Morocco’s Game Effort In Hurdles At Te Rapa

Wanganui Chronicle, 17 November 1949, Page 3

Morocco’s Game Effort In Hurdles At Te Rapa

AUCKLAND, Last Night (Special). > —Happy memories were awakened in • several racegoers when the grey geld- ' ing Morocco was produced in the ' open hurdle race at Te Rapa last > week. It was on the same track 18 ' months earlier that this horse had 1 put up a remarkable performance. ! That was Morocco’s first introduc- ’ tion to jumping. He went to the 1 front from the very start and the further they went the bigger his ’ margin became. Morocco finally ’ passed the post pulling up, 25 lengths • ahead of Euryalus and Leigh Hark, ■ the most outstanding hurdles victory ’ perhaps in northern racing history 1 Incidentally his stablemate Pimlico ' took the second division of this hurdle race, but he reversed the order, for ( he came from the back to win. Both ’ these horses have “gone places’’ since that day. j Morocco won a hack hurdle race at ‘ Riccarton in August of last year, and “ that was his final outing over the sticks until he was saddled up last " Saturday. Then he tried to repeat f l his earlier performance and went , very close to doing so. This time he p 'was never allowed to get very far • ahead of Brown Duke, the distance , between them being six lengths at the most at any stage. ' The grey still had three lengths’ ad- . vantage over Brown Duke at the last fence, and when he ran the obstacle 1 down a bit he checked his opponent, for Brown Duke had to swing out when jumping and lost a little ground. > In the final 50 yards Brown Duke put , up a great final burst and he caught J Morocco just short of the post. I It was a very good race between , two brilliant jumpers. Morocco may " reveal most improvement in the near II future, and this may be next -week j lat Te Aroha, although he is also enj gaged in flat races.