True Roman improver

Press, 14 May 1986, Page 42

True Roman improver

Special correspondent Auckland

No matter how True Roman shapes in his race at Alexandra Park tonight, it seems pretty certain he will go better in Saturday night’s Rowe Cl The six-year-old gelding, Australia’s top trotter, is feeling the effects of a gruelling trip which lasted over 10 hours from the time he left home in Sebastian, Victoria, until he reached Auckland in the early hours of Monday morning. “It was no wonder ne lost some weight,’’ his trainer, Graeme Johannesen, said after working

him quietly at Alexandra Park yesterday. The float trip to Melbourne took two hours. It was another two hours before he was loaded on to the aircraft. “Then there was another hitch,” Johannesen recalls ruefully, “which meant two hours on the plane before we finally took off.”

Everything went "just fine” after landing in Auckland, for which Johannesen says he is very grateful. But it was still nearly 2 a.m. on Monday before True Roman arrived at Alexandra Park, where he is being stabled.

True Roman has not eaten very well since he has been here. He is beginning to pick up, though, according to Johannesen.

In the circumstances, True Roman faces a difficult assignment in the Impact Windows Handicap Trot tonight. As well as being on 15 metres in a capacity field, he will be racing for the first time on a righthanded track.

A son of the New Zea-land-bred mare Romanda (by Goodland), True Roman has the outstanding record of 40 starts for 28 wins, four seconds and one third. His stake-earn-ings are $110,918. ’v