Mr Hickey likely hurdles favourite

Press, 29 May 1981, Page 2 (Supplement)

Mr Hickey likely hurdles favourite

Special Correspondent , Auckland; Mr Hickev will be heavily backed at Ellerslie on Saturday to become the fourth horse these past 25 years or so to take the Great North-; ern Hurdles twice on end.! That he will be favourite again for the big race is now practically certain. To all appearances Mr | Hickey has come for this; second attempt on the Great; Northern better than ever,, as he will need to be, with his 5.5 kg bigger weight and I an' opposition that looks a; bit stronger than the onej last year. Both minor placegetters of 12 months ago — Hasty Saint (second) and Young Jeff (third). — are among the' 18 acceptors. The others including Balkan Ciiie’, Hasty Saint, Off an’ on, Rabalam and Manly Warrior, are all due consideration. The task then being set Mr Hickev is indeed formidable, but no more, so than faced Solar Mist and Smose Ring when they tried for the double in 1955 and 1-965. Solar Mist ; 'was ’ ra’sed 7.5 kg from the year before

in his second Great North-1 ern Hurdles, from 62kg to 69.5 kg and Smoke Ring went up 13kg, from 59kg to "2kg. Elrey, the other successive winner in the race, in 1962 and 1963, carried 57.5 and !61kg. I Mr Hickey wound up the I racing in. his preparaf.t t for [tomorrow wlh two impressive middle-distance wins in 'an intermediate 2100 m at Te ! Rapa on May 16 and a 12700 m highweight at Ro[torua just last Saturday. • I He has not raced, over 1 fences since. the Grand Nat- : ional Hurdles last August ' but all his old jumping skill was evidenced when he schooled at Te Awamutu on Tuesday.. Free-going front runners have enlivened many a Great Northern Hurdles and Balkan Chief, the Waikato Hurdles ‘winner in his last start, is one bound to make • an impression on tomorrow’s ’ race. .

Ba".:an Chief wc ' the Te Rapa event by 15 lengths in record time, a performance that compels his being included in the short , list of prospects for tomorrow. •

Off An’ On, from Southland, and Rabalam, from Manawatu, are in form, so are Hasty Saint, Manly Warrior, Crack Even and Burnaby. A nine-year-old, trained-by his owner Mr Bert Crooks at Invercargill, (although he has been brought north by Bill .Hillis), Off An’ On claims a weight-for-age win over 1600 m two starts back and a third placing meanwhile in the class one George Adams Handicap, over 1600 m, at Riccarton oh April 25. It is doubtful indeed whether any of the other Great Northern candidates would be capable of such form on the flat. Off An’ On can jump as well as he has shown in any number • of hurdle wins, the latest by 10 lengths at Cromwell in March. Success for a South Island runner in the Great Northern Hurdles is due again, the last one was MacDonald’s in 1966. The most recent winner from Manawatu was Thun, in 1976, one of the many good jumpers from [the stable of Eric Temperton