Mr Tiz draws wide but wins HB Guineas

Press, 17 September 1987, Page 55

Mr Tiz draws wide but wins HB Guineas

PA Hastings Mr Tiz is a name racegoers will hear a lot more of in the future if the gelding’s win in yesterday’s $45,000 Owkawa Paramount Hawke’s Bay Guineas is any indication. The royally-bred three-year-old overcame a wide draw and greenness to down a top field in the 1400-metre race. The rider, Lance O’Sullivan, winning his second feature race of the day, said he intended settling Mr Tiz back off the pace in the early stages of the race. But the strong-looking bay gelding put two lengths on the opposition with a brilliant

beginning and was soon in front

With about 300 metres to run there were seven horses lined across the track vying for the lead, but Mr Tiz held them all out

Close to the line Festal started to come home strongly along the rail but he could not peg back Mr Tiz, and was half a neck away at the finish. Dalphic also finished well to get third, with the favourite, Higgins, fourth.

Mr Tiz, a $llO,OOO purchase at the 1986 National Yearling Sales, is by the champion Australian sire, Bletchingly, out of the former high-class, racemare, Yir Tiz. He is

owned by an Auckland syndicate headed by Cale Holdings, Limited, and Sir James Fletcher and was selected at the sales by his trainer, Dave O’Sullivan.

O'Sullivan, who trains Mr Tiz in partnership with his son, Paul, said the gelding had a big future but is still learning to race properly.

Mr Tiz will now tackle the $120,000 Winstone Guineas (1600 metres) at Ellerslie on October 10, and may not have another race until then.

Second-placed Festal will bypass the Ellerslie race and be kept on lefthanded tracks at this stage, according to his trainer, Bruce Marsh.

“We’ve just got him to settle properly and I wouldn’t like to muck him up by running the opposition way round,” Marsh said.

The $50,000 Wellington Guineas (1600 metres) on October 24 will be Festal’s next big mission. The Marton trainer, Evan Rayner, while a little disappointed his Wanganui Guineas winner, Higgins, failed topay a dividend, was reasonably pleased with the run and is likely to start the colt at both Ellerslie and Trentham.

The rider, Noel Harris, said the outside barrier draw did not help Higgins and the go-stop-go pace also unsettled the horse.