Standardbred agency buying thoroughbreds

Press, 6 October 1987, Page 52

Standardbred agency buying thoroughbreds

By JEFF SCOTT The Peter Larkin Standardbred Agency of Ashburton could be in for a name change after becoming "dual-gaited” in recent months. Flying out to North America on Friday is the C 7 pacer, Horizon, and last season’s galloping St Leger runner-up, Magdelaine, the latter being secured from the North Island for a sixfigure sum. Magdelaine, which pushed Dungarvan to half a head at the finish of the $lOO,OOO Barclays-spon-sored St Leger (2500 m at Trentham in January, won twice in 13 starts in New Zealand from Laurie Laxon’s Cambridge stable. A four-year-old mare by the former star South Island galloper, Little Brown Jug, Magdelaine was taken to Australia in the autumn but “didn’t really acclimatise” according to Larkin.

“Our staying horses have a better chance of being competitive over there,” said Larkin, who is finding some of his standardbred clients in California are now looking for possible thoroughbred purchases. Magdelaine is to race from Roger Stein’s stable In California, as will the talented Ashburton sprinter-miler, The Mean Machine, the winner of seven races from Jan Hay’s Mayfield team, which also leaves on Friday. The Mean Machine won the Paparua Handicap at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Grand National meeting in August and ran a good sixth in the Winter Cup after coming from well down the field. The Mean Machine will again team up with a former stablemate, Rufus Dawes, which was sold from the Hay stable by

the Larkin Agency three months ago. Other thoroughbred sales by Larkin late last month to various stables in California were: Farnillion, a useful winner from Michael Pitman’s Riccarton team, Conceited, which won three from Maurice Campbell’s Central Districts stable, and Argite, a minor winner for Riccarton’s Peter Jones.

The standardbred Horizon, a six-year-old Lordship entire, won eight races (one a dead-heat) and $34,640 in stakes for his Aylesbury owner, Mr John Seaton. He was trained by Colin de Filippi up until March before being transferred to the stable of his brother, Michael, at Broadfield, where he managed two fourths and a two thirds. A mile winner in 1:59.1 last term, Horizon is tb race in Chicago.