Steven John fancied to complete double

Press, 3 February 1986, Page 34

Steven John fancied to complete double

From G. K. YULE Nelson Steven John’s meteoric rise to prominence in a little more than five weeks looks likely to continue when he contests the Rochdale Sparkling Cider Pace on the second day of the Nelson Trotting Club’s meeting at Richmond Park today.

He advanced his winning sequence to five with a minimum of efforts in the DB Nelson Cup on Saturday after starting from 10m. Today he will start from 20m over a distance 700 m shorter.

In spite of his impressive record, he was second favourite on Saturday and paid a rewarding dividend of $6.20. He settled in seventh place one off the fence and paced in a most relaxed manner on a slack rein. His owner-trainer, John Rogers, moved him forward when Fredericton improved and he joined that horse in front with about 1000 m to run. He shook off that horse starting the run home and although a few challengers looked likely, they came to nothing and he strode purposefully to the line with an advantage of a length and a quarter over an 80/1 chance, the Murchison pacer, Bogart Command, which was fairly handy throughout.

Art Mac Faber, a surprise favourite for the event, was a head away, third, after having his chance. Jovial Jan, another from Westport, came on well for a close fourth, ahead of Aran Blaze. Uncle Alex, after two early lapses, did remarkably well for sixth, with the remainder struggling home at intervals. Steven John paced the 3100 m at a mile rate of 2min 7.35, and took about Imin 2s for his final 800 m.

“He’s still improving,” said Rogers, who has no firm plans for the six-year-old after today’s race. His future racing will have to be in Canterbury, but Rogers is not keen in starting him in mobile events. “I’ll have to look at the programmes coming up in the next few months and see how he is on returning home from this trip,” he added.

A beautifully' gaited horse, Steven John is already being talked of by rival trainers as being in the mould of Hands Down, the biggest winning son of their sire, Armbro Del. A long-barrelled strong gelding, he has tremendous staying powers and seems unperturbed in his racing. However, he has been a real handful for Rogers and still has to be led from the stalls to the birdcage and back again for his races.

“I couldn’t risk him getting a fright,” Rogers said. “If he did he’d just take off and would jump a fence or anything in his way. He’s a nice horse to do anything with, but when he gets upset he’s liable to do anything. He’s been through and over more fences than I can recall and he’s broken carts with great frequency.”

Art Mac Faber will probably be the hardest for Steven John to beat today. There was merit in his placing on Saturday.

Uncle Alex showed great speed after two breaks in the early part of Saturday’s race and should he get his act together and pace smoothly, he could figure prominently in the finish.

Tim’s Mate is an interesting newcomer to this class. She created a track record of 3min 7.9 s for 2400 m when she gained a game win over Gleniti and Go Duke in the Prudential Assurance Pace on the first day of the meeting. Her time could well be bettered today. She is usually a safe beginner and given a reasonable run she, too, could be prominent. Bogart Command, Fredericton and Jovial Jan are others expected to race prominently. Tim’s Mate is trained at Richmond by John Trathen, a past president of the Nelson Club. Another past-president, Joe Hill, also experienced success on Saturday. Polita, which he part-owns and trains, gained a runaway victory in the Tenderkist Pace.

She will be one of the top chances in the Hardy Mail Supervalue Pace, the second Jeg of the T.A.B. double; a race in which most opposition'to her could come from Here Comes Duke, Woodsey, tyenlti and Thornlea.

