HARRIER ACTIVITIES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 225, 19 June 1931, Page 13

HARRIER ACTIVITIES

Kennett Cup Prospects

(By

“Whipper-in.")

Trophy races formed the major part of the Wellington harrier programme last Saturday. The Scottish Club’s race for the McVilly Shield provided some first-class running, as also did the Grand Memorial Handicap staged by the Olympic Club. The Kennett Cup race, which is being held at Christchurch on Saturday, promises to attract a representative field. Teams from Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch will be represented. Both the individual and teams races are likely to produce performances little snort of national class. Olympic Jottings. The most pleasing feature of the Olympic Club’s Grand Memorial Handicap at. Lyall Bay on Saturday was the win secured by a. Carter, and his victory is a triumph of consistency. Carter impressed greatly with bis running, and his judgment and finishing effort were first-class. Colin Campbell ran well, but was a beaten man when Carter passed him two miles from home. A. Chandler, first on handicap readjustments, ran a good race, and deserved his win. O. Beyer, who was second, and Fisher, who dead-heated for third place with A. Carter, ran well. Veteran J. R. Perston, club president, who ran sixth, showed that he still has a little in reserve. . Generally, the running was good, but it is doubtful if the club will be able to produce a strong A team this year. The matterial is there, and with a little careful building, a strong side should be moulded next year. Scottish Notes. Last week’s teams race for the McVUly Shield was keenly contested by ten teams — a record entry for the event. The result was a popular win for the “J” team (E. P. Smith, captain, C. Brown, McMillan, ■Stobba), with 63 points. After _ having captained a team for four years, ‘’Smithy” has at last succeeded in “bringing home the bacon.” ' Les. Sinclair repeated hia Le Gaye performance to win in 18min. 56sec. F, Silver displaced all- but Sinclair in the race, even afters having previously gone over the course to lay the trail. Fred always seems to “come to light” just when critics are heralding his final loss of form. A. L. Stevens finished third, seven seconds behind Silver. “Stevie” seems to have lost some of his pace over three miles. T. Ollfent in gaining fourth place ran true to his Le Gaye form. > Brian Lawer, only two seconds behind Ollfent, still continues to give of his best, and has earned his place in the Kennett Cup team. .... Herb. Ellis ran his usual consistent race to finish sixth, within five seconds of Lawer. Woodley, Violich, Foster, and Parkhouse are gradually racing up to their best form. Sanders Cup Event This year’s Sanders Cup contest, between the Hutt Valley and Masterton harriers, will commence at 3.30 p.m. instead of 2.30. This alteration will give the Hutt Valley men time to recover from the effects of their trip. Last Saturday A. Burns showed a complete reversal of his previous Saturday’s form, and ran a great race, eventually finishing second. A novice who is now showing to advantage is-D. Hooper, whose name, before long, should appear in the winning list. Wellington Club. The Wellington harriers encountered Plenty of gorse and lawyer In their outing from Wadestown on Saturday. Murray is in good form at present, and will be a help to the club If he trains consistently. 1 . ■- Gibson, the “baby” of the club, went well on Saturday. McConchie needs to practise running from start to finish in the run-ins, instead of “loafing” along and then trying to win over the last hundred yards. Kennett Cup Race. Judging from the number of entries in this year’s Kennett Cup event, at Christchurch, there is every likelihood of a firstclass race. The results will have, a direct bearing on the strength of the respective clubs, and in some respects on the strength of the different centres. Caversham .(Dunedin) is marshalling a strong team, and it is not unlikely that it will repeat its performance of last year. The Scottish team is considered the best yet, and is bound to be well up at the finish. . A. L. Stevens's chances for the individual honour are favoured.