Wedgewood poised to start season on winning note

Press, 15 August 1986, Page 24

Wedgewood poised to start season on winning note

By G. K. YULE Wedgewood looks poised to start his five-year-old racing on a winning note in the Lion Brown Handicap, the first leg of the T.A.B. double on the opening night of the N.Z. Metropolitan Trotting Club’s National meeting at Addington Raceway tomorrow evening.

This meeting usually marks the start of racing which has a valuable part in the lead-up to the Toyota New Zealand Cup in November, but this year the trotters will hold centre stage. Unfavourable weather affecting training operations has prevented many trainers having their fast-class horses forward enough to resume; but others feel that the heavy demands to be made on their horses between November and April makes it necessary to delay the start to their spring campaigns. Wedgewood has been away from racing since he failed at Alexandra Park in May. He looked fairly well forward when paraded recently at trials and he is favourably placed on the front

Few trotters race better than Spangled Pride when they are on the fresh side. He looked in great heart when he was successful at the Addington trials on Wednesday and he will only have to reproduce that run to offer more than token opposition to Wedgewood and other fairly high-ranked performers among his rivals. Simon Katz was one of the most consistent trotters in Canterbury from last spring until the autumn. However, he failed to reproduce anything like his true form at the Rowe Cup meeting at Alexandra Park with his efforts removes below his best. Simon Katz is much too good to leave out of calculations and, if Dick Prendergast has him anywhere

near his best, he should beat most in this race. Novander and Game Greg went fairly at the trials on Wednesday and they should be improved. They could be outside chances, but might be stretched to match By The Way, a big disappointment in a light campaign of four starts last term.

Loveridge, one of the more exciting prospects in the intermediate classes, looks the one to beat in the second leg, the Firestone Sherpa Pace, a race in which the Kurow Cup winner, El Victory, and Andronicus look likely to provide most opposition. Gentle Sir, Braedoon and Sir Alba all have ability above average and they, too, must be considered.

Race 6 D ®- 10 LION BROWN HANDICAP $10,000; OC; trotters; 2600 m 1 7807 By The Way 1 G. Ryder It Has not raced since last November. Top trotter when right and too good to leave out 2 0913 Gama Greg 2 F. Williams It Trotted soundly in weaker company towards the end of last season. Should benefit from racing at trials and could be one for an upset 3 4690 Simon Kata 3 R. Prendergast It Form fell away at the end of the season, but was one of the best of his gait before that. Should be a leading chance. 4 4 Wee Mull 4 J- Brown It Fair run for fourth to Fidelis at Washdyke on August 4. This will be harder. 5 3100 Mendalepride 5 S. Miller It First start since he turned in a disap-

pointing run in March. Hard to recommend. 6 3100 Wedgewood 6...... Cde Filippi It Failed in Auckland in May, but looked well at recent trials and should match most in this field. 7 6064 Novander 7 J. Wheeler It Form last season rather mixed. Looks fairly well forward and could be placed. 8 000 Infiamer 8 R. Geddes It Failed badly in limited campaign last season. Outside chance at best 9 0510 Spangled Pride 9 F. Fletcher It Has not raced since last December, but big run likely after bold run at trials on Wednesday. 10 6073 Jamie Higgins 10 R. Butt It Went well enough at times last season to be a rough chance. Goes well when on the fresh side. 11 9977 Game Traveller 11... I. Schwamm it Also in race two. Will be tested in this company.

in need of race. Rough chance. 5 0531 Gentle Sir 5. ....... K. O’Reilly it Raced well late last season. Speedy and could be a threat 6 5 Braedoon 6 G. Hope It Made a bold showing when fifth in Kurow Cup. Sure to be improved and might not be far away. 7 9201 El Victory 7 R. Butt It Game run for victory in Kurow Cup. Most consistent and must be a leading chance. 8 1660 Sura Ho Can 8 1. Cameron it Tired badly in Kurow Cup. Capable of better, but could still need a run. 9 2071 Andronieua 9 K. Vincent it Won Canterbury Park in May. Impressive at trials and cannot be left ouL 10 3142 Sir Alba 10 M. de Filippi It One of the top three-year-olds last season. Well up to this chance and too good to discard.

