HUTDLES TO-MORROW

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 1, 1 July 1932, Page 4

HUTDLES TO-MORROW

v.r;c^"grajidSnaiionai.s

NEW; ■ZE^^ND:S; ; eHANCE!

Two important -races of -the Australian Turf which! 'Have . j;e't to' be won" by New Zealalid :■ horses' are the. Victoria Crand National Hurdles, three miles, 'and Vie : toria Qrand National..fjteeplechase,: three miles and a. furlong.:-"the first of these races, this year will 'be decided at; the Victoria^Racing Club's Winter 'Meetiiig'at*' Fleniington to-mfirrow,. .and, .three New Zealand' horses in Landmark-. Make Up, and Captain's Gift will probably-be making a." bid to place, the Dominion's, name on the-. winning record. The' Steeplechase battle,wjll be staged a ■week' later.,";'■.- ■ '. At "this .distance it. is not. possible td know the- progress: that: horses have made during .the■ last Hveek or"soj but at .most recent adyicedt looked.''as though'the' fight final. favouritism ■would; be contested by: they seven-year-old ■ Blairmountr geldjng-; Nauru; .weighted at 9.9, the seven-year-Old Lord.Alwyne geld-' ing-Alwynian,-weighted at 9.4, arid ~the! eight-year-old'Lanius gelding- Bay of Biscay, at 10.7. .' ..' V -,' .- ..'-: ■ .PROBABLE FAVOURITE.- ; • -~ ' Nauru has been among- the ' top-liners! since the appearance ,pf:the,weights. AtMoonee iValley at the end of lilay he ! equaljed the course record of 4min 15'/4see I in winning a two-mile steeplechase, and on 6th June won the.V.R.G. MarlWoUgh Hurdles, two.miles and a quarter, in 4min IBisec. Subsequently he was unplaced' under 11.4 in the Toolanibool Hurdles at Caulfield on 18th June, but this failure would riot have lost him many friends. Alwynian has been steadily gaining in popularity since the weights appeared, and during T last month-he: rose from, well down in the. early lists, to-.share fhe top 'line a wtek ago \vith Nauru and Bay of Biscay. The last-named ha 3 also been winning" further; ; admirers' recently, but he1' has'-'all along 130011-among the first half-dozen selections.; He^firiished second to Redditch iii the Port Phillip Hurdles, two miles, at Williamstown on Saturday, last, so-is evideh'tly,nf;for;:the-fray.V- ' ' .-■:■:■':■ Ctbstely' pressing;-',"tlte' joint top-lirierV is St.-^Magnus ;(0;2), Jwho finished third"in both:the,siarlb.6rough and the-.Toolninbool Hurdles;.' and .'in..between wonvthe• :WindaiWHurdles 'at.Moonee-Valley-dn Hth Jiiae;:-,lt is worth '.noting-,that -thev.Windarra Hurdles ,w.as\ la^t year won by Cockcrow, as a preliminary to .'success in-the Grand-National; : St: -Magnus has a -New ZeaTand; interestj as he 'is descended from a- mare by that: brilliant' son of 'Stepniak,;Mdnsehikoff. ■ ... ■< ■;'.. ■■■ ;. ■\ \ • Others instrohg favour include the New Zealand pair,: Landmark (11.1) and Make i Up' (10.6); Lady .Doris (0.7), a mare of New Zealand descent owned'by the former New, 'Z,ealand'er, '-Mr. E. -J.. Watt; and recently ' twice .successful "at", the ' A.J.C. ', Birthday "Meeting;.Bhopal:(9.o), who was second in" the- Toolambool Hurdles; ■Polygoniim (9;8), third' in :,;the.;Port Phillip Hurdles at Willianistown;, Lanirov (9 11) j winner of 'the Toolambdol' Hurdles -.Red- -I ditch: (11.0), winner of the York' Hurdles at the recent V.R.C. Birthday-Meeting, and again a winner in the Port Phillip Hurdles last Saturday; Gadray (10.4), a Sydney visitor who ran fourth in the race last year; Mosstrooper (12.2), the winner two years