May has been best month for Sudden Change

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33532, 13 May 1974, Page 8

May has been best month for Sudden Change

Sudden Change, so named because he changed hands twice in a few hours as a youngster, was continuing a pronounced form pattern when he Avon the Amberley Cup on Saturday.

In his three seasons of full campaigning Sudden Change has left an impact on Canterbury meetings held in May. Two seasons ago he won twice tn that month, at the Hororata meeting on May 8. and at Waimate 19 days later. One of his three wins last season was in the Canterbury Jockey Club’s May Handicap, and his win on Saturday was his first for the current season. On Saturday, Mr D W. J Gould’s five-year-old Mellay gelding won by a neck from the In\ ercargill-trained Warlight, which was attempting his second victory in the race.

NO ROOM Totara Maid carried top-weight into third place only a head hack, and the win favourite.. tailing In. was a length back fourth. What had appeared to be the perfect trail for Sailing Ir down on the inside developed Into a jockey’s nightmare There w as no racing room for the chestnut in the straight, and he went to the post “under wraps.”' Sudden Changes regular rider, G. W. Mein, was in diffi rulties about 1000 metres out when he was angling his mount wider out. Mellie was being taken forward simultaneously, and Mein ran out of room on Sudden Charge on the inside i of Mellie for a few strides Warlight was also held up for' about four strides behind Sud j den Change in that incident, so his effort to rally for a close -econd was a performance match that of the winner. Followers of form from the Westport autumn meeting before Easter must have profited from the result of the G. B. Starky Memorial, second leg of the T.A.B. double on Saturday. New York, Shudup. and Para tonnerre. the first three home in that order on Saturday, had ’ filled the corresponding positions In the Westport club’s Albion I

Handicap on March 30. But in the meantime Shudup had won two races, including the Great Easter and he was sent out a firm favourite, v hile New York was the fifth choice. New York, carrying 3.5 kg less •han Shudup. charged into a challenging position on the home turn, and pulled away with ease to win by two lengths. Of the other winners, none

impressed more than Take Your Leave. This strong Gate Keeper colt from Otago eclipsed the other two-year-olds in the Arthur Burke Memorial. He was in contention from the start, and accelerated steadily in the straight to win by four lengths. Take Your Leave won the Dunedin Champagne Stakes for his Mosgiel breeder, Mr G. B. Thomson, last December, but

failed in the C.J.C. Champagne Stakes at Easter, a failure for which lack of lead-up racing might have been responsible. Mr Thomson bred Take Your Leave from Subdual. a halfsister to My Pal to the big winner. Middy. “There is a lot of Middy about this fellow; I only hope he’s just as good,” Mr Thomson said ion Saturday.