Hayes looks to N.Z.

Press, 28 October 1982, Page 26

Hayes looks to N.Z.

From

ALLAN BROWN

Melbourne The highly successful Australian trainer, Colin Hayes, wants a lightweight apprentice for his staff and, not surprisingly in view of Brent Thomson’s success, he is looking towards New Zealand. Hayes signed Thomson up as his No. 1 stable jockey when on a visit to Trentham to buy yearlings nearly five years ago. The New Zealander, a couple of months from his nineteenth birthday, had completed his apprentice-

ship. The rider Hayes is now seeking would need to be an apprentice still, so as to claim an allowance. “I would start him off in the Adelaide stable,” Hayes said, “and if he adapted satisfactorily I would give him the riding in claiming races here in Melbourne.” Hayes is heading for his twenty-first South Australian trainers’ premiership and his sixth on end in Melbourne. Thomson has twice been the leading jockey in Victoria and another time second even though he missed a great deal of riding

with a heel injury. Birchwood, one of the horses fully qualified for the race, was scratched yesterday for the Melbourne Cup, his connections heeding the advice of the jockey, Harry White, who advised them the horse had very little chance of lasting the 3200 m. White rode Birchwood in the Moonee Valley Cup last Saturday to sixth place and meanwhije has declared Mr Sir Avon his Melbourne Cup mount. Birchwood, a four-year-old, will now be set the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2500 m

later at the Cup meeting, on November 6. Three starts back he won the Turnbull Stakes, a 2000 m event at. set weights at Fleniington on October 2.