AUCKLAND CUP FIELD

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 134, 4 December 1930, Page 7

AUCKLAND CUP FIELD

NIGHTMARCH'S BIG TASK

CYLINDER AM) IN THE SHADE PREFERRED

The publication of the weights for' the Auckland.Cup and' Railway Handicap has stimulated interest in the holiday meetings, and, although there may not be much discussion in the two big Christinas handicaps until intentions of owners are made more manifest, the probability is that when the opposing forces really come to grips the market wiil be in more turmoil than it has been for some years. At least, with an open handicap in the Cup, there is sure to be more animation about the discussions than there was when • the New Zealand Cup - and Stewards' freights appeared. The next few days will doubtless be occupied by close students of form in an endeavour to discover "blots" in the handicaps, but Mr. F. J. M'Manemin would appear to have exercised considerable skill and judgment in the pursuance of his task. The big risk he has taken is in placing Cylinder, Nightmarch's victor at Riccarton, at 31b below weight-f or-age, • whereas he has rated Nightmarch at 81b higher than the weight he would have under that scale. Possibly Mr. M'Manemin assumes that jockeyship brought about Nightmarch's defeat, • but if this is his assumption, then racing over the remainder of the season will probably prove that he has erred. There is no limit to the weight at which the Auckland Cup can be started, as is the case with the New Zealand Cup, and Nightmareh, the obvious step-off for the handicap, is very fairly treated with 9.13, only 31b more than he was awarded last year, when he was immediately scratched, and only 21b more than the weight he was allotted in the last Melbourne Cup, but 71b more than the fixed maximum he carried to victory in the: New Zealand Cup. So horse, however, has ever won the Auckland Cup with such a weight, Nelson's 9.12, as far back as 1887, standing as the record, and the task of establishing new figures this year appears to be just beyond Nightmarch, good as he is. Other, factors against him are that horses he beat at Riccarton are more widely separated from him in the present scale, some of his opponents will be fitter horses at Ellerslie than they have been at any prior -time this season, and he himself may _ not be quite at the peak he was in the:late spring. His defeat by Cylinder certainly did not indicate that he had had enough racing up to that point, for the final six furlongs he ran that day, in Imin 11 4-ssec, was probably the fastest he ever went in his life on a circular track, and the .last point may well not apply on the day, for he will have had time to freshen up again, and on this score he is hardly as badly off' as In the Shade. Apart from the fact that Nightmarch will have to establish a weight-carrying record to win, there is also the interesting fact that no horse has yet won the three Cups—Melbourne, New Zealand, and Auckland. Sasanof went very close to doing it. He .won" the Melbourne Cup with 6.12 in 1916, and the Neir Zealand Cup with 8.9 in 1918, while in the Auckland Cup in 1918, carrying' 9.6, he ran second to Mascot (6.13). NIGHTIHARCH'S RIVALS. Horses wjw have outstanding prospects of beatmgjJifightmarch-at Ellerslie, named in the orcer in \vhich they make appeal, are Cylinder, In the. Shade, Star Stranger, Paquita and Concentrate. J. X Jefferd has a strong hand to play in C/linder. and Star Stranger, and an earj?'- indication of the stable intention is Jjefnly awaited by sportsmen. With Star Stfanger showing sucll a sudden and phenomenal return to his best form in the -Metropolitan on the final day at Eiccarton, when he was beaten by a nose and would have won had he not met a check in the run to the post, Jefferd may prefer to rely wholly on him and not risk the three-year-old's future by asking him to tackle such a hard race as the Cup. Cylinder is exceptionally well handicapped, however, and the only assumption that can l?e drawn on this point is that Mr. M'Manemin does not rate . this year's three-year-olds very highly. He has made a devious tour to arrive at his decision, taking his line through Sargon to the Australian three-year-olds, who failed badly ;when lined up against the older handicappers. This deduction may be correct in Sargon's case, but it does not apply to Cylinder, about whom there is direct and tangible evidence. of' .class. Cylinder improved throughout the Riccarton carnival, and, while he remains in the Cup, he must be accorded a great chance of ending the long period that has elapsed since a three-year-old last succeeded —Nestor having opened- the hiatus in 1896. In Cylinder's absence Star Stranger should carry their owner's colours again with credit. Sure to be one of the early favourites is In the Shade, the third horse in the New Zealand Cup and a winner at his next and only other start at the meeting. In the Shade had not long been back from Australia, where his most impressive performance was his second to Cragford in the Metropolitan, and his Riccarton efforts, at his first starts after his return, must be reckoned to have shown him up as a much more brilliant customer than ever he has previously been. It was widely reported that he had been badly ridden in the pup, but it is difficult to subscribe to this opinion, for he was able to beat all except Nightmarch and Concentrate at the end, and it is doubtful whether he could have beaten this pair, on the day, however he had been handled. Moreover, K. Vqitre, who was in the saddle, rode to instructions, and he carTied the instructions out as nearly as possible to the letter. In the Auckland Cup In the Shade has lib more to carry, but he meets Nightmarch and Concentrate at 61b and 21b better terms respectively. and at this difference there can be little to choose between them. In the Shade, however, is »t a handier point on the ecale than efEhcr, and the difference in weight, for «U practical purposes, will not effect him at «il- while it will be an added burden for those above him. PAQUITO AND CONCENTRATE. Paquito is a horse who must be given more than passing thought, because of the luxuriously lenient treatment he has received at the hands of the handicapper. 3Tor a horse who has run second in a Melbourne Cup with 8.5, was second favourite for the last Auckland Cup with 8.1, and shared favouritism with Cragford in the last A.J.C. Metropolitan with 8.9, one pound more than In the Shade carried, he would appear to have escaped remarkably lightly with 7.9. He has never shown his best in New Zealand, but, on figures, nearly as big a risk has been taken with him as with Cylinder. Had he been as fit 2, horse on last Auckland Cup day as he was a few days earlier he might well have been the winner. His chance has come again with an armful of invitations. Concentrate is emulating his last year's feat, when he defeated Star Stranger narrowly, but a trifle luckily. He is a brilliant handicapper, just coming into his best form, and he must be accorded an excellent chance. He was easily second best in the last New Zealand Cup and Canterbury Cup, and just prior to those races he had run fourth in the A.J.C. Metropolitan. There will, therefore, be few to risk leaving him out of calculations. He meets Nightmarch at 41b better terms than in the New Zealand Cup, and is weighted at 61b below wtight-for-age, so that with the improvement he is making he must be one of the hardest in the race. The Cup has been won twice successively on six occasions, the last to succeed being ■Te Kara, who dead-heated with Muraahi 5n 1923 and won straight out in 1924, so that history is not against him. . Hunting Cry needs a special word of jjomment. He has not had a race since

