Altitude expected to climb heights again

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 39

Altitude expected to climb heights again

Special correspondent Auckland Many months of planning will come to fruition early this evening with the running of the $lOO,OOO Levin Turf Classic on the Levin course.

It is a race that has had its share of critics, but it seems even they have been silenced. A field of 13 seems likely at this stage to start and though two grand fillies Tudor Sky and Bound To Honour will not be present, it is fair comment to say they will not be missed. Last week the first classics were run at Riccarton. In the Two Thousand Guineas, Altitude'was first, Dig In second. Both are in the Turf Classic today. In the One Thousand Guineas. Noble Heights was first, Julia second and they too are in the field. In the Waikato Guineas on Saturday, Isle of Man was first. He also, will line up in the big race. .. ' ■ Throw in the. Wanganui Guineas winner Special Devil, the Woodville 6000 winner Tomatin Purple, the top prospect Volare, northern visitor Silver Rhythm and two other very good fillies, Marie Claire and Silver Darling and you have the balance of the Turf Classic runners.

The end result is really something of a dream come

true for the club secretary Jim Watters and his staff. Altitude is the major drawcard and it is odds on he will be the favourite, the outside draw and all. Wide draw aside, Altitude has plenty going for him. He has raced at Levin and won the Ryder Stakes there in brilliant fashion. Then, last time, his win in the 2000 Guineas was superb. He looped the field, lead at the top of the straight, and kicked on to score by three lengths in a tick over I.36sec. Before that success at Riccarton, Altitude had won the Great Northern Guineas at Ellerslie pretty well by just under three lengths, the IZH Guineas Trial at Te Aroha and the Westminster Handicap at Ellerslie. Altitude is trained at Matamata by Bill Ford for N. B. Hunt, whose Australasian representative Jim Shannon will be at Levin for the race. Noble Heights won the 1000 Guineas on Saturday and that win, along with her wins in the Lowlands Stakes and the Gold Trail Stakes give her a big lead in the

Wrightson Filly of the Year series. While she did not win the Guineas as convincingly as the Lowland Stakes it was a run that still stamped her well above average and she will come in for very heavy support. If Altitude and Noble Heights tend to dominate proceedings, the presence of Isle Of Man will ensure a true contest. His performances have been first rate and so far his misfortune has been to be in the same three-year-old year as Altitude and/or Noble Heights. Today he will try and change that. Isle Of Man was splendid in his Waikato Guineas success last Saturday and before the Waikato Guineas, he won the P. and M. Plaza Purse at Te Rapa, ran third in the Great Northern Guineas and was a shock winner first up in the Cambridge Breeders Stakes over Divine Ruler and Volare. Dig In, from the Hillis stable, has shown fine form in the south. He ran on well after getting clear late in the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton

but had no chance with Altitude. His draw is not the best today but he does have his share of ability and is no forlorn hope. Silver Rhythm has been in fine form over shorter distances, though he did disappoint when finishing well back at Te Rapa last week. Special Devil continues to run good races and Tomatin Purple comes in with a big reputation and heaps of promise. He was quite impressive at Woodville. Volare has not had that much luck in his racing this season, but he did win last time by four lengths and a half at Awapuni. Marie Claire, soon to leave for Sydney, has been consistent. She was second at Woodville last time and won at Napier Park the time before. Julia is much better than her record, good as it is, would suggest. On Saturday she turned in a terrific effort to run second to Noble Heights and her placings in the Filly of the Year series make her a clear second on the list.