 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1984
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
1984 PAN AM MILE
Norton showed that he will be a leading contender for honours in the Lion Brown Easter Cup in April when he overcame a rocky run to win the New Brighton Trotting Club's Pan Am Mile in style at Addington Raceway on Saturday evening.
He looked to have lost his chance when he broke badly early in the run-up and he had to sprint hard to work in behind the others at the starting point. Then, after about 200m, Trilobal broke and clipped a wheel of Norton's sulky without any disastrous effects.
It was late in proceedings that he looked a winning prospect. He was at least five lengths from the leader, Joy Boy, on straightening up, but when Kerry O'Reilly asked him for an effort, the response was dramatic. He surged up to the leaders in a few strides and did not have to be pushed over the final stages to win by a length and a half.
Hilarious Guest, after racing rather erratically early, improved to be on the outside of Agrinion and Dear Sir and just behind Diamond Moose and Joy Boy with 400m to run. She looked a possible winner when she charged past Joy Boy, but closer to home she was no match for Norton. Agrinion, which was in the first three throughout, battled on for a close third, ahead of Dear Sir and Kind Nature, with Jilaire's Chance, which appeared to meet trouble on the home turn, at the head of the others.
Norton, raced by Mr Maurice Anderson, of Gore, and his son, Lindsay, earned an open-class ranking as a result of his win. He will now go on to Washdyke for another free-for-all next Saturday. Trained at Highbank by Pat O'Reilly, Norton has been plagued by problems. He suffered a pedal bone injury and, after a long layoff, came back to racing about 14 months ago. Then, after finishing sixth in the Pan Am Mile 12 months ago, he went sore again, the problem recurring in the spring. Norton came back to racing on January 2 last and Saturday's race was only his second for the season. "He's some horse. He did it so easily it was amazing," commented his driver after the race.
The favourite, Joy Boy, after being challenged for the front by Diamond Moose, for much of the last 1200m, had nothing left on the run home and dropped out to seventh. The race was run in rain, giving added merit to Norton's 1min 58s for the mile. The opening half of the race was run in 58.6s, with the final 400m in 29.2s.
Credit: G K Yule writing in Ch-Ch Press 20 Feb 1984