TROTTING Club Provides Only One Race For Best Pacers

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27626, 5 April 1955, Page 4

TROTTING Club Provides Only One Race For Best Pacers

The thrilling contest provided by the best-class pacers in the Electric Stakes at Addington on Saturday shows that the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club erred in making this the only race with a suitable limit for this class of horse over the three days of its Easter meeting. For some days before the race trotting enthusiasts were discussing the meeting of Johnny Globe, Rupee, Denbry, Tactician, TTielma Globe, Petite Yvonne and Laureldale. No other race so far at the meeting has aroused such interest, nor does it appear likely that any of the eight races next Saturday will do sb. Public interest in the race was such that the on-course totalisator pool amounted to £17,024 10s, the previous best total during the day being £14,008 on the Williams Handicap, another race in which most of the runners were well-known. Admittedly the pool on the last race is nearly always the largest for the day, but not often is the total so much greater than the next best pool, as was the case on Saturday. Great enthusiasm was shown by the spectators -from the start of the Electric Stakes and the struggle of Rupee, Tactician and Thelma Globe in the straight had most of them out of their seats.

There were 12 starters in Saturday’s race and few of them will be able to start next Saturday as the limits for the main races are so loose, Thelma Globe being required to concede starts of up to 54 yards to many smart improvers. The club could easily have included a handicap race with a suitable limit or a free-for-all for the best-class

horses on the first and last days of the meeting providing further incentive to owners and trainers to keep their horses in work. With only one suitable class for them at the meeting, a number of owners and trainers put their horses aside for the winter. Even if the races had drawn only 10 starters they would have been a greater attraction than any other race on the programme. It is certain that

if these horses had been racing each day the totalisator turnover would not have dropped by £15,650 in comparison with the figures for last year. In the past fields of nine or 10 of the best-class horses have provided spirited betting and usually most interesting contests. It is to be hoped that the club will provide these horses with more opportunities at the Grand National meeting in August. Should Improve Further Beau Marie showed improvement on her effort of the previous Saturday when she finished a close eighth in the Williams Handicap on Saturday at Addington. She was always handy and ran cm 'well without ever looking a likely place-getter. She has now had two races after a spell and she should be at her peak for her engagement in the Autumn Stakes this week. Early Prospect Royal Crown will have prospects of gaining an early win after his good sixth in the Papanui Handicap on Saturday. He lost his position in the middle stages of the race and was giving the leaders a big start with three furlongs to run. He put in a great sprint in the straight and was doing better than any of the others at the post. With a more favourable run at his next start he should win.

Not Popular Excelsa’s win in the Williams Handicap at Addington on Saturday was not popular with a small section of the crowd. The demonstration which greeted her on her return to the bird-

cage-seemed hard to understand as the previous Saturday she had started a 5, 5 favourite for the Rothschild Handicap and finished a good tenth after losing ground at the start and racing wide over the last mile.

Useful Placing Tbe veteran Grattan Loyal gelding, Graticulate, like many of the progeny of Grattan Loyal, appears to have improved with age and his close second to Dalise in the President’s Handicap at Addington on Saturday was full of merit. Graticulate has been racing most consistently this season and his last seven starts have resulted in one win and four placings, a record which should be I unproved in the next few weeks.

Most Unlucky Esteem looked very unlucky td finish no closer than fourth in the President’s Handicap at Addington on Saturday. The Josedale Grattan mare was always in a trailing position behind Dalise, but at no stage of the final two furlongs did she look likely to work clear in spite of vigorous efforts on the part of her driver, D. C. Watts. At the finish she was beaten a nose for third by Gay Lad. Esteem has raced most consistently in recent months and she should make amends when next she races. Improving With Age As was predicted last season, Dresden -Lady is improving with age, and on Saturday the leggy Light Brigade filly gave a grand display to win the New Zealand Pacing Stakes. This was her second start after a spell and her 3min 32 l-ssec for the mile and five furlongs stamped her as a three-year-old with more than average ability. Raced by- Mr J. Langley, (of Rakaia, Dresden Lady is trained at Templeton by D. G. Nyhan, who has won a number of races wth Luminous and Chandelier, which are members of the same family. Dresden Lady will have plenty of opportunities to extend her record in handicap races in the next few weeks before she meets other three-year-olds in the New Zealand Futurity Stakes at Ashburton in June. Vodka’s Brilliance

Vodka showed brilliant speed in the middle stages of the Reta Peter Handicap on Saturday, but found the task of conceding starts of up to 78 yards beyond hirn. He began well for him and was trotting at top spe£d at the end of a furlong. He was timed to trot his final mile and a half in 3min 8 l-ssec. He took? Imin 1 l-ssec for his first half-mile, 2min 4 l-ssec for his first mile, and the amazing time of 2min 33 4-ssec for the mile and a quarter. It was no wonder that he tired over the final quarter in 34 2-ssec. Even so, he would have had no chance with the winner. Recruit, and was a long way back in eighth position at the post. Vodka is very fit at present and looks to be right back to his best. He is a candidate for the New Zealand Hambletonian Handicap this week, but from 66 yards he is set a difficult task. Doubles 'Betting Dalise, winner of the President’s Handicap, the first leg of the double at Addington on Saturday, was 5, 4 favourite on the win and place totalisator, but on the doubles machine he was well down the list in ninth placd. On the course he was fourth favourite on the double,, but he was practically ignored off the course, where he was fifteenth favourite in a field of 17. Dalise had 3344 5s tickets invested on him on-course and 846 off-course. The only other horse in the field to have more doublfes tickets on-course invested on its chances was Bronze Indian, which carried 1585, compared with 1267. Bronze Indian was 7, 8 favourite on the ordinary totalisator and was fourteenth favourite in the total doubles pool. He was eighth favourite on the course on the double and thirteenth favourite off the course. The strong on-course support for him was probably due to -the fact that M. Holmes was his driver. There was very little fluctuation between favouritism on the win and place totalisators and favouritism for the double among the other starters.