Jetbet: 4 Race 1 5.35 AIR NEW ZEALAND MOBILE PACE $5000; C3 and C4; 2600m. 1 1352 Kiss and Coo 1. . . . . C. de Filippi It 2 3471 Lordic 2 A. Butt It 3 2176 Dunlord 3 . . . . D. Nyhan It 4 1019 Friendly Lord 4. . . . . . L. O’Reilly It 5 6473 Vicki McQuade 5. . .P. O’Reilly jun it 6 1780 Monteith 6 . ... C. Ryder It - 7 0900 Lord Tryax 7 . . . . G. Laing It 8 0625 Thomlea 8 . Jill Smolenskl It 9 4132 Lordado 9 . J. Carmichael it 10 3816 Idle Thoughts 10. . . . M. Edmonds it 11 5284 Nat 11 . . . R. Brosnan it 12 8842 My Locality 12 . . . . . . . J. Curtin It Race 2 6.05 AUSTRALIAN RUGBY UNION HANDICAP TROT $5000; C3; trotters; 2600m 1 1210 That’s It 1 G. Hope It 2 1177 Captain Grattan 2 . A. Neal it 3 6521 Fidelis 3 . . . C. de Filippi it 4 8329 Regal Rebel 4. . . . . . . . R. Nyhan It 5 5211 Cracker 5 R. Butt It 6 0005 Sumac 6 . K. McCormick It 7 8250 Evander Gratis UR. . L. Beddington It 8 1007 Auto Craft 1 . . .K. Townley 10 9 3069 Four Loaf 2 . .M. Smolensk! 10 10 0600 Delacouri 3 . J. Carmichael 10 11 9977 Game Traveller 1. . . . I. Schwamm 20 12 1449 Sheltoe 2 . . . P. Brosnan 20 13 4060 Lady Sadie 3 ... . . . J. Smolensk! 20 Race 3 T 6.40 MOORES DRY CLEANERS PACE $4500; C2; 2600m 1 7814 Otapiri Crown 1 . . . . . . D. Moore It 2 4053 El Rivero 2 G. Hope it 3 0010 Whoopee 3 . . . P. Brosnan It 4 5740 Crackerash 4 . . . . . . . .G. Archer it 5 8766 Gleniti 5 M. Butt it 6 1442 Regal Visit 6 . . . . 7 1950 Rob Roy MacGregor 8 1027 Torrip Gold 8. . . . A. Robb it 7 J. Carmichael . . C. de Filippi it It 9 2214 Silence 9 G. Laing it 11 0930 Even Key 11 . . .C. Harrison it 12 3280 Kotare Pewter 12. . . . . . R. Negus It 14 0075 Gold Row 14 ... D. Van der Werf It 16 3980 Kula 16 J. Hay it Scratched: In Tune, Olympic Medal, Bramble Hanover.

Race 4 T, TF 7.10 UNITED BUILDING SOCIETY MOBILE PACE $5800; C4 and C5; 2600m 1 0984 Young Lord 1. . . . . . .J. Hampton It 2 6770 French Lord 2 . . . A. Butt It 3 0490 Shirt’s Lord 3... . . . J. Smolensk! It 4 0060 Lirelle 4 . . . R. Brosnan It 5 8817 Maddie 5 Gerrard O’Reilly It 6 6025 Rolls Hanover 6. . . R. Butt It 7 5077 Timandra 7 . . . . P. Young It 8 0700 Tuapeka Wreka 8. . . . . . R. Payne It 9 1213 Elbon Blue 9 ... . . . . K. O’Reilly It 10 0706 Toris 10 . . . . P. Shand It 11 7532 Star Lady 11 . . . . . . C. de Filippi It 12 6390 Sapphire King 12. . J. Hay It Race 5 T 740 CHUNG WAH RESTAURANT HANDICAP PACE $5050; four-year-olds; 2600m 1 3419 Cleft Le Ven 1 . . . . . J. Smolensk! It 3 8975 Spangled Patron 3. . J. Carmichael It 5 38 Paleface Beau 5 . . . . . R. Brosnan It 6 Revolution 6 . . . . R. Payne It 7 0628 Troubador 7 .... A. Scobie It 8 7478 Burly Boy 8 A. Butt It 9 1 Mireille 9. ..... . . . M. Edmonds It 10 3513 Lady Rana 10. . . . . . . . R. Nyhan It 11 7641 Iffy Tryax 11 . . B. Borcoskie It 12 8032 Sir Avon 12 A. Robb It 13 7912 Floyd 1 . .M. de Filippi 10 14 6151 Oslo 2 . . C. Middleton 10 15 6418 Bionic Raider 3. . . . . .L. Kerstake 10 16 0013 Cotton On UR . . . A. Lowe 10 Scratched: Rio Fillae, Tinka’s Best

