RACING CONFER STRONG PROSPECT

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31110, 13 July 1966, Page 4

RACING CONFER STRONG PROSPECT

i Lambton Hurdles At : Trentham Today drum Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON. Confer, Mighty Fair and Diamond Red are the strongest winning prospects on the second day of the Wellington winter meeting at Trentham today.

Confer has earned favouritism for the Lambton Hurdles with a close second to Kumai last Saturday. Mighty Fair will not have one as good as Otherwise to oppose him in the Seatoun Handicap now that Diamond Red will contest the mile Petone Handicap.

Confer, the star hack] hurdler at the Wellington winter meeting last year, has won the Great Northern Steeplechase. His jockey, P. R. Wilson, thought he should have beat-

en Kumai last week. He thought Confer lost a winning chance when he ducked to his left to avoid a puddle inside the final furlong. Mighty Fair has earned favouritism for the Seatoun Handicap after seconds in his last three starts. He blew after his race on Saturday, but should be at his fittest for today’s race.

Diamond Red has 9-8 to master in the Petone Handicap, but is a smooth lightactioned galloper over rainaffected tracks, and his win on the first day of the meet-

ing was one of the easiest seen at Trentham for many years.

Elkayel and Kumai, which will vie for favouritism in the Parliamentary Handicap, looked well when exercised at Trentham yesterday. Elkayel does not carry much

flesh, but looks almost robust compared with his looks when he ran second in the Melbourne Cup in 1964. A start for Kumai was decided late on Monday night. “He’s as well as he could

be. Now we have to see if he is as good as he was two years ago,” said his rider, B. J. Anderton, yesterday. Anderton hopes that the relief Kumai has received in weights since he last won on the flat at Trentham will do something to offset diminishing brilliance. Of those engaged in the Members’ Handicap and on

the tracks at Trentham yesterday, none impressed more than Queen’s Poet, runner-up to Maria Mitchell in the Whyte Handicap. Cinnaman, from Blenheim,

gives the South Island another strong winning chance on today's programme. He

is in the £l5OO Matai Steeplechase, two miles and a half. Last year Cinnaman ran second to Flying Swift in this race before going to Riccarton to run second in the Grand

National and win the Beaufort Handicap. The weather has remained fine since the week-end, but the track will be holding.