ago; and Cockcrow (11.0), lust year's winner. . In recent quotation lists the other New Zealander engage.d, ~Captain'.s Gift, was :iiot mentioned, v but it is 'probable-that, he (entered intq,the.diSQUssioris^wheii,he ar^ nved-'on'-the'lcene'last weok.1; ■'■%, ' ' ...Tho: pre r National-liuraii'ng' event usually .looked: upon as. a. full-dress rehearsal for' the jigger contest is the Marlborough Hurdles/at the-V.RXVBirthday Meeting,this year- won■% Nauru, and it hiay be■ ot interest to" consider a report .of that race.; The' so .described' it:—; The Jtarlborough Hurdles-. presentbdV a very favoufe alln half a do2cn I'""" bittlecl for' favouritism. Ocean Bound, , Nauru and St 'ii ' '"i 1} Eoidale «t-onlyn point IV.*. ha w vla». "Is «fsf race; Since' Just -Aueust ' weir slmfi °l ■ ", 6 ,othe»- Cockc'rfl^ has Se ■nlarf fln^ nl h W4 re sx"?ci^ prbmine'nt ?e«Siiv h« y, IvaUr^ ln' tha betting,: as1 only for hm for the Grand National Hurdle.Kace, and -he...earner.-ihroueh the. test- with flyinc SSiSW^^^-'^- be settl«" d 0"« " fourtl place, but running along the back he' moved,up-..smartly..-on. the outside, and joined Claronsa-;.ln---tho.. lead. They were almost, level-ns-they. rose-at the last hiirdle. but: as soon■as • they; landed-. Nauru shot '.away in i -fewstrides, and wenton to -win .with.-the'greatest • case from. Poidale,.and St. Magnus. If wasa. flrst-class. performance Irijievery way on thepart of -Nauru,- and as' he' Is in the Grand ■ National Hurdle Race with only 91b above the minimum,' it is difficult to~ pick one likely to defeat him. His form here was decidedly better than that- of • Bhopal on. Saturday,- and,lt she has a chance, as her owner1 declares sne hai, ffi™.., r;?ur. u'must be accorded a better one. : Perhaps it was'-riot"altogether■"a-satlsf actbry trial so far as some of the unplaced division nre concerned, because the field was thoroughly disorganised when Acceleration brought down Lord Darnley and Ocean Bound. Nauru was ahead of the trouble, and had a clear run all tho way, but most of those who finished behind him did not. For that reason we must discount some of the merit of Nauru's performance, but, after makinp; a substantial discount for good fortune, it- was a most Impressive display, because Nauru jumped very smoothly all through, aivl showed great dash at the end of 'the race.when he. Cleared, away from, the tired Claronga. ■ < Mosstroop-er-fras -ii long way back early, but was making up- ground steadily at the- end of the race..-.He. h.oweyer; .did.not, show the dash he, did in his races over hurdle's'a; couple of years ago." Co6Ucrow should'have done better If he is-to. win-the. National again this year, but,' like. AlQ3Str,o.oper,..the.race will do •.him' good, as they have both been away from hurdling for-neatly-a-year.' Taciturn' was bothered • by. his. weight.. 'He struggled on gamely jn,th,e. clo.shig; stages, and was making up .ground near the finish, but die was never going like' a "possible 'winner. '■■'■' ; ■ TJie form among' the Australian, contenders' for" to-morrow-s" honours is ''clcarilyiipto the Vest ■stiihaafd of recent; years, . so. that;'th'e'New. Zeiilariders -will have to battle hard-for success;- Still,1 the Dominion's representation •is -a -fine - one,: and judged -through last- month's, performances on this- side -of. the-Tasman, every one of the trio .should .bo . capable >of ■giving a really good. account, of .himself.■'-, :■•'-... • i