Hat-trick may sway Vance

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 36

Hat-trick may sway Vance

Auckland correspondent

The Takanini jockey, Bob Vance, was given the incentive to “stay put” in New Zealand when he gained a hat-trick of wins at Te Rapa on Saturday. Last week, Vance, one of New Zealand’s moretravelled riders, was approached with a lucrative offer to ride in Macau. And although he has not made a definite decision on which direction to take, he was given “food for thought” at the Waikato Racing Club’s meeting. “It’s a tough decision to make, but at this stage it looks like I could stay here,” said Vance after he had unsaddled Shahzamani, winner of the day’s feature, the Trelawney Stud Foxbridge Plate. “I’ve put in a lot of work trying to get myself re-established here and now things are starting to look up. If I went over and things didn’t work out there (Macau), I’d have to almost forget about starting from scratch here again.” Vance, a leading apprentice and top jockey during his earlier days of riding in New Zealand, returned from a stint in Hong Kong at Christmas and got back into action in February. Since gradually climbing back into the scene, Vance has ridden “about 15 winners” and most have come within the last couple of months. The Te Rapa meeting on Saturday was a special one, however, as it provided Vance with his first hat-trick of wins since his return to New Zealand. Vance’s first two winners on Saturday were Worldwide and Te Akau Rainfall, both trained by his former boss, Colin Jillings, in partnership with Richard Yuill. Worldwide was having his 28th start when graduating from maiden company, while Te Akau Rainfall was having his third start. Although pleased with both those wins, Vance gained most pleasure when guiding Shahzamani to a clear-cut victory in the Foxbridge Plate, a $40,000 listed race. “That’s my second win

in the Foxbridge Plate,” said Vance. “I won it back in 1977 on High Saint when I was 17 years old.”

Vance has been Shahzamani’s regular rider in recent starts and he has got to know how to ride the mare best. “I’ve had six rides on her for three wins, a third,a fourth and a fifth,” said Vance. “You’ve got to ride her cold in the early stages. Just let her jump from the stalls herself and give her time to find her feet. When she’s ready to go, she can really run.”

Shahzamani showed that on Saturday. After being last early and second-last on the home turn, she came through a gap in the straight to power away for a threelength win. It was Shahzamani’s eleventh win and took her stake earnings past the $200,000-mark. Trainer Ken Thompson, of Rotorua, now plans to tackle the Trustbank Central (formerly Tim Rogers) Stakes at Wanganui with her on September 2. “She’s then booked to be served by Centaine, but personally I’d like to keep her racing,” said Thompson. “She’s never been better.”

Second home on Saturday was Catering King, the pacemaker. He spoilt his winning chance by hanging out in the home straight. Bombay Tin, racing out of her class, did well for third, a half-length from Catering King, while Chigarow and Spyglass performed well for fourth and fifth respectively. The big disappointment was Regal City, which was the odds-on favourite (paying $l.BO for a win). He came in seventh after beginning well then drifting to midfield on the rails.

"From the 600 metres he started lugging,” said rider Debbie Healey. “He got worse in the home straight. I don’t know what caused it as he seemed to pull up all right.” Regal City is to undergo a thorough veterinary examination this week, according to trainer Jim Gibbs.