Racing and trotting Another bid by Waikato stable at Riverton

Press, 11 April 1979, Page 32

Racing and trotting Another bid by Waikato stable at Riverton

By.

J. J. BOYLE

Six wins in 1977. five wins last year: little wonder that the Robinsons, of Matangi, are on the long road back for the popular Riverton Easter meeting this y ear.

Leo Robinson, who guided Van Der Hum through the Australian campaign brilliantly climaxed by a Melbourne Cup victory in 1976, will move into Southland today with six members

of the powerful Waikato stable. Success eluded the stable runners at Rangiora on Monday but Leo Robinson felt that luck might be changing when the pacer Tidy Briar, in which he has an interest, won at the Manawatu Trotting Club’s meeting that night. Cobble O will be the stable hope in the Riverton Great Western Steeplechase and Maori Major will contest the Waiau Steeples. Stable runners in flat races on the first day at Riverton will be Dave’s Pride, Princess Hasty, Saffron, and Young Jeff.

Young Jeff and Saffron will be rivals in the Longwood Handicap. The stable horseman Gary Barkle will ride Saffron and Karen Coleman has been engaged for Young Jeff, a winner for the i stable at the Nelson meeting. j Cobble O, the stable hope for the Great Western Steeplechase, goes south seaisoned by recent races at the j Nelson meeting. In his first start there he was placed in j the hurdles in the hands of I Karen Coleman. I Sharzan and Fumbler gave the Robinson stable a quinella in the Great Western two years ago. Princess Hasty, an acceptor for the Visitors’ Handicap at Riverton on Saturday, won two races there last year. She has not won this season but was placed twice at the Grand National meeting.

Cobble O did a solid round on the No. 1 grass at Riccarton yesterday but could not be timed because of heavy fog. Maori Major, winner of three races, one over hurdles last season, also galloped a round on the grass. His connections were surprised to find that he will meet the well performed jumper, Rapid Flight at level weights in the Waiau Steeples at Riverton.

Leo Robinson said yesterday that handicappers in his home district would have had more regard for the performances of Rapid Flight as a jumper even though they had not been over country.

Rapid Flight was the hurdling star at Riccarton last August, winning the Grand National and Sydenham Hurdles for Bill Hillis’s Riverton stable.