Ives back to best with Taipa treble

TONY Ives emphatically tasted the good side of racing at Taipa yesterday with a winning treble that has lifted his season right out of the doldrums. Hit by a recurring injury and on the sidelines several times since the action started up again last September, the popular English ace has been languishing in mid-table although the winners had started to come in since the end of last season.

The trickle became a flow yesterday with the flame-haired Yorkshireman kicking off with Ghostbuster (5-1) in the opener, repeating his triumph of six days earlier. He followed up with a major shock when topweight Luen Yat Rambo (8-1) downed 2-1 favourite Eagle World in the Class Four, 1,200-metre fifth event. And this was an emphatic success with the favourite failing to get close to gutsy Luen Yat Rambo and going under by a length and three parts.

Ives, now in the middle of his second Taipa season after two years in Hongkong, had to wait to the final race before wrapping up the treble and he did it when 2-1 favourite Cash Register had little trouble disposing of Mr Magician (6-1) in the Class Four longer sprint. ''It's great and I'm delighted. It has been a trying season for me mostly because I have had to sit out meetings because of injury.

''But I have been feeling in great shape lately and the horses were beginning to run right for me. I thought there would be a couple today but the treble has happily exceeded my expectations.'' While Ives cornered the riding honours, champion jockey GeoffAllendorf also burst out of a recent relatively lean spell for a short-priced double.

It was initiated in the Class Five short sprint second event when newcomer Monsieur Vax (5-2 favourite) landed the odds in facile fashion, coasting home by a length and a half. Value was added to the quinella when the Claude Piccione-ridden outsider My Friend (33-1) easily cut fancied Floating Oil out of it. The well-performed Golden Star (5-2 favourite) gave Allendorf his second winner and increased his grip on the title with a three parts of a length win over topweight Everlasting World (3-1) in the fourth event, a good Class Three race over 1,500 metres. And Allendorf's retaining trainer Claude Charlet was also celebrating last night.

Apart from preparing both winners for his stable rider, he also saddled up 33-1 chance Big Arrow to win the Class Three sprint which was the third event on the 10-race card.

Gleeful Delight gave popular Simon Jones another winner and he, too, is likely to add to his tally in the coming weeks. And visiting Irish rider Pat Shanahan, a winner of six Group races in his native country last season, continues his quietly successful Taipa stint. He landed 18-1 winner Echo Valley for trainer David Thompson in the eighth event yesterday.