Greek Magic will take catching at Nelson

Press, 24 February 1978, Page 1 (Supplement)

Greek Magic will take catching at Nelson

By

J. J. Boyle

The youthful brilliance of Greek Magic should prove rewarding in the C.B. Hodgson Memorial, second leg of the Nelson Jockey Club’s T.A.B. double tomorrow. Greek Magic should win with a bit to spare if he is in anything like the form he reached when he outran Grey Way and others at weight-for-age over 1600 m in the Timaru Cup in December. Earlier he was the South Island's best when third behind Uncle Retnus and Braless in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas. Greek Magic’s two starts since his Timaru Cup victory have produced a win and a fourth. He was out of sorts after he ran fourth in the Southland Guineas and

his failure to make a return for his small army of backers was excusable.

Tomorrow will be the starting point of another campaign, and he should embark on it fully recovered and fit after his lay-off with a virus. It would not be surprising if he did it all in front, as he did in the Timaru Cup. The seven-year-old Credit Note goes into the Nelson Cup as a last-start winner for the Garth Ivil stable, and pretty well assured of favouritism. He won handily at Wanganui under 52kg on February

11, and has 57kg tomorrow. This field might not have the strength in depth of the one that Credit Note beat at Wanganui, but the Hokitikatrained Lili will give the

Awapuni horse plenty to do if she has held her form since the Canterbury Jockey Club’s summer meeting.

Lili’s two starts at Riccarton earlier this month produced a win, by two lengths, in the Lion Breweries Handicap, and an unlucky second

to Prince Cicero in the Mid summer Handicap. The power of her finishing runs in both races she should employ to good effect on the testing Nelson straight tomorrow. Prince Cicero will be in the line-up against Lili again. He was quick to find form for the Blenheim stable of Kevin O’Brien, and if ridden as enterprisingly as he was when he won at Riccarton he should go close again.