Noble Note lowers track record

Press, 8 November 1984, Page 28

Noble Note lowers track record

By ALEX McMILLAN Noble Note completed a successful day for his connections when he outfinished Tirana to win the 1400 m Members’ Handicap at Riccarton yesterday. The five-year-old gelded son of Noble Bijou and Stop Press, part-owned by his breeder, Mr Richard Johnson, had only returned to New Zealand on Friday after campaigning successfully in Queensland over the winter. Noble Note won two races in Brisbane under the care of his Riccarton trainer, John Bourne, before entering the stable of Neville Begg when Bourne returned home in August. Noble Note, a brother and stablemate of Xerox, an easy winner — in the same colours — of the Ashley

Handicap earlier in the day, was settled well back in the early running by Grant Davison who also partnered Xerox, and had to post a new track record to win yesterday. His winning time of 1:21.77 was well inside the previous best of Imin 22.07 s set by Upper Cut and only 0.36 s outside the national record held by Mac’s Gamble. The manner in which the bay settled and ran out the 1400 m journey yesterday suggested that he would have real prospects when asked to perform over more ground in Saturday’s 2000 m Canterbury Gold Cup. Harbor Flo provided her rider, David Peake, with his only win for the day when she overcame a No. 16 barrier draw to win the

Ellesmere 1400, completing a $34.60 T.A.B. treble with Kingdom Bay and Noble Note. The’ four-year-old chestnut daughter of Harbor Prince, which regularly occupied the position of runner-up behind Hint in three-year-old fillies events last season, was soon in front in yesterday’s race and held out a determined challenge from Double Lang by a length, with Sea Swift and Noble Ella close up. Harbor Flo, prepared at Riccarton by Garth Jackson, was recording only her second career win yesterday, but with nine seconds, a third and a fourth placing already to her credit she advanced her stake earnings to $14,265.