Uphill battle but Kusadasi made it

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 22

Uphill battle but Kusadasi made it

By

R. CARSTON

Only a person with the kindness and patience of Jim Tomkinson would have battled for the best part of four years to get a horse to the races. But that perseverence paid off yesterday when Kusadasi made a successful and impressive debut in the Broomfield Stakes. Kusadasi, now a five-year-old, has been in Tomkinson’s care since he was a yearling. He was bought at the National Sales for Mr Cyril Smith, of Christchurch, by the successful Riccarton trainer for $6OOO. It did not take Tomkinson long to find out that his purchase was going to turn out to be one of the greatest of equine worriers. “He was frightened of everything and would break into a sweat at the drop of a hat,” said Tomkinson yesterday. Tomkinson has never been able to improve on that flaw in the horse’s disposition but nevertheless he was convinced that in Kusadasi he had the makings of a top performer and over the years many of those have passed through his hands. But 18 months ago more problems developed. The day he qualified Kusadasi must have ricked the muscles on both sides of his spine across the rump as he jumped from the stalls. In addition to trying to correct that injury there were other minor problems to cope with as time went by, but eventually most of them were overcome and Kusadasi was eventually brought up to racing trim. After racing at the girth of the pacemaking Windvale Law till the home turn then drawing out to coast home by four lengths in the hands of the stable apprentice, Judy Hawes, in yesterday’s 1800 m event, Kusadasi certainly vindicated his trainer’s high opinion of him. But yesterday's race did nothing to change Kusadasi’s disposition. After being hosed down and cooled out he was standing in his stall, sweating and still worrying and those two grooves across the rump where the muscles had collapsed were clearly visible. r

Jim Tomkinson was not even contemplating where he might race next. He was more concerned about how he was going to replace the condition which Kusadasi lost because of his first day at the races. Kusadasi was the first of two locally-trained winners. The second was Weinmeister which improved from a handy position to lead through the last 200 m for a half-neck victory over the hot favourite Manchu, in the Stonyhurst Handicap. Weinmeister, which carries the colours of Messrs M. T. Casserly and B. J. Vieceli, is a Wandering Eyes colt prepared by Peter Jones and his son-in-law, Chris Mol. North Island trainers saddled the winners of the last two supporting races on yesterday’s card. Commissionaire rounded off a double for the meeting and gave the Woodville trainer, Noel Eales, his third training success of the day when he carried Mrs M. E. Ansford’s colours to victory in the Apprentices’ Handicap, and Le Coquin, which Peter Atwood and Laurie Laxon train at Cambridge for Mr M. J. Brett, improved on his firstday fifth with a narrow but impressive victory in the Ashley Handicap.