Fine stakes victory by Golden Key

Press, 30 November 1978, Page 22

Fine stakes victory by Golden Key

Special correspondent Auckland

aucKiana Golden Key established himself as the best staying ; three-year-old, this side" of ; Christmas at any rate, when {he won the 2000 m Alison ; Stakes at Ellerslie yesterday. It was the second time Golden Key had beaten older ! horses over the distance at ; weight-for-age. this win fol- ' lowing one at Riccarton early in the month, in the Canterbury Gold Cup. Between the two Golden {Key tried a 1600 m at El- ; lerslie last Saturday, for I fourth behind Braless, Fraxy and Silver Boy. He looks; Derby material ’ already and! will have a further chance to show his staying worth in the 2000 m Avondale Guineas on December 16. Safely through that one, ; with a win or performance resembling that of yesterday, Golden Key would be a guaranteed favourite for the Derby at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. Even if the opposition was ! a bit less than might be expected in weight-for-age rac- ! ing at Ellerslie it was a specially good performance that .got Golden Key his win. { He settled nicely for his

I rider, Bobby Vance to be 'sixth at the 1600 m. While ! still a fair way from the I tearaway pacemaker, Cau!tion, around the home turn he needed only a clear run |to be up quickly to chali lenge.

Some 200 m out Vance had moments of anxiety when in a near collision with Big {Gamble but once balanced j again Golden Key came on {powerfully to overtake then {edge past Caution in time to ' win by three-quarters of a I length. , A chestnut, by Shifnal ; from Sapasha. Golden Key is {trained by Bill Sanders, who I bought him cheaply as a yearling for his Singapore owners, Mr and Mrs P. H. T. Wong. For the same owners, whom he has not yet met, Sanders prepares Blue Sapphire and Timber Tvcoon. He was not at Ellerslie yesterday, being occupied with preparing a team for {Wanganui next Saturday. I With Caution allowed to i make his own rules thro; gh {the first 1600 m, the n Stakes was run at a fairly { easy pace and the 2min 7s {returned by Golden Key was {certainly nothing out of the ordinary. ! Taro’s Imin 10.14 s to take

the 1200 m second leg of the T.A.B. double, the Cheltenham Handicap, was a better gallop. After trailing the pacemakers Redan and Oranmore, Taro came to the front, galloping freely into the last 200 m and won impressively by two lengths and a half. This was Taro’s fourth race since back from a spell. A four-year-old gelding, by Trophy Case from Princess Hillary, he is owned by his trainer, Ray Verner and Mr J. R. Johnston, who have raced several useful horses, among them O’Flynn, Cashel and Taka. Taro won three of hisl nine races last season, a 1400 m event at Ellerslie inj Imin 23.55 s and 1200 m sprints on the same course and at Te Aroha in Imin 10.4 s and Imin 11.1 s. The races he had since coming back from his layoff; evidently improved him/ He ! paraded in great order for! the Cheltenham Handicap and ran accordingly. Sugar Lu continued his: good form by running sec-' ond and Oranmore, always with the pacemaking hungl on gamely for his third plac- j ing. Oakvale battled on for fourth as did Free Yen for fifth.