Five N.Z. horses in Melbourne Cup field

Press, 5 November 1979, Page 26

Five N.Z. horses in Melbourne Cup field

NZPA Melbourne Five New Zealand horses and eight other New Zea-land-bred horses were left in tomorrow’s $310,000 Melbourne Cup (3200 m at Flemington when the 24strong field was declared on Saturday night. The Victoria Racing Club committee invoked a rarelyused discretionary power in the balloting conditions to invite the eight-year-old New Zealand gelding, Karu, into the select field at the expense of the Caulfield Cup place-getter Father’s Day. Karu, third in last year’s Melbourne Cup, clinched a start by impressively winning the $25,000 Dalgety Handicap (2500 m at Flemington on Saturday. When final acceptances for the Cup closed he was twentyfifth in the cup order of entry.

The New Zealand horses in the cup are Kankama,

Magistrate, Pierree’s Order, Cubacade and Karu. Other New Zealand-breds to run will be Dulcify, Hyperno, Rough ‘n’ Tough, Red Nose. Over The Ocean, Sarfraz, Licence Fee and Pigalle. Five horses balloted out include the New Zealand horses, Evander and Andrew. Karu and Cubacade emerged as New Zealand’s main Cup hopes after their first and second placings in the Dalgety Handicap. Both fared well in the barrier draw, with Karu getting No. 4 and Cubacade No. 7.

Although Dulcify maintained his unbeaten record at Flemington by beating New Zealand’s Shivaree in the $25,000 weight-for-age L. K. S. MacKinnon Stakes (2000 m and has drawn favourbly .at No. 8. bookmakers Cup odds for the four-year-old gelding eased 'from 7-to-4 to 5-to-2. He rei mains the Cup favourite des-

pite doubts concerning his staying ability over 3200 m.

Cubacade's odds firmed sensationally from 12 to-1 to be the 7-to-l, equal second favourite with Warri Symbol, and Karu shortened from 15-to-l to be on the 10-to-l fourth line. Further movements in the market are expected this afternoon when the traditional calling of the card takes place at the Victoria Club. The revised market following Saturday’s racing is:— 5-to-2 Dulcify; 7-to-l Cubacade, Warri Symbol; 8-to-l Hyperno; 10-to-l Karu; 16-to-l Panamint, Salamander; 20-to-l Kankama, Rough ‘n’ Tough. Earthquake McGoon; 25-to-l Sarfraz, Magistrate; 33-to-l Red Nose, Hauberk, Tka; 66-to-1 Gunderman, Over the Ocean, Somerset Nile, Safe Harbour, Pigalle, Jessephenie: 100-to-1 Pieree’s

Order. Licence Fee, Love 1 Bandit. The field is:— 4.40 p.m. (N.Z. time).— MELBOURNE CUP $310,000; 3200 m 1 3111 Dulcify (8) 56.0: B. Thomson 2 5564 Hyperno (12) 56.0 1 H. White 3 2925 Panamint <9i 555 J. Miller 4 5375 Salamander (2) 55.5! R. Higgins 3 0309 Kankama (20) 54.5 J. Stocker 8 3032 Cubacade (7) 52.0 1 J. Walker 7 0900 Pierree's Order (19) 52.0 1 P. Johnson 8 8540 Rough 'N- Tough 52.0 (1) G. Murphy • 1826 Warri Symbol (23) 52.0 P. Hyland 10 0460 Gunderman (21) 51.5 R. Hefferman 11 0093 Magistrate (11) 51.5 ( R. Skelton 12 2904 Red Nose (3) 51.5 E. Didham 13 1058 Earthquake McGoon (14) 51.0 G. Willetts 14 7217 Hauberk (10) 51.0 P. Jarman 15 0100 Over the Ocean (13) 51.0 W. Treloar 16 6393 Sarfraz (6) 50.5 A. Trevena 17 7007 Somerset Nile (22) 50.0 18 0231 Iko (15) 49.5 M. Johnston 19 5510 Licence Fee (18) 49.5 A. Williams 20 4651 Karu (4) 49.0 W. Robinson 21 3614 Love Bandit 1:6) 48.5 22 8736 Safe Harbour t 24.i 48.5 K. Langbv 23 1055 Pigalle (5) 47.5 B. Clements 24 7260 Jessephenie (17) 47.0