Shivaree heads N.Z. challenge

Press, 7 April 1979, Page 21

Shivaree heads N.Z. challenge

iNZPA Sydney! I The brilliant Matamata- | trained four-year-old Entire, Shivaree, is the New Zea-! land entrant most feared in ! a star-studded field for the $150,000 weight-for-age H.i E. Tancred Stakes (2400 m at Rosehill today. He will be having his first! start since running second to La Mer in the Air New Zealand Stakes (2000 m at Ellerslie on March 3, and is the 6 to 1 joint second favourite with Scomeld behind New Zealand-bred ! colt, Dulcify (Oncidium — Sweet Candy. Dulcify, at 9 to 4, is the obvious horse to beat. He won the Australian Cup and Rosehill Guineas, both over 2000 m, at his previous two starts and if he can win the $93,000 first prize today will take his earnings to $325,000. The Tancred Stakes has attracted one of the best weight-for-age fields ever assembled in Sydney, and Shivaree is one of five New Zea 1 a n d-trained horses among the 14 acceptors. The others are Northfleet, Happy Union, Our Big Gamble, and Tamboura. Two other New Zealandtrained horses, Prancer and Kindled, were among horses balloted out of the field. The trainer of Prancer, Ray Cleaver, has expressed dismay at the decision, which he described as unjust. Prancer has been the favourite for the $156,000 Sydney Cup (3200 m to be run at Randwick on April! 21, and Cleaver said: ‘‘Now I don’t know if he will be fit enough to run in the Sydney Cup and he may be restricted to weight-for-age races for the rest of his stay.”

The two New Zealand horses failed to be included in the field because of a balloting condition concerning prize earnings.

■ Visiting New Zealand; [jockeys will be out in force,! land once again attention I wall be focused on Linda Jones, who has the mount: on Northfleet in the Tancred Stakes. Her handling of Northfleet: when finishing third in the, Manion Cup at Rosehill last; week was impressive. The four-year-old gelding should' have been improved by the! run. Roger Lang has the mount; on Shivaree and Peter John-1 ston. his appeal against sus-| pension upheld on Thursday,; is free to ride Happy Union. Stephen Autridge is on the Wellington Cup winner. Our Big Gamble (which races as Big Gamble in New Zealand) and Lance Douglas has the mount on Tamboura. The Melbourne-based New Zealand jockeys, Brent; Thomson and Gary Willetts, will ride Dulcify and Hauberk respectively, which means New Zealanders are on half the Tancred Stakes field. The field for the Tancred Stakes is:— 5.*5 p.m.— H. E TANCRED STAKES $150,000; 2400 m. 2307 Arwon (3) 58.5 4319 Family of Man (14) 58.5 11. White 4912 Happy Union (4) 58.5 D. Peake 1515 Leonitis (10) 53.5 P. Cuddihy 9158 Our Big Gamble to 58.5 S. Autridge 0100 Tamboura (8) 58.5 L. Douglas 6716 Lefroy (1) 57.0) P Cook 2123 Northfleet <9) 57 0, ! L. Jones 1112 Shivaree (5) 57.0 I R. Lang 2247 Stormy Rex (11) 57.0 K. Langby 4011 Dulcify (7) 52.5 B Thomson 3332 Hauberk (12) 52.5 G. Willetts 1016 Regimental Honour (6) 52.5 P Moran 1153 Scomeld (15) 51.5 J. Miller Emergencies:— 9700 Boogie Woogle (13) 58.5 C. Clare 1572 Free Enterprise (16) 68.5 N. Campton