THE HARCOURT CUP

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 98, 23 October 1934, Page 4

THE HARCOURT CUP

THREE-YEAR-OLD'S SUCCESS

SPORTING BLOOD PREVAILS

The Harcourt Cup, the -wcight-for-age piece of tho meeting and yesterday's main item, provided spectators with a, really ex- ,-. hilar-ating contest among eight good horses. Two of the four-year-old brigade, Red Manfred and Davolo, were sent out the elect of the public, but, -while they were capable of filling the minor places, they were convincingly beaten by one of the two three-year-olds in the field, Sporting Blood, who added another victory to the recent good record of horses of this age. Sporting Blood began as well as anything Irom the rail position, but alter being in the van lor _ lurloug he was passed by lop Uoat and Autopay. With Davolo on ins outer he followed the leaders along the bacK, but Davolo moved away trom him on the home turn, where Top Coat retired beaten. Once landed in the straight Sporting- Blood came olt the fence in challenge, aud, hnislung brilliantly dowu the outside of the leaders, -he raced to the front, at the distance and scored very decisively by a good two lengths from Red Manfred, who out3taycd Davolo by a neck. It was a line performance by . Sporting Blood, who is still in the .New Zealand Derby, but has been allowed to drop out of the Mew Zealand Cup. lie is a bay colt by Hunting Kong irom an unraced mare named Gazi, whoso name suggests she is probably by Gazeley, but whose pedigree is not in the Stud Book, lie is owned by Mr. T. Fraser, jun., who also .raced Hunting Cry, and he is trained at Gisborne by A. Mcintosh. As a two-year-old he won twice in seven starts, and this season he was successful at Ellerslie a week ago, as well as running third to the two fillies Gay Blonde and Namakia in the Great Northern Guineas. In his race at Trentham on Saturday he was always well up, but over on the rail he was not able to reveal, his brilliance. Sporting Blood's win was L. J. Ellis's third in the race, as this rider was also on Pink Coat, another son of Hunting •Song, and on Croupier when they succeeded, both as three-year-olds, in 192!) and 1931 respectively. Three other jockeys, H. Gray, B. Deeley, and J. O'Shea, each won the race three times. Yesterday's time of 2min B%sec was well outside the race record, but it was good tima lor a slightly dead track, and it was identical with Red Manfred's twelve months ago. Three-year-olds in Pink Coat, Croupier, Red Manfred, and now Sporting Blood have won four of the last six contests, the two successes of Historic as a six and eight-year-old respectively in 1930 and 1032 being the other two victories. Red Manfred was a big favourite, more than half as well backed again as Davolo and more than twice as well supported as the winner, but he had no chance at the end with the three-year-old. He was covering additional ground all the way on the outside of Spiral aud Aesctilus, and thiß must have used him up more than the others, so that his effort was rather better than it might otherwise read. At even weights he seems slightly superior to Davolo, bo that handicappers will now need to revise their relative estimate of these two four-year-olds. Davolo ran another creditable race, being only a neck away third, but he appeared to have every chance in the running He was the first to break down Autopay in the straight, but then was not quite able to carry his good ettort through on the rail behind the winner throughout, but was not quite up to ti£ class of the place-fillers being only a moderate fourth four lengths away. At level weights with Red Manfred and Davolo he is not a match for either of them at a mile and a quarter, but he might stay better than either of them. The others were well back at the close, - AescSlus, Top Coat, and Autopay being i^ approximate line some lengths behind Spiral. Autopay was going great guns to the false rail, but the extra quartermile completely beat him. He and An ■k ira cave much trouble at the start, both beTng placed outside a hurdle. Au opay had ghis head and neck in font of the barrier at the release, but.Ankira dwelt and lost some lengths, being tailed oft from start to finish.