Stanley Rio too good

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34048, 12 January 1976, Page 9

Stanley Rio too good

Manley Rio justified favouritism when he gave 12 rivals a start and a -ound heating in the Timaru Challenge Stakes at Washdvke on Saturday.

hooked the place favourite out;] to challenge early in the run!! jhome and he pegged Harvey I i Wilson back inside the last 200; | metres and pulled awav to win! . by a length. Celerrima, mid-fieid early but ' fourth equal through most of; the last round, battled on for « ] third in a gap of three lengths.;She was a length and a half ini advance of Nimble Adios, which!i w-as handy on the inside I throughout AT GOOD ODDS Almitra brought off the first : minor upset of the meeting when she led throughout to win the Rosewill Handicap for her Ger- • aldine owners. Mr and Mrs Rex »Keats. The half-sister to Captain Jura was driven with good judgment ! by 20-year-old Kerry O’Reilly. ] Even when she was under heavy pressure from Huntaway, which ' challenged from a trailing posi- ' tion. he kept her balanced and ] she responded well to win by 'three parts of a length. Roseheath, handy on the inner i throughout, was two lengths 1 away third and the second fav- J • ourite, Mark Aloud, came from ’ far back to finish fourth but he ; was in a gap of five lengths i ; and a half. |’ POPULAR VICTORY j Johnny Cheer justified solid*/ ; backing with an impressive victory in the First Fairlie Handi-' cap. Wes Butt worked Mr K. V.j Hood’s Johnny Globe entire outi of a tight spot on the inner 700 metres out. sprinted him up to 'the leading group just before; the straight entrance and he ran : - clear early in the run home. Johnny Cheer beat Pot Hun- * Iter, third on the inner till the’, : home turn, by a length and a;. I quarter and Lyn Forbes made < | ground late for third, a length ‘ and a half back. He outfinished ■ Flight Armbro, which had every .chance. j Honours in the Second Fairlie ; Handicap went to Lord Burling- ; ton at the expense of the firm 1 favourite. Rigid. These two 1 {joined forces in front 700 metres ] : out and put a short break on ; the others racing to the straight. ' • For a time early in the run ]

Hopes of a victory for the, A-Jstrahan-bred son of Nevelej Golfer and Rio Fleur in the; Timaru Trotting Club’s fea-i ture race for three-year-olds: did not look particularly bright 800 metres out when,; except for Master Leon and' Del Revue, which had lost all chance soon after the' start, he had only two runners behind him. But 700 metres out John; Noble started Stanley Rio on a big run three wide and it carried him into a challeng-i mg position just before the! straight entrance. It did not' take long once in the run: home for the favourite toi assert his authority and his, winning margin of twoj lengths was inclined to flatter' the best of the others. This latest victory in the in-, teresta of Wane Francis and the Yaidhurst father and son com- j btnation of George and John) Noble was Stanley Rio's third. I His first was in Australia iastj season and the other was in the i Second Riccarton Stakes at the I New- Zealand Cup meeting in \o- ! verr.ber The be«“t of Stanley Rio's. rivals on Saturday was the Wash-; dvke trained Glenwood, which j fougr.t back gamely after trying} for an ail-We-way win and tak-j Ing a very wide course making the turn into the straight. Glenwood lasted for second by half a neck from Adios Charm,, which received the run of the I race, and Star Classic battled on from the fourth line to finish} fourth. half a length away. DESERVED WIN Robert Hodgen capped off a i useful string of minor placings with a well deserved victory in ■ the Pukaki Handicap. Robert Hodgen led for a time !•? the early stages of the race; then secured a perfect trail be-1 hind Harvey Wilson to the ! Rrhbington’

(home it seemed that Lord BurI lington would win comfortably but Rigid made a renewed bid close to the end and ran his Methven rival to a head The winner and runner-up had ]the finish to themselves. Mendip i Hills, which led the chase on the home turn, shaded Ben Loch, -the pacemaker through the first • 1800 metres, for third, but they were six lengths away. ANOTHER SURPRISE Wee Adios, a minor placegetter at Omakau at her previous start, caused the second upset of the day when she nosed Steady Up out of first in the last stride of the Gleniti Handicap. Wee Adios was handy in the early running but lost her position mid-way through the race, improved again to a trailing position on the home turn, and a determined bid along the inside in the closing stages gave her a last-stride victory. Steady Up was far from disgraced. He was a long way off the pace through the first 1600 metres but a big run carried him up to the leading line just before they made the straight and to a short lead early in 1 the run home. Jumbo improved a few places in the run home ■ for a close third and Logan Arm- : bro, in a small gap, led in the 1 others. LONE WIN Just when it seemed the “home t team” was going to go through | the day without taking a trick, : Waitaki Dawn came up with a j peak run for a well-deserved! ; win against the sprinters in the Kaiko Handicap. The Washdyke-trained gelding ; was handy but in the open for much of the race but still swamped his rivals for finishing speed. Once lie ran clear early in the run home it was all over. Waitaki Dawn won by two lengths from Winning Smoke, another never far off the pace; and Patchwood, also handy throughout, was a battling third, three lengths back. The latter lasted for his placing by a neck from Tnshallah. which was late working clear from a handy rails position.