RACING Totara Maid wins Cup with gallant effort

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33110, 28 December 1972, Page 6

RACING Totara Maid wins Cup with gallant effort

Totara Maid was a game winner and the favourite, Jury, a close and unlucky third in the $3OOO Timaru Cup at Washdyke yesterday.

Totara Maid fought hack with high courage after being headed byDonnybrook Fair in the straight to record a head victory in the colours of Mr J. A. Rose, of Greymouth. Totara Maid is a five-year-old daughter of the Canter-bury-based stallion, Ribot-: light, the sire also of Ribaldo winner of the Auckland Racing Club’s Queen Elizabeth Handicap at Ellerslie the day before. The Riccarton jockey, M.j J. Skelton, found himself forced wide in the middle; stages, and decided to bank, on the mare’s courage and doggedness by taking her to the front earlier than he ’ would have done normally. ”After we got to the front; I Sat quietly on her for asj long as 1 could, and Donnybrook Fair headed us off,” Skelton said later. “But she; gave me the response I had; been hoping for when I! asked her for a bit extra,) and she came back to win; it well. "A good run by a pretty; good horse,” was how the Wingatui jockey, A. K. Rob-! inson, described Donnybrook Fair’s run for second. “We) put a head on Totara Maid : up the straight, but she came ! back at us to win it nar-! rowly.” BAD LUCK

The luck of the running went against the hot favourite, Jury, near the home turn. There G. W. Mein had the three-y Car-old trailing Meneleus, which was hanging off the fence. Mein then felt confident he would be able to take advantage of that situation whenever he cared to, but his plans were thwarted when Soberano and Totara Maid dashed around on the outside and forced Meneleus in. Mein then had to find a run wider out for Jury, and when the opening came the chestnut produced a burst of long-striding speed, which carried him to within a head and a neck of victory.

Jury had taken a little time to settle after the early rush for positions, but his bold late run held every prospect of his ability to master a mile and a half in the Wei-; lington Derby at Trentham' next month. His Bestone, also a three-year-old, and Jury’s bestbacked rival, was forced, wide early and ran the race out gamely for fifth, close behind Soberano. Rebel Lad tired to sixth after having a hand in much of _the pacemaking.

Bright Girl brought off the major surprise of the day in, I winning the Gordons Handi-; leap at odds of almost 40/l.j Now trained in North Can-! terbury by her owners, mem- i bers of the Savill family,; Bright Girl did some of her) earlier racing from W. G.) Jvii’s Awapuni stable, but her) form was mediocre. Since her return to Canter-; bury she had come up with| the occasional good run at a middle distance, one being a second to Bonney Belle over; one mile and a quarter at!

■ Riccarton. But nothing about i; her form suggested she would • jwin in the style she did over . six furlongs and 85 yards ■ | yesterday. ■ ) A slow start appeared to . give Bright Girl a formidable handicap to start with. ~ But she charged through on ■jthe inside near the end and I pegged back Hombre, which : had just shaken off a chalII lenge from Baltic Blue. i Bright Girl was ridden at : 3|lb over-weight by the Ric- ■; carton apprentice, P. Smith, ! and Hombre was the mount

of the North Island horseman G. Phillips. Baltic Blue saved third by a head from Hagen’s Joy, which was having a duel with Hombre in the lead on the home turn. The favourite, Palley, made a run at Hombre and Hagen’s Joy on straightening up, but weakened under her weight near the furlong and finished seventh. After striking trouble inside the first two furlongs Grippie never recovered and was a well-beaten tenth.