RACING ASHBURTON MEETING IN DOUBT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 13 May 1961, Page 4

RACING ASHBURTON MEETING IN DOUBT

Decision Today After Heavy Rain

Stewards and committee members of the Ashburton County Racing Club will meet early this morning to discuss the club’s meeting today. If necessary a decision on whether to hold it would be made about 7 a.m., the secretary (Mr J. B. Nicoll) said yesterday afternoon.

Heavy rain fell in Ashburton yesterday, after rain on Thursday, and more is forecast for today. The track is certain to be heavy.

Today’s double will be on the Ashburton County and th Coldstream Handicaps, and a feature event will be the Alford Steeplechase. Arctic Sun, winner of the Otago Steeplechase last season, should manage to beat a small field in the Alford Steeplechase, the first of the winter in Canterbury. At his last start over fences, Arctic Sun beat everything but No Offence in the Autumn Steeplechase at Riverton, on a heavy track The going will be heavy again today, but that should not trouble Arctic Sun, which has run some of his best races under winter conditions. Nor will today's distance — two miles and a furlong—trouble Arctic Sun. The Riverton race was over two miles and a half, and the Otago Steeplechase was over three miles. A 10-year-o!d gelding by Tormie from Incholme, Arctic Sun is owned and trained at Orari by P H C. Stock, whose son, L. D. Stock, will ride the horse today. Arctic Sun has been nominated for jumping events at the Great Northern meeting at Ellerslie early next month. Sydtrev and De Gaulle will be the hardest for Arctic Sun to beat tomorrow. De Gaulle is a stablemate of Arctic Sun. Gore Win Sydtrev has raced only twice since joining the stable of J. D. Panckhurst. Early in the season he won the Eastern Southland Hack and Hunters’ Steeplechase at Gore and in March he ran second to Pearly Gate in the Otago Hunt Cup Steeplechase.

Last season he won the Waimate Hunt Cup Steeplechase. ' Tomorrow's race should not trouble him for stamina or jumping ability. Apart from De Gaulle, the best of the others should be Hay Time, Mananui, and Garbett. Mananui has been the most extensively campaigned of this trio during the season—he has raced six times to Hay Time's three and Garbett's once—and has a laststart fourth to his credit. That fourth, although a distant one, was behind Sir Edwin, Shootalong and Arctic Sun in the Riverton Steeplechase on April 3. Two starts earlier he was

third in the B S. Irwin Steeplechase at the Otago Hunt meeting. Hay Time’s bert effort from his three starts this season was a fifth in the Pukeupi High-weight at Oamaru on March 20 He fell at his last start in a steeplechase at Riverton on April 1. In the absence of Fire Bar, Irrepressible is the likely favourite for the Ashburton County Handicap, in which she will carry 8-11 Shoal, Kastanea, Omaha, and Navarone are other likely runners. John Jameson. Persuasive, and Blonde Sprite are a fancied trio in the second leg. the Coldstream Handicap.