NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 81, 7 April 1910, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

THE THOMPSON HANDICAP. Chief interest, of course, centred in the Thompson Handicap, and though. Swimming Belt's withdrawal did not cause many heartburnings, the absence of both Equi'as and Effort was much regretted. However, n field of thirteen went to the post, and a keen contest was fully anticipated. Armlet, who was made favourite, stripped in great- trim, and no fault could be found in this | respect with North East. Tumut, as usual, looked a bit soft and rough in the coat, and partly perhaps on this account he was allowed to run loos© by the majority of backers. Cronstadt, an own brother to All Red, looked well, and had a large following, for besides having shown fair form at Riccarton last week, he had, since his ai-rival atTrent f ham, pleased the track watchers. Ad present ha has an cx.lravagant hind action, and in the racp he was never once prominent. Ho lias, however, the making* of a very useful horse, and may be relied upon to do better in (he future. Well, the event has been decided, and Armlet has won it — won ix,, too, easily after leading from end to end. Those who so strongly maintained that she waa "chucked in' are now, no doubt, more cock sure of the accuracy of their statement than ever, and the laugh is on their side. My opinions, however, have not been shaken in the least, for, as I i wrote on Tuesday, I was quite prepared to see her "win, and win easily." My only fear is that my contentions may possibly have been the means of dissuading some of my readers from s\ipporting her or supporting her to heavily as they might have done. But I am digressing. Armlet's performance in carrying lib moro than weight-for-ago, making all her own running, and winning by a most handsome margin, in record time, was a brilliant one in tho extreme, and certainly the best she has yet registered. She fully deserved the flattering reception she received on returning to scale, and her connections are to be heartily congratulated. Tumut, who for some rea»oi> or another backers Btrangely neglected, ran a fine race, but apart from the winner, chief honours unquestionably rested with North East. Had the latter been able to begin more quickly he must have been difficult to beat, and opinions were expressed that with better luck he might have seriously troubled Mr. Greenwood's filly. The art of beginning .smartly is one of the chief factors m the decision of races, however, and it was solely due to his inability to do this under his heavy burden that North East failed to make a better race of it. Husbandman's prospects of buc- , cess wore- minimised for exaobly ' the same reason.- He, in fact, Is slow«i' to get into his stride than North East, and during the early stages of the race he was lying a long way back. Lady Medallist is yet another case in point. Four furlongs from home she was running last but two. She then began to recover her lost ground, and wa» finishing faster than anything. I THE CHALLENGE STAKES. i It was "pleasing to see a field of six I saddled up for the North Island Challenge Stakes, for, after the great form Penatrs showed at Riccarton, his presence, it was feared, would frighten nearly all possible opposition away. Penates in .<oft ground and Penates on firm going are, however, two entirely different animals, for, on account of having n, net of delicate feet, the Ruenaif horse is quite unablo to do his beet on i hard surface. Still, it was not altogether surprising that odds fchould be laid on his ability to score, for, with Gold Lace not within 281 b of her form, hi* task did not appear an exceptionally difficult one. He began well, too, but Formby just worried him down, and at the distance the Birkenhead coll was winning easily. Polymorphous, who was xlow to move, however, then came with n tremendous rush, and it took Formby ! all hit, time to beat* him by half a length. In running flic seven furlong course in lmin 28sec, Formby chipped 4-6 sec off the record established by Menschikoff in 1901. His display was of a high-class description, and makes him out to be a better colt than many of us had crodited him with being, for, apart from Gold Lace, he was meeting each of his opponents at a disadvantage in the weights. He may never be a great Htayer, as neither his dam nor her sister Gladsome was partial to a very lengthy journey, but there is no reason why he should not be able to get to the end of a mile and a half next reason, and this being co, be must be regarded as a very likely winner of the Canterbury Derby. Polymorphous is improving every month, and his work yesterday could leave no sort of doubt in the minds of those present that he is an out-and-out good colt. Unfortunately he is a difficult horse to train, but if G. Price does succeed in keeping him on his legs he is bound to achieve high distinction next season. King Soult failed to see •the journey out, and Flitaway gave a veiy disappointing exhibition. THE RAILWAY HANDICAP. j Being tho second leg of tho double, a lot of interest attached to the Railway Handicap, the field for which numbered half a dozen. Effort always had the call in the betting, "but Perle dOr, Kilindini, and Golden Loop each had a large following, and the issue was generally regarded as being an open one. On the book the last-named really had no chance, but she was supposed to havedone something very deadly in private, and thi» getting whispered abroad in the paddock, substantial sums were betted on her chance. She never looked dangerous, however, and her failure only gave a further illustration of the distinction of class, this being her finst attempt to win in open company. In beating Perle dOr Effort was a trifle lucky, for Golden Slipper's sister did not get away well, and at the head of tho top turn she was lying last. Kilindini had every' chanc« to win if she had been able, and it in evident that the in not at her best just now, THE MINOR EVENTS. Only four turned our for the opening event, tyv whuh Audax was favourite. He stripped in gross condition, and many who .supported him before looking him over subsequently ?aw leason to regret their hasle. \Vhutakimi looked well, but Loiigner, who w;is making his firft appearance over hurdles, was both short, of work and nore, and the fact of his being able to beat the topweight in these circumstances only went to tihovr

what a moderate performer Wbatakura must be. Audax was running all over the place, — first behind, then m front, and then behind again. He lost a lot of ground through going wide out at tbe turns, and also through jumping a fence at the back of the course at an angle which landed him on the extreme outside. Had he been differently handled he would probably have won.^_ We are so accustomed to see Truganini running second that it was only in strict accordance with things that she should fill the role of runner-up to Sharpshooter. Though she has probably established an easy record for the number of seconds she has been credited with, she has yefc to equal that put up by the Taranaki gelding Timothy, who ran eleven seconds consecutively. Swimming Belt, as he had previously shown at Masterton, has gone right off, and that he r.hould be the last to get home was not surprising. Laius, however, was expected to do better than finish fourth, and Osiris's form was altogether too bad to be true. A nice field of eleven contested the Silver&tream Hack Handicap, and, partly in view of her easy win at Mastejrton, but partly, also, on account of having shown something good in private, Penza was the popular selection. She got away well enough, but quickly retired, and ultimately finished a long way back. The winner turned up in St. Felix, who, though quietly fancied by his connections, was almost entirely neglected by the public, and he returned those who supported him a very fine dividend indeed. His dam, Fauna, is a threequarter sister to Miss Betty, the dam-of Ostiak, so he is well bred enough, and the manner in which he scored suggested further triumphs on his account. , Tenterhook has never looked so well as she did yesterday, and it was not surprising that she should be made favourite for tho Plunket Nursery Handicap. Lord Kelvin, too, stripped in fine order, but he had not the semblance of a chance with the Clanranald filly, who hopped away first and won with her eara pricked. Selene has not yet learned to stay. The Tinakori Handicap was the las*, event on the card, and on the strength of the form she showed at Ellerslie Emblem was" selected as the pea. No j mistake was made either, as, after leading throughout, she won as she liked. Smart though her performance was, people should, I think.-. be cautious about placing her on too high a pedestal. Some of those that finished behind her were not seen at their best. Sea Queen, for instance, who ran third last January to Boanerges and Naumai, having Broadsword, Gold Lace, Federal, and Silk Web behind her, should have done better than finish last, more especially as she had been galloping satisfactorily on the tracks. Kina did not appear to be seriously asked to chase the winner when pursuit was seen to be hopeless. For all that, however, Emblem is unquestionably smart. She hafa the happy knack of getting a good start, and once in front' •she takes a lot of catching. I