Sprinters trial at Ashburton for Miles Better

Press, 24 June 1985, Page 35

Sprinters trial at Ashburton for Miles Better

By

J. J. BOYLE

That durable veteran Miles Better will be on trial for another North Island campaign when he runs against the sprinters in the Couplands Handicap at Ashburton tomorrow.

The Southland jockey Neil Ridley has been engaged to ride the rising 12-year-old, which showed he is still carrying his years lightly with his last-start second to Pawky at Rotorua on May 25.

If he comes through tomorrow’s race to the satisfaction of his owner-trainer Myles Johnson, Miles Better will race at least once at the Wellington winter meeting.

Mr Johnson would have welcomed a wider gap between the Parliamentary Handicap (Wednesday), and the Winter Oats (Saturday),

the feature middle distance flat races at Trentham, but valuable opportunities in the north at about that time do not begin and end with the Wellington meeting. There is the $30,000 Taumarunui Gold Cup, run a week after the Winter Oats, on July 20, and on July 27 the $13,000 Radio Pacific Handicap at the Waikato Racing club’s meeting. Miles Better is top weight with 59kg in the first leg of tomorrow’s Ashburton T.A.B. double.

Below him are enough form runners to assure the Ashburton club of a wide range of betting. The leading jockey, David Walsh, who took his tally for the season to 122 wins with two victories at Hastings on Saturday, has the Riccarton-trained Double Bank as his hopeful for the Couplands Handicap. Earlier on the pro-

gramme he will ride Speedy Prophet, Lezulea, and Ampac. He has been engaged for Macho Man in the Bayer Rintal Handicap, second leg of the T.A.B. double, first leg of the T.A.B. treble.

The Walsh mounts for other legs of the T.A.B. treble are Slick Million and Jack’s Lad.

Slick Million gave Walsh his only success on his most recent South Island working visit, at Washdyke on June 7.

Grant Elliot is another North Islander coming south to ride at tomorrow’s meeting. He has had a successful association with Michael Pitman’s Riccarton stable, and will attempt to improve it on Cahir, Famillion, and Sweet Chat.

Other Elliot mounts tomorrow are Double Time and Orchestrate.