Running hot

Press, 24 October 1989, Page 41

Running hot

Dawn and Peter Williams drew level with John Parsons as the leading South Island stable when they produced the three winners of the North Canterbury T.A.B. treble yesterday — all of which were ridden by Raymond Bruce, who won five races on the programme. The > Williams onslaught began with Gypsy Tap, which wore down Mellaysia in the Accolade Lodge, then Nicinda ground his rivals down with a stayer’s run in the Rangiora Printing Handicap. Woodsreef came with a rush to beat the dead-heaters, Nicolai Queen and Schweppes Ahead, in the Plough Handicap, the last race on the card.

Gypsy Tap and Woodsreef are Riccar-ton-bound, as is Nicinda, which may also line up in the Banks Peninsula Cup on Saturday. The Williams stable have won four races this week-end, with Melody Fox taking out the Princess Mellay Stakes at Gore on Saturday. The stable won five races in a day in 1988, four at Vincent and one at Kumara. Woodsreef was the trainers’ 199th win and Peter Williams estimates 60 of these races have been won by horses wearing his “lucky” blinkers. The blinkers, first used on Village Guy, were the beginning of a big winning- streak for the Williams stable, their most famous use being on Sea Swift, which numbered the Auckland

Cup among her many successes. Gypsy Tap and Nicinda were both wearing the equipment yesterday. It is the first time the Williamses had won ail three legs of a treble, a rare event in itself. Bruce almost emulated Grant Davison’s feat two years ago of riding six winners in a day at Rangiora, a feat also achieved many years ago by Bill Skelton.

Bruce has made a great start to the season, with 24 winners on the board already, making him the leading rider in the country. Bruce, aged 26, rode four winners in a day at Waimate last season when he rode a total of 60 winners for the term.

In addition to taking the last three races on the card and winning the first two, on Kuriwao and Amadea, Bruce also landed a second (on Treacherous) and a third placing (on Amanda Hall).