Aust trip for Purple Kiwi

Press, 1 October 1979, Page 31

Aust trip for Purple Kiwi

Special correspondent i Wellington . Purple Kiwi’s win in the I president’s Handicap at Otaki on Saturday has assured him a trip across i the Tasman for a tilt at the! $156,000 Caulfield Cup later { this month. The part-owner and trainer of the five-year-old, Neil Bradley, of Wanganui,! said after Saturday's success! that Purple Kiwi would, leave for Australia on October 9. The Caulfield Cup : (2400 m is run on October, 20 and Purple Kiwi is well placed in the weights withl 52kg. Accompanying Purple Kiwi on the trip will be ; Cubacade. from the Hawera) stable of Don Couchman. | Couchman, himself, will arrive a couple of days before; the Cup to finish off Cuba-; tade's final preparation. Just who will ride Purple!; Kiwi in the Caulfield Cup! remains to be seen. Jim! Walker, who handled him so; well on Saturday, is booked i to ride Cubacade. Bradley! was undecided yesterday, 1 but the mount could belj offered to Brent Thomson. “He’ll start at Masterton | on Saturday to give him one)i more before leaving then 11 won’t start again till the b Cup,” said Bradley about!: Purple Kiwi's immediate ji programme. The Masterton I race will be the 8.8500 Mas-| terton Cup over 2300 m. I’ Cubacade will start in thejl Rakua Handicap at Otaki on |< Wednesday. That will prob-i ably he his last race before!: contesting the Caulfield Cup. p Otaki has proved a goodji track to Purple Kiwi. Satur-ll day’s was his third start onL the course and his third win. ; As a three-year-old he won't

lover Sl6oom, at four over ; 1400 and Satuday’s distance I was 2000 m. A bargain buy by Bradley at §l9OO, Purple Kiwi has [ now won eight races and gained another nine placed from 27 starts. His earnings |stand at $26,540. For a while it did not look as though Purple Kiwi was going to settle. He pulled hard early, but i Walker gradually settled him land at the 1000 m he was ■racing kindly in fifth place. Walker shot him to a ; clear lead with 250 m to run land though the outsider, I Beric, was closing the gap at I the line Walker had a comjfortable hold on Purple I Kiwi. Beric got to wihin a : I length of Purple Kiwi at the! (line and he, in turn, was! I two lengths clear of the I ; favourite, Zamalou, with Blue Defence running a good ;race for fourth. : Beric’s run followed a i : good fifth at Rotorua at his; last start and served notice! )of a winning run soon. His; I trainer, John Wheeler, has; ; his team in fine form at! present. I Zamalou, though third, i was disappointing. He covered a good deal of ground, I being wide for much of the ;way, but still lacked that i final dash he has shown in I the past. Current Coin rounded off ; the double with Purple Kiwi when he took the second leg, the Hema Te Ao Handi-I leap. A six-year-old by Bahroona from the Hakiro mare, I Cinzano, Current Coin is trained at Hastings by Alan! Douglas, formerly of Te| Awamutu, Douglas has been; at Hastings for the last 121 months.