 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1981
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| Time's Up races away from Up Tempo |
RNZAF pilot Bill Lamb could be at Addington, he was tied up with flying exercises somewhere over the North Island. But no matter how high in the sky he might have been, he wouldn't have been on the same plane his mother Dora and sister Mrs Judy Taylor were on after the running of the New Zealand Oaks. They were on "cloud nine".
For they had just seen their brilliant filly Time's Up run away with the classic from some of the best in the country. And in record time too. The daughter of Don Baker and See You Later scampered over the 2600 metres in 3:22.1, well inside the 3:23.9 Armalight ran in the race last year and beating the national time for a filly of 3:23.1. that time is the second national record Time's Up has set now. Four starts back she ran 4:19 for 3200 metres when winning at Rangiora, a top performance. But winning is nothing new for this filly. the Oaks victory was her eleventh in a career that has netted her connections near enough to $40,000.
So it wasn't wishful thinking on the part of Mrs Lamb when earlier in the season she told Jack Smolenski: "We are going to win the Oaks this time." While Smolenski, who drove the filly, didn't reject the idea out of hand, he did apparently sound a note of caution. After all, he pointed out, he had never won an Oaks before although, as he recalled he'd got horses like Gina Marie and Royal Belmer into the money over the years. But Mrs Lamb was still confident. Time's Up had been top of her age and sex at the end of her initial season. There was no reason why she shouldn't carry on.
The wins haven't come as frequently this term as they did last time. The Oaks was only her second in nine starts for the season although she has been in the money every other time. The previous time out she was just beaten by Yvette Bromac in the final of the DB Flying Fillies' series at Alexandra Park. The margin then was only half a head. In that race, Smolenski said, he might have gone to the lead a little early and Time's Up could have run out of steam. In the Oaks, however, she took off rounding the final turn and "sprinted home well" to leave the others well behind at the line.
After galloping off the mark, but settling quickly, Time's Up soon got a cover on the outer with Smolenski content enough to take advantage of the "lucky" run. Patsy Marie shot into the lead from the outset and set a strong pace with Up Tempo nicely in the trail for Jim Curtin, hot favourite Take Care in the open and Twilight Mist behind her. Smolenski kept Time's Up behind Twilight Mist until just the right moment. Once into the straight the last time, Patsy Marie veered quite markedly away from the fence and Curtin was quick to take advantage of the gap. Up Tempo shot to the lead but couldn't hold off the strong challenge Smolenski and his filly lodged in the run home.
Time's Up finished a length and a half in front of the runner-up with Southland filly Risdon Lea running on well for third after sitting out the race four and five back on the fence. Patsy Marie put in another gutsy performance to hang on to fourth ahead of Verona, outsider Jody Kowhai and the favourite Take Care who was wide early and then kept in the open.
The Oaks win gave Smolenski a sparkling driving treble for the season: earlier he won the New Zealand Derby with South Canterbury colt Amaze and the NZ Welcome Stakes with Mel's Boy.
Credit: NZ Trotting Calendar