TROTTING Golden Oriole Well After Rib Fracture

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30956, 12 January 1966, Page 5

TROTTING Golden Oriole Well After Rib Fracture

Golden Oriole, which suffered a minor set-back early last month, is making good progress again. She will have her first serious test at speed for nearly six weeks when she competes in the Free-for-all at Ashburton tomorrow.

Golden Oriole had to miss holiday racing because she fractured a rib. The accident did not bring her training to a complete standstill but it prevented all fast work. For nearly a rtionth she was just jogged on a lead.

W. R. Butt, who prepares Golden Oriole for his son, hopes that the run at tomorrow’s trials, which are being held by the Mid-Canterbury Owners and Breeders’ Association, will help to bring the mare somewhere near peak. If all goes well in the next week or two Golden Oriole will resume at the Forbury Park Trotting Club’s Festival meeting which begins later this month. Tomorrow she will be entered for the Dunedin Festival Cup, the feature event at that fixture.

Invariably Golden Oriole has taken time to strike her best form. As a two-year-old

she won her last four races in succession and she ended her three-year-old season with three wins in succession.

But there was a change in Golden Oriole’s form pattern this season. She began her four-year-old racing with a win among the sprinters at Addington Raceway in October. In her other three starts the best that she managed was a fourth. That temporary lapse did not cause her trainer concern for at the time of her accident he felt she was just coming right.

Withdrawn Peerswick and Cloudy Bay were scratched yesterday with the New Zealand Trotting Conference for the inter-Dominion Championship series which will be held in Sydney next month.

They bring the number of official withdrawls with the conference, since handicaps were declared nine days ago, to six. Last week’s withdrawls were the pacers, Waitaki Hanover and Noisette, and the trotters, Poupette and Ipiana. Although not official it is understood that the Auckland pacer, Tutankhamen, has been withdrawn from the series.

Now At Weedons

Russell joined R. W. Stockdale’s stable at Weedons after racing in the Waimate Handicap on the first day at Washdyke. Russell, which is raced by Mr G. Barnes, of Seddon, will have his first race for his new trainer in the Rosewill Handicap on the second day of the Timaru Trotting Club’s summer meeting on Saturday. Last Saturday Russell made his best showing this season when he ran on for third to his former stablemate Cleome. In the Waimate Handicap he was handled by M. Holmes, who will drive him again this week. ■ No Firm Offers

“I have had several inquiries but no firm offers,” said Mr W. L. Bagrie yesterday when asked if there was any truth in the rumour that Orbiter was under offer to an agent acting for American interests.

“I was not surprised that ap. proaches were made after Orbiter’s record-breaking run at Cambridge last Wednesday night,” said Mr Bagrie. “But so far all I’ve been asked is will I sell and to put a price on the horse.”