Philemon’s chance rated highly today

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33804, 29 March 1975, Page 8

Philemon’s chance rated highly today

Although Philemon has nothing in the way of recent form as a recommendation it will come as a surprise if he fails to acquit himself well in the New Zealand Trotting Championship at Addington Racewav today.

In fact, the 1973 Dominion Handicap winner is bound to be on the short list of fancies and might even be favourite for the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s S5OOO metric two-miler.

For all that, Philemon’s second win for the season — his lone victory as a nine-year-old was in the Worthy Queen Handicap on New Zealand Cup day in November — will not come easily. He is ;the back-marker and will be iconceding 30m to .all but Cee | Ar. IN GREAT FORM If earlier form at the meeting proves the best guide, Frontier is bound to make Philemon work hard for victory. This Tinwald-trained 10-year-old is in terrific form at the moment and would only have to do everything right to make it three wins on end. It is hard to predict which will have the best backing outside of these two. It might be Waipounamu, one of three runners in the field from I. Sutherland’s stable. Other major attractions today will be the New Zealand Metropolitan Three-year-old Championship, the New Zealand Welcome Stakes, and the Easter Cup final. Don Lopez and Fancy Fred will probably be the respective favourites for the restricted-age races and the issue in the Easter Cup Final is likely to be between Robalan, Vanadium, and Lunar Chance.

One could hardly be en-; thusiastic about Philemon’s i chance on his performance last week but that race, his i

I first for almost four months, 'should have worked wonders for this good stayer who has a grand “big-race” record.

The Easter Cup Final will be the first leg of the T.A.B. double. The second leg of this double will be the G. Blaxall Handicap, for which Steven Stock is likely to be a firm fancy.