JUVENILE OF CLASS

Evening Post, Issue 29, 4 February 1935, Page 6

JUVENILE OF CLASS

WOTAN'S STRIKING FORM

Making his fiist appcaiance in public, Wotan put, up such;a strikingly brilliant perfoimance in winning 'the Sedgebiook Ju\emlc Handicap that one could only be left wondering how good lie reully is. Fiom such an ofioit it might not be going too tar to piedict that he ,will possibly turn out champion of the season's juveniles betoie the term is clobed. ' Only a colt ot \eiy high class could have overcome thedifficulties which beset his path on Saturday. He is the second o£ Siegfried's stock to win, the other having been Maestro in Sydney. •- i Wotan was well fancied by his connections, but Pievail's fiist-day tonn, -sa\v[, hci going out moie than twice as heavily suppoited as the topu eight. Those who backed AVotaU mubt have been leady to bell out veiy cheaply when he stood flatlooted at the start and immediately gave aft ay about ten lengths to those first tcT. begin. Indeed his chances looked as hopeless as one could imagine even after the field had gone" a fuilong. From theie, however, he began to sweep round the field with astonishing buUiance, and, ranging up alongside 'Surprise Item and Hunting Scene, who wete following Matrimony and Prevail, at the straight entrance, he gathered in the leaders with the greatest of ease and won still going away by a length fi om the favourite. * Wotan is a "brown colt by Siegfried^ from the Maitian, mare Left, so that<~hp. is a half-brother to the Cup winners'Gaine (Jarrington and Peter Jackson, and*he is also owned by his breeders, 'Messrs1. X. A , W., and R. Smith. He is one'of the most perfectly-conformed^ colts that-one could wish to' see anywhere, and it,.would be almost impossible seriously;. to fault him. His action is sweepingiand'graciousr and he was a real picture of t beautiful movement when galloping', at,-top speed down the straight on Saturday. He has been with T. E. George at" Trentham. for thiee months, and"it is still possible that he will do some of his autumn racing in Australia, although this idea was dropped home time ago", as he has no classic twoj ear-old engagements in the Dominion but plenty across" the Tasman. Picvai], the favourite, "also lost some ground at the start, but she really had eveiy possible chance so far as the winner Trns concerned and \)&a no match whatever for him. Hunting Scene, running hia best race yet,'stuck on for third money, a length and/a half away, and Grateful] for -whom there wag a lot o£ snpport, was fourth, after 'being in just behind the leaders all the way. Matrimony •weakened into fifth place ( with 'Good Conduct and Chief Lady following. Chief Lady again played up at the start and^as left even ■worse than the winner was, but, from the amount of money on her, she has galloped •nell in piivate.