Spry Joker’s late dash to race at Auckland
By
G. K. YULE
If one trainer more than another deserves success at the Auckland Cup carnival, which begins at Alexandra Park on Friday, it is Jack Carmichael.
Carmichael finished his driving engagements at about 10 p.m. in the rain and cool temperatures at Addington Raceway on Tuesday. Then, about 1.30 a.m. yesterday, he loaded Spry Joker into a trailer float and began the journey to Picton where he hoped to arrive in time for the early morning ferry sailing for Wellington.
“I’ll give him a few hours in a paddock near Bulls before travelling on to Auckland in the cool of the evening. I should get to Auckland about 4 or 5 a.m. on Thursday so the horse will have 30 hours or so before he has to race,” said Carmichael. Difficulty in arranging air transport was the reason for the last-minute rush to get to Auckland. Attempts by the Auckland club to charter an aircraft failed and it was left to owners and trainers to
make their own travel arrangements.
Carmichael was in two minds until Tuesday evening whether to undertake the trip, but decided to go ahead when he realised there were only 10 runners in the Chardon Handicap, a lead-up race to Saturday week’s Auckland Cup. “Not only that but there is such a limited amount of racing available round here for him before Easter. He needs racing and there’s only one Auckland Cup each season,” said Carmichael. Spry Joker, the winner of 10 of his 44 starts, finished a respectable fourth to Roydon Glen in the big sprint at Addington on Wednesday of last week. It was a grand run by a horse better known as a stayer than a sprinter. Lord Louie, Borana and Roydon Glen are the other Canterbury contenders in tomorrow’s sprint at Alexandra Park.
Lord Louie was sent north by road earlier in the week. He goes into the Auckland race with a strong finishing run for sixth to Royden Glen on
January 22 at -his most recent start. He has taken time to strike top form this season, but looks to be close to his peak at present.
Lord Louie will be driven in his races at Auckland by Brent Mangos, who was associated with him in some of his racing at Alexandra Park last month. The southern team at the Auckland Cup meeting will be the smallest for years.
Royden Glen and Borana are to be flown north today, while the Auckland Cup team will be strengthened a week later by Our Mana and Malaz, which will also be flown to Auckland.
Roydon Glen and Borana will have their lead-up races to the Auckland Cup tomorrow. Borana will start from No. 8 on the front in the 2200 m standing start event and will be in receipt of a start of 10m from Roydon Glen. Their meeting with the top northern four-year-old, Placid Victor, should provide an enthralling contest
Roydon Glen is fresh
from an easy sprint win under mobile start conditions at Addington on January 22 when he rated 2min 0.2 s for the 2000 m and won with ease by more than two lengths from Borana.
The run of the Toyota New Zealand Cup winner, Borana, showed that he was fast approaching his peak once more. He was well off the pace turning for home and put in a determined run for his placing, which gave him a half-head advantage over Our Mana, another to make ground steadily in the run home.
Colin de Filippi is satisfied with the condition of Our Mana, runner-up in the last two New Zealand Cups, a position he also filled in the Auckland feature in 1984.
Malaz will complete his preparation for the Auckland Cup in the final of the Anngow Four-year-old Championship at Forbury on Saturday. The holder of the national record for 2600 m from a mobile start is in superb form at present and he will be far from out of his depth among the top pacers at Auckland.
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Press, 30 January 1986, Page 26
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679Spry Joker’s late dash to race at Auckland Press, 30 January 1986, Page 26
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