RACING Desert Cloud Has Encouraging Form

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28523, 28 February 1958, Page 4

RACING Desert Cloud Has Encouraging Form

Desert Cloud and Money-Go-Round, the closest to Shoal in the Dunedin Cup finish on February 15, have appealing form credentials for the Peninsula Handicap at Motukarara tomorrow. The Peninsula Handicap is the main race and first leg of the double at the Banks Peninsula Racing Club’s autumn meeting.

Desert Cloud’s form earlier in the season was nothing to enthuse about, but it has stiffened in her autumn racing, starting with a win in the Gore Cup, one mile and a half, on February 1. She was third in her second appearance at the Gore meeting, again at a mile and a half. With her Dunedin Cup run since, she is well seasoned and has not yet reached a stage where weight will trouble her.

She has 8-9 tomorrow, but the handicap is on a 71b higher scale than the Dunedin Cup, in which she had 7-13. Desert Cloud was no match for Shoal over the last furlong of the Dunedin Cup but she battled determinedly to the end and shaded Money-Go-Hound for second. Money-Go-Round pulled hard for a good way in the Dunedin Cup, but showed strength of stamina in staying well ahead of the others. Her chance- will be brightest tomorrow if the pace is strong from the start. She has 7-9 and will trouble Motueka, Toparoa and others at the weights if the race makes demands on stamina, rather than ability to round jiff a middle distance with a sprint Motueka has 9-4. He failed under 9-6 in the Midsummer Handicap, one mile and a quarter, at Riccarton on February 1. Weight could be his stumbling block at present: his bracketed mate Tamarisk is better placed to improve his record. Tamarisk’s Prospects Tamarisk has 8-0 and if he has held his form he could be one of the principals in the finish. He was a winner over this distance at Westport two starts back and was placed in stronger fields over one mile and a quarter at Waikouaiti. and Oamaru early in January. The nine-year-old Toparoa cannot be regarded as an improver in the field, but a performance matching his fifth in the Wellington Racing Club Handicap in January would probably be adequate in this field. Toparoa has worked soundly at Riccarton this week. He is bracketed with Whiohau, 'the high-weight winner at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s summer meeting, and the combination looks strong. Pack Drill will, perhaps, be troubled by this distance, but Goldwyn has a form background

to be respected. He beat all but Teaka in the Midsummer Handicap at Riccarton, and among those behind him were Shoal, Mananui, Tamarisk, Motueka, ■ and Money-Go-Round. Mananui was the Midsummer Handicap fifth, and he ran on slightly for that placing, though without raising the hopes of his backers. A succession of . failures has brought him back close to. the minimum. His best is of a good standard, but he cannot get good marks for reliability, on most of his summer form. Second Leg Brianbra and Mr H. D. Greenwood’s bracket, Devilry and Archway, will probably dominate betting on the Ahuriri Hack Handicap, the second leg of double. Devilry has not raced since he won over seven furlongs, beating

Archway, at Rangiora in January. He was taken to Wingatui but did not do well on the trip. To all appearances he has thrived in the meantime. So has Brianbra, which has sprinted attractively with his stablemate, Purser, this week. Brianbra went -under by a head to Salonica in the Mornington Handicap at Wingatui, but the race could have had a different result if the ground had been Brianbra can usually match the best of them for early speed. But this time he did not accelerate quickly on a soft track. The result was. that he had to be brought rather wide to chase the leaders coming to the straight In the circumstances his second was creditable. Recent Winners Tombola, Bask, Bonny Pippin, and Looking Forward are recent winners, and as such will have fairly solid backing. So will Tripped and Amenity, which have been running sound races, though finding success elusive. Amenity was fifth and Tripped sixth in the Post Handicap at Riccarton on February 1, and both were strong finishers. Amenity has since recorded a fourth against the hack milers at Wingatui.

Purser, a stablemate of Brianbra—J. E. Shaw trains them at

Riccarton—will probably be a short-priced favourite for the Kinloch Handicap. Purser won easily in a stronger company at Wingatui on Dunedin Cup day. That was his second win in four starts, and in his present form he will be generally expected to improve quickly his good open-class record. The fields, with form, for the double races are:— PENINSULA HANDICAP, Of £650. One mile and three furlongs.

mriougs. st. lb 2100 Motueka (9) . 9 4 0000 Toparoa (8) . 9 2 0132 Desert Cloud (4) . 8 9 0340 Pack Drill (7) . 8 1 0014 Tamarisk (5) . 8 0 0002 Goldwyn (1) . 7 10 2203 Money-Go-Round . 7 7 4000 Mananui (10) • 7 7 0000 Solstice (6) . 7 7 0133 Whiohau (11) . 7 7 3000 Cruising (2) .. Brackets: Motueka and Tar Toparoa and Whiohau. . 7 7 narisk. AHURIRI HACK HANDICAP. Of £225. Seven furlongs. 3032 Brianbra (8) 9 0 021 Devilry (1) 8 13 0000 Native King (4) 0000 Skyrider (3) .. 8 3 8 3 2000 Tripped (14) 8 0 3200 Archway (2) 0431 Bask (5) 8 0 7 13 0013 Bonny Pippin (15) 0021 Looking Forward (12) 0001 Tombola (6) 7 11 7 11 7 9 0240 Heathcliff (18) 7 9 4304 Amenity (7) 0 Direct Passage (10) 7 9 7 7 4000 Robes (16) 7 7 0390 Nugget (17) Astore (9) 7 7 7 7 0030 Winning Treasure (13) 7 7 00 Boissier Boy (11) 7 7 Bracket: Devilry and Archway.