Ron Quinton exhausted after Cup win

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 30

Ron Quinton exhausted after Cup win

NZPA-AAP Gold Coast The Sydney jockey, Ron Quinton, collapsed from exhaustion and then had to survive a protest before his first Prime Minister’s Cup (2015 m win on Never Quit was allowed to stand yesterday. Quinton had to be helped when unsaddling Never Quit (9-1) after the New Zealand bred three-year-old denied topweight, Colour Page his second Prime Minister’s Cup. Never Quit, which was always handy, had a halflength to spare from Colour Page (10-1) at the finish with another New Zealand galloper, Coobers Gold (33-1), three-quar-

ters of a length away in third place. Stewards took only minutes to dismiss a protest by third placegetter Coobers Gold. The New Zealand trainer, Graeme Rogerson and not jockey Maree Lyndon lodged the protest, claiming Quinton did not have sufficient clearance when crossing Coober’s Gold at the 100 m mark.

“He definitely cost my horse at least second and in my opinion the chance of fighting back and winning,” Rogerson said. However, Quinton said Never Quit had moved up ahead of Coobers Gold

and was racing away at the finish. “My fellow was running around a little but he was holding on strongly at the finish,” Quinton said. Quinton’s previous best Prime Minister’s Cup performance was third on Noble Heights in Avitt’s 1983 Cup victory. The jockey stood down for the remainder of the meeting on doctor’s advice. Quinton, who has been sidelined for three months through a number of suspensions this year, shed almost two kilograms since Saturday to ride Never Quit at his Cup weight.

Connections of Never Quit were not at the

course to witness the victory but must now consider taking the trip north to watch the stayer tackle the $200,000 Queensland Derby (2400 m at Eagle Farm on June 6. Graeme Begg, stable foreman for his father Neville, brought Never Quit to Brisbane with yesterday’s $200,000 race as his main winter carnival mission. Begg said Never Quit was set for the Prime Minister’s Cup to avoid a clash with Myocard and possibly Bounding Away in the Derby. “We’ll wait and see how he recovers but we’re in both the Grand Prix and the Derby,” Begg said. “But after this we might go straight for the Derby.” Jockey Gavan Duffy maintained Colour Page was unlucky not to land his second Prime Minister’s Cup. "Another two or three bounds and he had it won,” Duffy said. “He had to carry a big weight and it was a light weight which won.”

Colour Page did a magnificent job under difficult

circumstances from his wide alley. Duffy had the five-year-old in fifth place early and allowed him to drop back to seventh midway through the race when the speed was on. Colour Page stormed home out wide from about seventh place on the turn but couldn’t peg back the winner. Jockey Mick Dittman said Globetrotter (9-1) finished better than any--thing. “He got held up a bit but he really came home well and it was a good run under the circumstances,” Dittman said. THE PRIME MINISTER’S CUP $200,000; 2015 m 4-4 NEVER QUIT 16 50 R. Quinton 1 3-3 COLOUR PAGE 1 56 G. Duffy 2 7-6 COOBERS GOLD 4 53 M. Lyndon .... 3 Others in finishing order: 2-1 Periscope, 1-2 Globetrotter, 8-9 Cimarra, 9-8 Gold Deck, 14-14 Persian World, 11-11 Beaver Boy, 13-13 Some Charm, 5-5 Tierra Rist, 15-15 Cheer Charlie, 16-16 Pinehurst, 10-10 Imprimatur, 12-12 Monastar, 6-7 Hassendean. l / 2 ,en - % len, 1 len. Time: 2:06.75. Win: $10.60. Places: $3.10, $3.05, $3.45. Quinella: $44.30. T.A.B. trifecta: $3134.45.