Linda Jones third on Northfleet

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 21

Linda Jones third on Northfleet

NZPA Sydney! The New Zealand woman! jockey, Linda Jones, won acceptance from the Sydney racing public with her handling of Northfleet in the $20,000 N. E. Manion Cup (2400 m at Rosehill on Saturday. The crowd of almost 23,000 gave her a rousing reception when she came' back to scale after Northfleet had finished third behind Mr Bluebeard and Free Enterprise. At one stage it looked as though Northfleet would win — and leading Sydney bookmaker, Terry Page, who stood to lose $150,000 admitted that he “turned white” when Northfleet hit the lead down the finishing straight. But with the 57kg topweight, Northfleet was unable to hold off the much lighte'-weighted Mr Bluebeard and Free Enterprise. “The big weight beat me and I do think the horse needed the run,” Mrs Jones said. She said the race was run tightly but cleanly and that she had no worries. Northfleet led early, but drifted back to be fifth on the turn before Jones eased him one wide to lead with 300 m to run. The winner, Mr Bluebeard, is a lightly raced five-year-old gelding and was not a first acceptor on Friday for the Sydney Cup, 3200 m, Jones described the crowd reaction to her ride as “unbelievable.” and told reporters i‘. surpassed the reception she .sot after winning!

the Wellington Derby on Holy Toledo. The Premier of New South Wales, Mr Neville Wran, presented her with a silver platter on behalf of the Sydney Turf Club to mark the occasion, and when presenting the Manion Cup to the connections of Mr Bluebeard said: “Probably our hearts were elsewhere than with Mr Bluebeard.” i She was given V.I.P. treatment by the Sydney Turf Club — and the committee’s action in inviting her to lunch, an unprecedented event for a jockey engaged on the same day, raised quite a few eyebrows. Commenting on the event afterwards an oviously pleased Jones said she was terribly nervous before the race.

“I have never ridden before such a friendly crowd and their encouragement made my job so much easier. The jockeys also treated me as one of them and I certainly didn’t feel out of things at all,” she said. Commentators said her calm unflappable riding in the race would have done justice to Sydney’s leading jockeys and her riding gained great respect from prominent racegoers. “What a fantastic ride.” said the leading Sydney trainer. Tommy Smith. “I would certainly be deighted to have her riding my horses, I never expected to see the day when al woman could match it with the men in such a tough! sport as this,” he sa>d