Lady Fiord’s smart debut

Press, 21 March 1983, Page 29

Lady Fiord’s smart debut

The Nelson filly, Lady Fiord, recorded a smart debut to win the $6BOO New Zealand Leonard Memorial Stakes for two-year-old fillies at the Cheviot meeting on Saturday. Raced by the president of the Nelson Trotting Club, Mr Ross Greenslade, and trained for him at Richmond by Noel Berkett, Lady Fiord could hardly have been more impressive in winning.

Berkett’s son-in-law, Murray Pash, had won the 1978 Leonard Memorial with Bonnie Lass.

On Saturday, Lady Fiord tangled early and settled four back on the outside. Set alight at the 600 m, Lady Fiord quickly moved up to the leaders, Countess Royale and Jay Marie (outer), and shot clear turning for home.

Kept up to her work, Lady Fiord held on to win comfortably by a length and a quarter from Seduction, another making.her debut, and the warm favourite, Jay Marie.

A filly by Lordship from the Scottish Hanover mare, Fiord Hanover, Lady Fiord

was bred by the late Mr Allan Greenslade and is raced by his son. She paced the 2000 m in 2min 39.95, with the leaders running the closing 800 m in Imin 2.25.

Berkett, who won last year’s New Zealand Trotting Stakes with Chesapeake, has Lady Fiord nominated for the New Zealand Welcome Stakes at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s Easter meeting in a fortnight. Chesapeake is also likely to make the trip. Lady Fiord had qualified over 2400 m at Blenheim

exactly a month earlier in 3min 15s.

Ricky May was “thrilled” with the run of Seduction for second.

“I thought we would win it on the home turn — she was the only one on the bit, but we were held up slightly when we locked wheels with Jay Marie turning in,” May said.

Seduction was a length and a half clear of Jay Marie, which raced in the open throughout and lacked a finishing burst. Countess Royale faded quickly after leading to the straight,