NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 30, 5 February 1935, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS

THIS WEEK'S DOUBLE

THE TARANAKI MEETING THREE-YEAR-OLDS' CHANCE The early autumn provincial circuit on the west coast of the North Island, comJ?,6^"?,*" 1S ?' ear by the Wanganui Jockey Clubs Meeting, will be continued this week with the Taranaki Jockey Club a Autumn Meeting, which opens on Thurs day and concludes on Saturday. The pimcipal events at New Plymouth have diawn several of the same horses as weie at Wanganui, but there is a considerable influx of fresh blood that may make a lot of difference to the results. In the past the form shown on this tir rait of fixtures, which customarily takas ■the reverse order to this year, has usually been fairly consistent, and many horses have won two or three events befoie they v e.,been st°PPed. The* Wanganui form should therefore again be a useful guide to the prospects of several of the runners, but it may be more negative th-s, year than positive, that is to say, it w.ll net rather as ruling out some of the candidates. According to the intimation ot the New Plymouth secretary last week, the Tan naii course has. been maintained 111 ex caflent order and the going will not be too hard. It will probably be somewhat o£ the same nature as that at Wangauui last week.

THE TARANAKI CUP,

i .The acceptance for the Taranaki Cup is the same numerically as that made for the :Wanganm.Cup,'whose field of nine was reduced to'seven by..the scratchings of Dsvistock, and Ferson. It looks more than lately that there will also be a couple of citlf ns p& Thur6day,■■: so. that' a final :xl-j •?/■ seven may be anticipated. Ked Manfred heads the list with lib less than_ he had in the Wangamii Cup, in he ran. third,1 but he would require to go a better race-to win here. There 'has been little evidence of any true'stamina in him in any, of,hisirecent efforts, and he was well, beaten, at the Wellington Ateetrag- each time he' met a horse who couldrun on.- It is .to. be noted, that he also claims an engagement in Thursdays open sprint, which his connections tnight be;well advised to tackle, in preference to the Cup, despite the fact that it Mjsoitigto be no easy race to win; • ; : With 9.1, a rise of 61b on his Wanganui weight, Aga Khan also does not particularly appeal, for- in the past he. has always seemed to. do best with an easier anpost. %He is ■ <admittedly very well.at present, judged '. on. his appearance last week, and he will have had the opportunity he requires to freshen up, but the weight may beat him. He was last year's Egmont Cup winner (the-first event then of the circuit, as the Wangantii Cup has been this year), but he could do no better, than fourth with 8.6 in the Taranaki Cup the following, week, the New Plymouth event being won by. Carfex, who had been third at Hawera. ' Hazoor was not seen at his best over the holidays/, and: there has been little news o£ his recent progress. At 8.7 he ia coming back to somewhere about his cor-rect-place in, the handicap. At his last start, /at-Tauherenikau, he .actually had. to .'Cpncede.:.weight.t6r:'lnflatictii';:"who;'just"pT»:--viously had given Cuddle 101b and a beating! :■■-, ,/ : ,\\,..:...,:■■ •. ■' ; ■~;..:/.;.. .AVhile it is of course always' possible till after the event'that one of these topweights will emerge the victor, the winner does,at present look rather more-rliks ■coming from .the lower, section.'; Two ofthis .division who; must claim, paramount attention are Cherry King andr.Fersen, and on the'day they may dispute the machine favouritism. ■.""-■':■ ■ V "■" '"••■";■.'■'• ■'••• ■ ■'.-->>"■-:■ : If the race is soundly'rated CherryKiri>> •will be one of,the hardest hdrses'to keep put at 8.5, , His winning efforts this seaBon have been very • attractive, i Lately there-has been .a. second-day regularity about him, -but this has .probably been more chance, than' anything^else, for he is not a; type ?o£. horse who requires a race in mm; at least that is the impression obtained about him On the first day of the recent Wellington Meeting the slow eaiK pace settled his winnjng prospects against Fracas, a cracker sprinter when it come* to that business, and on the last day, when Aiguille and Salt Spray had him bcatei^ ln*° third place, he was veijr unlucky in the running If Cherry King fail's again on an open ing day his victor may be the Austiahan importation Feiscn, who unpl esses as n really good staying thiee year old in the makings, By the -watch Fersen's -ninning effort was better than Ago Khan's on the first day at Wanganui, when both carried identical weights in their respect ive events, and on this line Fersen would appear a definite lightweight prospect ou ahursday. Indeed, Feisen is a type who might win both Cups duung the next for> night, as he has hardly yet begun to climb the weight scale. His owner (Mrs W. D. Giaham, of New Plymouth) may fulhl her ambition with him that Te Monanui could not quite achieve. The otheis are not likely to find as much favour as some o£ those already mentioned Lalla Quex would be a prospect if she were to race more generously than she did at Ashhurst,1 and it la quite a possi bihty that she lull, for she will be on her home track. Pomp has recently iegularly failed, and one -would hardly expect the longer distance to help him being -is he is a son of Absurd Davistock and Tahuranci do not seem up to the standard o£ the field

