Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1953 - 1954), Sunday 7 February 1954, page 27


OUTSIDER BLUE

OCEAN'S RECORD

Dazzling Speed In Royal Race Shock

By GEORGE MILLER

Lucky Rider

A. PODMORE, who

rode Blue Ocean.

Blue Ocean gave a dazzling display of staying speed, the like of which Sydney has never known, to win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick yesterday.

Carrying the limit weight of i 7-0, Blue Ocean led throughout to beat Euphrates by two lengths and a half, with Advo-cate half a neck away third.

Blue Ocean broke the course record for a mile and a^ half by 1^ seconds, and equalled Palfresco's long-standing- Austra-lian record of 2m 27£s.

Queen Praises

Gelding's Stamina

Blue Ocean's speed shattered the chances of the favoured candidates -Carioca, Hydrogen, Euphrates, Oversight, Regal Glitter and Gal-

lant Archer.

He was clocked independ ently to run the first six fur longs in lm 12s, which wa: only three-quarters of £ second outside îhe time taken by the winner of th« Westminster Juvenile Han-dicap over the same dis-

tance.

Blue Ocean was going as strongly at the finish as at any stage of the race.

Picnic Horse

His great staying ability was the fact that impressed Queen Elizabeth, who. ac-cording to trainer Harry Darwon, told him: "What a wonderful horse he must be to strike speed so quickly and hold it for so long and apparently increase it to-

wards the finish."

Blue Ocean's victory was unexpected, but well de-

served.

The story of Blue Ocean is paralleled only by that of his trainer.

Blue Ocean arrived in Sydney five years ago as a gelding whose only racing had been over short courses

in the country, mainly in picnic events.

Harry Darwon arrived in Sydney 14 years ago as an unknown country trainer, who battled his way to re-cognition as a number one trainer at Randwick.

Before he came to Sydney, i Darwon trained at Wagga

' for the late Mack Sawyer.

It was not long before he won recognition in Sydney, because each of thc first seven horses he produced won in turu at Randwick.

He has the distinction of having won the A.J.C. Breeders' Plate twice-first with Lloric and this season with Lindbergh.

I Until yesterday his most

important success was with Buzz Off . in the Prince Richard Cup at Randwick in the middle 1940's.

When Blue Ocean enters cd Darwon's stables, he was a four-year-old gelding who formerly had been used as a station sire at Cooringle,. the Boorowa property of his

owner.

Sired Polo Ponies

There he had sired a num-ber of polo ponies, which members of the owning fam-ily believe will be top class in their sport, although they

will never race.

Blue Ocean is owned by Mrs. W., Miss E. and Messrs. R., R. A. and K. C. Kelly, known appropriately enough among their friends at Randwick as the "Kelly Gang."

They have raced a num-ber of horses in Sydney, in-cluding Triclinium, Mighty Song, winner of thc Gim-crack Stakes, High Sense, and Two Birdies, and each of them has been a front

runner.

Before he came to the Metropolitan area. Blue Ocean raced mainly in the Goulburn district.

A race accident at a picnic meeting left him with a badly injured knee and the effects of it came against him frequently.

He was given ray treat

j ment and treated to numer

! ous lengthy spells and Dar-

won attributes his soundness now to the fact that he has had a very light racing

career.

I Blue Ocean demonstrated

his fitness when he led all the way to win over nine furlongs at Randwick yes-terday week.

But because of the handi-cap conditions, it was be-lieved generally that at the weights, Regal Glitter, whom he beat narrowly, would be his master in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

This belief was thc reason his price yesterday eased from 25-1 to 33-1, but it did not shake thc confidence of the trainer or of stable followers.

Bets laid against Blue

Ocean included £2,000 to j

£60 by Les Tídmarsh and Gersh Fienberg, £1,000 to £20, Jack Muir, and £1,000 to £30, Jack Man-del, Tidmarsh, Muir and Tom Dwyer.

Blue Ocean went to the front at the start, led by a couple of lengths at the mile and a quarter, by four lengths at the mile, by six lengths at the half-mile, and again by four lengths at the

turn.

At thc Leger, it was appa-rent that nothing stood a chance against him and he raced home an easy winner, with jockey Arthur Podmore merely sitting on him.

Carioca's performance was summed up in thc words of jockey Bili Cook, who said: "He was beaten for three reasons-thc I winner went too fast for

too long, broke an Aus

tralian record, and il was not (lie old Carioca."

Carioca finished sixth, with Double Blank and Hydrogen in front of him and behind the placed horses.

He pulled up well, but his failure is likely to throw his plans for Melbourne racing in February and March into the melting pot.

Hoysted's View

Lessee-trainer P. C. Hoysted said: "I was never really confident because I be-lieved Carioca should have had another week at least to fit him for the race.

"His run proved that he is not as fit as he could be, and his programme will de-pend on the way he comes up after to-day's race."

Thc Hydrogen stable was well pleased with the performance of its repre-sentative, but again the need of a run was empha-sised.

Mr. E. R. Williams, owner of Hydrogen, said: "1 ran the horse because J was anxious to have a candidate in this event.

"But 1 think my original plan, which was to save him for weight-for-age racing, would have been by far the

better."

Hydrogen yesterday was unable to trail Carioca be-cause Bill Cook, on the lat-ter, sent him up sharply approaching the mile and left Hydrogen running sec-ond last with only Gallant Archer behind him.

Better Effort

When the field straightened for the run home, Carioca was seventh wide out, while Hydrogen was thirteenth close to the rails.

Hydrogen's finishing effort was far more impressive than that of the favourite.

Advocate was just in front of Carioca, but also close in, and he finished solidly to fill third position, just holding off the final challenge of Double Blank.