Gammalite’s withdrawal causes upset

Press, 3 February 1984, Page 19

Gammalite’s withdrawal causes upset

Special correspondent Auckland

Gammalite’s ownertrainer, Leo O’Connor, is extremely disappointed his great pacer will not be a starter in the Auckland Trotting Cup. “I was really looking forward to winning the cup again,” he said from his home in Terang, Victoria, yesterday. (Gammalite won in 1982.) The horse, which was scratched at 12.7 p.m. yesterday, was originally to have been flown to Auckland on Wednesday evening.

The aircraft was subsequently re-routed to land at Wellington.

O’Connor understood he would then have to float the horse to Auckland. He would not consider this with the race so close. Gammalite was to have come to New Zealand from Perth, where he had been campaigning. He won the Fremantle Cup last Friday.

After hearing of the switch from Auckland to Wellington, O'Connor flew the horse back to Melbourne. He learned too late, he said, that air transport had been arranged, after all, from Wellington to Auckland.

“But I still thought I could make other arrangements.

“But my hopes have been dashed. Only 10 minutes ago, I was told by the people who thought they could get us to New Zealand that there was now no chance.”

O'Connor was highly critical of Tasman transport arrangements for standardbreds engaged in big races. ‘“lt wouldn’t happen in galloping," he said, “and is a bad thing for trotting. “You only have to look at the trouble there has been with Inter Dominions. And New Zealand horses seem to be worse affected than ours,” said O’Connor.