Remarkable finish from Light Foyle at Methven

Press, 7 December 1987, Page 37

Remarkable finish from Light Foyle at Methven

By

JEFF SCOTT

Light Foyle, which had been tried by several trainers before joining Dick Prendergast’s Chertsey team two seasons ago, moved within three wins of open class with a miraculous win in the feature event at the Methven Trotting Club’s meeting on Saturday. The six-year-old appeared to lose all chance when he ran into the back of the breaking favourite, Young Eden, early in the run home after he had enjoyed a good run three back on the outer, then was buffeted back in the field by Chummy while still tangling seconds later. Settling down with 300 m left to run and only three of the 18 runners behind him, Light Foyle produced a remarkable late finish to get up in the dying stages, snatching victory by a head from Megatrend.

“He had no right to win after being knocked out of it, but today was his day — he was going to win and that was all there was to it,” said Light Foyle’s driver Kerry O’Reilly.

A half-brother to the useful Southland pacer, Tiger’s Gold, which scored his third win at Wyndham a week earlier, Light Foyle registered his seventh win, from starts, on Saturday for his Temuka breeder-owner, Mrs Esme Mulligan, and took his earnings to $36,785.

“He’d been around a fair bit and sacked by experts before I got him,” said Prendergast after the win. Prendergast, who had encountered a setback with Light Foyle during the New Zealand Cup meeting last month 'with a stone bruise, produced the gelding to win six times in his first 12 months of racing from the stable.

“He needs a terrific amount of work, the work he gets would kill a lot of horses,” said Prendergast of Light Foyle, who took his record on the testing 'Methven circuit to three wins in five starts. He also finished third in

the Methven Cup in September. A tough stayer, Light Foyle has had seven starts over 3200 m for two wins (the other being in last season’s Hororata Cup), a second and two thirds.

Megatrend, which went away in a gallop from the unruly mark but came down pacing without losing any ground, led at the 2400 m then gave the lead to Bright Fella as the leaders scurried through their opening mile in 2:6. He held second by half a length from Jenny Benny, which staged a big finish from the tail of the field at the 500 m, and her stablemate, Nat, which also made ground from far back.

Kabuna Pele too good

Kahuna Pele scored his

second track-record win in a week when he led over the last 1600 m of the Methven Fertiliser Trot. The five-year-old Wide Acclaim gelding, now one win from open company, trotted the 3200 m in 4:23.4 of a second inside the old mark held jointly by Hard Cash (1983) and Westham (last year). Rated the best trotter he has handled by his West Melton trainerdriver, Eddie Cowie, who took over the training of the five-year-old in October, Kahuna Pele will now attempt to further his fine grass-track record in the Banks Peninsula Cup at Motukarara on December 28, with the $25,000 Canterbury Park Cup on January 1 to follow. Rule du Jour classy The Perth trainer, Trevor Warwick, has the first option to buy Rule du Jour, a promising halfbrother to Here Comes Duke, (1:57.2), a big winner for the Warwick stable, should the gelding’s owners, Robert Dunn

and Bert Penny, decide to sell at a later date.

“He’s got terrific ability but no manners yet,” said Dunn of the big Plat du Jour gelding, which lived up to his big reputation in the J. W. Thomas Memorial Pace.

An early check saw Rule du Jour settling down some 30 lengths from the leaders, but after moving around the field over the last 1800 m and striding clear at the 300 m, he kept going to prove a class above his rivals, returning a respectable 3:30.8 for the 2600 m. Grand feat

The eight-year-old Parlez Vous mare, Caiusa, which has been away from racing in the same race 12 months ago, finished best from the trail to win the National Blookstock Methven Breeders’ Stakes.

Trained at Yaldhurst by Basil Lynskey, who has been hospitalised for the last three weeks, Caiusa sif'SSKX

She held out Little Rapa comfortably by threequarters of a length, with June’s Double battling on for third to shade the second favourite, Dream Come True, which tried to lead over the last 1800 m.

Bogart Ron impressive

Bogart Ron, a maiden winner on the grass track at Rangiora in June, recorded his second win in eight starts when he distanced his . rivals by nine and a half lengths in the Mount Hutt Pace.

The free-legged son of Bogart Hanover, after getting a good run handy, shot past the pacemaking favourite, Country Life, with 300 m left to run and kept going strongly. He paced the 2600 m in 3:28.6, not far outside the Methven track record, held jointly by Abbe Princess (1978) and Greg Patron (1985) at 3:27.7. First winner

The Kerrytown horseman, Tim Brosnan, gained his fjrst training success when he produced Yankee Illusion, which he part-owns with Mr Fred Black (of No Response fame), to come with a storming late run to win the Springfield Trot.