THE FLYING HANDICAP.

The field for the Flying -.-Handicap., is.-a-much stronger one than the open sprints at Wanganui, and as the dual Wanganui winner Porotiti-is not Jengaged/'iipr.'Cadland; twice second, last week's form miy oflfer little _ line aa to the likely-; pinner. Indeed ,it is a most open issue" bristlinc with several possibilities. : • ■• :- ■; -i ° T)iatomoiis, -who tops.' the . list, ;waai :-V----failure at Trentharri. were'in order for him on the two first days,'Bß he was the victim of serious interference on the first/ and on the'second the ra.ee was run in teeming rain; but he I simply petered right out on the third day.'Still he might have been fenling the effects of his racing on the final :',day, sothat ho cannot be wholly disregarded- 'this. Syeek One for-a moment would be inclined to allow him still another chance, ;buVtheu jt is remembered that ia a final-gallop before the Wellington Meeting Princess uoreen beat him decisively. To "win on Thursday he will require to have' measurably freshened up since a fortnight-ago. Bed Manfred has always been speedy, but his distance racing may have dimmed his brilliance. It would be interesting to see him start in this race in preference to the Cup. ■_•..;■-.'.. ■ .'•.'• v JVlothoi? Superior failed "completely' at Wangaiim. It might have been that fthe trick did not -suit her, but. she will need to perform a lot better to have a chance on Thursday After her -prior' splendid efforts her \\anganui form was obviously not right. ■-■■•.'•-■• .-* Copyist has not recently, been the .horse he -was earlier- in ■ the season, and'there wnre reports that he had developed wind affliction, but;the 'fact of his; connectibiift' undertaking so Iprigia trip with him. must show that those, who know ,him:best believe that there are still 'race's in him.l; * As in the Cup it is jusit possible a lighter weight will be victorious in the sprint. There are at least two op form who have good chances, these being Limulus and Lady Kyra.j, .Still; another . three-year-pld in Burnish—atrang? after her efforts as a. two-year-old to eee^her weighted. lowesf-of •the division!—has only to continue the improvement voted in her at Trcntham to surprise -the. .field.';■■ ' ' > Limulug, a^ Wellington Stakes.winner, is a decided prospect. It is possible to overlook her second-flay iaihire at Trentha'tn, because of the rising storm ami the lor'i^ delay at the start. And Lady Kyra, has some excellent performances to her credit (his season, including a handy third .'to Synagogue and Gay Blonde at EUerslie. Both these three-year-olds are likely to be well supported, and either one, or Burnish, niiijbt. without being over-optmi'istic -'a toi-rcast, make it a ..three-year-olds' double with Fersen this jcar.

<** "EAMOATIBA.")