Our Waverley Star attracts attention at Moonee Valley

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 50

Our Waverley Star attracts attention at Moonee Valley

NZPA-AAP Melbourne Outstanding New Zealand galloper, Our Waverley Star, attracted plenty of attention when he had his first look at Moonee Valley at the “breakfast with the stars” track gallop session yesterday morning. A large crowd of spectators watched the big chestnut work over 1600 m with the Neville Beggtrained mares, Ma Chiquita and Never Over. Top New Zealand jockey, Lance O’Sullivan, held Our Waverley Star a couple of lengths behind Never Over and Ma Chiquita but at the 600 m the Star Way entire strode up outside the other pair.

At this point Moonee Valley Cup candidate

Never Over began to drop back. O’Sullivan was content to let Our Waverley Star cruise along outside another Cox Plate entrant, Ma Chiquita, for the remainder of the gallop and eased him up approaching the finish post so that Ma Chiquita finished ahead of him by about a half length. “I eased him up before the post to make sure he got around the turn out of the straight okay,” said O’Sullivan after the gallop. Last year at the same track session a horse slipped on the dewy grass dislodging jockey, Rod Dawkins. Our Waverley Star and Ma Chiquita were timed to run the 1600 m in Imin

445, coming home the last 400 m in 245. Never Over was about 15 lengths behind the pair. The work pleased cotrainer, Paul O’Sullivan, “I wouldn’t say it was a hard gallop but the workout will top him off for Saturday,” he said. The biggest race-clash in Melbourne for a long time will take place when Our Waverley Star races against Bonecrusher in the $750,000 w-f-a W. S. Cox Plate (2040 m at Moonee Valley on Saturday. The race has aroused excitement and anticipation to more than match that surrounding the great Kingston Town when he won his third straight Cox Plate. The O’Sullivan brothers, Paul and Lance, were happy with the way things went yesterday morning. “It was good to trot him around once to have a look around before the gallop. He went well and there were no problems,” said Paul. Paul O’Sullivan and his brother Lance, who will ride Our Waverley Star in the Cox Plate, will walk the track on Friday. They will study the final field before deciding on race tactics. Lance O’Sullivan said that the four-year-old handled the track well and would probably sit

back off the pace in the Cox Plate. Bonecrusher did not appear at Moonee Valley yesterday morning; He had his first and only look at Moonee Valley last Wednesday week and also handled the track well. Bonecrusher will have a gallop at Epsom this morning in preparation for the the Cox Plate. To date the New Zealand pair have met in a race only once with Our Waverley Star the victor in the Admiralty Handicap (1200 m at Ellerslie on August 23. On a heavy track he defeated Matthew Ryan by a short-head with Bonecrusher a neck away third. Both were resuming on that occasion and since then Our Waverley Star and Bonecrusher have each won two of their three starts. Our Waverley Star, raced by Queensland’s Minister for Racing, Russ Hinze, has raced 13 times for 10 wins, a second and a third and his stake earnings stand at sAustl 76,620. Bonecrusher, prepared by Frank Ritchie, ridden by Gary Stewart and raced by Aucklander, Peter Mitchell, has started 23 times for 12 wins, two seconds and five thirds and has earned $Au5t1,045,200.