Jetbet: 7 Race 1 11.5 NEALE AND HADDOW PACE $3000; CO; 2200 m 1 0847 High Dam 1 M. Pash it 2 508 Young Vic 2 C. de Filippi It 3 0 Nibble Knight 3 R. Austin it 4 536 Game Turf 4 W. Hill It 5 Dainty Dish 5 T. Butt It 7 4700 Good Reward 7 W. Forsyth It 8 0527 Miss Falcon 8 J. Smolensk! It 10 0023 Taxing 10 K. O’Reilly It 11 6758 Underworld 11 T. Thomas It 12 2 Johnny Bogart 12 ... . G. O’Reilly It 13 5 Flying Arra 13 M. Edmonds It 14 6460 Energy King 14 M. de Filippi It 15 6020 Rising Moon 15 N. Berkett It 17 6220 Stephen Tryax 17 J. Curtin It 18 8494 Sea World 18 M. Perriton It Scratched: High Alba, Snow Carno, Rosie's First Race 2 11.40 TASMAN LIQUOR HANDICAP $3000; CO; trotters; 2400 m 1 60 Whistling Willie 1. ... D. Hamilton It 2 5 Royal Di 2 C. de Filippi it 3 5400 Repus Pride 3 D. Cleal It 4 00 North Beach 4 P. Young it 5 Megan’s Pride 5 B. Heron It 6 3958 Kate’s Baby 6 W. Walsh It 7 0342 Graceland 7 N. Berkett jun. It 8 2384 Gentleman Jack 8. . ,M. de Filippi it 10 3303 Ali 10 I. Cameron It 11 4007 Gliding On 11 J. Hislop It 12 0940 Highland Byway 12. ... K. O’Reilly It 13 6060 Lady Chimes 13 J. Curtin it 14 0606 Just A Natural 14 ..... .R. Dunn It 15 0 Moana Monnaie 15 B. Hill It 16 0 Special Day 16 ... N. Berkett, sen. it 17 Milford Ace 17 M. Pash It Emergency: Repus Pride. Scratched: Delevision. Race 3 12.15 ENTERPRISE PRINT PACE $3500; Cl; 2400 m 1 5276 Daisy Dene 1 C. de Filippi It 2 9405 Chummy 2 M. de Filippi It 3 7184 Laylum 3. .... : A. Butt It 4 1200 Gilston Charm 4 M. Pash It 5 0400 Cool Fiyte 5 J. Smolensk! it 6 9531 Dejeuner 6 T. Butt It 7 5480 Lauder Bogart 7 .... D. Hamilton It 8 8183 Friendly Lord 8 K. O’Reilly It 9 3900 Never Gueaa 9 J. Thompson it 10 5602 Timely Rule 10 W. Forsyth It 11 0807 Plover 11 T. Thomas It 12 0010 Joker Jack 12 B. Hill It 13 8621 Hurry Home 13 I. Cameron It 14 1 Jason Mac Faber 14 R. Dunn 15 15 4140 Legal Lea 15 J. Curtin It Race 4 12.50 HOUSTON MOTORS PACE $3000; CO; 2200 m 1 0 Submissive 1 B. Kerr It 3 67 Westbury Lass 3 .... C. de Filippi it 4 0000 Scanlon 4 W. Walsh It 6 875 Berkett 6 N. Berkett It 7 8324 Muscadine 7 A. Butt It 8 0370 Index 8 D. Cleal It 9 0433 Dynamic Beat 9 K. Vincent It 10 3030 Super Save 10 M. de Filippi It 12 4000 Varinia 12 J. Smolensk! It 13 0370 Ngaru Nui 13 M. Pash It 14 0 Maida Chance 14. ... M. Edmonds It 15 9489 Farmer’s Pride 15 .. D. Broadhurst It 16 0000 Never Been Seen 16 B. Hill It 17 42 April Byrd 17 K. McCormick It 18 0026 Major Padero UR. . . .M. Smolensk! It Scratched; High Alba, Snow Camo, Rosie’s First. Race 5 T 1.25 BRYAN REGISTER PACE $3000; CO; 2200 m 1 9827 Vonnie’s Charm 1 ... C. de Filippi it 2 2354 Menorlue 2 K. O’Reilly It 3 3593 Skywalker 3 G. Thompson it 4 996 El Draco 4 J. Curtin it 5 8 Timely Armour 5 T. Fox It 6 6442 Idle Thoughts 6 M. Edmonds it 7 Rosie's First 7 N. Berkett it 8 69 Rebecca Mac Faber 8 .W. McCallum It 10 8000 Black Mariner 10 S. Miller It 11 Armbro Padero 11 ... J. Smolenskl It 12 OEI Fashion 12 I. Cameron it 13 6 Courtesy Boyden 13 G. Hunt it 14 0 Ministress 14 P. Young It 15 5035 Noble Report 15 .. . .M. de Filippi it 16 3450 Toby Bay 16 K. Vincent It Scratched: High Alba, Snow Camo, Some Partner. Race 6 D, TF 2.5 ROCHDALE SPARKLING CIDER PACE $5100; C 3; 2400 m 1 1147 Fredericton 1 R. Butt it