Racing: $200,000 Easter may be best in decade

Obsession (left) was last night declared a starter in today's Easter Handicap at Ellerslie. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Popular opinion was that this was going to be an ordinary Easter Handicap field.

It's probably the best we've seen in a decade.

The $200,000 Land Pride Easter at Ellerslie this afternoon will not be won by accident.

Whoever wins will deserve it.

If you look back on the Easter rollcall of the last decade, with one or two exceptions, it does not read like a Hall Of Fame induction party.

Today's winner is likely to lift that profile.

Historically the Easter has been won by some of the greats.

Going back to the mid-1970s, Turfcutter, Kiwi Can, Tudor Light, Grey Way, Silver Nymph and Silver Wraith won six out of seven straight Easter Handicaps.

But pride of place will always be held by Sleepy Fox, himself not a champion from the Takanini stable of Tom Verner, but out of the top drawer and one who wrote himself into the record books by winning four straight Easters in 1944, 45, 46 and 47.

Sleepy Fox actually ran in five Easter Handicaps, having been unplaced in the feature as a 3-year-old in 1943.

He won by five lengths with 8 stone (51kg) in 1944, Joe Williamson doing the riding.

Ian Galvin was on his back when he triumphed in the 1945 running, lumping 9 stone 5 (59.5kg).

And the handicapper thought he had better treat him with real respect when Sleepy Fox lined up in 1946 with 10 stone 2 (64.5kg).

That year he had an interesting lead-up to the big race.

Sleepy Fox was sent to Australia where he earned the reputation as the next good thing with first-up wins in the Canterbury Stakes and Chelmsford Stakes.

Suddenly the wheels fell off to such an extent that Sleepy Fox was tailing off in his races.

And when he returned home he was like a skeleton.

Yet miraculously he stepped out in the Easter only six weeks later and won narrowly from Prince Revel, to whom he was conceding nearly 20kg.

Jack Winder, who was later to make a name for himself as a master trainer in Cambridge, rode Sleepy Fox that year and was in the saddle again in 1947 when the seven-year-old attempted to make it four straight Easters.

This time he had "only" 9 stone 13 (63kg) to lump and he got the job done, to the delight of the public that sent him out a warm favourite despite the difficult task.

Sleepy Fox was raced by Eliot Davis in partnership with Oliver Nicholson, the Auckland Racing Club president from 1933-45.

Class filly Obsession was last night declared a certain starter in today's $200,000 Land Pride Easter Handicap only after the result of blood tests were read. Trainer Frank Ritchie was not prepared to run Obsession if the blood test results showed any signs of stress from her hard race to finish third in last weekend's $200,000 NZ Bloodstock Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha.

The tests could also have shown up muscle enzyme issues leading to muscle tie-up, which has affected Obsession from time to time. "I was reasonably sure there was no problem with the muscle enzymes, but I needed to know about the stress issues from last week's race."

Ritchie says visually Obsession gives the impression she has flown through last week's run. "She nearly fired Jayne (Ivil) out of the saddle this morning, so she's feeling pretty well," the trainer said.

"But it's never an easy task for a 3-year-old filly to win these group ones against all comers and she's drawn wide to boot."

Obsession is one of three 3-year-olds in the race along with November Rain and Time Keeper.

It's 20 years since Status became the last 3-year-old to win the Easter, but the more recent proliferation of 3-year-old opportunities means fewer of that age have tackled the race.

Previous 3-year-old winners were Eastern Joy (1985), Silver Nymph (1980), Silver Wraith 1978 and Tudor Light (1976). The remarkable Tudor Light carried 56kg in her year to record a startling win.

This year's trio all have 51kg.