Phillips on leading lights in Riccarton double

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 9

Phillips on leading lights in Riccarton double

By

J. J. BOYLE

The North Island jockey Garry Phillips, made a brilliant contribution to the opening day of the 1983 Grand National meeting by landing four winners from six attempts.

One of his successful mounts on that programme was the Masterton-trained Strategy, and that seven-year-old will be his hopeful for the Amalgamated Packaging Handicap, first leg of the Canterbury Jockey Club’s T.A.B. double tomorrow. Strategy’s record this winter holds out encouragement for his prospects of improving his Riccarton record tomorrow. He showed dogged qualities to win over 2200 m on a heavy track at Hastings on June 22, and his only start since yielded a fourth over 1600 m at Awapuni on July 20. Strategy, with his 53.5 kg, will receive 3.5 kg from the top weight, Miles Better, and 2.5 kg from Soaring High. Miles Better is struggling to regain form, but Soaring High has an encouraging mix of middle distance and metric mile form for this one, and could land up the strongest of the South Island fancies if the track is heavy. The Riccarton-trained Rattle the Sabre, an entrant for the big cups in Australia, gets probably his final chance to clinch a spring programme across the Tasman in tomorrow’s race. He finished at a great rate for second in the 1400 m Brabazon Handicap last Saturday and if he performs with equal efficiency over the longer trip tomorrow he could be the stumbling block for the best of the others. Rattle the Sabre is provisionally booked on a flight

to Australia on August 15, and a satisfactory performance from him tomorrow could lead to a programme of early spring races in Sydney, with the Melbourne carnival to follow. The Eric Tempertontrained Nalu has not performed wonders since she won a double at the Grand National meeting last year, but her absence from the ranks of winners this winter allows her into this race with 51.5 kg, and judged on a recent third at Wanganui and a fourth at Levin she could well capitalise on the situation. Nalu is a stablemate of Flying Tui, another winner at Riccarton a year ago, and, more to the point, an impressive last-start winner over 1600 m at the Manawatu Hunt meeting on July 20. Three days before he won at Awapuni, Flying Tui was a brilliant finisher for second to Kerykeion in the Horowhenua Centennial Cup, 1600 m. Riccarton’s In the Glen finished third in that race as a lead-up to her win in last week’s Brabazon.

In the Glen won the Christchurch Hunt’s 1400 m feature flat event in style and in her present form she should go close again. Orb will bring a youthful talent into the race. Last season’s Dunedin and Southland Guineas winner is set something more formidable than the demands of the 1200 m sprint he won fresh up on his home course at Washdyke on July 20, but he makes obvious appeal from his position in the middle of the handicap. Noble Note, Chook a Rook, and Buffy Beaufort will have to fin'd improvement on their Brabazon Handicap runs, and a more popular fancy will be the Awapuni-trained Bronze Valley, which went within a half head of victory in the Winter Cup last year, and was fourth last time out in the Whyte Handicap at Trantham. Bronze Valley will be ridden by Garry Phillips, who won last year’s Paparua on Genera Lee, a runner for Paddy Busuttin’s stable. Busuttin has Respring as a form runner for tomorrow’s race.