ASHBURTON MEETING

Press, Volume C, Issue 29515, 17 May 1961, Page 5

ASHBURTON MEETING

Turnover Of £12139

Investments off and on(course on the Ashburton County Racing Club’s autumn meeting yesterday totalled £121,589 probably twice the amount that would have been invested if the club had raced last Saturday, as scheduled. The meeting had to be postponed from Saturday until yesterday because of the waterlogged state of the track. As a result, the club should benefit handsomely. Off-course investments yesterday totalled £100.146, probably three times as much as might have been expected if the club had raced in competition with six other meetings last Saturday. Yesterday’s off-course figure was £63.632 15s higher than the £36,513 5s invested through the T.A.B. on this meeting last year. But it was not the best ever for the club. In 1959 Ashburton staged its first spring meeting on a Friday to avoid clashing with the All Blacks-Lions test in Christchurch the next day, and the T.A.B. total was £104.768 15s. Rugby enthusiasts on their way to Christchurch helped to swell the crowd which invested £33.712 on the course The on-course total yesterday was £21.443 —a drop of £5143 on last year. The over-all increase yesterday was £58,489 ss. Doubles Investments Doubles investments accounted for £53,708 of the! total turnover yesterday, and| all but £2803 10s of that came l from off the course. Doubles investments for the same meeting last year were i £20.922 15s. j The surprise doubles favi ourite for the first leg. the i Ashburton County Handicap. I yesterday was Kastanea. with £10.295. He did not have any worthwhile form, but he was ridden by W. D. Skelton, who has a big following. \ Kastanea was eighth in a field of 12. Shoal was the win favourite and second choice on the double, on which she carried £9526. She ran fourth. Next in favour was Irrepressible. carrying £BBB2 15s and the hopes of her backers to the very last stride. She was second only a nose behind the long shot Phil’s Choice, which carried £893 10s on the double and paid £4B 18s 6d for a win. Blonde Sprite was the favourite in doubles combinations in the Coldstream Han-

dicap. but fourth was the best she could manage. She carried 819 tickets, 180 more than the winner. Persuasive. Twenty-five tickets on the successful combination were sold on the course on a double worth £277 17s for £l.