Yearling filly against time

Press, 11 July 1979, Page 21

Yearling filly against time

PA Auckland An Auckland owner, Bob Barry, has arranged to tilt his precocious filly pacer Cuddles against the world yearling record for a mobile mile, which should be a big drawcard to the second and final night of the Auckland Trotting Club’s season on July 28.. The record is held by Avalon, which set 2min 6.8 s at Washdyke in July 1977, chopping 2.4 s from Blue’s long-standing world mark of 2min 9.2 accomplished in 1957 at Addington. The last attempt in Auckland was that of Testing Times in July 1976, and with all the conditions against him, he clocked 2min 9.9 s 0.7 outside Blue’s mark. Cuddles, by Mr Barry’s handsome imported stallion, Don Baker, from his good Blue Prince-Dawnlighf mare Blue Dawn, is a half-sister to Dawn Mist and Unexplained, both winners for the owner. Dawn Mist, by Mr Barry’s racehorse and Sire Gentry, ranks as the most successful juvenile filly produced in New Zealand with seven wins last season, which she followed by taking out the D.B. Flying Fillies Final in Auckland as a three-year-old this term. Unexplained, also by Gentry, has in a brief career to date, won once and been placed twice, and will trv to extend her record at the Auckland July meeting. Cuddles had an outing at the Auckland trials at the park last week, going over a mile in around 2min 20s. She got more serious at home a few days later, when she cut out a mile in 2min 10s, the last half in lmin 0.25.

For further’experience and

to accustom her to the lights, Cuddles will have a run around between races on the first night of the forthcoming meeting on July 21. It is expected that in the trial she will be hitched to the North Island Standardbred Breeders’ Association’s recently imported U.S.-speed sulky. Mr Barry says he would like to see a sponsor put up a monetary reward for Cuddles succeeding in the attempt — “which I would gladly let them give to any charity they like to name.”