Ma Chiquita close sixth in Golden Slipper

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 35

Ma Chiquita close sixth in Golden Slipper

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney

New Zealand will have to wait another year for Golden Slipper riches after the gallant filly Ma Chiquita ran a blazing sixth, just over a length from the winner, in the glamour sprint at Rosehill on Saturday. No New Zealand horse has ever won Australia’s premier race for two-year-olds, at present the richest race in Australia and reputed to be the richest for the age group in the world, and the Last Tango filly was rated a top chance to make 1985 New Zealand’s year. However, it was a luckless day for the New Zealanders, with the stayers, Imaprince and Rose ana Thistle, running fourth and fifth in the $400,000 Tancred Stakes, the richest weight-for-age race in Australia.

In the Golden Slipper, Ma Chiquita was left languishing by the hard early pace, but came home quickly round the pack to be running down her rivals in the last furlong of the 1200 m

sprint and finished just a length and a quarter from the winner.

The $600,000 Golden Slipper went to the South Australian colt, Rory’s Jester, which scored by a length from Speed Check, with True Version third and the luckless Timothy, ridden by the former New Zealander, Jimmy Cassidy, fourth, ahead of the favourite, New Atlantis.

The victory gave the leading trainer, Colin Hayes, his first win in the feature and Ron Quinton his third riding success in the Slipper in the last four years.

Ma Chiquita jumped cleanly with the field, but the blistering early pace that saw the first 600 m cut out in just 34.15, 2.1 s faster than the closing half, proved her undoing. While the field battled for position, Ma Chiquita drifted back from her No. 10 barrier position to be at the tail of the field after 400 m. Going into the long sweeping home turn, her jockey, Lance O’Sullivan, hooked the filly out and began his charge wide out. By the time the field hit the straight, Ma Chiquita

was in the centre of the track, seemingly hopelessly far back.

In the front, Rory’s Jester got clear of the pack with Speed Check coming out after him and True Version making his bid. Cassidy, looking to become only the second New Zealand jockey after Gary Willetts on the mighty Manikato in 1978 to win the race, had nowhere to go on Timothy when trapped behind Rory’s Jester, and complained later that if he could have got out earlier he would have won.

As the pack spread out going to the line, Ma Chiquita flashed into the picture, just missing the $19,000 fifth place. O’Sullivan later confirmed it was the early speed that beat the filly.

“The others went too fast for her in the early stages and she couldn’t keep up,” he said.

“Once they settled down, I gave her a breather for a furlong, then started her after them again. She came home really good. It was a top run. “I knew when we got that far back she would have her

work cut out, but I always thought she could still do it,” said O’Sullivan. The filly’s trainer, Dave O’Sullivan, said Ma Chiquita would now head home to New Zealand on the first available flight this week, and would be spelled. The win on Rory’s Jester was a triumph for Quinton, who won the race in 1981 and 1982 on Marscay and Sir Dapper, and who turned down the ride on Ma Chiquita in favour of the winner.

Peter Cook, who rode Ma Chiquita to victory in the Magic Night Stakes the previous week to earn her Slipper place, also rejected the mount, choosing instead the filly Sudden, and must be rueing the choice after finishing last. If Speed Check had managed to go one better on Saturday she would have given the West Australian millionaire businessman, Robert Holmes a’Court, a remarkable double of the two richest and most prestigious races in Australia after his horse, Black Knight, won the Melbourne Cup at Flemington in November.