War veteran gets a great thrill

Press, 4 January 1978, Page 20

War veteran gets a great thrill

From J. J. Boyle Auckland An 82-year-old Gallipoli veteran had one of the great thrills of his life when his filly Kindled won the eightythird Royal Stakes on the final day of the Auckland Racing Club’s Cup meeting at Ellerslie yesterday. Mr Arthur Warren took special pleasure from the game and narrow victory of his filly, for he bred her himself from a descendant of a mare he secured for 300 guineas several years ago. Kindled, ridden by David Peake, won by half a head from the Hastings trained Mun Lee. The result could have easily gone the other way, for Brent Thomson, rider of the runner-up believes he lost a winning chance when his mount ran greenly coming to the straight. Mr Warren, who plans to retire from farming in the Waikato district later this year, made his first venture into the thoroughbred world with his purchase of the Balloch mare Quorn Vale. Later, he bought Quorn Vale’s sister Quenby Hall which won a Waikato Steeples in his colours. Quorn Vale became the dam of Quezette which,

when racing on lease from Mr Warren, became one of the top two-year-olds in Australia and was later bought for the stud by Mr Nelson Bunker Hunt. Kindled is by A’Light from Nauplia, which was sired by Nauplius, a son of Messmate which went in the wind after winning one race, and had limited chances at stud. Mr Warren decided to place Kindled with the Awapuni trainer Garth Ivil after he had sent her to lan Bradbury at Woodville to be broken in.

He had not seen Kindled win before yesterday, but was quick to remember Ivil’s prediction made about 12 months ago that his hopeful would be the Filly of the Year as a three-year-old.

Braless, favourite for the race, was given no rest in the lead by Tudor Quest and in the circumstances she was a meritorious third. Bill Skelton did not go into the race with any plan to engage Braless in the lead with Tudor Quest. But his Feil d i n g-trained mount proved hard to control, repeatedly brushed against Kindled, and charged through to join Braless.

Tudor Quest ran so extra-

vagantly through the race that she was thoroughly spent by the time they made the straight. But there was no rest for Braless with Kindled poised for the challenge, and Mun Lee coming away from the inside to enter contention.