Wyndham Cup up for grabs
Patrick Erin looks capable of bridging the step to open ranks in the Wyndham Cup at Ascot Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
Patrick Erin mastered 61kg to win a rating 75 2200m at Wingatui at his last start on March 4. He drops to 51kg in the Wyndham Cup with apprentice Rafi Firdhaus in the saddle.
The race was transferred from the abandoned meeting on March 12. The Brian and Shane Andertontrained Patrick Erin was a winner over 1600m at Ascot Park in December. He has compiled the fine record of five wins and six placings in 13 starts since he began racing 11 months ago.
Revelator, who won the Wyndham Cup last year when the race was at Wyndham, has topweight of 57kg, allowing for a three kilogram claim by Tina Comignaghi.
Revelator ran second to Saint Kitt in the Hororata Cup (1800m) at Riccarton last Saturday. The Zabeel gelding has been placed in three of his four starts since he won the Waikouaiti Cup in January.
Motorbike Mike and Oor Wullie, who chased home Revelator last year are in the field.
Thought That has to rate highly in the hands of Kylie Williams, who has won the race on Blue ‘N Gold (2015) and Acquit (2012).
Thought That was a last start winner over 2100m at Ascot Park and he won the Tapanui Cup in December. Thought That is trained by Ellis Winsloe, whose late father, Ted won the race eight times.
Among those winners was Tundra in 1966. Tundra was ridden by Rodney Marsh, a former Wingatui jockey and trainer who died in Christchurch last week at the age of 73. Marsh, who was apprenticed to Mick Didham, rode Astra to win the 1963 Invercargill Gold Cup and he won the 1966 Riverton Cup on Flying York.
Marsh was kicked on the head by another horse in the parade ring when leading a horse he trained for the last race at a meeting at Wingatui in February, 1969.
He had ridden Middy to win the main race of the day. Marsh’s life was in the balance but he recovered to train Catastrophe to win the 1977 Dunedin Guineas and the Newmarket Handicap (at Ellerslie) the same season.