World record smashed in Cup

Press, 9 November 1988, Page 46

World record smashed in Cup

By

JEFF SCOTT

Luxury Liner shattered his own world record for 3200 m (stand) by 4.4 seconds when he came back magnificently to defeat Maestro in a thrilling finish to yesterday’s $375,000 D.B. Draught New Zealand Cup at Addington Raceway.

The champion New Zealand stayer overcame a 10m handicap, looped the field at the 1400 m, was attacked over the last lap, headed by threequarters of a length by Maestro at the top of the straight, yet found enough to still pull away by a length and three-quarters at the finish. Luxury Liner proved himself the best stayer New Zealand has produced by recording a sensational 4:00.4 for the extreme distance — a mile rate of 2:1. This was his third start in the Cup, having run seconds in his previous two attempts. Experienced Addington timers clocked the lean but rugged Mercedes gelding to run the distance, post-to-post, in an incredible 3:57.3, his last mile in 1:57.5, and his closing 800 m in 58.5. “I know he’s got a great heart — I knew he wouldn’t stop,” said Luxury Liner’s elated cotrainer, Barry Purdon, aged 33, who prepares the horse with his father, Roy, aged 61, at Clevedon. “He was really fit. He worked outstanding here on Sunday. I didn’t know whether that was an omen or not,” said the younger Purdon. Luxury Liner, which distanced his rivals by five lengths in last year’s Auckland Cup in racerecord time, brought his spectacular record over 3200 m to nine starts for six wins and three seconds yesterday. He was driven brilliantly by Roy Purdon’s son-in-law, Tony Herlihy, aged 30, in a reminiscent two-horse battle of tactics

which saw Hands Down surge again to beat Delightful Lady in the race eight years ago. “Maestro put threequarters of a length to a length on us at the top of the straight, but when I got up him a bit he kicked on again like he can. This is one of my biggest thrills in racing,” said Herlihy, who has been Luxury Liner’s regular reinsman over the last two seasons. "It is my biggest thrill — this is the race to win,” said Barry Purdon, who earlier with his father trained Sole Command to win the 1977 New Zealand Cup. Like Luxury Liner, Sole Command also won an Auckland Cup, while others to have completed the illustrious double include: Cardigan Bay, Arapaho, Armalight and Master Mood. Luxury Liner, a bay of medium height which wears a 58 inch hopple, turned the clock back 77 years with yesterday’s win. His fifth dame, Lady Clare, took out the famous race in 4:38, the second fastest in the race at the time. She was the second mare to win the Cup. Robert Reid, a Waiuku onion farmer, purchased Luxury Liner’s granddam, Miranda Bay, along with his late brother, Leo, in the early 1960 s for 1000 guineas. Miranda Bay could not go a yard and never raced. She left six winners from 13 foals before dying three and a half years ago. From nine fillies bred from Miranda Bay, the Reid brothers bred a string of winners, but

Miranda Belle (by Meadow Al), is by far the most successful having left Luxury Liner (1:56.9), Me An Roy, which recorded a memorable double yesterday by scoring his sixth career win in convincing fashion in the Champernay Pace, Kiwi Lord (1:58.2), Earn Your Keep and Kiwi’s Sister, the dam of last season’s New Zealand Oaks winner, Julie Vance. Other fine performers bred from this source by the Reids include: Country Star (10 wins), Vance Glory (1:54), Stary Glory, Top Vance, Willy Run and Jodi Vance. Maestro, the favourite, staged a big run from back in midfield at the 600 m to head Luxury Liner early in the run home, but could not withstand the latter’s renewed bid. “My horse tried his guts out. He was just gone,” said reinsman Vin Knight. “Jim (O’Sullivan’s) horse, Quite Famous, was getting tired and I had to go when I did otherwise I was going to be pushed out four and five wide, and I couldn’t win then. “I thought I’ve got to put myself in a winning position but he went so quickly (second last 400 m in 27.8), he just got tired. He’s exhausted,” said Knight. Knight could not take anything away from the winner but was disappointed Luxury Liner took command without any resistance from opposing drivers. “The other horse is a great stayer and found the front too easy. If Quite

Famous had been able to hold him out, we would have won. I would have gone up there myself if I’d found the front that easy. That’s the way it goes.” Maestro was timed over his last 2600 m in 3:13.6, his last mile in 1:58.6 and closing 800 m in 57.9. Luxury Liner’s win yesterday took the score to two-all between the two stars, and Knight is keen to go one up again in Friday’s $lOO,OOO Air New Zealand Free-For-All. Speedy Cheval had every chance in behind the leaders and fought on well for third, half a length away. “He was under pressure a bit on the turn and hung in a shade but I had my chance,” said trainerreinsman, Peter Ryder. Gina Rosa battled on for fourth after being in the firing line throughout, while Frangelico and Gaelic Skipper, ran on late but were distant finishing fifth equal. Quite Famous, trying to emulate his stablemate, Lightning Blue, which won the race for Victorian stables last year, was caught wide for much of the race and was not persevered with over the last 800 m. “I never even touched him after the way things went. I just tried to get out of the road. I’d have liked to have got Tony (Herlihy’s) on the way back — he could have taken me with him,” laughed O’Sullivan. But no-one could claim to having any real excuses. It was a simple matter of the best horse on the day taking the big prize on his merits.