Frangelico cruises home in 1:57.9 mile

Press, 23 February 1987, Page 27

Frangelico cruises home in 1:57.9 mile

By

JEFF SCOTT

Mark down Frangelico as the surprise package of the 1987 Lion Brown Inter-Dominions when the series commences at Addington Raceway next Saturday. The message was sounded after the outstanding Kerrytown mare trail-blazed to her ninth win from 18 raceday appearances with a 1:57.9 mile track record at Ashburton on Saturday. The five-year-old daughter of Golden Fulla and Kara Kara appeared slightly on the fresh side too as she cruised to the finish, a length and a quarter clear of Sun Lover and Michele Bromac in the National Bloodstock Ashburton Breeders’ Stakes. While there will be a big rise in class against the likes of Master Mood, Bag Limit and Luxury Liner at Addington, Frangelico gives the impression she will keep getting better and shouldn’t be disgraced.

Her trainer-driver, Richard Brosnan, who earlier tasted InterDominion success with No Response in the 1979 Trotters’ Final at Addington, is not expecting miracles from Frangelico in that sort of company, and points to her lack of experience in the top grade being the key factor.

Frangelico’s potential is best gauged by her Ashburton Cup second on December 26, when she had Quiet Touch fully stretched at the end of 3200 m in 4:7.4. That performance took on further stature when Quiet Touch, which she beat convincingly in the $40,000 Hamess Horse Breeders’ Stakes at the Canterbury Park New Year meeting, ran third behind Master Mood and Skipper Dale in the Auckland Cup late last month.

Certainly Brosnan can see no reason why Frangelico cannot take the tough racing schedule of four races in a fortnight

during the Inter-Dominion carnival.

Frangelico is the second foal of the talented Scottish Hanover mare, Kara Kara, which was purchased for $BOO at the National sales in 1971, her first foal being the C 5 pacer, Lord Kara.

Kara Kara has had a chequered career as a broodmare for her Pleasant Point owner, Mr Hamish McPherson, since foaling Frangelico. Not bred with the next year, Kara Kara failed to leave a foal for three successive years before foaling a dark bay (or brown) filly to El Patron last November.

Kara Kara’s run of outs in the broodmare paddock has continued this breeding season. She failed to conceive to Holmes Hanover.

Frangelico gave the lead away to Aran Blaze after 500 m of Saturday’s mile. After starting to pull a shade near the home turn, Brosnan switched the hot favourite into the open turning for home and she quickly asserted

her superiority. However she was inclined to loaf near the finish after the leaders cut out their closing half in 57.75. Sun Lover (1:58.2), three back on the inner from the 1200 m, fought on strongly to hold second, a neck from" Michele Bromac (1:58.3), which battled on along the inner for third. Nardin’s Belle (1:58.4) ran on late to head the remainder. PRECIOUS WAVE RUNS RECORD Precious Wave, at the surprisingly good odds of 10 to one after her fine second to boom colt Starship in fast time at Addington three weeks ago, lowered Petite Glamour’s race and track record in the R. M. Cameron Mobile Stakes for two-year-old fillies. The Smooth Fella filly cut out the mile in 2:1, however this was still well outside Bionic Chance’s two-year-old national fillies’ record of 1:58.7 set last May.

Caught three wide early, Precious Wave,

pressed on to take up the running 1000 m out, and after sprinting over her last half-mile in 59.35, still had half a length on Fatal Charm, which led early, then trailed, at the finish. Debbie’s Chance fought on for third, a neck in front of the favourite, Petite, which ended up four back on the inner and kept coming resolutely in the run home. “She’s a top stayer,” her Ashburton trainer, Graham Laing, said after the win. Laing trains the filly for Mr Stuart Hay of Ashburton, who bred the filly and races her with his daughter, Mrs Marilyn Copland, of Chertsey. Precious Wave’s dam, the Yankee Express mare, Cheeky Wave, won twice and credited the Ashburton horseman, John Hay, with his first winning drive at Nelson nine years ago. NOODLUM’S FELLA IMPRESSIVE One of the most impressive runs in the supporting races came from Noodlum’s Fella, which

overcame an early break which saw him lose 40m, and still win the Elders Pastoral Pace. The Noodlum three-year-old, raced by former Southland racecaller, Mr Bill Cherry, and his wife, and trained at Tinwald by Jim Ferguson, was sent to the lead by Kerry O’Reilly 1400 m out and kept going strongly to pace the 2400 m from a stand in 3:7.4 — his last 800 m in 59.1. BELLAM CONTINUES TROTTING STAKES PREPARATION Bellam continued his preparation for the New Zealand Trotting Stakes in April on a winning note by leading throughout the $7OOO Bandag Hambletonian Classic Mobile Trot. The Plat du Jour colt trotted the mile in 2:5.6, which was inside Dancing Armbro’s track record for three-year-old trotters set in the race last year. Directorship, which settled last of the bunch, finished solidly for second without looking like troubling the winner.