WELLINGTON CUP MEETING

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26944, 21 January 1953, Page 4

WELLINGTON CUP MEETING

Mt Denby Favoured In Handicap

HANDS OFF SELECTED FOR SPRINT

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, January 20. j Mt. Denby, a close second to Crim- i ion King in the Wellington Cup, is . expected to have better luck in the < Wellington Racing Club Handicap, one j of the main attractions and the first s leg of the double on the second day ■ of the summer meeting at Trentham on Thursday. The distance of this race is one 2 mile and a half. Mt. Denby is the New Zealand record holder for this ; distance. He recorded 2min 27 4-ssec : when he easily won the Auckland ■ Racing Club Handicap at Ellerslie on ; January 1. Runner-up to Mt. Denby in that • race was Hutton, the only horse to make a race of it with the winner. Hutton will meet Mt. Denby on 91b better terms this week, and probably those figures will influence many bettors to favour the chance of Mr W. S. Goosman’s hardy Ruthless gelding. There may be little between these two good gallopers again, but Mt. Denby is selected to take the honours. Coaltown, the top weight with 8-13, was, like Hutton, missing from the fields on the first day of the programme. Mt. Denby and Hutton should have his measure, as he failed in the Auckland Racing Club Handicap after winning the mile Christmas Handicap earlier at the meeting. Keith will have a solid following, as he is a genuine and consistent galloper. With a better run he might have finished closer than fifth in the Wellington Cup, though it is doubtful whether he would have won. My Hero's only success this season was over this- distance, but that was in the weight-for-age Canterbury Cup in which the field was smaller and the class weaker. My Hero must always be reckoned with in distance races, but his weak finish in the Wellington Cup left the impression that he will not find races easy to win in this class. The best South Island prospect should be Notable, which finished strongly for fourth in the Wellington Cup. There will be M marked strengthening in the betting for Notable if the track eases. Huatoki and Lone Star are the best prospects of those lower in the handicap. Huatoki ran ninth in the Telegraph Handicap on Saturday. The distance was too short to show this smart galloper to the best advantage. He was successful over One mile and a quarter at the Auckland Cup meeting and over one mile at Trentham in October, and if he masters this

distance he will have too much ability for most of the others. •Lone Star finished boldly for third in the Wellington Cup. It was the effort of a sound stayer. He was not well placed turning for home, and was several lengths behind Crimson King at that stage. Strong Sprint Field Hands Off will be a solid favourite for the Metropolitan Handicap, the second leg of the double. He is top weight, with 9-11, 101 b more than the next horse in the field, but he is well equipped with strength and speed to face that exacting test. He showed that in the Telegraph Handicap on Saturday, when he finished brilliantly in fourth place under 9-12. He was gathering in Lord Fort. Gendarme, and Rural Gold rapidly over the last furlong, but the distance was a shade too short. Gendarme, having won over one mile, should again have fair prospects. So should the brilliant Robinson, which showed great speed to finish well up in the field after being last away in the Telegraph Handicap. Robinson is also engaged in the Gloaming Stakes. Declare and x The Hob will probably both improve on their Telegraph Handi- . cap performances, in which they were respectively eleventh and fifteenth to finish. The extra furlong will not inconvenience either of them. In fact, it should help The Hob, which has lost some of his former early brilliance. • Golden Galleon and Impress are other well-performed sprinters well placed in the weights, but they will need everything in their favour .to beat a galloper of the dass of Hands Off. Some of the best three-year-olds of the season are in the field for the Gloaming Stakes, run over one mile and a half. Programme, winner of the New Zealand and Great Northern Derbies, will probably be a firm favourite, but there will be support also for Gold Scheme, Commodore, and the New Zealand Oaks winner, Chula Vista. Gold Scheme and Mish Mish are also acceptors for the Ruapehu Handicap, but the three-year-old race will probably be chosen for them. Brackets are:—Mungaroa High-weight Handicap: Lochmarch and Canadian. Gloaming Stakes: Fo’c’sle and Sleipnir. Wellington Racing Club Handicap: Gay Revel and Lady Wanaka. Metropolitan Handicao: Gendarme and Rural Gold. Douro Handicap: Casanova and Durham Chief. The weather has been' brilliantly fine this week, and has shown no sign of changing, so the track will again be hard and fast. Selections are:— 11 a.m.—Mungaroa High-weight Handicap: Golden Jest, Tinonui, Peter Ora. 11.45 s a.m.—January Handicap: Cash, Braille, Embargo. 12.35 p.m.—Gloaming Stakes: Programme, Gold Scheme, Chula Vista. 1.25 p.m.—Wellington Racing Club Handicap: Mount Denby, Lone Star, Huatoki. 2.15 pan.—Ruapehu Handicap: West Riding, Royal Cash, Square Dance. 3.5 p.m.—Nursery Handicap: Surrey Gold, Kingship, TaHarook. 4 p.m.—Metropolitan Handicap: Hands Off, Gendarme-Rural Gold bracket, Declare. 4J5 p.m—Douro Handicap: Wally French, Lady Faith, Pleasure Bent.

TRENTHAM RIDING ENGAGEMENTS "The Press'* Special Service WELLINGTON, Jan. 20. Riding engagements an the second day st the Wellington meeting on Thursday include:— _ W. J. Broughton: Tallarook, Hands Off, Dunkirk, Gloss, Poetical, Gentle, Golden Cloud, Lady Alma. G. F. Hughes: Solidego, Keith, Winning March, Cheerful Motn, Intuitive. N. B. Holland: Chula Vista, Nonpareil, Field Chief, Precious Lady, Tartuffe. K. Nuttall: Naturally, Fo’c*s!e, Lady Faith, Tinonui, Lancaster, Pierre. J. S. Campbell: Gold Drive, Winslow Boy, Gold Pal. W. L. Aitken: Huatoki. Lovely Bouquet. V. J. Sellars: Golden Galleon, Braille,. Hy Spin, Lakme. A. C. Messervy: Bonny Fingers, Sparkling, Copenhagen, Golden Arch. J. W. Harris: Canadian, Programme, Embargo, Hutton, Papiro. A. J. Stokes: Dreenagh, Declare, Red Beau, Detroit, Finir, Travesty, Kingship. C. H. Mackie: Mt. Denby, Fairmife. Lingual, Ptolemy, Queen Pictavia, Cash, Sleipnir. „ , L. W. Hare: West Riding, The Lum, The Hob. W. R. Hooton: Gendarme, Surrey Gold. N. Belsham: Royal Cash, Golden Orders, Robinson, Sports Post. N. East;wood: Notable, Battle Ensign, Mish Mish, I Reyny, Durham Chief, Tyro. C. C. i Stokes: Major Neptune, My Hero. W. G. Eales: Peter Ora. R. J. Skelton. Resoilute. K.-Thomson: Prince Jordan. W. E. Burton: Roanne, Red Tip. W. D. Skelton: Tipperary, Prawns, Pleasure Bent. W. Reid: Merid. J. Didham: Lady Wanaka. B. Wood: Rural Gold. P. Fraser: Finite. B. Petley: Gay Revel. J. A. McFarlane: Commodore. C. McDonald: Valescure. F. H. Skelton: Gay Minstrel. J. G. Dulieu: Luminous. R. McSeveny: Bahrein. O. ’ McMullan: Lone Star, Picardy. C. A. Bowrv: Menaka, Coaltown. N. A. Crombie: Gold Scheme. TRENTHAM SCRATCHINGS (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, Jan. 20. Scratchings today for the second day Of the Wellington meeting on Thursday were:— Metropolitan Handicap: Impress. Douro Hack Handicap: Clever Lass.