In the Glen after second Claremont Handicap win

Press, 20 July 1984, Page 24

In the Glen after second Claremont Handicap win

J. J. BOYLE

In the Glen is capable to giving the Riccarton jockey, Grant Davison, a welcome-home present by winning her second DB Claremont Handicap at Washdyke tomorrow.

Davison, who returned from Brisbane last weekend after partnering Noble Note in his two wins, could have hardly hoped for a better mount from the short list of Canterbury-trained hopefuls for the South Canterbury Hunt Club’s T.A.B. trifecta and first leg of the T.A.B. double. Since her Claremont Handicap victory a year ago In the Glen has only managed to win once more, at Riccarton in May, but she has some other good performances on a fairly light programme.

She was in stronger comKthan she will meet rrow when fifth in the Lion Brown Handicap at Riccarton at Easter.

Last time she ran fourth in the Wrightson Handicap at Wingatui on June 2. Seafarer might be the one to spearhead a strong southern challenge. Mr Cecil Wallis’s big Beaufort Sea gelding has not won this season, but there were hopeful signs of a breakthrough in his fifth against the sprinters over 1400 m at Wingatui on June 4 and a fourth over 1200 m at Gore in May.

Both those distances would have been short of Seafarer’s best, but he can meet the demands of 1600 m on winter tracks better than many in the South Island ranks of class 1 horses, and, in fact, his most recent win was as a metric miler at

Riccarton in May of last year. Kade, Noble Jewel, and Paddle, other Wingatuitrained candidates in the top half of the handicap, have done much of their open class racing over longer distances, but Noble Jewel went close to bringing off a major surprise in fairly distinguished company over 1600 m, at Riccarton in April. He ran the winner, Super Dude, to a length in the Lion Brown Handicap, and would have reduced that gap had he dodged trouble in the running.

A freshened Steel King could give strength to the Canterbury assault on the race.

This former northerner was twice placed at middle distances — both races were won by Handsome Heir — on the Canterbury May circuit, and sandwiched a fifth at 1600 m between those runs.

River Raider, a six-year-old from Southland, gets a chance to improve a strong record on Washdyke in the Belmont Handicap, second leg of the T.A.B. double. He beat class ! sprinters on the course on July 6, and should be capable of meeting the demands of an additional 5.5 kg over 1200 m tomorrow.

The Kid’s fourth behind River Raider earlier in the month, was not at all a bad run for a three-year-old

having his first start since February, and there might not be a more likely improver in this field. The Kid is trained at Riccarton by Peter Jones. Other members of the Jones family of trainers also have a lively interest, in the Belmont Handicap, the Winga-tui-based Cliff with Pinafore and Washdyke’s Barry with Sea Fort. Pinafore had back-to-back wins, both on her home course, before a failure at Washdyke on July 6.

Sea Fort won four races, two of them at the Grand National meeting on his campaign earlier in the season, and his performance fresh up tomorrow will command much interest.