RACING DORMANT SELECTED TO WIN NEW ZEALAND CUP

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27498, 4 November 1954, Page 4

RACING DORMANT SELECTED TO WIN NEW ZEALAND CUP

The hardy Hastings stayer Dormant!' could fill the role of “giant killer” by . beating the brilliant Golden Tan and * the best of the others in the New ' Zealand Cup at Kiccarton on Saturday. The New Zealand Cup is the first; two-mile race of the season, and it provides probably the stiffest test of 1 stamina.

*niere are no its or buts about Dor-mant-more than can be said for even the best of the others. Golden Tan felt the ground when he ran in the Canterbury Cup last week, and unless there is a good deal of rain soOn, he will have to round w off his cup preparation with beach work. Then there is the possibility that he will be unable to gallop with real freedom on Saturday in a test that will demand one of his very best efforts. A hard track will be much to the liking of Idaho, conqueror of Golden Tan and Dormant at weight-for-age last Saturday, but he does not gallop with anything like the same freedom when the ground is soft. Dormant has proved that winning on hard tracks and in bad ground alike does not present a great problem. He won the Winter Oats on a heavy track at Trentham in July, and on his next visit there, he just as convincingly won the Wellington Handicap on a firm track.

Closest tp him at the finish of that race were Hy-Spin, Programme, and Idaho, which will meet him again in the New Zealand Cup. Hy-Spin will meet him on 51b, and Programme and Idaho on 61b better terms this time, but they may need more than that to beat him. Dormant was going much more strongly than they were at the end of a mile and a half, and breeding and performance will be false

pointers if he does not distinguish himself at a two-miler. Satisfactory Trial Dormant’s third in the Canterbury Cup can be classed as a good New Zealand Cup trial When* positions changed quickly six furlongs from home, he was left in front with Privy Council. It was quite a big disadvantage for a horse of his ’ type, but Idaho and Golden Tan did not master him until well inside the furlong. Field Chief has failed in his last two races, both over middle distances, after two earlier successes as a miler. He has won at a mile and a quarter, but in his latest tests for stamina he has not shaped like a possible Cup winner. Ocean Spray II marked his debut at Riccarton last week with a second to Chowder in the Fendalton Handicap—a performance that was workmanlike but little more. As a twomiler, the Fendalton. Handicap third, Marjo, may Iqe the better prospect. Mar jo is from the Invercargill stable of T. E. Pankhurst, who has trained earlier New Zealand Cup winners in Sir Garnish and Steeton; also Spare Part, winner of a Wellington Cup. In his recent racing from Pankhurst *s stable, Marjo has shaped' like a horse with ability to battle on over the longer distances, and from his place in the handicap—he has 7-3 he is well capable of getting into the final struggle. > The Lum, fourth in the Fendalton Handicap, will probably be one of the improvers in this field. She is now eight, but has by no means been hard worked. Members of this family have done well over the longer distances, while retaining the speed which has given them many successes up to a mile.

The Lum will be bracketed with The Hob, which has won oVer a mile and a half, and is already a winner in this, his eighth season of racing. Trentham Winner

Pleasure Bent will be another wellsupported light-weight She has won twice in her last three starts, and has progressed well since she beat a Sood field over 11 furlongs at Trenaam on October 23.

Pleasure Bent is one of the most consistent race mares about but a fastrun two miles may trouble her. On Parade, a stablemate of Golden Tan, won the T. H. Lowry Memorial Handicap, one mile and a quarter, at Hastings early last month, and three starts since then have produced two seconds. It is fair form, but not good enough to make him a really strong light-weight possibility. Six-year-old Clancy has reached the height of his powers only this season, but his start in open company has been promising. Two starts back, he was a creditable second in the Mitchelson Cup, and before he was brought to Riccarton by his Matamata trainer, C. Tapp, he easily won the distance race at Rotorua.

Few of those near or on the minimum should be better over the distance than this son of Contact, which has sired several good stayers, including Calibrate, the 1950 New Zealand Cup winner. Reformed, one of four horses on the minimum assured of a run, is one of only two in the field that have won over two miles, but it is a long time since his form was of any account. A better preposition should be the Otaki-trained Land Agent, which ran Lancaster close over the distance in the Wellington Racing Club’s Autumn Tandicap last season. Chowder, the Fendalton Handicap winner last Saturday, will give the race fresh interest if he gets a run. He is third on the list of reserves, and there are po scratchings in sight. Early prospects are: Dormant, Golden Tan, Idaho. a

Stewards’ Handicap There is a long tail to the Stewards’ Handicap, the second leg of the double, but the horses on or near the minimum will still probably find themselves too close in the 4 Weights to Clinker, King’s Fair, and Hush Money. A race that has brought these three brilliant gallopers together can hardly fail to provide something out of the" ordinary in spectacle and sheer .speed. Clinker was one of the finds of New Zealand racing last season. He was not extended to win any of his four races in open company, so he now starts on his five-year-old career with the big weight of 9st 51b—llJJj more than King’s Fair. King’s Fair has won at his only two starts in open company, and Riccarton has been the scene of each success.

He was much too good for his opponents in the Brabazon Handicap and the Winter Cup a few weeks ago, and the setback he had last month —it was caused by a splintshould not have prejudiced the chance

of a horse that comes to hand quickly. King’s Fair, like his stablemate, Golden Tan, is doing most of his work this week oh a suburban beach. Hush Money was tried as' a miler in the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham on October 23. It was not a successful experiment This brilliant Faux Tirage filly pulled hard in front early, and was beaten a long way’ out.