Race 7 840 FIRST MINET MATHERS MOBILE PACE $4000; Cl; 2600m I 4310 Idle Dollar 1 R. May It 2 6861 Star Lobell 2 . J. Carmichael It 3 5543 Smirk Jones 3 ... . . .T. Henderson It 4 8990 Dejeuner 4 T. Butt It 5 5050 Rustler 5 A. Butt It 6 1050 Koau Light 6 . .M. de Filippi It 7 7566 Field Day 7 . . . . .1. O’Reilly It 8 0008 Dreamy Kid 8 . . . P. Shand It 9 6909 The Mark 9 ......, . ,T. Thompson It 10 4343 Handy Andy 10... . .P. O’Reilly jun It 11 6607 Brimstone il ... I. Walker It 12 8000 Bay Timer 12 . . C. de Filippi It 13 0017 Our Patch 13 . . . R. Brosnan It Race 8 D 9.10 FIRESTONE SHERPA PACE $7500; C6 and C7; mobile; 2600m 1 0 The Gun 1 J. Hay It No danger in Kurow Cup on Wednesday. Hard to recommend on that run. 2 4237 Loveridge 2 It First start since February. Impressive at trials and looks the likely winner. 3 2016 Travel Warrant 3 . . . . J. Smolensk! It Raced generously in the early winter. Good enough to be close up. 4 4600 Chlpaluck 4 . . C. de Filippi It Made no impression in Kurow Cup when

Race 9 9.40 CANTERBURY RUGBY UNION HANDICAP PACE $4800; three-year-olds; 2000m 1 049 Stanley Frost 1. . . G. Hope it 2 5584 False Image 2. . . . . P. Blackmore It 3 All the Rage 3 . . . R. May it 4 Percy Redwood 4. . . . . M. Rennie it 5 800 Torfelia 5 . . . . P. Shand it 6 0607 Lord GUda 6 . . . . .P. Jones It 7 Le Marais 7. . . . . . ,F. Newfield it 8 8609 Nat’s Giri 8 . . R. Cameron It 9 Koau Victor 9. . . . . . C. de Filippi It 10 096 Unique Kiwi 10. . . . .M. de Filippi it 11 90 Admiral Grace 11 . J. Hay it 12 0300 Sir Robert 1 . . C. Middleton 10 13 1 Jacobstown 2. . . . . . . R. Brosnan 10 Race 10 10.10 SECOND MtNET MATHERS MOBILE PACE $4000; Cl; 2600m 1 6427 Alias Babe 1 . . . . . . .C. Newfield It 2 2284 Lulah 2 A. Butt It 4 0763 Southern Raider 4 . . . C. de Filippi it 5 731 Refugee 5 . . C. Middleton It 6 5022 Sea World 6 . . . K. Vincent It 7 0057 Delnina 7 . . . P. Holmes It 8 0000 Dark Man 8 . . . R. Asqueth it 9 0707 Golden Magic 9. . . . . . .L. Wigzell it 10 3760 Hurricane Jo 10. . . . . . . M. House It 11 0304 Keytone II . . . I. Cameron It 12 3314 Falcon Hanover 12. . . . .J. Verstey It Scratched: Staron.