Daria’s Fun impressive with stylish Stakes win

Press, 25 January 1988, Page 30

Daria’s Fun impressive with stylish Stakes win

From

J. J. BOYLE

in Wellington

Mares have failed to win a Wellington Cup since 1960, but this could be the year for a change.

Empire Rose will be favourite for the Foster’ssponsored cup next Saturday, unless she runs badly in the Summer Handicap today, but she could be pressed close by another talented female, Daria’s Fun.

The style with which Daria’s Fun won at weight-for-age in the Trentham Stakes on Saturday left everyone impressed.

The Pukekohe-trained daughter of Go Fun was ridden like a stayer on a stayer’s course and the result was devastating when Greg Childs drew on her reserves.

She came from last in a field of 11 and won running away by three lengths from the imported Caucasus mare She Might Hula, which had been responsible for the pace.

Daria’s Fun, the runnerup to Sea Swift in the Auckland Cup at her previous start, will complete her. preparation for the Wellington Cup at Otaki.

She will carry 53kg in the Wellington Cup, this representing substantial relief on her scale weight of 57.5 kg, which was so

easy for her at the end of 2400 m on Saturday. Her cup rider will be Gary Stewart.

Precocious Lad, and Cure which, with Daria’s Fun, accounted for much of the betting on the Trentham Stakes, performed creditably for their third and fourth in the Trentham Stakes, but both had their chances. The South Island’s best was Wingatui’s Double Lang, which wound up fifth.

He made some progress to reach a challenging position close to home, but came to the end of his run near the post. “Only a fair run,” his rider David Walsh said. The Riccarton-trained Lady Blandford never really got into the race after being wide for a time early and wound up eighth. The Invercargill Gold Cup winner Frosty Heir dropped away fast on the home turn and was a bad last. Three winners A Takanini jockey, Grant Cooksley, settled for Threesome as his Wellington Cup mount after Dungarvan failed to

do better than third for him in the Terrace Regency Handicap, the first leg of the T.A.B. double at Trentham on Saturday. Dungavan was the second favourite and Cooksley found the best possible run for her but the Matamata-trained Icelandic mare never looked likely to threaten the winner, Coshking, and was outfinished for second by the favourite Banderol. Threesome was ridden in rich races earlier this summer by Greg Childs, but connections of Zamazaan mare decided to look elsewhere for a rider after her expensive failure in the Auckland Cup.

Childs was seen at his skilful best in landing three winners on Saturday, but at the end of the day he was still without a Wellington Cup ride. The first of his treble was Daria’s Fun in the Trentham Stakes. The others were Coshking in the Terrace Regency Stakes and Snabben in the Anniversary Handicap. Childs, whose record in the Wellington Cup is two seconds and a fourth, but not yet a winner, showed his skills as a rider of a

front runner in landing Coshking a surprise winner over 2200 m on Saturday. This win assured Coshking of a start in the Wellington Cup next Saturday and the Pag Asa gelding from the Matamata stable of Howie Matthews might have to be reckoned with from his place in the weights.

Banderol will be another form runner from Matamata after his big run from the back to finish second to Coshking on Saturday. A phlegmatic, slow-to-wind-up type of stayer, Banderol was giving all his rivals a start going to the final 600 m out and was going almost sideways for a few strides as Lance O’Sullivan squeezed him through a narrow gap in the straight. Riccarton’s hopefuls for the Terrace Regency achieved something of a quinella. Hypatia was fifth and Maestri sixth, but Palastone showed his distance limitations at this level, and dropped out to tenth after trailing Coshking to the straight. Snabben, Greg Childs’s third winner from four mounts on Saturday, raced in the interests of

the New Zealand tennis captain, Mr Jeff Simpson.

It was a venture into racing ownership inspired by Mr Simpson’s friendship with the late Mr Jim Morris, of the Rodmor Stud, and Saturday’s win was the most rewarding yet for his venture. It was a close run thing for Snabben, too. The five-year-old son of Bold Venture, which is closely related to the high-class mare Mayo Gold, snatched victory in the last stride from Rabanne. Mountain Ash, another long shot, was almost in line third.

Westgate was the big disappointment of the race. The favourite settled well down the field, and was unable to make any impression after. His rider. Noel Harris confirmed most observations when he told stewards that the four-year-old was beaten almost as soon as the race started.

Tricavaboy, the second favourite, made only slight headway to finish eighth, a performance contrasting with his unlucky fourth in the Flag Inns Trophy at Ellerslie at his previous start.