Autumn Racing Season - Final Day Review
Quality racing to conclude four day season
- Super fields were the order of the day and none illustrated this more that the capacity sixteen runners carded for the Daphne Bannan Memorial Great Easter Stakes. The Brian and Shane Anderton stable is always a force to be reckoned with when travelling to Christchurch and so it proved with good mare FASCINATE running out a strong winner in the hands of Chris Johnson. KOLONEL KEV finished second with the other Anderton runner RAISE YOU TEN finishing in third.
- Unusually for a two-year-old race the largest field assembled this season was in the South Island with that mile-stone going to the Berkley Stud Champagne Stakes when 15 runners faced starter Kevin Leigh-Ogden. It was a home-coming of sorts when Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta brought ZACINTO filly SECRET ALLURE to Canterbury. ZACINTO stands at Inglewood Stud in Ohoka. SECRET ALLURE was too good for the big field defeating Cambridge filly PEACEFUL and PICK ME UP IN RIO with MISS CRIOUS storming home for fourth.
- Another of the ZACINTO progeny won the days longest race the 2500 metres NZI Great Autumn Handicap and did so with ridiculous ease by 10 ½ lengths. WHAT A DEEZA was second and Sydney Cup winner GALLANTE ran third.
- Another most impressive winner on the day was the big gelding WILLIAM WALLACE who came from well back in the running when beating a similarly finishing KOXINGA and DRESSEDTOKILL in the David Emerson Accountants & Business Consultant Premier. Adrian and Harry Bull train the gelding.
- Apprentice jockey Tina Comignaghi continued her rich vein of form riding two winners as did Chris Johnson and Rosie Myers.
- Team Pitman was the leading trainer on the day also with two winners.
