With this weight Crest Star should win

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 20

With this weight Crest Star should win

Special correspondent ; Auckland | Crest Star, which began (the present season in such great style, looks all set to end it with a run of good performances, first of them in the $lO,OOO Winter Handicap at Tauranga today. He has some good ones to beat, notably Royal Cadenza and the visitors, Cloudy ! Lease, from Hastings, and Tono Bungay, from Feilding, but will receive sizeable I amounts of weight from (each of this trio — 7kg from Royal Cadenza and (Cloudy Lease and 5.5 kg (from the other horse. Crest Star was next to | Uncle Remus . in the three-year-old ratings of the !spring. Most times he led 'the chase after the champion but he had one victory over him, in the Great Northern Guineas. Allowed to rest during the height of the summer Crest Star might well have come back on top in the autumn except that a paddock injury caused his lay-off to be extended. It was not until May 20, - at Te Rapa, that he returned to racing, meanwhile he tackled 1600 m at Ellerslie on June 5, going so well for his sixth placing as to give the impression he could soon come up again as well as b ever. Besides being so good j over 1600 m last spring Crest j Star turned in several solid . middle-distance races, one . for second place in the’ . 2000 m Canterbury Gold Cup! i won by Uncle Remus inj l(2min 1.65, another for fourth! .(in an open 220 m event at / Awapuni. t Royal Cadenza, Cloudy; i (Lease and Tono Bungay, as < against the weight they are s; to receive from Crest Star, (have the advantage of more; ,(in the way of recent racing.; rl All three should be hard to i (beat. d Cloudy Lease won three middle-distance handicaps and a hurdle race in his last; four starts. Royal Cadenza. I so thoroughly capable whatever the distance or track •conditions, claims a Jast-i [ start second in El-1 ’ lerslie’s Cornwall Handicap,' : Tono Bungay a last-start qwin over 2060 m at Wanga- ' nui. !| As well as Crest Star the! ’ bottom group in the Winter i Handicap includes Ross Rula ''and Bruree, each a possiibility although Bruree is one I of those balloted out with •right of re-entry. Dandaleith i is another Hastings visitor (and one worth respect if his; (form these past three or! four months is an indication. ( A five-year-old. gelding, | ! Dandaleith won the 3200 m | (Chalmers Stakes at Tren-; ! tham in March and last time out finished fourth in the: Cornwall at Ellerslie. Bruree, at acceptance.! time, needed only one; scratching to get a start.! She was in fine form about; this time last year and, after! — , - - - I

three races since coming| back from a spell, should be . about ready to make a i showing. I Clouston and another free ’ galloper, Silver Image, will ( very likely be hardest to beat in the main sprint and second leg of the T.A.B. double, the June Handicap. < Clouston tried 2000 m at I' Te Awamutu last Saturday! without success but won! easily the previous time, i

I over 1400 m at Ellerslie on June 10. Silver Image has not lately been up to his best form but track conditions have only just now come his way. Stevo, from Hastings, and Karu, from Levin, are others in an even-looking field. Oranmore, at best, would win but his fading so quickIly last time, at Rotorua on !May 27, suggests he will need more racing.