Colada takes first Geraldine Stakes

Press, 18 October 1976, Page 20

Colada takes first Geraldine Stakes

Although the anticipated speed duel between Colada and Salvaro did! not eventuate in the first | running of the Geraldine! Challenge Stakes at( Orari on Saturday their I first encounter did pro-i vide one of the high-; lights of the Geraldine Racing Club’s summer meeting. It turned out to be Colada’s day, but with an ounce of luck in the running the result might easily have been reversed. While Lady Aristoi; scorched along in the lead/ Max Skelton secured a per-' feet trailing run for Colada. Murrav McPhie, Colada’s! rider in her two previous; racers, settled for third posi-l

Ition on the inner with Sal•varo and that decision probably cost him the race. i When they straightened for the run home Colada slipped through a gap on the inner but did not run clear (of Lady Aristoi at that ’ stage. Dancing Eva, on the J outer of Salvaro, had not .given it away, and the , favourite was blocked for a run. By the time Skelton, inj ; his best tactical style, de-1 cided to kick Colada clear, and leave an opening fori i Salvaro the race was as| good as over. The favourite! was cutting quickly into Co-; lada’s lead at the finish but! [for her the post came up 1 half a length too soon. ■ i Lady Aristoi was just over . a length away third, and . Dancing Eva took fourth, three parts of a length back. • I One of the minor features

of the race was the finishing run of Lady Lucifer. She was two lengths last 600 metres out but improved seven places in the run home and was still coming on at the finish. Saturday’s victory was Colada’s first as a three-year-old and her fifth win altogether for her South Canterbury owner, Mr Alan Waugh. ; Colada’s Washdyke (trainer, Maurice Jones, said after the race that he had no i intention of running the filly iin open sprints at the New ! Zealand Cup meeting. She (will race next in the Canterbury Stakes, for three-year-(olds, at Rangiora on Labour Day, possibly the New Zealand. One Thousand Guineas at Riccarton, then on to the Broadlands "Filly of the Year” contest at Invercargill later next month.