Goodie Two Shoes dances through mud

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 57

Goodie Two Shoes dances through mud

DAVID MCCARTHY

Goodie Two Shoes danced through the mud of one of the heaviest Omoto tracks in memory to score a resounding win in the DB Greymonth Cup yesterday.

The Claudio Nicolai mare, which was still eligible for C 3 racing before yesterday bounced straight to the front and was never seriously challenged. The state of the track may best be gauged by the fact that no less than 46 lengths covered the first four placegetters, Goodie Two Shoes having a winning margin of 16 lengths over the gallant favourite, Vendee. Gums a Calling, strug--BUOB to keep in touch with the winner with 1000 m to run, struggled into third with Dreamville, beaten 900 m out, leading In the others.

Goodie Two Shoes had come into some favour as

a lightweight upsetter after heavy overnight rain turned the track into a bog. She had to go only three tenths of a second better than 2min 20s for the 2000 m to win so easily. She was Anthony Hunsche’s third winning ride of the day, after upsets from Canzak and Misnomer earlier, those two being part-trained by Ray Harris, with whom Hunsche is associated. Goodie Two Shoes Is raced and trained by George Bloomfield, aged 53, a Marahou farmer, his wife, Patricia, and close relatives, Doug and Elizabeth Roberts, of Motueka. He leased the mare from the late Pauline Wright of

Winton and intends to exercise the right of purchase shortly. Marshau, one of the more remote beaches in the Kaiteriteri district, is a long way from most racetracks and as a result the mare is probably the most travelled in the South Island. Mr Bloomfield got into racing as an owner-trainer when he bought Black Satin as a breeding proposition in 1980. She broke her jaw as a result of crashing through a car windscreen when arriving in Nelson, but was later placed in 12 of 14 starts. Mr Bloomfield has a 1400 m track on his farm and rides most of the work himself.

He will now freshen the mare up for the summer circuit on the West Coast

Gary Williams rated Vendee’s effort an especially brave one.

“She was never handling the ground like she did the first day and she had to do all the work trying to get up to the leader. I thought I might steal a bit of ground at the turn but she was struggling then."

For the others it was a similar story, but Goodie Two Shoes must still have set some sort of record with her winning margin and nothing could be taken from her on the day.