NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 76, 1 April 1910, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By Sir Bedivere.) To continue my comment on the Thompson Handicap, the next horse that calls for mention is Sandstream. Oi^ the score of weight he is well enough placed, but he is a slow beginner, and in a race of this description, the field for which is likely to be large, 1 cannot fc.iy that I fancy biro. Eftort, on tho otlier hand, can find her feet smartly, and she would only need to reproduce the form &h,e showed at the last meeting at Trentham in order to render an excellent account of herself. Salute may be regarded as an unlikely starter, and, ia any case, 1 have it on the best of authority that she was a beaten mare when she fell in the Easter Handicap at Ellerslie. We now come to Sir Tristram. His form this season has been nothing to boast about, but he is a difficult horse for a handicapper to deal with. • The fact is, he is more or less of v. cripple, and unless the going is on the soft side he is not now able to strike out freely. Last season, when the course was holding, he carried 7.7 and beat both All Red (9.7) and Bobrikoff (9.6) decisively by two lengths in the Autumn Handicap 'at Trentham, and on that showing he cannot safelj be left ■ out of calculations when burdened with 8.3. Husbandman is treated favourably enough in- all conscience, but he has been such a consistent failure this season that one cannot greatly fancy his prospects, even under 8.2, and personally I i-hould prefer to trust his stablemate Kilwinning. The unfortunate Diabolo, who is always going to do things but scarcely ever manages to bring them off, has been given every opportunity to distinguish himself in this event, in which he is placed to meet Crucinella on no less than 211b better terms than he did in the Wellington Cup, at the finish of which the pair were only separated by a neck. Of course, since then Crucinella has won, and Diabolo has failed. Some people, too, may be inclined to regard j a mile as rather too short a journey for Diabolo's liking. His electrical run in the Avon Welter at Riccarton last November is not likely to be forgotten by those who witnessed it, however, and as 9.6 did not then impair his sprint ing abilities sufficient to prevent him winning over seven furlongs, 8.2 should not stop him from getting handy at the conclusion of a race over a mile. In the Avon Welter he was conceding Effort 31b, whereas now the fiJly has to allow him 41b. Effort has subsequently shone in a brighter vein, it is true, but so, too, has Diabolo, vide the Wellington Cup, and he seems to me to have none the worst of the deal in the handicaps under review. A horse whose chance appeals to mo at least as strongly is Sir Frisco. Here, again, ia an awkward customer to deal with. In the summer, when the going is firm, he may be beaten quite easily, but later on, when the hordes' feet come out of tie ground with a noise like corks popping, it is a different state of affairs with him altogether. At the last winter meeting he won the Parliamentary Handicap easily under 10.9, and subsequently ran well under the steadier of 11.5. Strictly on the book he has none the best of it through Tumut, but if the weather remains a.-, at present — well, I had better say no more. It would probably only weary my readers were I to wade through the remainder of the field for the Thompson Handicap in the style already followed, and, besides, there are other matters to be thought of, and I must, therefore, be content to generalise. Mijan is nicely placed, but her special" f otto is staying, and at the weights many people will prefer Sir Antrim. Merrivonia, who meets Equitas on 121b better terms than when she finished third to the Advance filly and Bobrikoff at Trentham on 26th January, is well in enough, as she receives an additional 51b from Equitas in consideration of having finished behind the Litter in the Easter Handicap at Ellerslie. Lady Medallist appears to bs properly placed, and of the others Gwendolina, Ingoda, Swimming Belt, and Bollin read most attractively. Regarded from a general stand- ! point, Mr. Pollock's production appears to be a fairly satisfactory one. North East, however, strikes me< as being unduly burdened, whilst those most leniently dealt with are Diabolo, Sir Frisco, Milan, Sir Antrim, Swimming Belt, and, Bollin. Swimming Belt nad apparently become 6tale ere he competed at Masterton, where, in the Waipipi Cup, Mr. Pollock set him to concede Iranui lib. In the Autumn rianI dicap on the second day the weights were, Iranui 9.0, Swimming Belt 8.3. ! The latter did not start, and Iranui ran second to Sunbonnet. Now Iranui is asked to concede Swimming Belt 191b. Several horseo arrived from the South yesterday, and no doubt by to-morrow there will bo quite a large muster at headquarters. In view, however, of the racing that most of those engaged at the Wellington Autumn Meeting have been doing during the past week, the training operations arc unlikely to be particularly interesting until Monday. Owners are reminded that second forfeits are due to-night in connection with the North Island Challenge Stakes. After declaration of first forfeit sixtyfour horses remained in, among them being Gold Lace. Penates, and » representative lot of two-year-olds. Tauira, who walked in under 11.4 in the Victoria Hurdles at Trentham last winter, and has recently shown good form on the flat, reads well m tho First Hurdles with, ao more than 11.0 opposite his name. Audax, 9.11, will, however, be a tough proposition if -he is fit and well, and is brought down from Hawkes Bay. The last-named, carrying 11.11, presented Leonardo with 71b iv August, and beat him handsomely in the Hunters' Hurdles at Riccarton. He subsequently won the Lincpln Steeplechase in most impressive style under 9.13 from Kiatere, 12.9, Le Beau 10.5, J£urus, Nadador, Slow Tvir., and four others. Tribulation and Inspection have been scratched for all engagements at the Wellington neelinfc.