Battling effort in Stakes by N.Z. pair

Press, 14 October 1985, Page 36

Battling effort in Stakes by N.Z. pair

NZPA Sydney The New Zealanders, Lacka Reason and The Filbert, wound up their preparation for the Caulfield Cup next week with battling places in the Caulfield Stakes in Melbourne on Saturday. The pair were beaten by the Sir Tristram mare, Tristarc, which made the most of her 4.5 kg pull under weight for age to skip away from the New Zealanders and score by a length-and-a-half. The riders of the two New Zealanders both complained later that they had been crowded in the closing stages by the riderless Riverdale, losing vital ground. The feature race was the ?NZ183,000 Caulfield Guineas, which provided another major triumph for expatriate New Zealand jockey Jimmy Cassidy. Cassidy, who won the A.J.C. Metropolitan on Spritely Native last week, and is heading the Sydney jockeys’ premiership, won the race with a beautifully judged ride on the ponysized colt, Drawn. In a superbly judged race, Cassidy allowed the Austra-lian-bred colt - which cost just JNZ732O as a yearling — to drop out to the back then surge through on the rails when the field fanned out in the straight for the run home. ' The only horse to get near him was the New Zealand-bred filly Shankhillyv.

Lass, which stormed up to her rival in the shadow of the post only to have the little colt kick again and score by a head with the crack Melbourne colt, Acumen, third, ridden by another expatriate New Zealand jockey, Gary Willetts. The $NZ122,000 Elders Mile was tipped to become a New Zealand benefit with the' 1600 m specialists Shifnal Prince, Kingdom Bay and Avana in the field. But it was another bargain-buy, the New Zealand-bred King Phoenix, which charged away with the race — formerly the IXL — to score by a length. Shifnal Prince crossed the line second but was relegated to third after a protest from the jockey of Wise Call. Fourth went to former New Zealander Delightful Belle, while the other two visiting New Zealanders finished back in the pack, with Kingdom Bay seventh and Avana eighth. The Adelaide trainer, Colin Hayes, had his excitement at the performance of Delightful Belle tempered by the failure of his two other charges Trichelle, a full sister to Caulfield-Mel-bourne Cups double winner Gumer’s Lane, and former New Zealander, Fine Offer, which tailed the field home.

The New Zealand camp can, however, take comfort from, the result of the $NZ73,200 Caulfield Stakes (2000 m The race began sensationally when the favourite,

Riverdale, knuckled and dumped his rider as he jumped at the start. With the riderless gelding heading the field, it was left to the former New Zealander, Sir Zephyr, with Cassidy up, to lead the field. The Zamazaan four-year-old did all the work until the field straightened and Lacka Reason and The Filbert took up the running. However, both runners had trouble with Riverdale, with The Filbert, especially, being inconvenienced, and it was Tristarc which skipped clear and raced away to a length and a half victory from Lacka Reason, with The Filbert three-quarters of a length further back. Sir Zephyr held on for fourth, and Exocet, which never really saw the light of day in the pack, came home solidly for ninth. Among the other beaten runners were such big names as Our Sophia, which was just winding up in finishing fifth, ahead of the former New Zealander, What a Nuisance, Bounty Hawk and Black Knight. Last home, three behind Exocet, was King Delamere. Exocet, Lacka Reason and The Filbert all carried 59kg under the weight-for-age conditions, giving weight to Tristarc, which who had only 54.5 kg on her back, and it should be a different story in the Caulfield Cup this week. Tristarc drops 4kg for the Cup, but the visiting New Zealanders drop slightly 54.5kg.

Noel Harris, who rode Lacka Reason, was impressed with the gelding’s effort which comes a week after his win in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. “It was a great run and it was the weight that made the. difference in the end,” he said later.

“I had to go wide to work up to the leaders and under 59kg he kept boxing away. It was a smashing Cup trial.”

The trainer, Margaret Bull, said she expected the change in weights would make all the difference for Lacka Reason, which will be ridden by Gary Willetts in the Cup. Garry Phillips was equally pleased with The Filbert, saying his mount had been badly checked by Riverdale after the start.

“He was doing his best work at the finish and the drop in weight next Saturday is in his favour," Phillips said. Cassidy said Sir Zephyr needed the run, and the way he bowled along at the front of the pack augured well for the rest of the campaign. In the ?NZ73,200 Herbert Power Handicap over 2400 m, the battling New Zealand seven-year-old, Rose and Thistle, now trained in Melbourne, made a bold bid to steal the race in the straight, only to be run down by New Zealandbred Fil de Roi, which scored by a half a neck, with the Melbourne Cup hope, Late Show, rattling home for third.