Etcetera excels in finishing dash

Press, 11 July 1979, Page 21

Etcetera excels in finishing dash

The Adios colt Etceiera which will meet Hunting ( all and company in the Cochrane Memorial Handicap at Waimate on Salurday impressed with his finishing dash at the Riccarton Turf Club’s trials yesterday. Etcetera careered home late to dead-heat with Fangio in a 1000 m qualifying trial for two-year-olds. Trained at Riccarton by George Humphries, Etcetera is from the imported Irish mare Sonamed, by So Blessed, and he debuted promisingly at Rangiora late last year. The other two-year-old qualifying trial was won in dogged fashion by the This-toll-trained Stead. After being in or near the lead throughout, Stead dug in gamely over the final 200 m to, hold out the fast finishing j challenge of Deceiver, only a| neck away in second place with French Pass toiling usefully in third half a length away. I Classic Mist, from the IDave Kerr stable was the (most impressive of three I maiden gallopers to qualify.

Classic Mist, tailed off for the most part, came with a rush over the final 400 m to win comfortably from Scotch Nip with a further length to Just A Giggle. Scotch Nip is down to contest a division of the Willowbridge Maiden stakes at Waimate on Saturday. Gershwin, one of Ray Harris’s string had a short

head to spare over the fast finishing Kildorian in the first 1200ni qualifying trial, while Ihe final event was also won narrowly by Alazon, one of two winners from Dave Thompson's Amberley stable. His other trials victor was a Whistling Willie-Royal Fable yearling, which inched out a Nip O’Scotch youngster, one of several runners from the Harris stable. Third home a length av. ay was a Matins Doreen yearling.

Another Harris runner, a Rocky Mountain-Royal Deb filly scampered over the 400 m to beat another Whistling Willie colt from Dave Thomson’s team.