 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1979
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Game Adios (Robert Cameron) trialling at Addington |
"You could put a jersey bull to that mare and she'd still leave a winner," a friend once told Mid-Canterbury trainer Alister Kerslake. And after Game Adios won the NZ Derby Kerslake would almost have to agree. For out of a dozen foals to get to the races, Game Adios' dam Adio Star has left nine winners...among them four individual Derby winners.
Bachelor Star won the three-year-old feature in 1971 for the late Frank Woolley, Kerslake's father-in-law; Main Adios won it in 1975 for Kerslake, his wife Berry and his brother-in-law Francis Woolley; Main Star won the Great Northern Derby for the trio in 1978; and noe Game Adios is on the list. "And don't you worry," a jubilant Kerslake said after the Derby victory, "we'll be back again next year with this bloke's brother Bionic Adios, also by Garrison Hanover." A representative from the Kerslake stable won't be beyond the realms of possibility the year after either, for the champion broodmarehas just left a nice colt by Out To Win for the partners.
Driven again by Robert Cameron who has done so well with Kerslake-trained horses over the years, Game Adios got to the lead with half the 2600 metres gone. He held on to win with a minimum of trouble from El Guago and Cheltenham with the unlucky Dictatorship fourth. Cameron actually made his move at the 2000 metre mark with a big run from the back of the field. Once in the lead with 1300 metres to go, he just kept up the pressure andleft it to the others to get to him. The win in the $30,000 Derby was Game Adios' fifth this term and he is due to have a few days off this week. "That was the race we wanted to win," Kerslake said.
Hot favourite for the race Ryal Pont was in all sorts of strife right from the start when he was very slow to begin. And then, about the 2000 metre mark he caught the backwash of some interference to Dictatorship by Regal Guy (an incident that was later to earn Regal Guy's driver Kevin Townley a holiday). Settled again by Kevin Holmes, straight from his world driving series assignments in Perth the previous night, the tough Tactile gelding made a big move four wide from the 600 metres but all that earlier buffeting had taken its toll and he weakened out. He finished near the tail of the field with Wickliffe, another to suffer at the 2000.
El Guago's run was a good one. He was facing the breeze most of the way and still had something left for Jack Carmichael once into the straight. Cheltenham, in the hands of Doody Townley, had a brief spell in the lead and after, got a good trail behind Game Adios. He was hard-pressed for room going for home but gave nothing away. Fourth placed Dictatorship would have to be the unlucky runner in the field. He suffered at the hands of Regal Guy, settled again well for Garry Smith and was finishing better than anything in the straight. The others could offer no excuses. At the end they were well and truly beaten.
And getting back to that idea of putting Adio Star to the bull? "Well, with the cattle prices the way they are at the moment, that wouldn't be too bad an idea," Kerslake said.
Credit: Graham Ingram writing in NZ Trotting Calendar