Great Applause wins Canterbury Park Cup

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 6

Great Applause wins Canterbury Park Cup

Great Applause, the oldest horse in the race at 12 years, made light of the slushy track last evening at Addington Raceway and won the $BOOO Canterbury Park Cup. Le Char finished second, just ahead of the Auckland trotter and favourite for the race. Easton Light.

Not only was this win the horse’s most import- ; ant, but it was too for j his part • owner and 1 trainer, H. S, Donald-< son, of Tinwald. who at ; the end of last season reached the retiring age for drivers of 65. Great Applause was driven last evening by J. A. Carmichael He is one of the few progeny still racing ot Light Brigade, one of the most successful sires of trotters in New Zealand. He ts owned by Donaldson and Mr S. T. Kircher, of Christchurch

Great Applause has tor|: much of his career been: troubled by unsoundness, and he was considered a “hopeless” case before being taken iover by Donaldson, who has seldom been without a capable trotter in his team. Great Applause is a haltbrother to Hoover, which a fortnight ago recorded limn 57 2-ssec for a mile at Hollywood Park. Last night Great Applause, the less-favoured in a bracket with Lessaday, raced in the middle of the field for most of the way, with Bambi setting a rousing pace. He improved to fourth just behind Bambi, Le Char and Easton Light approaching the

.straight and finished too well (for his rivals, winning bv a length and a quarter. Le Char, which received the run of the race and looked the likely winner inside the last 100 m, held second by half a neck from Easton Light, which improved sharply with 1400 m left and fought on gamely. Bachelor Tom, pushed back towards the rear in the, middle part, did well to finish fourth, two lengths from Easton Light, with Tunza Time, Bambi, Mighty Dollar, Lessadav, and Philemon (which did not seem at ease in the conditions) next. Robalan gave his army of supporters little cause for

concern in the Clarendon ! Free-For-All. He gave a peerless display, laking the I lead 900 m out and coasting I ito the finish with four to spare over Hi; Foyle. Three lengths further, iback, Sassenach took third I i’ahead of Globe Bay and 1 ’ Dwayne. Robalan paced the mile from a standing start in ,2:1 4-5, only three-fifths of a second outside Johnny Globe’s New Zealand record for a standing start. Although the track was not seriously affected by the heavy rain which fell for the j first six races, it was far from fast, and Robalan’s time was outstanding.