was transferred earlier this season from Tasmania to take up stud duties in Victoria. Piping Lane is owned by 70-year-old Mr R. W. Trinder. who has competed successfully as a rider of road cycles, motor-cycles and racehorses Mr Trinder paid $6OOO for Piping Lane when he bought him from his previous owner, Mr I. N. Peterson, who lives in the north of Tasmania. Mr Trinder asked Hanlon to take over the training of the horse, but delivery was delayed until only five weeks ago when Hanlon returned from overseas. WIN POINTER Yesterday’s race was Piping Lane’s fourth under Hanlon’s care, and the trainer said sifter the race that he had regarded the horse’s third In the Moonee Valley Cup as a strong pointer to a cup win. The connections of Magnifique were pleased with the mare’s run. "She’s a great mare,” the trainer, E. Temperton. said after the race. “She had to cover a lot of extra ground early and showed tremendous form to hold on so well after having to go to the front so soon.” The Wellington owner. Sir Walter Norwood, said he was far from disappointed with the run.

"You couldn’t be disappointed with finishing second and I am very pleased to have run a place. Magnifique had the conditions to suit her and ran a very very good race,” he said. STORMY SEAS The former New Zealand trainer, S. A. Brown, was also pleased with the run of Stormy Seas. "He was near the front as they went past us in the members’ stand up the track from the finishing post, and from the angle we were on I thought he was right in it at the finish,” said Brown. “In fact, several of those around me shook my hand In congratulations but the angle had deceived us,” he said. “He just died in his run in the last bit, and it was a great effort on such a restricted preparation.” The other New Zealand horses were disappointing, with Hay Burner doing best of them to finish seventh, but he never looked a winning prospect. Ansin, which won the Wellington Cup last year, tailed right out early and made up a lot of ground in the closing stages to finish eighth, but again never looked a serious threat. Baghdad Note again failed to run on. He was twelfth with Pole Star nineteenth. Grand Seale and Fair Share were the last two home. Detailed results:— MELBOURNE CUP $103,000; 2m. 17/19 PIPING LANE (Lansborough — Londonderry Air) K. W. Trinder’s br g 6 yrs 7-8 J. Letts 1 1/2 MAGNIFIQUE (N.Z.), (Aleimedes—Rose Bell) Sir Walter and Lady Norwood’s br m 4 yrs 8- R- Marsh 2 6/7 GUNSYND (Sunset Hue —Woodie Wonder) A. C. Bishop, J. V. Coorey. A. C. Pippos and G. N. McMickmg’s gr h 5 vrs 9- R. Higgins 3 Scratched: Sobar, Stop the Show.

Others in finishing order: 8/9 Double Irish, 4/3 Stormy Seas (N.Z.). 13/13 Dark Suit. 9/8 Hayburner (N.Z.), 2/1 Ansin (N.Z.), 14/14 Battle Ground. 3/4 Altai Khan, 20/20 Duglig, 5/5 Baghdad Note (N.Z.), 16/16 Tea Break, 19/18 Haarle. 10/10 Scotch and Dry. 15/15 Gala Red, 18/17 Tipping Time. 21/22 Glen Lang. 7/6 Pole Star (N.Z.), 22/21 Saboll. 11/12 Grand Scale (N.Z.), 12/11 Fair Share (N.Z.). Length and a quarter; long neck. Time: 3:19.3. N.Z. T.A.8.: Win: $147.35. Places: $3B-70, $2.30, $4.55.