RAPID RISE OF LLANGOLLEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 55, 7 March 1939, Page 4

RAPID RISE OF LLANGOLLEN

WON. £3562 IN STAKES When Llangollen led from end to end to win the Herries Memorial at ( Te Aroha last Saturday she not only registered the best performance of her ; career but also strengthened her claim : as being the best mare racing in New i Zealand to-day. Stretto and Disdain may be ranked above her on their return from Australia, but in their absence Llangollen stands out among her sex. From a lowly beginning Llangollen has risen to the top flight of New Zealand’s handicap company both in sprint and distance events, and her remarkable consistency, especially un- , der welter weights, has made her one of the most popular gallopers of recent years. It was little wonder that sh<? received such a rousing ovation on her return to the scale at Te Aroha. Her early career was undistinguished. Bred by her present dXvners, Messrs. Abbot Bros., of Opotiki, she was the eighth foal of the Marble Arch mare Llanberis, and none of her relatives had fared with much success on the turf, although her halfbrother, Kilberis, had shown moderate form. A plain looking customer, Llangollen apparently did not impress her owners early, for she did not start racing until the autumn of her fourth year. However, she was soon to come into prominence, for after failing to run into a place at her first appearance in public, she won a division of a maiden event at Paeroa at her next start. A third and second followed at her next two runs, and then in her final start as a four-year-old she won a novice event at the Bay of Plenty meeting. Winning Sequence. Her reappearance last season mark- ' ed a winning sequence which gave her a rapid rise in class. Her first three I runs produced wins at Poverty Bay, Rotorua and Te Rapa, and she follow-’. • ed this up by running second at Te | Rapa, winning and running second at Te Aroha, and making a winning debut in open company at Paeroa. The second day at Paeroa she ran fourth over nine furlongs in the main handicap, this being her first attempt over a distance, and she went on to win the Tauranga Cup of a mile and aquarter and the main event the second day at Tauranga. Stepped out in the best class handicap company for the first time, Llangollen made a great bid for victory in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap, in which she ran third to Francis Drake and Stretto, only a neck and a head separating the trio. She then failed twice at Avondale before carrying 9.12 into second place when beaten a head by Hunting Blood at Tauranga, this being her final start for the season. Her great form this season is too recent to need enlarging on. Under welter weights she has shown brilliant form to win five times and be third on three occasions in only 12 starts. Judging by her latest display it would seem that she has not yet reached the peak of‘her form. Her record reads: Starts. Wins. 2nd. 3rd. Stakes

£ At 4 years 2 1 1 170 At 5 years 14 7 2 2 1552 At 6 years 12 5 3 1840 Total — 31 14 6 3 £3562