Horse Racing: Plunge shortens odds on Dannevegas

By Mike Dillon

A couple of big fixed odds punts yesterday drove Dannevegas down to favouritism for Friday's $350,000 Auckland Cup.

A bet of $5000 at $6 yesterday morning brought Dannevegas into $4.50 and a further $1000 bet saw her shorten in to $4.

Dannevegas was originally quoted at $13 when the TAB opened its Auckland Cup betting.

Punters were obviously impressed with Dannevegas' effort in the $40,000 Jezabeel Kings Plate at Ellerslie on Saturday, even though she finished only 10th.

The 1600m was far too short for the Manawatu mare, but against a fierce racing pattern she made ground strongly over the closing stages.

Early Blue Star Auckland Cup favourite Crimson shares second favouritism at $6.50 with Manawatu Cup winner Emerald, Mulqueen and Scud at $8.

Darryl Bradley to ride Denholm

Darryl Bradley has landed the mount on Denholm in the Auckland Cup after Peter Johnson decided to stay with Chase Alida.

Denholm looked anything like an Auckland Cup prospect when finishing 11th in Saturday's Queen Elizabeth, but new trainer Laurie Laxon has not given up on the former Central Districts stayer.

"I know he's shown nothing in the two starts he's had for me, but he's yet to be ridden the way I want him ridden.

"Watching the videos of his last couple of season's racing I believe he's better suited when he's up with the leading bunch trucking rather than at the back of the field.

"In the Waikato Cup and again on Saturday he settled back in the field and as we all know it was impossible for anything to make ground from behind in the Queen Elizabeth.

"I want him ridden forward and that's what I'll be telling Darryl."

Railway Handicap draw

The draw for the $250,000 Railway Handicap this morning will be interesting.

Late last night highly fancied Bawalaksana was 15th in line for a start in a race with a limit of 14 runners.

Bawlaksana races better when fresh and trainer Paul O'Sullivan took a calculated risk not running him in Saturday's Newmarket Handicap even though a first or second placing would have guaranteed him Railway entry.

"He's been going so well with his races spaced," said O'Sullivan.

"Sometimes you can compromise your preparation to get them into a race and it works against you in the big race. You're often better taking the risk."

Burke in syndicate coup

Former daredevil jumps jockey Kim Burke was responsible for the current ownership syndicate enjoying the success of Coup De Folie, the narrow winner of yesterday's Nathans Memorial.

Well, sort of.

A couple of years ago Burke was working in an Auckland contract painting gang
for one of Coup De Folie's current lessee owners Mick Adams.

Burke had been apprenticed to the O'Sullivan stable and when Adams learned the then unraced Coup De Folie was available for lease he dispatched Burke to Matamata to ride the filly in trackwork and provide an opinion.

Not uncharacteristically, Burke had a late night and did not make it to the early morning workout.

Left with an embarrassing choice, he figured his only out was to tell the syndicate the filly trialled fantastically and to go ahead and secure her.

"I told these guys about that only a few weeks ago," O'Sullivan said as he watched his nine-member syndicate begin their celebrations after Coup De Folie nosed out Montreal Star.

"She's a good away-from-the-top handicapper at the moment and in 12 months when she's stronger she could win a very useful race."

Vance gives Shailer a leg-up
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Twenty three years and 35 minutes after he rode his first winner, Bob Vance was happy to leg Kris Shailer up for his first starring role aboard Bahnhof Zoo in the Graeme Thompson Antique Jewellery Hand icap yesterday.

Bahnhof Zoo is the veteran of four starts and with him racing out of his class in open company for the first time yesterday trainer Jenny Vance was keen to use a 4.5kg apprentice claim.

Tetraplegic former jockey Tony Williams came to the rescue.

"Tony rang to say he had seen this kid ride at the trials and that he went OK," Bob Vance said.

"I rode my first winner, Persian Sun, in the Nathans Memorial, one race earlier than this in 1975 and I thought, what the hell, give the kid a chance to do something similar."

Fifteen-year-old Shailer, younger brother of Central Districts rider Paul Shailer, is in good company - he is apprenticed to Matamata's Stephen Autridge alongside Opie Bosson.

"I gave Kris his first two rides on a couple of slow maidens at Rotorua yesterday, so he's done well to ride his first winner at his third ride," Autridge said.

When things got tight at the 200m Shailer showed a lot of composure for a non-winning apprentice, carefully riding hands and heels without the bounce around you would expect from someone in his position at the Auckland Cup carnival.

It was a big day for Autridge, who earlier produced a dashing track record-breaking debut juvenile winner Catamarca.

The Gold Brose filly is one of six Autridge purchased to pass on from the Karaka yearling series, another being smart winner Jetter.

Catamarca is raced by a four-way syndicate which includes Rotorua's Reg Durrant and Aucklander Mike Tololi.

Durrant took a small fortune off Melbourne bookmakers when he won the Caulfield Cup with Ana light, but the short price put him off punting too much on the mare's carbon copy, Catamarca.

If Durrant did not open his shoulders at the tote yesterday, someone did.

Catamarca had been extremely impressive winning at the Cambridge trials, but was still at short odds against Quorum, winner of two of his three starts.

Durrant was invited to an open day at Stephen Autridge's stable in February to inspect several yearlings Autridge had purchased at the Karaka sales.

"The minute I saw this filly I knew I had to have her. She is a dead ringer for Analight - the same conformation, colour and forehead blaze."

Catamarca will never be a Caulfield Cup type, but the brilliance she showed yesterday suggested she is going to give some talented opposition some headaches in her career.