he returned from Sydney, but, near the form he displayed there or at the Ellerslie carnival last year, he would have very decided prospects. Hunting Song's stock, however, have not yet made two-niilors, although they have gone successfully up to a'mile and a half, and this will influence many to avoid Hunting Cry just yet. It is worth noting tlnit he is also in the Railway Handicap with a handy weight, and it will occasion no surprise if this race is .preferred by his party. Others who have chances at the handicaps, but who hardly appeal as likely to beat Nightmarch, are Historic, Corinax, Scatown,. Count.' Palatine, Sargon, and Courageous.. Historic is reasonably treated, but he" has ■■ yet to prove himself at two^ miles. Sargon is probably the pick of the bottom two-thirds of the list.

WEIGHTS COMPARED.

For the purpose of comparison, the weights allotted'horses who were entered for the New Zealand and .Auckland Cups aro given:— ■ ■" .

After declaration of handicaps Gay Crest was ■ penalised 41b and Pahu, 61b for a win at Randwick and Trentham respectively. „ ~ , As far as age goes, four-year-olds have the best record in the Cup, with 21 successes in the 50 contests to date. This year eight of the 42 handicapped horses are four-year-olds, namely, Hunting Cry, My Own, Count Palatine, Duellona, Motere, Monalof, Vali, and Bennie. Three-year-olds ' have won on five occasions, five-year-olds on fifteen occasions, six-year-olds on ten occasions, and aged horses on six occasions. There was one dead-heat.

x.z. 1 . Cup. st lb Nightmarcli !> li Star Stranger 0 1 Concentrate S 10 111 the Shade S 2 Hunting Cry 7 13 First Sight 7 11 Bright Glow 7 8 Gay Crest 7 0 High Court .-. 7 7 Count Palatine .... 7 6 Courageous 7 0 Count Cavour 7 !) Duellona • 7 0 Desert Glow ....... 7 0 Jly Own 7 0 I'ahu 7 0 Auckland Cup. stlb '.) 13 8 II! S 13 S 3 1 4 7 4 7 1 7. 1 7 1 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0