Successful pairs order of day at Riccarton

Press, 3 April 1989, Page 28

Successful pairs order of day at Riccarton

By

David McCarthy

On a day when success seemed inevitably to go in pairs the Hawera trainer, Herb Bergerson, and his Riccarton-based son, Roydon, had different dimensions of success to savour after the final day of the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Easter carnival at Riccarton on Saturday.

Bergerson senior, on his first trip to Riccarton in 16 years, produced Orapai to win the Great Autumn Stakes in such easy and convincing fashion it was almost an anit-climax while Roydon received as much, or more, satisfaction, as Bon Cher’s official trainers, the O’Sullivans, when the filly he had been in charge of through the meeting showed unexpected powers of acceleration to swamp Syrian Sea, Hunting The Ivory and Time Flies in the next event, the Meadow Mushroom Stakes.

It seemed in keeping with the day that Grant Davison rode both winners taking his season tally to 99. The programme had a “loading of Noah’s Ark” aspect. David Wadley rode the winners of two feature races. The Kerr stable had Red Back and The Snob, which are halfbrothers, take the team’s winning total for the season to 22 and Lorna Cook rode both.

Paul Richards snapped up two wins, on Navajo Brave and Clinger, while Ali Robinson trained two winners on the card when Billy Mac and Key Flight were successful, the latter in the hands of her trainer who has not had more than one on a Riccarton programme before. Orapai justified Davison switching from a lengthy and only occasionally interrupted association with Eye Full to ride the northerner. He settled her in a beautiful position one off the fence where trainer Bergerson, who had walked the course in the morning, preferred her to be.

“It was just a little bit shifty close to the rails. She needs firm going,” he said.

Bergerson trains Orapai for long-time patron, Brian. Anderson, a Hawera pie maker who likes to name his horses with the appropriate last syllable. Bergerson selected three fillies from the pro-

perty of Hugh McCarvill to lease out to stable clients and anticipated that Orapai would be the hardest to find an owner for.

“She wasn’t the best looking one in the paddock by any means and looked as if she would take a long time to come to it. But I thought if no one wanted her I wouldn’t mind having her myself. There was something about her that appealed to me,” Bergerson said.

In fact she was the second of the three to go and the only one to experience success. She has now won seven of 34 starts and her connections are eyeing the New Zealand Cub later this year for her in the long term.

“We’ll have a crack at the Hawke’s Bay Cup now and then put her out for a short time. She’s a grand staying type, just keeps going,” said Bergerson, whose only other trip to Riccarton was with Kalmia which ran third to Show Gate and Sharda in

a tight finish to the 1973 Stewards.

Reykjavik went another outstanding race to hold second after chasing the pacemaker, Fred’s Fortune, with Eye Full capitalising on a good run to hold third. Palastone found his top weight a tougher challenge when asked to sprint in the straight but was an honourable fourth ahead of a disappointing Mr Milsom.

Bon Cher’s brilliant late dash at the leaders in the Meadow Mushrooms Stakes caused problems for Davison who in shifting his whip to the left hand to correct the filly’s lugging tendencies lost temporary control of the left rein which trailed well below Bon Cher’s neck. However she still won and may now stay in the South Island with Bergerson with a possible Australian campaign later. The filly’s owner, Arthur Williams, will make a final decision this week on her immediate future.