Rapid Fella deserves success at Blenheim

Press, 22 June 1984, Page 19

Rapid Fella deserves success at Blenheim

By

G. K. YULE

The Templeton trainer, Peter Robertson, will have a great chance of gaining a win in his former home town of Blenheim with Rapid Fella in the Radio Marlborough Handicap at Waterlea tomorrow.

Rapid Fella has been racing to good purpose about Canterbury in recent weeks and he could be a shade fresher than his rivals which have had two hard races at Nelson last Friday and Monday. Rapid Fella will be giving most of his opponents a start of 10m at Blenheim, but he is usually a reliable beginner and should soon be handily placed.

The son of Smooth Fella had his most recent start at Rangiora on June 9 when he held on for third to Freight-

man and Bahrein over a solidly-run 2900 m. The distance of this race is 200 m shorter, which should enable him to use his solid finishing sprint to good advantage. Jovial Jan is one of the most consistent pacers in her class and she is overdue for another win. She was fourth over 3200 m on the first day at Nelson and beat all but the in-form Bachelor Creed over 2400 m on Monday. Her ability to maintain a prominent position throughout her races should enable her to be right in the

thick of the finish. Hanover Donna went a satisfactory race when fourth behind Elite Patron at Rangiora. She is racing well enough to be considered a leading contender for honours tomorrow. Del Haven won in style at Nelson on Monday, putting plenty of dash into his final 200 m and recording the smart time of 3min 13.2 s for the 2400 m. If he races with the same dash, he will be one of the better prospects. Daisy Duke, and Coastal

Trader are smart pacers making their first appearances on the circuit. Both have worthwhile efforts to their credit and they could be prominent. Of those to race at Nelson, Memphis could do best. Malakula, Mister Kool and Valley Creek could be as good as any in the second leg, the Manchester Fiat Pace, a race which has drawn an extremely open field. Tennessee Waltz, Dillon Skipper and Donagain are only a few of those from which big runs are likely.