Courageous effort by Hilarious Guest

Press, 2 March 1981, Page 24

Courageous effort by Hilarious Guest

Hilarious Guest added her i name to the small list of fillies which have won the ; Timaru Nursery Stakes with i a gritty performance in the forty-sixth running of the two-year-old feature cn Sat-

urday. The Australian-bred youngster became only the ninth of her sex to win the Nursery Stakes in the history of the event. Shadow Maid (1940), Bel

Hamed (1943), Lady Diane i (1946), Dresden Lady (1954), ’ Phantasy (1955), Violetta i (1970) and, more recently 1 Eastwood Glenfern (1977) are the only other fillies to j have won. ' i Hilarious Guest is owned ] and trained at Rangiora by . Maurice Vermeulen, who is , enjoying one of his best sea- j sons; Vermeulen bred the < filly from New Guest, whose j dam, True Guest left the ( grand performer Speedy ( Guest. i Vermeulen sent New Guest to be served in Aus- , tralia by Hilarious Way. Unfortunately, he lost another , filly from the mare by Rum , Customer just recently, after it was badly injured in a paddock incident. Hilarious Guest won Saturday’s Nursery Stakes the 1 hard way. The youngster ’ broke at the start, losing ' some 40m, improved gradu- ! . y to midfield with a ;

round to go, raced three wide from the 600 m and still won after looking beaten on [the turn. Second, a head away, was 'the place favourite, Mister Wood Chips. The Timely [Knight colt tracked El Jefe and Turbine throughout, ranged up to dispute the pace from the 800 m, and stuck on gallantly when Hilarious Guest came hard down the straight. He was only a head from the Rangiora filly at the line. Third home, three lengths back was Tebaldi, which ran on weL from the fourth line, with El Jefe, taken on with 800 m to run, fading a shade to fourth. Turbine, which led out, .n trailed, was the next best, fifth, with Timely Joy, which was checked badly at the start, making ground for sixth. The rest came home lat intervals.