Stablemates win two legs of treble

Press, 26 July 1976, Page 18

Stablemates win two legs of treble

"And he can jump, too,” Hector Anderton Sen, the veteran Wingatui trainer remarked after his two-year-old, Waronui, showed plenty of galloping ability in winning the Craigmore Handicap at Washdyke on Saturday. The Craigmore was the third leg of the course treble.

Hector Anderton Sen also prepares Melded, winner of the first leg, the Hadlow Hurdles, for Mr Jim Brunton, a long-time patron of the stable. Waronui came with a big run down the outside for his comfortable win bv a length

and three-quarters in the colours of his trainer in the Craigmore Handicap. A bay by the deceased champion Mellay from Allez Vite, and a brother of the C.J.C. Metropolitan winner, Mellay Vite, Waronui was having his second start. His first produced a thu.. behind El Towk last month. The camera could not separate Unic and the fastfinishing Laurentine for second, and the top-weight El Towk was hard by in fourth place. Laurentine’s run held high promise for an early victory from the Wingatuit stable of Allister Robinson. Wingatui also supplied the favourite in, Rocky Leigh. This strong Rocky Mountain colt was unbeaten in two

previous starts, but this time he did not find any acceleration from a handy enough position and finished a wellbeaten seventh. Melded, a dogged finisher for a length victory in the Hadlow Hurdles, had won over country for Mr Brunton at the Waimate Hunt meeting earlier. Those two victories at hunt meetings gave Mr Brunton extra pleasure because of his long association with the hunting movement in Otago, much of it while he has been president of the Otago Hunt Club. Mr Brunton had planned to be in Wellington the weekend of the Waimate Hunt meeting, but his travelling arrangements were upset. He then motored north for the meeting at Waimate and besides having a winning experience as an owner backed eight winners on the programme. The “middle” leg of the course treble on Saturday was the Waitui Maiden Stakes, won at false doublefigure odds by Party Goddess, a Greek God filly from the Richmond stable of John Healey. Kevin Morton rode Party Goddess at 3kg overweight in what might be his final victory as a race rider; because of weight difficulties he does not plan to renew his licence next season. Noir Vai, a good second a neck from the winner, was ridden at 2kg over by Leo Molloy, who plans to go to Australia and link up with the former Riccarton trainer, Gary Lee, at Mornington.