Dervish Picked To Win Today

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31198, 24 October 1966, Page 4

Dervish Picked To Win Today

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON. If Dervish gets anything like a reasonable run he should be one of the hardest to beat in the Pearce Handicap at Trentham today.

Dervish won this race last year and he showed that he was fast approaching peak form again with an unlucky fourth in the mile Wainui Handicap on the first day of the meeting.

On Wainui Handicap form Surf Boy, Kintyre, and Mixed Reception should also run well in the first leg of the T.A.B. double today. Surf Boy won the Wainui Handicap with a strong late run. He has been penalised 91b for that victory. On the first day he received 71b from

Dervish. This time he has 21b more than Dervish. Kintyre and Dervish met at level weights in the Wainui; both had 7-10. Today Kintyre, as a result of his win in the Awatea Handicap on Saturday, is up to 8-5. There will also be strong backing for the Waikato pair, Urupukapuka and Rohe Potae, second and fifth respectively in the open sprint on Saturday.

Urupukapuka was the more impressive, and she might be the hardest for Dervish to beat.

Although there was good drying yesterday the ground is still likely to suit Dunraven, which will be trying to im-

prove a sound record at the meeting in the Nainai Handicap, second leg of the main double.

Prince Hagen, the best behind Dunraven on the first day, and Home On The Range, one of the Shorts Handicap failures, but a likely improver

just the same, might be the hardest for Dunraven to beat. The well - performed Scramble is a newcomer assured of solid backing, and any further improvement in the track would make Jetmate a strong prospect. Beside the races for the T.A.B. double, a major attraction today will be the Harcourt Stakes. Tatua, one of New Zealand’s top performers at weight-for-age, will probably be a firm favourite for this £2500 race. The performances of the three-year-olds, Raidan and Game, will be interesting. They will need to run well to retain their places as strong New Zealand Derby prospects. There will be an on-course double on the Rona Hurdles and the Hinemoa Intermediate Handicap. Lord Erin might make amends in the first leg for his defeat on Saturday. Fair Account will probably be a firm favourite for the Hinemoa Intermediate Handicap.