N.Z. stud duty planned for Preux Chevalier

Press, 11 March 1985, Page 30

N.Z. stud duty planned for Preux Chevalier

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney

The Western Australian pacer, Preux Chevalier, proved his claim to being the best harness horse racing in Australia and New Zealand when he stormed away with the InterDominion Grand Final at Moonee Valley in Melbourne on Saturday evening. Now it is planned to stand the champion at stud in the South Island next year. The New Zealand-bred six year old did it all the way from the front in the 2870 m final, snookering his fellow westerner, Village Kid, until it was too late for the former New Zealander to present a decent challenge, and ending the reign of dual champion, Gammalite. The only trouble Preux Chevalier had was at the start when a runner from the front row slowed him down, but after sprinting for the first half-mile he took over from Village Kid at the front and settled down to dominate for the rest of the race. For the next two laps it was a procession, with Village Kid, the only horse to have beaten Preux Chevalier this season and the only real threat in the race, boxed in right behind. The only real excitement came with a lap to go when the title-holder Gammalite, in his last race before retiring to stud, made his bid from well back. To the roar of the 37,000 record crowd, the old champion surged down the back straight but could make no further impression as the field rounded the last bend and he came home gallantly for fourth. Preux Chevalier meanwhile took the brakes off in the home straight as Game Oro came with a blistering run from the back, and was well clear to score by two metres, with Village Kid a frustrated second and Game Oro third. For the New Zealand contingent, forced to watch from the sidelines, solace of sorts came in the previous race when Enterprise took

out the Consolation Final. The New Zealander, which missed a place in the final when a breaking horse took him out of position in the last of the heats a week ago, was full of class as he j*an down the speedy Australian mare, Karamea Duplicity, in the straight, with the New Zealand mare Lady El third. Enterprise started from barrier eight after a late scratching and the inclusion of an emergency forced a field reshuffle. He was quickly into an ideal 1-1 on the outside, while Lady El took up the trail behind the pacemaker. Into the second round a lead change forced Enterprise back through the pack, but his driver, Peter Shand, was having none of it and pushed Enterprise back to his former station with a lap and a half to go. Karamea Duplicity ran in the “death seat” all the way outside Lady El, and on the home turn Enterprise was forced to come five wide to challenge the leaders. “He went straight through them,” said his trainer, Pat Heffernan, yesterday. “He went down the outside to score by a metre. We’re pleased with the result, but we would have much rather been in the main final.” Lady El, which had given her all tracking the pacemaker throughout the journey, did not have enough left to match it with Karamea Duplicity, but gave her trainer-driver, Robin Butt, more expense money by holding out the rest for third. The final night of the 1985 Inter-Dominions saw a return to form of the New Zealander Direct Kiwi, which shrugged off a virus that laid him low on the first night and finished a fast-finishing second in a 2400 m free-for-all. Racing near the back for most of the journey, John

Langdon pulled his charge out on the home turn and came with a good run to miss the main prize by a head from Man of the Moment. Among the also-rans was the New Zealand Cup winner, Camelot, which raced at the front for most of the journey but faded in the run home to beat only a fellow New Zealander, Joy Boy, home. The youngster Lord Louie, was seventh in a race against his own age group in a four-year-old Classic Mobile over 2400m.Yesterday, Preux Chevalier’s, owner, Ken Lavin, said the horse will race for one more season. “He’ll race for one more season then he will be retired to stand stud duty in New Zealand. “Preux Chevalier will not go to the United States under any circumstances,” said Mr Lavin. “He’s got nothing to prove by going there and why should he with so many races here?” Mr Lavin declined to say which stud Preux Chevalier would stand at, but he did say in was in the South Island of New Zealand. Mr Lavin, a former New Zealander now living in

Perth, said that he has refused two extremely large offers for his champion. “I turned down $1 million a few weeks ago, when I was in New Zealand at the yearling sales. “Since then I have been offered $1.25 million for him from an Australian syndicate,” he said. Preux Chevalier will now go for a three-month spell.