BARRIER DRAW SHOULD NOT STOP TRUTONE

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32636, 18 June 1971, Page 1 (Supplement)

BARRIER DRAW SHOULD NOT STOP TRUTONE

“The Press” Special Service AUCKLAND. Bad luck in the barrier draw, so dead against him fffit .the Cornwall 'Handicap at Ellerslie, has followed Trutone to Te Awamutubut he looks the best prospect for afl that in the first leg of the T.A.B. double tomorrow, the $5OOO Gold Cup.

With the extreme outside of 22 acceptors Trutone was, not surprisingly, scratched for the Cornwall.. He has No. 15 barrier position out of 19 in tomorrow’s big race but the starting point allows rather a better run to the first turn than the one at Ellerslie. On top of this, Trutone has more speed than most miiddle-di.-tance runners and considerably more, than is possessed by the majority of his rivals. Tetrarch’s Gift and Captain Jest, first and second in the Cornwall Handicap, are two of the most notable against him and Habanita is another with pretty good qualifications. In Trutone’s favour, too, is the probability of much better footing than Ellerslie provided. Although a good winter winner, he seems more comfortable when the ground is no more than soft, rather than very holding as it was

when he last ran, in the York Handicap, a mile, at Ellerslie the other week. Trutone came sixth in the York Handicap after being thereabouts all the way. The time before, oh ’ reasonably good going at Hastings in late April, he just failed to take the Princess Alexandra Cup from Suttle. That was

11 furlongs, which he probably runs better these days than a mile. Captain Jest did well to make Jan’s Beau go hard-all the way in the pacemaking in the Cornwall Handicap and in failing by bnly inches to hold Tetrarch’s Gift he really surpassed himself. With No. 2 at the barrier he needs only to show the. same dash to be very hard to beat. Tehrarch’s Gift had only a nose on Captain Jest but his win represented a very solid performance nevertheless. On the home turn he was lengths behind and he ran on very determinedly. The likelihood of fast going has kept Captain Jest from becoming too much of a favourite this time and again Tetrarch’s Gift is the fact that very few horses, nowadays, seem able to win a couple of good middle-dis-tance races successively. Habanita is the other runner in the Gold Cup which will be trying for two successive wins, this race coming on ' top of the McGill Handicap, which she won so well at Rotorua on May 29. In the McGill Handicap Habanita was lucky to get a run in between the leaders with half a furlongs to go but once clear she came on impressively. The trouble with Habanita is an inability to work up much early speed. Unless she improves in this respect she will be back with the tailenders in the early part of the Te Awamutu Gold Cup and her task, as a consequence, will be very hard indeed.

The runners, apart from Trutone, Habanita, Captain Jest and Tetrarch’s Gift have nothing much of recent form to commend them. Master Simon looks the best lightweight and Red Mantle, also at the bottom of the handicap, has a record on the course—his home track—which warrants respect. SECOND LEG

Rose of Erin, judged by her form during the last three or four weeks, is the best prospect for the second leg of the T.A.B. double, the Waipa Flying Handicap.