Rebel Lad justifies stable confidence

Press, Issue 33846, 19 May 1975, Page 8

Rebel Lad justifies stable confidence

Rebel Lad handsomely justified stable confidence when he won the Hororata Racing Club’s Linwood Handicap at Riccarton on Saturday.

Stable hopes ran nigh when Riccarton presented a summer-like track With firm footing the big My Pal gelding was able to employ his long-striding brand of speed to the best effect. And as well as speed he had the gameness in the final pinch to emerge the victor while under sustained pressure from the challenge of Elcano.

Donnybrook Fair and Sir Troubadour enlivened a good finish bv finishing almost right up in line in third and fourth places.

There will be no more racing for Rebel Lad for some weeks -ow; his six-year-old programme has yielded four wins, a string of minor placings and more than $14,000 in stakes and if he comes back as well next summer as he was when he left the scene after a fairly busy programme this season there should be more rewarding days for Mr Justin McCarthy and the Riccarton trainer. George Humphries. Humphries came through Saturday’s meeting with a heightened reputation as a •‘marksman.”

The only other runner for

his stable was Della Cruscan, ia two-year-old Della Porta filly which easily outran the others in the Amberley House Handicap Della Cruscan’s Kaikoura owners. Mr and Mrs M. Byrne, won in addition to the stake a free service to one of ti?e .Amberley House stallions and their choice is the Alcide horse. Matins. The Wingatui trainerjockey, John Dowling, confessed to some disappointIment and puzzlement after I his mount, the Riccarton- , trained Europium, ran a i lethargic seventh in the Lin-, I wood Handicap, for which | she was favourite. But his , luck changed later in the day, | 'with Annenic and Jay Are * Dee winning a double for his i stable in successive events. Jay Are Dee gamely won the CJ.C. High-weight Handicap to give Allie Robinson 'his third riding success on! the programme. WIDE COURSE Then Dowling, with a typical show of vigour, got Annenic home for a neck victory in the Corbans Handicap. second leg of the l double.

Dowling had his worries i‘on Annenic when the favourkite, Sub Indian, took a wide H course around the home turn. By then Dowling had i committed himself to a run on Sub Indian’s right. This i left Annenic forced to make i her challenge in the centre ■ and it left a wide gap for Panagor to make a run on the inner. Panagor looked , very likely for a time, but right at the end a late charge from Scotch William gave ; Dowling most cause for con•icem. In his final flurry of activity to get the best out of 11 Mr and Mrs Ivan McGregor’s . Gate Keeper mare, Dowling ‘wrenched a muscle in his iside. and was in some pain i when he weighed in. Sub Indian, which had i tried to win from the front ; end, as he had done at the ’ Amberley meeting, dropped away to finish fifth in a gap of a length and a half behind I his most strongly-backed I rival, Deep Mystery. But he had lost valuable ground in . taking such a wide sweep on ‘ the home turn.