Luxury Liner has the record

Press, 28 December 1989, Page 21

Luxury Liner has the record

New Zealand’s champion stayer, Luxury Liner, whose fifth from 20m behind in last month’s New Zealand Cup at Addington was the first time he had finished further back than second in 11 races over 3200 m, will be attempting to become the first triple winner of the Ansett N.Z. Auckland Cup when he contests the $500,000 feature at Alexandra Park tomorrow evening.

Luxury Liner will be trying to give his regular reinsmari, Tony Herlihy, his fourth win in the Auckland Cup in five renewals. Herlihy began his run with Max Harvey’s Comedy Lad in 1986 before taking the last two cups with Luxury Liner. Although he stands head and shoulders above his rivals when comparing their recoreds over the extreme distance, Luxury Liner, like in the New Zealand Cup, has a 20m handicap to overcome at 10.05 p.m. tomorrow evening. Again the frontmarkers will need to run a near-record to keep this outstanding stayer from getting some of the

money. Luxury Liner began his two-year Auckland Cup domination with a fivelength victory off the front in a smart 4:5.3 for the 3200 m, but reduced the race and track record to 4:3.8 with an emphatic victory from 15m behind last year, defeating Kylie’s Hero and Gina Rosa.

The eight-year-old Mercedes gelding has found the going tougher in this campaign, but his co-trainer Barry Purdon feels Luxury Liner has been racing soundly enough and was pleased with his sixth in the 2540 m Treuer Memorial at Bankstown late last month. “While Westburn Grant won easily, you could have put a blanket over the rest of them, and that was after Luxury Liner was left parked for much of the running,” he said. Luxury Liner hung early and broke in the 1700 m F.A.I. Insurance Stakes in his final race lead-up for tomorrow’s feature and never got back into the race, finish-

ing eighth, but it would not pay to dismiss the gelding when assessing tomorrow’s race.

Barry Purdon will drive Luxury Liner’s stablemate, Reba Lord, tomorrow. His brother, Mark, will drive Surmo’s Dream.

Dillon Dean, just beaten by Inky Lord at the end of last month’s New Zealand Cup, run in a fast 4:2.2 off the front, and a good second in his final lead-up race to Surmo Way last Friday, could start the favourite. The former New Zealand Derby and Messenger winner was credited with a placed time of 4:2.3, along with the New Zealand Cup third placegetter, Bold Sharvid, last month and despite having drawn the inside of the second row, looks the one to beat.

The stake-money for the feature will be broken down as follows: $290,625 for first, $93,000 for second, $46,500 for third, $23,250 for fourth, $11,625 for fifth, and all others $3500.