THE TURF. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1909, Page 2

THE TURF. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A little sunshine does make a difference Yesterday morning one's face contributed nothing to the cheerfulness of the Trentham landscape, whereas this morning it possibly contributed to tha ensemble. Those early risers, the lark, thrush, and blackbird, greeted a morning almost springlike in its mildness. A; few days of sunshine will improve * the tracks substantially, and granted a re-, spite from the rain will be in very fair; order by Saturday. Prosser's team arrived yesterday. Tha Porirua mentor restricted Te Kahurangi, Simplex, Kurawaka, Waitarerere, Masterful, aud Latchet to a course 'of hill work. Tauira and Exmoor, however, were sent two circuits at a. smart pace, and the schooling hurdles were taken en route. Tauira flew the first three like a deer, but tiring somewhat, he got rather too close in at the fourth and rapped it hard. Tauira is a spanking fine hurdler, but he still pulls hard, and this habit may tell against him in a two mile journey. He looks in prune drde» for his impending engagements. Exmoor has settled down into a staid old fellow and he now draws to his hurdles with a good deal of circumspection. The going suits him, and he strode out with heaps of resolution. Telford was Up on both Tauira and Exmoor. M'Connan rode Silken Rein three rounds. The Saracen mar's was never better. Her hurdling, however, leaves much to be desired. When the obstacle looms up she puts on her considering cap, slows down and gets over almost from a stand. After a race in public she will probably jump, more confidently. Stormont^ went two rounds at a strong pace. The National Hurdles winner does not look within stones of the horse he was twelve months ago. Moreover, his wind i& very bad, and if he can stay the *teeple course he can be written down a fieak. Be can jump like a stag, so they say, but the aeolian harp business will have to be remedied. Why not try him with a tube —tracheotomy is successful in England, and it should be so here. Yosami (N. Campbell) schooled over four hurdles. The DrownVnare does not show much improvement despite the amount of racing and schooling she has had. She persistently screws her jumps and it will have to be a weakish field, before one could be hopeful about her number being hoisted on top. Commander, 1" very fresh, fough^ hard for his head maa gallop over twb miles. Capitol did a similar task, and looks rather better than was the case at Hastings last month. Sir Frisco was a length in front of Iranui at the end of six furlongs, clocked In lmin 24sec, and Longner fan the' same distance, but was not on a timemaEing errand. The big brown gelding-'a mission will not be definitely settled until Thursday. In the meantime, those who fancy him for the Parliamentary had better hold their hand. Cohort arid Magneto ran along for five furlongs, carved out in lmih 12sec. Sweet Angelus gave First Mate a slight break, and beat him at the conclusion of six furlongs, run in lmin 29sec. Inchbonny and Pronuu were together in a halfmild gb, ruli a tick under a minute. Ayres's lot got through light tasks, and similar work was allotted Purakau, Hilarian, and First Consul. The lastnamed is still a greenhorn, and wants a lot of i%acing yet. Of W. Da.vies s team, Xavier and Seaman galloped fast, and the former looks as hard as nails. Black SqUall arid Twinkle also did work of a useful character. As 1 far as can be ascertained at present, the probables in the Parliamentary Handicap, with their riders, may be set down thus : —Muskeiry 10.10 (R. Hatch), Sir Frisco 10.9 (A. Oliver), Pikipo 10.2 (P. O'Brien), Iranui 10.2 (W. Ryan), Coronetted 9.12 (C. Cochrane), Seaman 9.11 (N. Campbell), Merrie Zealand 9.8 (H. Cairns), Pohutu 9.8 (E. Lowe), Diamond Star 9.8 (F. D. Jones), Kurauaka 9.0 (C. Jenkins), Gaelic 9.0 (C. Cress), First Mate 9.0 (W. Young). Of thosp horses which have not yet arrived, encouraging reports are heard of Coronetted. This loose-limbed chestnut can stay, and can weight all right, but he is a trifle slow at getting under weigh, and no horse can afford to dawdle with .1 pacemaker like Muskerry in the field. . The conditions of the W.E.C. meeting do not provide a penalty for winners at the Gisborne meeting, hence Te Arai's weight in the Winter Hurdles a.nd. Wellington Steeple is unaltered. Probably the club is justified in ignoring Gisborne form. By the way, Te Arai is Mr. Chadwick's tip for both the Trentham aiid Riccarton Steeples, judging by the weight he •allotted the Monaco gelding and Capitol at the Poverty Bay meeting. Hickey lost a useful horse when he allowed Te Arai to leave his stable, and his present owner got a Wonderful bai-gain when he purchased the- brown gelding for something under thirty guineas. Speciosa, I learn, is an unlikely competitor in the Steeplechase next Wednesday, but the St. Hippo mare ivill come down from Marion to take part in the July Steeple on the concluding day. Finnesseur, who was accepted for in the Peninsula Hurdles, broke down a few mornings ago at Feilding, a piece of hard luck for old W. Kraftt. Maidi is another Feilding-trained one to succumb to the exigencies of training, and the Handsome Jack mare has br>nn turned out. To make the going sounder at Trenfiham, the winter gallop on the outside of the course proper has received a covering of ashes. The first lots weie apparently free from clinkers, and served their purpose well. Recent lots, however, contained Ugly lumps of clmkei, and unless the heavy roller crushes them —a mool point with the turf in its present soft nnd yielding state —the prcscikc' yt such "undeniable alien I i.v a source of danger to the horse.*. Probably Mie Piiftsl plan would be to vako the'ii off. lieu- and thcie a stray bolt or washer was to be seen this morning on that portion of the inner trark near ths stone wall. Pukcnui, who beat Bully at TakApuin, has come in for somo attentioh from backer? in the Parliamentary and Wi lter Hurdles double. He is Kaid to be a very fast hor&o, and a clever hurdler. He likes, however, to get in front from the word "go,'' otherwise he does not put too much heart into hm work. His off fora foot is deformed, but it <tot? not appear to affect his galloping powers. The Winter Cup betting is very brisk this year. Quite a number of horses have come in for support, the latest being Grenadier, who was well backed by the right people during the progiess of the Gisborne meeting. THE BLADE.