All honours with Tobago in Dominion win

Press, 20 November 1989, Page 37

All honours with Tobago in Dominion win

By

JEFF SCOTT

Tobago obliterated Scotch Tar’s 11-year-old national 3200 m mark for squaregaiters and almost doubled in lifetime earnings to $203,435 with a strength-sapping victory in Saturday evening’s TV3 Network Dominion Handicap at Addington Raceway.

Twelve months ago the career of the former three-year-old trotting star was at the crossroads until strained hip joint muscles were diagnosed as deferring his path to greatness. “It took us six months to repair the damage and get him freed up again,’* said Tobago’s Southland part-owner, Ray Jenkins, who races the seven-year-old with his sister, Diane Kean.

Jenkins, who prepared Tobago for most of his racing until this season, transferred the Game Pride gelding to Pat O’Reilly junior’s Ashburton team at the end of last term.

O’Reilly had Tyron Scottie and Tobago both in top form for Saturday’s Group One feature but the former was labouring on the home turn after being left in the open early before working hard to lead the field through the opening 1600 m in 2:4.4.

Tobago, meanwhile, the drive of the ace Southland reinsmari, Henry Skinner, enjoyed a good run three back on the outer as the leaders kept the pace furious. Drott. Moss made a charge to the lead with 1300 m left and was given no respite as another northerner, Idle Scott, moved up alongside. Directorship (Maurice McKendry), which settled a place in front of Tobago, was flushed out from a handy spot when Tobago surged at the 450 m and these two, after having the best runs,

staged their own war from the straight entrance.

Tobago went a long neck clear then Directorship rallied resiliently to reduce the margin on the line to a nose. Troppo, back to the turn, added further excitement to the finish with a storming finish as he ran in from the middle of the track to the rail with 100 m to go, but he came to the end of his run with 30m left, winding up a short neck back in third place.

The leaders worked over their last 800 m in 61.7, Tobago stopping the timer at a brilliant 4:8.4 for the 3200 m — 3.2 seconds inside Scotch Tar’s long-standing mark set in the 1978 Dominion Handicap. Tobago rated 2:4.9 for the distance, which is fractionally slower than Fair Tally’s record 2:4.7 winning rate for the nearest Australian equivalent, 3280 m. “He trotted well all the way and was going good enough to win on the home turn. The other horse did come back at him the last bit,” said Skinner, who earlier combined with Tobago to win the $40,000 Air New Zealand N.Z. Trotting Free-For-All on Show Day. Skinner, who has had more than 500 driving successes, also won another $150,000 race at the carnival with Honkin Vision in the Sires’ Stakes Final on Show Day. He has now driven the winners of 10 Group One

events, all since the mid 19705.

Tobago, a former “Three-Year-Old Trotter of the Year” and a 1:59.3 miler at Ashburton in September, joins Admiral Soanai (which died recently) 1984, and Landora’s Pride (last year) as Dominion Handicap winners for their top trotting sire, Game Pride. Tobago is a brother to the open-class trotter, Globe Pride, and a halfbrother to another openclass trotter in Golden Blue.

Their dam, Anne’s Globe (by Johnny Globe), won six races trotting and descends from the same family as the 1949 N.Z. Trotting Free-For-All winner, and 1948 Rowe Cup placegetter, Jimmy Dillon.

Lady Marvin, the fourth dam of Anne’s Globe, was bred by a grand-father of Tobago’s owners back in 1915. Besides leaving the dam of Jimmy Dillon, she also left Katene, which ran third in the 1943 Auckland Cup. Other good winners in this family include Our Jimmy (seven trotting wins), and Sandy Mac and Robert Mac, both of which won six pacing races in N.Z. Since leaving Montego, the Cl younger half-sister to Tobago, Anne’ Globe has left a three-year-old filly by Yankee Jolter, a two-year-old gelding by Roydon Boy and a yearling colt by Yankee Jolter.

Globe Pride, the runner-up to Tussle in a

heat of the 1987 InterDominions, has left a Roydon Boy yearling filly and a Chiola Hanover filly foal for Mrs Kean, who owns her outright. Pat O’Reilly jun, who gained his eighteenth training success of the season, was also credited with his joint-biggest training success with Tobago on Saturday, equalling Rostriever Hanover’s win in the 1988 N.Z. Messenger Championship. He intends campaigning Tobago and Tyron Scottie, along with Rostriever Hanover at the Auckland Christmas meeting next month. O’REILLY JUN SUSPENDED Saturday night was one of mixed fortunes for O’Reilly jun, the South Island’s leading trainer this term and the fourtime N.Z. Drivers’ Championship winner. Unable to finish closer than seventh with Tyron Scottie in the Dominion, O’Reilly copped a suspension until after next Saturday for causing interference with Rostriever Hanover in the other feature of the night, the $50,000 Christchurch Airport Travelodge Free-For-All.

Rostriever Hanover finished on strongly for fourth but in switching the top pacer out from the third line to make his claim, O'Reilly was found to have taken the line of Frangelico, which broke and lost all chance. Rostriever Hanover was disqualified.