RACING TRENTHAM SECOND LEG

Press, Volume C, Issue 29565, 14 July 1961, Page 4

RACING TRENTHAM SECOND LEG

Otara May Be Best Of Strong Field (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 13. If both are fit and well on the day, Nerula and Action Packed will probably dominate betting on the Winter Oats Handicap, the first leg of the double at Trentham on Saturday. But there will be heavy betting spread over a greater number in the second leg, the Onslow Handicap. Phoenician, Equal Terms, Fairassan, Tamil, Yorker and Erldon are all form runners for the Onslow Handicap, seven furlongs.

An outstanding sprint byj Otara this morning could, help to make the Takaniniii gelding favourite. i I! was a gallop that gave' rea=sur ng evidence of his W’ll being and progress since he ran second to the bril-' 1 ant Nerula in the mile Whyte Handicap last Saturday O'ara is an out-and-out mudlark, good up to 11 fur- 1 longs, ind capable of smart < sprint performances on winter tracks Probably his best race this season before his Whyte Han- ’ dicap second was a fast- ; finishing fourth in the Visitors' Handicap, six furlongs, i on the third day of the Great 1 Northern meeting on June 10. > Otara is 81b below Fair- ' assan, which was third half e length behind him in the Whyte Handicap. Best Distance Fairassan will be racing.' over probably his best dis-1 tance. His chance could hinge largely on whether he : will run just as well on a heavier track than last Sat-, urday’s. Phoenician ran himself out nacemaking under a big ' weight in the Whyte Han- < di can, but showed what a good horse he is on heavy ; tracks when he carried 10-4 i into third place in the Members’ Handicap on Wednesday, when the ground was wetter. He won the race last year with 9-6 and few will be surprised if he manages to win again. ■ Roeina Ann and Shangrl- - La cannot be given good i chances on their form in the Members’ Handicap. They might need relief in weight before they manage to win again. Equal Terms, the Members' Handicap fourth on Wednesday, has struck a •olid patch of form. This placing came after an impressive win on a winter track at Egmont Tamil ran one of his worst races for some time in the i Members’ Handicap, drop-

■ping right out to finish fifteenth. He ran three wide j around the far turn, but that ! alone could not have ac- ' counted for such an abject failure, one at marked variance with his win on the first (tay. 1 Yorker In Form Few if any of the horses * in the middle of the handicap will handle the condi- ; tions better than the Members’ Handicap winner, ’ Yorker. He showed his ■ mastery of Trentham winter tracks when he was a hack. ( He has now recaptured form after a long string of moderate performances and < should continue to do well I while the tracks are heavy. Earldom is a newcomer at ’ the meeting but was the best ( performed ooen-class sprinter at the Hawke's Bay meeting. He won on the first day and , a week later, on July 1, ran 1 i Tamil to a nose. ; I In the light of Tamil's win at Trentham a week later ' Earldcn's record commands 1 reroect. i Toureg is being switched back to sprinting after an unsuccessful bid to win the , Parliamentary Handicap He did not have the stamina to < last out 11 furlongs on a heavy track, weakening from i the home turn to finish tenth. Last Saturday he did better against the milers in the Whyte Handicap, in which he came from fairly well back for fifth. Perhaps the best of the others win be Royal Fountain. This Hawke’s Bay sorinter went attractively at Trentham this morning when' the ground was looser than it was earlier at the meeting His chance will brighten further if there is more rain on Saturday. The chance of a South Island win looks slim now Shangri-La has apparently lost form. > The south’s only other runner will be Search Warrant He may not be seasoned enough for a hard slog in a testing sprint race.