STRONG FANCIES WIN ASHBURTON DOUBLE

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31096, 27 June 1966, Page 4

STRONG FANCIES WIN ASHBURTON DOUBLE

Big Smoke Manages Mile Gamely To Beat Careen

Big Smoke and Time and Tide won major flat races and the TA.B. double at Ashburton on Saturday for two of the South Island’s most notable stables.

Big Smoke lasted a mile gamely for a half-length victory over the top-weight, Careen, in the Moronan Handicap to record his second successive win for his veteran Wingatui owner-trainer.

The three-year-old Time and Tide was much too good for the others in the Smfield Handicap, in which he completed a £l4 16s double. This made Mr D. W. J. Gould’s Dogger Bank gelding ineligible for the Thomas Seaton Memorial at Washdyke next Saturday and it could have put Trentham on his immediate programme. “Present Intentions are that he and Manana will run at Trentham,” said Time and Tide’s Riccarton trainer, J. C. Tomkinson, yesterday. Fast Gallops Anyone holding high hopes for out-and-out mudlarks in the double and other races at; Ashburton was to be disap-! pointed. Big Smoke was forced to run the mile of the Maronanj Handicap on a summerlike track in Imin 38 2-ssec, and Time and Tide reeled off Imin 11 3-ssec in his dashing winning run over six furlongs.

The stable jockey, M. J. Skelton, felt that Big Smoke’s victory could have hinged on the Gigantic gelding’s quickness to take a gap behind Sabell near the home turn.

Big Smoke just beat Stageland for the gap, which placed him in a challenging position on straightening. The favourite—he was carrying £9lll 5s of a doubles pool of £33,559 ss—was under vigorous handling outside the furlong, and did not master Sabell until they were inside the furlong. Lugged In There was a late challenge from Careen, but the topweight lost more than the margin—half a length—she was beaten by when she lugged in early in the run home. The Whyte Handicap at Trentham is the next race for Careen, and her second on Saturday on ground probably too hard to show her to the best advantage was an attractive trial for the Wellington club’s rich mile. As usual Careen was close to the tail of the field early, and was little closer at halfway.

Even Chance was another to mount a big run from the back and this gave him third at long odds. It was also encouraging evidence of his fitness for valuable races later this winter.

Even Chance pegged back Sabell in the last stride, and Shakes was fifth, also close

at hand. Shakes was splendidly ridden, and his rails run looked as if it would pay off for a moment early in the run home, but he could not find anything extra over the last bit. Calvados, a clear leader momentarily near the home turn when Silver Kingdom dropped away, was sixth in a gap of two lengths behind Shakes. The Missionary was seventh, a head back, and two lengths clear of Stageland, which probably will have brighter chances when he resumes middle-distance racing. Second Leg Time and Tide did not have to produce one of his best gallops for his win in the Seafield Handicap, so his oerformance indicated further improvement since his unlucky fifth at Waimate at his previous start. There were no traffic problems for Time and Tide on Saturday from the moment he jumped out quickly from the inside. He had Taxman in close attendance for a time, but quickly and easily put a break on the others in the straight and came to the post two lengths and a half clear of Rae’s Hope, which had trailed.

Acron, a failure as a hurdler at Oama u a few days earlier, battled into third at long odds, but a performance that held probably more significance was Morris Francis’s fourth under the top-weight after a slow start in this his first race for some months. Jester Jinks was a dominating favourite and might have needed a quagmire to justify that position, although a check early in the race could perhaps have cost him a minor placing. Jester Jinks carried 10,705 tickets on the double, and Time and Tide was a lukewarm second favourite with 7488. Next in favour were Donnaway (4630) and Natter (3304). There were no excuses for Donnaway, but Natter was slow away. When making ground near the three furlongs she slipped and retreated again to the tail-end bunch where she stayed.