Leading jockey could ‘click’ with Riccarton stablemates

Press, 15 May 1985, Page 48

Leading jockey could ‘click’ with Riccarton stablemates

By

J. J. BOYLE

The Riccarton stablemates, In the Glen and Harbor Flo, should give the leading jockey, David Walsh, excellent chances of keeping his record moving at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s meeting today.

In the Glen runs in the W. D. Skelton Farewell, the T.A.B. trifecta event, first leg of the T.A.B. double, and third leg of the T.A.B. treble. Harbor Flo gets her chance in the Foglia d’Oro Handicap. Both ran for Garth Jackson’s stable in the Cuddle Stakes at Trentham last Saturday week, Harbour Flo finishing faster than most for fourth, and In the Glen winding up sixth from a position well down the field. Taken on to Awapuni for the Marton meeting last week, Harbor Flo ran a close second over a middle distance, and In the Glen’

was unplaced at a metric mile. The change to soft footing keeps In the Glen on the short list of fancies for today’s 1600 m race. She won the equivalent event in the hands of Grant Cooksley last year, and is seasoned enough and brave enough to perform well under her 56kg. She will receive weight only from Buffy Beaufort, which has had an identical programme recently, with unrewarding starts at Trentham and Awapuni. Perhaps a better guide to Buffy Beaufort’s chances will be her performance to run Canterbury Belle to a

nose over 1600 m on the third day of the Easter meeting at Riccarton. Steel King has something of a talent for 1600 m when the tracks ease, and when he had conditions of that order he beat some good metric milers in the James Hazlett Stakes at Wingatui in December. Dios, Grant Cooksley’s mount today, did not look far from her peak when sixth fresh up over 1400 m at the Nelson meeting, and the change in track conditions will assure her of strong backing from those who remember her easy wins on rain-affected tracks on the West Coast in January.

Upper Cut, Black Arrow, and Dainty Dish performed creditably in the 1200 m sprint on the tight Rangiora track last Saturday, and are capable of better at Riccarton. Bernadone, a Wingatui trained Palatable gelding which has shown finishing powers over shorter distances recently, could trouble the best Canterbury can put into the field for the Noir Filou Handicap, second leg of the T.A.B. double. He won in style in the soft over 1200 m at Riverton at Easter and was an unlucky third over the same distance at Wingatui on Anzac Day.