Sunseeker wins Geraldine Cun from back mark

Press, 28 November 1977, Page 19

Sunseeker wins Geraldine Cun from back mark

By G. K. YULE Sunseeker, now unbeaten! in his last two starts, will try for three in a row in the $4OOO S. J. Moore Stakes,! over one mile, at the New, Brighton meeting later thisi week. Last Saturday Sunseeker gave away starts of up to 20m to some smart inter-! mediate pacers in the Geraldine Cup and he ran! out a handsome winner in! the race record time of 4min! 18.4 sec. Sunseeker’s owner-trainer,, Cecil Devine, took advantage; of a muddling pace afterj 800 m and improved sharply! to take the four-year-old to I the lead with about 1800m 1

i left. He dropped in to trail, I Jacks Tram after about! II another 500 m and with Frisco Frost drew out from] ■ the remainder at the straight j .! entrance. Jacks Tram was soon in ; j trouble and Sunseeker i quickly mastered Frisco ■i Frost, beating him by a i i short length. The long■lshot, Charlie Wood, made : ground to cut Jacks Tram lout of third, with Paula Brigade and Drifted In making : i ground to finish clear of the | remainder. Avalon Globe and Staveley :iboth met trouble inside the •ilast 1000 m. I Timely Robin, a highlyII boomed colt since his yearJling days, broke through for

■ his first success in the Orari Challenge Stakes. He I had only a neck to spare lover Captain Clive, but had j that horse well covered over ithe final 200 m. Hurricane Squire was a useful third, well clear of Eastwood Glenfern, which did well for fourth when having her first start for the season. Timely Robin will race at the New Brighton meeting next Saturday and later in the month he will contest the Champion Stakes at Ashburton, a race in which Eastwood Glenfern will be among his rivals. Trained at Rangiora by Maurice Vermeulen, who races him in partnership with his wife, Timely Robin is a colt by Timely Knight from Robin’s Sister, a useful winner a few years back for Vermeulen. Timely Robin was third in the New Zealand Derby Stakes a week earlier and his win dividend of $9.50 was a false one.

Derek Jones drove Timely Robin with a fair amount of confidence. “He’s better with a cover, but I was left in the open three or four times, so had no option but to press on,” says Jones. “I was always confident of mastering Captain Clive, but didn’t want my fellow to go cleat and perhaps start to stop.”

Trevor Thompson was delighted with the run of Captain Clive. “I had to go much earlier than I wanted, but the pace was slack at the time and there was no good staying there. He didn’t hang at all and went better than he

did at Addington,” he said. The surprise win favourite, Lord’s Secret, was badly away and finished near the rear, while the second favourite, Gliding Guy, went a fair race for sixth. Battle Lord, like Sunseeker, was a last-start winner at the New Zealand Cup carnival. He returned an outstanding effort to win the President’s Handicap. For almost the whole of the race he was on the outer and in the open. Mandarin set a torrid pace and it was in the last stride that Barry Nyhan got Battle Lord up to win by a nose. Lauraine Hanover, which had her chance, was a neck away third, clear of Waitaki View and Emanar, which became badly placed and made ground late. Johnny Regalo was slow early and he was checked soon after, losing his chance. Form at the Cup carnival was again of value in the Raukapuka Handicap. Ascot Fair, a winner on Show Day, made short, work of his rivals after starting from the second line. He made a great beginning and moved to the front with less than 600 m left. He then raced away to win easily by seven lengths. The surprising feature of his win was his dividend of $6.60. Avon Bel shaped like an early winner when she finished second after having every chance, while Castle Derg came on fairly well for third, ahead of Schnell, which was having his first start since February.