Burletta pleases at Hastings

Press, 30 September 1983, Page 8

Burletta pleases at Hastings

Special correspondent Hastings

Burletta is right on target for next weeks’s Lowland Stakes at Masterton, and Makorby looked ready to take on the Australians after the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s barrier trials, held on the Hastings track yesterday.

Neither Burletta nor Makorby won a 1200 m heat but what they did pleased their connections immensely.

Burletta finished second behind the pacemaking Kurdistan Agent, but was only a long neck away and could have run past him at any stage in the straight. The jockey, Jim Cassidy, never moved on Burletta throughout the gallop and the Three Legs filly was hardly blowing after pulling up. “She felt a treat,” was Cassidy’s brief summing up of how Burletta went in the trial.

Burletta has obviously thrived since winning the Gold Trail Stakes and must go into the Lowland Stakes, tomorrow week, a warm favourite.

■ Kurdistan Agent ran the 1200 m in Imin 15.025, a respectable time considering the trials were held 15m out from the running rail and the ground was cutting out on top. Kurdistan Agent and Burletta were six lengths clear of the other runners, with the Otaki entrant, Beready, third, Claymore Boy fourth, Kissenger fifth and Makorby last. Makorby, like Burletta, was not given a hard run. His jockey, Garry Phillips,

made a special trip from Foxton to ride the gelding. He settled him back second last in the early running and after a brief dab at the 600, sat quietly on the six-year-old in the home*straight.

The trainer, Des Harris, said Makorby would fly to Australia on Tuesday and have his first start there in the $40,000 weight-for-age Caulfield Stakes (2000 metres), next Saturday. His main mission is next month’s Caulfield Cup. Beready will run in the T. and L. Printers Handicap at Otaki tomorrow with the apprentice, Mark Barnsley, the rider. He needs a firm track to show his best.

Claymore Boy’s run for fourth was eye-catching. He was outpaced in the early stages but was putting in some big strides close at the finish. The trainer, Patrick Campbell, has him in top condition.

Master Blaster impressed when winning the 1200 m heat for class 3 and 4 horses in Imin 17.065. He settled third until the straight and then finished strongly. La Mer’s daughter, Loughmore, turned in probably her best effort to date when winning a 1000 m heat for maidens in Imin 3.145. Jim Cassidy rode the filly and said she has “improved a ton” from her last barrier trail on the track.

Loughmore settled just in behind the pace but came through strongly between horses with 300 m to run and went on to win by a length from Legitimate, with half a length to Modinka.