THE TURF.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 107, 2 November 1908, Page 2

THE TURF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Alawa, won won the Victoria Derby, is the first of the Malsters to successfully get to the end of a mile and a-half. All the cables received in town on Saturday named Alawa, who, in consequence of the decisive manner in which ho settled Parsee, will be watched with considerable interest in the Melbourne Cup, to be run to-morrow. Alawa.' s sire, after winning the Derby in 1900, failed in his attempt to concede 61b to another of his own age in Clean Sweep, and Alawa may find the task of presenting Sir Aynier with age and weight a well-nigh impossible one. - Alawa'* Derby was run in the fastest time on record, and clipped almost a second off the previous best, which stood to the credit of Abundance and F.J.A., Alawa was ridden by "Bobby" Lewis, perhaps the best judge of pa«e in Australia, and a most finished horseman. A. Scobie, who trained the winner, has gofe a unique record, for the annals of the race show that he also prepared Cocos, Malster, Hautvilliers, F.'J.A., and Sylvanite in their respective years. D. J. Price was sanguine that Pink 'Un would defeat both Mooltan and Peru in the Melbourne Stakes. From the description of the race it looks as if Pink 'Un was ridden behind the field so as to reserve his powers for a dash in the straight, 'but in and Peru he had to contend against two tremendous finishers. Peru, by downing Mooltan at weight-for-age, will come into further prominence for to-aiorrow's race, , in which ne meets the Metropolitan winner on nearly a stone better terms. D. O'Brien's horse, a real good stayer, is also sure to command attention from those who saw him win at Caulfield. But, after all, Mooltan, Peru, Marniuit, 'and Alawa, good, game and brilliant though they be, are handicapped up to • their very best form. Sir 'Aymer is lightly treated in the handicap with 7st 51b. Track operations at Riccarton aro now livening up, but it is just as well to take the times recorded by several with pinches ot salt. Granted that the tracks down there have never been faster, on« cannot imagine Prim running a mile in a shade worse than lmin. Bonnet getting to the end of six furlongi in the extraordinarily fast time of lmin, 14isec. It is well known that th< latter mare is a remarkable galloper for h?r inches, and on several occasions sin has shown her trainer exceptional trials, but this performances of Saturday morning cups the lot. If its absolute correctness can be vouched for, then Sun Bonnet is easily the fastest 14.3 galloway ever toaled, and l^er owner would return from Christ-chinch loaded with the spoils of conflict. On the strength of that gallop','if the weight is right and the distance, say, seven or eight furkmgh, her party could stake light-heartedly, for ifc was one of the very best recorded in this or, for that matter, any country. With regard to Prim : She is certainly a useful filly, and carrying a light weight at the C.J.O. Winter Meeting; she made the opposition louk very Gim pie in the Solwyn Handicap, defeating, nmong others, Lupulite and Oxton, and limning the six furlongs in limn, losce. Prim has always been a good track worker, and sne may be even bettor now than she was in August. Anyway, a filly thai ran encompass a track nulo in the slick lime she did — always assuming tha correctness of the timing — is worth mentally indexing for some of the miner, or even major, events at fticcaiton next week.