Three Tone exciting

Press, 9 March 1988, Page 49

Three Tone exciting

By DAVID MCCARTHY Ray Verner, the senior member of a prominent Takanini training partnership, thinks he has a top prospect in the Three Legs colt. Three Tone, and few who witnessed the ease of the youngster’s win in the Maidstone Handicap at Trentham on Saturday would disagree.

Three Tone bounded away from his Class Three rivals and Verner is expecting much more yet of the . lightly-raced three-year-old. "He’s had five starts now and won the two but he has never yet been beaten on his merits in that it hasn’t been his fault when he hasn’t won,” Verner said.

“If he can get through to about Glass Two- this season I’ll be happy and we’ll run him here again next week.! He’s got a lot to learn-and Trentham is

a great track for a horse to learn about racing.”

Three Tone was ridden by Greg Child who does not hide his regard for the youngster. The colt is raced by Renee Pollock, of Auckland. and he came to the Verner stable rather fortuitously. Offered ,at the Trentham sales in 1986 he was passed in at $47,500 through a misunderstanding. Verner’s attention was drawn to the colt by Okawa Stud Partnership members and he bought him on Mrs Pollock’s jbehalf for $50,000J ( The. Sydney! trainer, Geoff Chapman, gave $160,000 for a half-sister, by Otehi Bay, at the Karaka sale last month. Three Tone > is from Tone, an Oncidium mare which did not win. She was a daughter of Key, an outstanding winner of 16 races and the best three-

year-old filly of 1961-62

Tone has four-foals of racing age and the best to date has been Vickey Av which won the Great Northern Oaks and was placed in the Queensland Oaks. Vickey Av fetched $BOOO at the 1981 Trentham sale just moments after the late Jim Tomkinson went to $9OOO for the smart, if erratic, galloper Upper Cut. Three of [Tone’s foals have now won. the other being a Riverton gelding, Lazy River, i which won over hurdles)in Victoria.

Verner’s skill and patience is evident in Three Tone’s career to date.

He did not' produce the bay until the end of December jvhen Three Tone was beaten half a head over 1600 m in moderate company at Tauranga after [getting clear late. He was' then a good third over the same distance at the Counties Rac-

ing Club’s meeting in late January before easily winning a maiden event at Te Aroha and finishing boldly among the highweighters at Matamata two weeks before Wellington.

Three Tone has been left an entire as colts by Three Legs have been generous racehorses; Jolly Jake, Random Chance and Our Secret Weapon being three examples.

Three Legs was a sprinter and rated number two in England in 1976. However after his retirement “Timeform” suggested he had needed more ground to show his best and stayed a mile comfortably. That seems in keeping with the results of breeding Three Legs with stamina oriented New Zealand mares. Many of the resulting offspring have stayed 2400 m.