Outstanding season for three-year-olds

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 26

Outstanding season for three-year-olds

T h r e e-year-old trotters have provided some of the most interesting racing in the last two or three months and the Conference Handicap at Addington Raceway on Friday should be. another crowd pleaser.

The race on Friday has drawn a field of only eight, but it includes three of the more talented young performers in Even Speed, and Cool Cat, as well as a most consistent trotter in Fabian.

Even Speed is outstanding in his age group, but any one of the other three could have been considered outstanding in many past seasons.

Even Speed will attempt to give away starts of up to 30m to his rivals, but that handicap is unlikely to prove insurmountable for [this talented son of Great Evander.

Even Speed shattered all stake-winning records for one of his age and gait when he was successful recently in the Rosso Antico Stakes at Alexandra Park. He brought his record for the season to seven wins, two seconds and a fifth for $17,340. As well he trotted the 2700 m in 3min 40.1 sec, three seconds faster than the previous best returned 12 months earlier in the same race by Harvey Wilson. Harvey Wilson, like Even Speed, won the Trotting Stakes - Rosso Antico Stakes double last season and was also successful from 30m in the Conference Handicap before being sold for $30,000 to North American interests.

Harvey Wilson won six

races and with three platings amassed $14,820 in stakes, a figure which stood as a record for a three-year-oid trotter until Even Speed passed his total. While Even Speed has proved too good for the others, in his age group, it is doutful whether there has been another season so rich in young trotters.

Pointer Hanover (by Bachelor Hanover) is the second biggest winner in this age group with $6555, the result of four wins and eight placings.

■ Pointer Hanover will not .contest the Conference [Handicap, but will start in j the Nigel Craig Handicap, a [52400 event for C 3 trotters, jin which he will start from the front. Power Cut (by Winterlight) has had three wins and six placings for $5705. l T e holds the New Zealand record for 3200 m by a three-year-old, returning 4min 24.25ec at Roxburgh in April and beating the previous best set the previous month by Cool Cat by twotenths of a second.

Fabian (by Game Pride) has had two wins and 17 placings for $5230, $2O more than the winnings of Spartan Prince (by Tuft) before he had to be put aside earlier in January. Spartan Prince showed ability far above average and gained four wins and two placings, most of these before Even Speed started at a totalisator meeting. Cool Cat, by a former champion trotter in Johnny Gee, has had a most successful season, her three wins and 10 placings having been worth $4640 to her

Gore owner-trainer Colin Baynes. Cool Cat looks likely to develop fine form later on, especially when she learns to accelerate a little more quickly at the start of her races.

Her performance to beat all but Power Cut at Wash-i dyke on Saturday was one of the best seen by a young I trotter and her meeting with Even Speed, which will give: her a start of 10m on Fri- [ day, is certain to create; interest.

Game Pride, the sire of! Fabian, has left two other! most promising young trot- j ters in the North Island.; Aspen Game has won four; races and $4995, while Game; Shooter has also had four wins for $3945. Casey’s Dream (by Lum- j ber Dream) was runner-up

to Even Speed in the Rosso Antico Stakes. He is lightly raced and has had two wins and a placing for $2BlO. The young trotters mentioned have been those to have raced to such good purpose, but there are others not far behind which are certain to play a big part in helping boost the standard in open handicap events for trotters in the next few years. Trotting Conference officials cannot recall a season I where so many three-year-; old trotters have qualified! and think that close to 20 in I this age group have beeni successful at totalisator I meetings, a total far in ad-; vance of any previous year, !