Macklin seizes chance for A grade honours

Cross-country

Michael Macklin made the most of his opportunity to be first home in the A grade section when the fifth race in the Trust House cross-country series was held at Taueru on Sunday.

Macklin had invariably finished second behind Ben Winder in previous races but, with Winder missing on this occasion after having contested the Dorne Cup the day before, it was Macklin's chance to shine. He did not disappoint, having two minutes to spare from runner-up Graeme Butcher, who paced himself nicely to take the maximum 22 points on handicap.

It is, however, Steve Brown who leads that section overall, his fifth at Taueru taking him to 92 points, eight ahead of Martin Dransfield. Previous front-runner on handicap Barrie Joslin missed Sunday's race due to injury and now sits third on the points table.

Returning to the action in the B grade was Sam Andrews-Paul and she had the better of the Flying Dutchman, Jochen Martens, leading him home by about 90s while taking second on handicap at the same time. Maximum handicap points went to Denise Baker but overall leaders are Chris Lewis and Neil Cameron, both with 83. Sue Bankier has moved into third with 78.

The C grade field was the smallest of the day. Willie Blake set the pace and finished about one minute ahead of Judy Brown, who elevated herself to first place on handicap points despite Jim Barr earning the biggest number in this particular race. Jane Flowerday is second, four points behind Brown, with Blake a solitary point further back.

The tightest of competitions remains the D grade, where the top five places on handicap are separated by just three points. Renee Tonkin came to Taueru in third place but came away at the top of the list with 77 points. Judy Howard and previous leader Chris Cogdale are second-equal on 76 and fourth, just one point further back, are Rachel Gawith and Rachel Lewis. Gawith was first home in this race and most handicap points were secured by Ruby Morrison.

The walking grade proved to be like Groundhog Day, with father-and-son duo Chris and Ben van Gerven finishing first and second, as they have all series. Next was Gail Edwards, only two-and-a-half minutes further back despite trying to finish a lap early. Maximum handicap points went to Helen McCaffrey but the Van Gervens set the pace there too, father Chris on 98 points, two ahead of son Chris. Third, just two points behind them, is Michael Teahan.

The junior runners went over two laps and Liam Heard beat home arch rival Rhys Gwyther for the second successive time, while Chris Blake was third. Gwyther leads on handicap with 101 points but Heard is very much in touch, with 98. Third on 96 is Oliver Lewis.

Intermediates ran a single lap of the main course and here Matthew Heard not only ran well enough to achieve line honours but also picked up enough handicap points to take the overall lead in the series with 88 points. Second home was John Jerling and Hannah Moore was third. Holding down second on the points list is Tama Bartlett and Aacacia Blake is third, having secured maximum points at Taueru.

It was Travis Bartlett who called the tune in the midget grade, followed by Xavier Matthews and Jack Murray, who was making his debut. Ella Chesmar took first place on handicap and heads the points table with 99 points, ahead of Bartlett and previous leader Adrian Johnson, who missed this particular race.

The next race in the series will be on June 16 and will be at Pakaraka Farm on the Lees-Pakaraka road. Registrations will be taken from 9.15am.