MY OWN UNLUCKY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 954, 23 April 1930, Page 14

MY OWN UNLUCKY

SHOULD HAVE BEEN DUAL CLASSIC WINNER ST. LEGER RUNNING The best filly among the three-year-olds seen out at Ellerslie at the summer meeting was undoubtedly Mr. J. S. McLeod’s My Own. Not only did she win the Great Northern in stylish fashion and set a new record (2.35 3-53) for the race, but she should also have won the St. Leger on Monday. Ridden in the fillies’ classic by the Southern lightweight, T. Webster, she was handled with rare judgment. In the early part she was kept up near the leaders. Seven furlongs from Tiome My Own began to forge toward the front and at the cutting she was racing abreast of Valreina in the van. From this out the daughter of Lord Quex had matters practically her own way, keeping her position to outstay Eaglet at the finish. The tactics employed in taking My Own to the front six furlongs from home in order that there would be no loitering, worked out splendidly and a true stayer came into her own. My- Own won well, but the real test came when she appeared in the St. Leger on Monday, and 'although she failed to rise to the occasion, it was not owing to inferiority; in fact, she looked a good thing beaten. R. McTavish had the handling of the filly', and his attempting to ride to instructions saw' My Own’s downfall. Endeavours to keep the three-year-old from the van resulted in her covering much more ground than necessary', while at a critical stage—approaching the straight—she lost her place, and “snowed in,” it was pretty' obvious she had sofhething to do. McTavish got to her with good effect below the distance, and had she not been disappointed tw’ice coming through the field, she might have won even then. The case was another of those regrettable incidents so common in racing, a case of “a good thing beaten.” Under the circumstances, My* Own would have won—and won comfortably, too. These two efforts were proof positive that My Own is a better filly than previous outings indicated, and now that she has shown semblance of striking her true form the connections may' have a tilt at one or tw r o good handicaps in the near future.