Coping prevails in hurdles

Press, 7 May 1981, Page 22

Coping prevails in hurdles

From

W. R. CARSTON

Blenheim Coping, promoted to equal-first with Brown Dancer Lfter the hurdles fiasco on Monday, wen the Charleston Brush Hurdles yesterday entirely on his merits but he had to work hard in the final pinch to peg back the Tuahiwi-trained Dellarca. This latest success was Coping’s second victory' from George and Lloyd Tyree’s Levin stable and his eighth altogether for his Wellington owners, Messrs A. S. K. Wong and K. K. Yen. Graeme Lord brought Coping forward in the chase) after Dellarca, a clear leader on the home turn, running' to the last flight and 1 J; determined bid along the inner got him up for a halfneck victory. Fleet Symbol, which had a turn at the pacemaking in the middle stages, was a battling third three lengths back and Kingswood was fourth in a similar gap. The win favourite, Brown

■ Dancer, was last home. t After setting a strong pace till the half-way mark, he 1 1 gradually drifted out and was a spent force 800 m ' from home. : Accelerate, which failed to attract much attention when ' offered at the Waikato ■ “ready to run” sales earlier i this year so was retained by ■ his Texas breeder, Mr Nel- : son Bunker Hunt, and placed ; with George and Lloyd i ■lTyree, gave the Levin trainers [ their second successive vic- I tory yesterday when he won i the Kevin Bell Maiden. ] Paul Goss secured a per- 1 feet trail for the Decies—Ac- * tionette colt behind the pacemaker, Toko Baru, to the i) straight, brought his charge 1 , toward along the inner 100 m 1 out to challenge and he ran 1 ;the 1400 m out strongly to 1 ' win by a length and three- ] quarters. , Toko Baru held second by three parts of a length from 1 Wairau Prince, never far, off i the pace, and Miss Poppett battled on from mid-field for . fourth, a little more than a . length away. 1 Princess Dan, a minor

place-getter in her two earlier starts at the, meeting, was rewarded for consistency with a well-de-served victory for her Fielding trainer, Bill Fugle, and his wife, in the Sevenoaks Handicap. Princess Dan missed the start slightly and that proved a blessing in disguise for, unlike many of her rivals, she was not blocked for a run at any.stage. Ray Hewinson had no option but to bring her around the outer to reach a challenging position as they began the run home and she • dashed clear in the last 100 m to win by a length. Beyond Doubt fought on for second and Graphite came on the scene late to get third, ahead of Nimbo Parni and the favourite, Dha. The latter was one which, after trailing, received no racing room in the run home. Fair Toddy rounded- off the course treble, with Coping and Princess Dan, worth 81-90 when she completely

■ annihilated her rivals in the , Wally Carston Maiden. Fair Toddy, which is pre- • pared at Awapuni by Laurie ■ Christensen and Mrs Sue I Walsh, is the second horse > raced by Mr Joe Battiston, of Wellington. The first was j the very good sprinter, Ti : Fi. I : In yesterday’s race David ■ Walsh never allowed the I tearaway favourite, Genaro, to get too far ahead. The ; best he ever had on Fair i Toddy, was four lengths and ; that had been reduced to less than two on the home I turn. Once lined up for the runin Fair Toddy swept past the tiring Genaro and al- ' though she could not be ridden out fully because of a 1 tendency to lug to the right, still won by six lengths. Although he never looked like getting to grips with the winner, Padre Pio ran on ' solidly from mid-field for second. He was Jour lengths l in advance of Maddona, third on the inner to the straight, and a very tired Genaro was two lengths J away, fourth.