Evander brings more joy to sporting Sullivans

Press, 17 July 1978, Page 16

Evander brings more joy to sporting Sullivans

By

J. J. BOYLE

As part-owner and trainei! of the talented Evander, Mrs Ainsley Sullivan is making shining contributions to the ! record of one of Auckland's; most successful equestrian families. She has prepared the five-year-old to win, at successive starts, the Air New Zealand Winter Cup at Avondale and the Winter Oats at Trentham. Now she is planning for a spring campaign in Melbourne and wonders when she will find the "time to take advantage of a free trip to Hong Kong, one of the nrizes attached to Evander’s Avondale victory. Mrs Sullivan is the wife of Dr John Sullivan, president of the Auckland Trotting Club and formerly a councillor of the New Zea land Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.

Dr and Mrs Sullivan have raised a family of successful young show riders, and one of them, Mark, is training professionally in Auckland. Mrs Sullivan races Evander in partnership with Mr C. K. Landell-Jones, of Sydney. The Rapanni gelding is the only living foal of Carmenta, which was by Oman from the useful Lady Revel by Revelation. Carmenta was destroyed at 12 years in 1974 two years after she foaled Evan-' der. She had dead foals toi earlier matings with Trictrac i and Rapanni. Evander and Warwickl Robinson made one act of the Winter Oats. Robinson allowed Evander to run into an early lead towards the middle of the track and the brown was well rated and never came under real pressure. At the end he was out by four and a half lengths from the topweight, Tono Bungay, which

was two lengths better than 11 My Binnie. (1 Odland, a winner over hur-( ■ dies earlier at the meeting,;! employed his ability in the ground to further effect and i earned $5OO with a fourth, 1; Dandaleith, the 2/111 favourite, was a battling ■

fifth and the only South Is-, land runner, Lomond Queen, was sixth, making ground late from the tail-end group. He\d Planet came within two lengths of capturing a splendid sprints treble for I the meeting on Saturday. He was backed down to favour-

itism for the Onslow Handicap, but had to bow out with his 59kg to Prince Lee, which carried Bkg less and Wanbin, which was 2.5 kg below him. Prince Lee, one of only two three-year-olds in the field, finished resolutely for Gary Phillips to peg back Wanbin, after being forced to meet heavier ground than those which had been manoeuvred wider on the track. Wanbin seemed likely to give Warwick Robinson a memorable riding double for the day when he came to the front about 300 m out, but then had to battle right to the end to save second from the tenacious Head Planet. Prince Lee is trained at Wanganui by Allan Stratton for Mr and Mrs A. J. Brady.