Cellarmaster meets demands of testing track

Press, 3 December 1985, Page 40

Cellarmaster meets demands of testing track

From

ALEX McMILLAN

Greymouth The Ray Pankhursttrained six-year-old, Cellarmaster, best met the demands of 2000 m in atrocious conditions to score an easy win in the W. R. Kettle Memorial Handicap, the feature event at the Greymouth Jockey Club’s postponed meeting at Omoto yesterday. The son of Royal Noble assumed control with 700 m to run in the $5OOO event and was never placed under any strain from that point, winning by two and a half lengths in a very slow 2:19, from Gay King, a strong finisher from well down the field.

Applicate struggled home for third, 10 lengths back, with the rest arriving at lengthy intervals. Cellarmaster is raced by a Blenheim telephone operator, Mr Noel Driver, in partnership with his wife, Lynnley, and had only entered the stable of Ray Pankhurst in early October. After being broken in by Mr Driver, Cellarmaster was placed with the Riccarton trainer, Neil Beri, for whom he won three races. When Beri relinquished his trainer’s licence earlier this year Cellarmaster was sent north to join the stable of the Awapuni trainer, Eric Temperton, finishing in the money in four of his five race starts under his care.

After racing at Blenheim in September, Cellarmaster joined the Pankhurst team and yesterday’s success was his second to date from that stable, his other win coming at Gore at Labour weekend.

A $4OO purchase at the Waikato Sales, Cellarmaster has now earned about $15,000 from his five wins and will now be freshened in preparation for the West Coast New Year circuit.

The Kettle Memorial was the final leg of the T.A.B. treble at Omoto yesterday, with, the first two legs also resulting in easy wins for representatives of South island stables.

Epatante, a three-year-old filly in the Leithfield stable of Neil Coulbeck demonstrated easy mastery of the testing conditions to score an all-the-way win in the 1100 m Mullken Improvers, the opening leg of the treble.

The daughter of Schweppeshire Lad was never really threatened after settling in front, and although briefly challenged for the pacemaking role by the Hawera-trained favourite, Gold Fort, clearly had the measure of that runner before the home turn.

Palastone, which received a good run in third position for most of the journey, ran on solidly in the concluding stages to get within threequarters of a length of the winner with Gold Fort three lengths back, third. Red Lancer, a stablemate of Cellarmaster, also employed front-running tactics to win the middle leg of the treble, the Steels Shoestore Improvers (1500 m The Imperial Guard four-year-old relished the conditions and after kicking clear on the home turn was easing down at the post, four lengths clear of White Lie, with El Rana a similar distance back, third. The dominating favourite, Sawdust, was never seriously in contention and ended up a distant sixth. The success of Red Lancer was the first of a hat-trick of wins for the Riccarton horseman, Grant Davison, who also partnered Cellarmaster to victory and the Jim Lalor-trained Mainstream to a long-overdue first win in the Jim Craig Maiden.