Profitable jaunt south—too easy for Dillon Dean

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 35

Profitable jaunt south—too easy for Dillon Dean

By

JEFF SCOTT

After missing her booked flight south from Auckland to Christchurch on Saturday afternoon, Heather “Birdie” Dwyer was in two minds whether to make alternative arrangements, but after a quick consultation by telephone with her husband, Don, she was glad she did.

A few hours later Mrs Dwyer was at Addington Raceway to watch her top pacer, Dillon Dean, which she co-owns with her husband, toy with his rivals in the $17,000 Shirley Lodge Motor Hotel Handicap at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s meeting.

“Don said I should still come down because the horse had done very well during the week and it was great to see him race so well,” said Mrs Dwyer, who caught the last suitable flight south, which landed in Christchurch and unflappable 2% hours before race time.

Dillon Dean easily justified his warm favouritism in the night’s feature — his second win for the, week and 17th of his' career — which lifted his stake earnings to $5400 short of $500,000. Although taking a couple of strides to find his pacing gait, Dillon Dean, from there on in, gave a faultless display.

Reinsman ~ Colin de Filippi sent the free-going son of the Most Happy Fella stallion, Shicker, to the front after the opening 700 m, then was able to give the favourite an easy run in the middle stages. Allowed to get away with a second-last 400 m section in 32.1 seconds, de Filippi and Dillon Dean gave the others no chance as they sprinted in over the last 400 m in a slick 27 seconds.

"He got away with it easy,” said de Filippi after Dillon Dean reached the finish 1 y 2 lengths clear, the full 2000 m (off

10m behind) taking a fairly pedestrian 2:36 for this top class of pacers. Don Dwyer, who trains Dillon Dean at Ardmore, was suitably pleased with the performance. He will now assess next Saturday’s discretionary handicap for the 2600 m Commercial Union Insurance Handicap on the second night before deciding on another South Island start this week. Dillon Dean became the first North Island pacer to win the feature race on the opening night of the N.Z. Metropolitan Club’s National meeting since Miles Gentry 17 years previously. Dwyer intends to keep Dillon Dean away from mobile racing as much as possible leading up to the D.B. Draught New Zealand Cup and Ansett (N.Z.) Auckland Cup in November-December, and for this reason was keen to take in the South Island standing start events early in the new term.

Gaelic Skipper, a former Auckland Cup runner-up, completed the quinella for northern stables with a storming finish from the fourth line to get up for second at outside odds.

Now eight, the Mercedes gelding had his first race for nine months when a luckless seventh in the Kurow Cup (never seeing daylight), and showed with Saturday’s effort he is far from a spent force. Machismo, which lost his front-line advantage with a slowish beginning, moved up wide to be camped outside Dillon

Dean from the 900 m and fought on strongly for third, half a head from Gaelic Skipper. Final Offer, cramped for room in a pocket behind Dillon Dean and Machismo for the run home, was a close-up fourth a nose away, with Loveridge a solid late finisher for fifth.

The second favourite, Gina Rosa, had every chance, rushing up wide on the corner from a midfield position on the outer before wilting in the straight to beat only two. Yankee Loch bolts home The $14,000 Firestone Extra Cover Handicap Trot delivered mixed fortunes for Wellington owners, Sir Roy McKenzie, and his son-in-law, Keith Gibson, on Saturday.

The Wellingtonians flew south on Saturday afternoon for the meeting and left the course shortly after the race for a return flight to the capital late in the night. Sir Roy accepted defeat graciously for only the second time in 19 starts with former champion youngster Sundon; Mr Gibson, who races Yankee Loch in partnership with his wife, Robyn, enjoyed further success with last season’s “Trotter of the Year,” which began the new term in devastating fashion. Yankee Loch, last season’s Inter-Dominion and Rowe Cup winner, overcame a 15m hadicap in the 2000 m sprint to leave his rivals gasping over the last 50m, running away to win decisively by 2(4 lengths at the line for

reinsman Jim Curtin. Trainer Jack Carmichael was delighted with the run and, like Don Dwyer, will be awaiting handicapper Jeff Lenz’s assessments for next Saturday with more than passing interest. . “It was good to see him come back so good. It was a fast last 800 m (Yankee Loch returning a sub 58s sectional) and he went to the line real good,” said Carmichael.

Troppo, three back on the inner to the turn, ran on strongly for second, a short head in front of Le Due, which fought gamely after being in the open. Kahuna Pele, handy on the outer throughout, was iy 4 lengths away, fourth. Sundon galloped at the start, losing 30m before settling. Co-trainer Fred Fletcher sent the big entire up wide from the 700 m, tramping over his second-last 400 m in 27.8 to dispute the pace wide turning for home. Sundon began to trot a little roughly 100 m out and broke 50m later, crossing the line seventh in a tangle.

“He felt tremendous down the back straight, but he just tripped in the straight and once he did that, he didn’t get balanced again,” added Fletcher, who felt Sundon would have run a place but for his home-stretch tangle.

“He didn’t blow at all after the race,” he said. Fletcher, and co-trainer Mark Smolenski, will decide today whether to start Sundon on the second night of the meeting.