Victory to Ruling Lad in New Zealand Derby

Press, 27 December 1979, Page 18

Victory to Ruling Lad in New Zealand Derby

Special correspondent Auckland Well backed and well beaten the time before, in me Avondaie Guineas, Ruling Lad came north again from Hawera to pluck a great prize from Eruption in the last few strides of the New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie yesterday. Ruling Lad’s prospects when he tailed the big field into the last mile of the $lOO,OOO race, looked anything but bright. It was not until into the home straight that he began to make an appearance near the leaders and the race was all but over when he get up in front with Eruption. Eruption, which moments earlier had shaken off Little Brown Jug and Owens, then Banabar. resisted this last challenge bravely but Ruling Lad stayed the better by ha'f a length Banabar clung to the SIO.OOO th,rd place from Owens and Little Brown Jug Mam Line came in’ sixth then Top Castle. The margin between Ruling Lad and Eruption was no more than half a length but there was a length and a half back to Banabar, which had Owens and L' tie Brown Jug almost alongside. Two starts before. Ruling Lad won the Wanganui l Championship Stakes in good style. He was expensive to betters in the Guineas at Avondale but both his trainer Brian Deacon and rider Gary Phillips were prepared to excuse his failure — the running of the

race, they said, ’.'.as against their horse. Being so prominent in the early running at Avondale did not suit Ruling Lad. When he won at Wanganui, it was from well back in the field, in much the same way a= he took yesterday’s big one. Phillips, who is Ruling Lad’s regular rider, admitted afterwards to having had some doubts as to whether the colt would manage the soft ground this time. “I did not mean to get that far back either,” he said, “but with 600 m to go 1 thought we could win. It was just a matter of holding him together.” Now aged 28, Phillips has for quite a while been one of the foremost jockeys in the Central Districts of the l North Island. It was some ' five years ago that he linked 1 up with the Ruling Lad stable, quite by chance, to help out while B. R. Deacon, j. a son of the trainer, wash sidelined by injury. I Phillips has close to 5001 wins to his credit. On his; i occasional trips this far j north he has invariably > made a good impression, the > display he gave on Ruling ■ Lad was one of his best. i Deacon returned home on ] Christmas Day after bring- i ing Ruling Lad north at the week-end. The colt mean- i while has been in the care i of his wife, Mrs Pauline ' Deacon. , A bay. of medium size, i Ruling Lad is raced by Mr < E. N. Baker, aged 67,' who 1 has spent a lifetime in the 1 north and is now living in i retirement at Paihia. i<

As well as being the racmg owner of Ruling Lad Mr! Baker is able to claim thei satisfaction of having bred! the colt, by Haunui Farm’s! ! sire. Ruling, from Lochiel’s I Fancy, by Le Filou. Mr Baker aquired Loch- i iel’s Fancy as a broodmare i for a mere 3200. Her first I two living foals were Head i :Fancy and Lochiel Fair, both! good winners. Ruling Lad is; the last of her progeny, she 1 had to be put down about 12; months ago when rising 25-j years-old. As Ruling Lad gave them! all a start from around the; 1660 m it was hard to find! excuses for his opponents ! Little Brown Jug seemed tel be beaten this time on his! merits. His new rider, David j Peake, said the horse was I 1 not too comfortable in the! broken ground. “He was beaten with 800 m to go.” 1 ! Caterman, the second 'favourite after Little Brown jJug was a much greater disjappointment when back with 'the tailenders at the finish. The rider. Bob Vance. saic I Caterman “tied himself up! in the ground. He settled! well and I am sure that on! good going he would have; seen it out. He only finished! that far back because I was! pulling him up before the! finish.” A mid-morning deluge! then further fails softened 1 the top of the ground which was cutting out for the 1 Derby, the seventh of the! nine races. A fast time was) out of the question. Ruling! Lad's 2min 35.3 s was, in; fact, the slowest since the introduction of the metric; -distance in 1973.