A week earlier,-she won the Shorts Handicap at Trentham. This was her first appearance in an open handicap. She was able, to trail some very fast front-runners, and this helped her to run out six furlongs without any suspicion of weakening. Her great speed should keep her well in the Win on Saturday. She has 7st 131 b, and may be too good for any below her in the weights. Southern form makes Mighty Dollar one of the best prospects of the others. He made a big impression in winning over six furlongs at Gore last week under Bst 61b. On Saturday, he drops to 7st 91b. Mijiji was the runner-up to Mighty P° u ar at Gore. He has probably benefited from that race, but the Wingatui horse may hold him safely again.

Light-weight Candidates T n < on . and Zizette are two North Island light-weights with fair credentials. Zizette won the Gold p"ail Stakes at Hastings and was &'^5 h «? t , her Jast start * in the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham. Her main mission at the meeting is the New Zealand Oaks. The Stewards* —Oaks double, a difficult one, was achieved bv Sweet Spray five years ago, but Zizette lacks the class of that great nlly. Gonfanon’s two starts this season have produced a third and a fourth. Her third was over six furlongs be- » Royal legend and Baraden at Bulls last Saturday. It was not a strong field. Melinda Jane and Copenhagen, both recent winners as hacks, will probably be the pick of the Riccarton light-weights, and Scotch Gift, a clearcut winner of the Apprentices’ Handicap last week, gives Washdyke a light-weight representative that may far ® ■■ well as most of the others near the tail of the handicap in a race likely to be dominated, however, by those at and near the top. ch 8“ c « of Kin B’ a Fair, Clinker, and Hush Money look brightest.

RAY RIBBON NOT TO CONTEST DERBY

Ray Ribbon was scratched for the New Zealand Derby yesterday. The foot Injury he suffered at Trentham—he was pricked while being shod—was righting itself yesterday, but he had lightened up in condition and lost work *in his preparation for Saturday’s classic. ay J?JL bb 2?.® hou,d be flt to In the Churchill Stakes on the final day of the New Zealand Cup meeting next Wednesday. Keep Time, one of Riccarton’s fastest two-year-olds, has dropped out of the Welcome Stakes, leaving a field of eight. He sprinted attractively on Tuesday, out was sore yesterday. The Washdyke-trained Paulette was scratched for the • Stewards’ Handicap yesterday.

RICCARTON RIDING ENGAGEMENTS

Biding engagements for New Zealand Cup day at Riccarton on Saturday are:— C. H. Mackie: Dormant, Poetical. J. Garth: Golden Tan, Gold Ember. W. J. Broughton: Privy Council, w. F. Ellis: Corona Fox, Garoloch, Chat-Tea. Field Chi# Seven Seas. L. W. Hare: Nuclear, Can’t Fault. C. McDonald: Magic Carpet. F. H. Skelton: Gold Peril. Highland Lassie, Super Corn, 80l du Bois, Lammas. A. j. Stokea: Hush Money. Declare. Port Soy.. Scuppered. Iroquol. C. T. Wilson: Gulliver, Ngapunawal. N. Eastwood: Passchenedaele, Shoal. B. Gordon: Carnaval. W. Hanlln: Copenhagen, Clancy, Soothsayer. D. J. Thistoll: Instanter, Meteorologist, Demand. T. H. Barnsley: Scotch Gift. L. Woodhouse: Mundus. B. S. Finlayson: Calcutta Sweep, Kuriwao Belle. B. McDonald: Smuggles, Solstice. Ts J .Smith: Mandrake. G. Lee: Strato, Modern Times. B. P. Wood: Toparoa. S. A. Waddell: Honest John. Patris. G. G. Hampton: Trustworthy.

E. G. Low: Pack prill. Deviate. Keep Time, Sir Galahad. T. Carbin: Hispaniola, Pleasure Beht, Convair. D. F. Coombe: Prince Crusader. E. G. Rosewarne: Belle Nuit. J. W. McDonald: Super Maru. G. W. Mein: Bon Soir, Arosa, Rich Wind. E. Frailer: Clinker. W. D. Skelton: Skylight. Ocean Spray 11, Golden Shoes, Tamahere IL R. J. Skelton: The Lum. I’m Alone, Ballast, Amerlcui. A. C- Messervy: Great Seal. On Parade. V. J. Sellars: King's Fair. M. J. Wadley: Struggler. K. Nuttall: Omar, Idaho, Braze, Joss, Cambridge. C. C.

ELLERSLIE SCRATCHINGS CNew Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 3. Miss Jat was scratched today for the Melrose Handicap at -the Auckland Racing Club’s mid-spring meeting on Saturday. Scott's Gift was scratched for the Tiri Hurdles., . ? • Colt Arrives by Air A five-day-old colt, with his ' mother, Belle Fills, arrived at Christchurch Airport yesterday morning ip a Bristol freighter from Wanganui. Belle Fille is to be mated with Neptune, and was brought to Christchurch for Mr J. Tutton, of Rangiora. Bonny Anne, another of Belle Fllle's offspring, will race at Riccarton on Saturday. Reefton Jockey Club Nominations for the summer meeting on November 20 close at 4 p.m« 'on Tuesday, November 9. —Advt.