Bright stars shine on brilliant Ellerslie programme

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 27

Bright stars shine on brilliant Ellerslie programme

By

J. J. BOYLE

New Zealand racing presented its finest aspect on Air New Zealand Stakes day at picturesque Ellerslie on Saturday.

Air New Zealand Stakes day is a promotion for its time, successful because it represents co-operation by disparate elements, backed up by imaginative marketing and promotion to attract brilliant performers whose talents are being honed for rich Australian autumn events. None of those performers on Saturday aroused more expectations than did Tidal Light. None aroused more curioity than Waverley Star. Record-breaking runs by both of them, achieved with elan, placed the stamp of excellence on what has become one of the greatest days of the New Zealand racing year. Tidal Light, the bargain filly that cannot be bought for $l.l million, placed the seal of excellence on a spectacular three-year-old home season by winning the $175,000 Air New Zealand Stakes. She ran about 15 metres over the official 2000 m in a record 1:59.89, scorched through the final 1600 m in 1:33.79, and the last 800 m in 46.41, in beating Solveig by a length and three-quarters. Mr Warren Taylor’s Diagramatic filly put up all the reassuring signals as her connections look to rich autumn three-year-old races in Sydney. Jim Gibbs, the senior

partner in the training of Tidal Light, has air bookings to Sydney for either March 11 or 13, and the programme for the young star of the New Zealand summer is the $200,000 Tooheys Canterbury Guineas, the $250,000 William Inglis Rosehill Guineas and the $750,000 Tooheys A.J.C. Derby. / Gibbs inquired from Australian racing writers on Saturday if racing officials would allow him to gallop Tidal Light between races at Warwick Farm on March 14. Then he had a second thought. Why not, he mused, make a profitable exercise of the outing? March 14 is Chipping Norton Stakes day. It’s a weight-for-age metricmile worth $68,000 to the winner. "She will be coming back to a shorter distance, but she’ll power home and be right in it,” Gibbs said on Saturday. The Chipping Norton Stakes could also be on Waverley Star’s programme, but an alternative race for the brilliant Australian-owned, Mata-mata-trained chestnut is the D.B. Mile at Trentham that day. Waverley Star lost his place to Tidal Light as record-holder for 2000 m at Ellerslie on Saturday,

but he was not out of the records for long. His time of 1:21.01 for his superb weight-carry-ing victory over 1400 m in the Koru Club on Saturday bettered the previous track record by more than a second. Waverley Star carried 58.5 kg, came from second last in the field of seven, and won by a length and a quarter from the Awapuni-trained Silver Elm, which had been the tail-ender. David Walsh had to change his course on Silver Elm early in the run home but that did not have any bearing on the result. Waverley Star won coasting to bring up his 11th victory and advance his stake earnings to over $390,000. Earlier in the day Waverley Star’s stablemate Kyrie Eleison encountered traffic problems on the way to a gallant second behind Tri Belle in the $50,000 Lindauer Stakes, the feature race for three-year-old fillies. Kyrie Eleison, like the winner, is a daughter of the champion Sir Tristram, and that eminent sire might have been denied the distinction of a race trifecta only because his third representative.

Starline, was shuffled about and pushed vejy wide at a vital stage of the race. Tri Belle and Starline were both running for the Ray Verner stable. Starline owed her position as favourite to her easy win in the New Zealand Oaks, but there was quiet stable confidence in Tri Belle at 2000 m. Besides, Starline was unsettled and dropped her rider in the birdcage before Saturday’s race, altogether lacking the composure of Tri Belle. Then when they got down to racing, Starline took some time to settle at the back. In contrast Tri Belle took up a position in midfield and was sending out reassuring signals for Gary Stewart behind the leading group running to the home turn. Under instructions, Stewart kicked Tri Belle through to a clear lead on straightening up and established what proved to be a vital break, one that Kyrie Eleison reduced but could not close. Etoile d’Or ran right up to her best summer form with a gutsy third just ahead of Sounds Like Fun, which had beaten her into third in the New Zealand Oaks. Magdelaine and Starline were almost in line next.