$200,000 refused for Summer Haze before win

Press, 31 March 1980, Page 26

$200,000 refused for Summer Haze before win

By

J. J. BOYLE

$200,000 cannot buy Summer Haze. That was a firm offer a little more than a week ago, but the talented filly which cost no more than $l5OO as a yearling remains the proud possession of Mrs G. M. Bryant, and at Awapuni on Saturday she bowed out for the season with an authoritative win in the $40,000 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Summer Haze goes into the spelling paddock as winner of eight races from 12 starts and a record first-sea-son total of $69,325. New Zealand’s richest race for two-year-olds on Saturday was a triumph for the fillies.

Glamour Bay, Yir Tiz and Summer Haze had been the first three in the Wakefield at Trentham a fortnight earlier, but on Saturday their prices lengthened after a flood of support for the Auckland colts, Ring the Bell and Rayarak. Ring the Bell, a colt

Ring the Bel,, a colt bred struggled into fourth but five lengths or so from the winner.

Rayarak finished in the middle of the field, unable to find anything on the heavy track. Summer Haze is by Princely Note (son of Princely Gift) and a dose relation of Battle-Waggon. Summer Haze’s dam, Karinda, raced only once, but this is a family rich in winners; notables from it were Fair Chance, whose 17 victories, included a Doomben Cup,- the Auckland Easter Handicap, the Wellington Metropolitan Handicap, and the C.J.C. Churchill Stakes; and Voleur, winner of four races including the L. K. S. Mackinnon Stakes. Summer Haze is trained at Stratford by Dick Bothwell. Taranaki secured more riches from the Manawatu programme when the Mata-mam-trained but Elthamowned Rare Commoditytriumphed easily in the

$30,000 Manawatu Centers nial Cup. This five-year-old with the pedigree of a Melbourne Cup winner might be pointed for the big one at Flemington next spring.

“He’s a great, honest racehorse,” said his part-owner, Mr David Pickford after the race, “and if her goes to Melbourne I hope to be there.”

Mr Pickford, who is 75, races Rare Commodity in partnership with his business partner, Mr Jack Stark. He was bought out of the paddock as a two-year-old on the advice of Mr Hugh McCarvill, of Matamata, and before Saturday he had been assembling a record marked mainly by a lengthy list of minor placings. He is by Oopik’s sire, St Puckle. His dam Dilly Dally was by Marco Polo 11, a superior sire of stayers, and hi-3 third dam was a daughter of the famous Foxbridge.

Mellseur did best of the three South Island runners in

the Manawatu Centennial Cup. She finished bravely for fifth after being shuffled far back on the inside early in the race. But although she made ground to the end her rider, Paul Hillis, believes the Wingatui mare is not a true stayer. “In my book she is a brilliant miler,” HiHis said after the race. Riccarton’s Firpo made late headway from the tailend group to finish eighth, but the Invercargill-trained Miles Better showed nothing, beating only two. Firpo and Miles. Better were back at Riccarton yesterday and will do their Easter racing there. Bruce Compton, who rode Rare Commodity, completed a memorable day by winning the second leg, the Pakistan II Stakes, on the topweight and favourite, Anderil. Compton challenged with Anderil "from a trailing position and kicked Shivaree’s stablemate away to win by six lengths.