RACING NEWS ELLERSLIE "DOUBLE" FLEETWIND'S FAILURE FIRST TRAINING SUCCESS TAKAPUNA INQUIRIES

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 135, 4 December 1935, Page 8

RACING NEWS

ELLERSLIE "DOUBLE"

FLEETWIND'S FAILURE

FIRST TRAINING SUCCESS

TAKAPUNA INQUIRIES

CUP AND RAILWAY FIELDS

EARLY VIEW OF WEIGHTS

Interest in the big events of the .(Joming holiday session has been stimulated by the appearance of the weights ! for the Auckland Cup and the'A.R.C.' Railway Handicap, the big Christmas double event. Mr. F. J. McManemin produced two perplexing lists, but at least it may be said that he has £iven the good horses all reasonable dhance of succeeding. There is naturally, a great' array of possible lightweights, though on the scale adopted It is the handicapped section that is likely to find most present favour.In accordance with his usual practice in the Cup, Mr. McManemin has Kept his topweights down as low as he could fairly do. ,The result is that "I ii^ nad to Ptece nearly two-thirds of the field on the minimum. In the ißailway, however, he has fewer horses on the bottom rung than he has often had to have, though there is still a tfull third of them there. JONATHAN'S TOP WEIGHT. Jonathan, as anticipated, heads the assessments for the Auckland Cup. ffhough he has failed over shorter courses this season he has gone some Bound races, and no risk could be taken with him. He has 21b more ithan the weight he was given last tfear. It was thought he might fee started a pound or two higher, but tius two non-winning performances at c.weekend probably gained him some lght remission. At 9.2 and back to his best, as he might be by Boxing Day, he is still a prospect, for there are only two horses at present in the Dominion who are proved superior to him in class and they are not On the Ellerslie field.

. Cuddle, at 9.0, on the other hand, is more highly rated than it was thought she might be. She has gone Up 41b more than Fast Passage did in the year she won the New Zealand Cup in race record time, and it is doubtful if Cuddle is a so much better Iriare than Fast Passage was. "With .Cuddle at this weight, one is left wondering where Vintage would have been, had he not been withdrawn before the weighting. - In the last Wellington Cup Vintage gave Cuddle 271b and completely overshadowed her; in the New Zealand Cup Mr. Henrys was forced to reduce the difference to 201b, and though the result justified the risk it might not have done so had Vintage had a full preparation. On the present Auckland scale Vintage .would have had to be set on at least 9.10, and possibly 9.12, rating him tiearly as high as Nightmarch was after his Melbourne and New Zealand Cup wins. Cuddle, without the subsidiary consideration of her sex, Certainly appears, to haye her full parcel of weight for Boxing Day.

With Sporting Blood it has been •entirely a question of''judgment, for ho comparative line is yet obtainable ton his four-year-old form. Australian ■handicappers would probably consider •him well treated with 8.10, but after all he has won only, once during his campaign across the Tasman. Should tie train on satisfactorily after his return to the Dominion and . take his jplace in the coming field, he would poqk to hold a definite chance. A fpoint that the northern handicapper ■jhas undoubtedly taken into consideration is that the Hunting Songs so far 'have: found two miles just a little too tfar for them.. Contrasted with New ■Zealand Cup weights Sporting Blood .Js assessed at 181b better terms compared with Cuddle.

RECENT NORTHERN WINNERS

Kiltowyn, at 8.8, now meets.Cuddle fat 61b better than in the New Zealand Cup, but there was very much Snore than that between them at Bicjcarton. However; Kiltowyn must be a jbetter horse than he -showed in the ■south, and he has since won on the sEllerslie course, a favourite track of (his, which would not incline the hanGicapper to take any undue risk with •him. The weight he carried in the •last Auckland Cup was 7.13. Still, on what has been seen of his racing, he Xvould not make any great present appeal under the weight he has received jand over two miles.

King Key, at 8.3, is handicapped as One of the season's distinctly improved horses, but he seems rather close to " Kiltowyn. When he beat Kelly out of a place in the Waikato Cup he was receiving 51b from the tfour-year-old; Kiltowyn was giving jCelly 81b when he recorded a similar performance in last Saturday's Alison Cup Through, Kelly, the difference between the pair might have been up to 131b, but it is now only 51b, 61b less than in their New Zealand Cup ■weights. King ; Rey. would -require to prove a definitely superior stayer to Kiltowyn to beat him at their present weights, though, of courss, there is negative evidence that he is better endowed with stamina, for Kiltowyn does not-seem a two-miler on his past {performances. A horse who is likely to find some immediate favour with his weight is Argentic, -who cannot complain with ;his 7.9. In the New Zealand Cup admittedly Cuddle gave him 51b and easily-beat him into third place; but how the difference is 191b, and Argenjtic is susceptible to possibly more improvement than the mare. On weights :purely Argentic looks to possess an excellent chance of succeeding. Davolo is another southerner whom taany will consider well handicapped at 7.2 if he can stay the two miles, though the'weight is. only the same as Mr. McManemin gave him last year, Avhen he was out of training. In the ■New Zealand Cup two months earlier he had been assessed at 8.5; joint second topweight with Red Manfred and only 101b below Jonathan, from whom he now.receives 281b.

At the present stage it is unnecessary to deal with the others. Spiral, it is understood, will contest a shorter race, probably the Christmas Handicap, on the first day, and Kelly and Gay Marigold have no recent credentials. Among the possible stayers in the lower group are Vanestep (up 31b on the weight she carried into second place in the New Zealand Cup), :Caliente, Gay Broney, Fersen, Sir Abb, Sand Gay Boy. OPEN RAILWAY ISSUE. The issue in the' Railway Handicap, 'as it usually is, is rather more open 'than it is in the Cup. This is a race, ■too, in which many other factors besides the handicap enter calculations, and on which also form after the declaration of weights has a more important bearing. •Jonathan, in the absence of Silver Ring, was the natural topweight agrin. He has a weight (9.12), however, that has never been carried to success in the event, for which the record is The Workman's 9.8 for a dead heat back in 1894, so that one would require t6 be highly, optimistic to favour his present prospects. The Ellerslie course, too, ,does not favour highly-assessed ■ horses ■in big fields over the turning six furlongs, and the Railway is usually a big field. Jonathan's latest racing suggests that the Cup will be his .mission.

Nor does Silver Jubilee, although undoubtedly a good horse,- appeal at 9.7, for on figures he would require to be as good as Reremoana was in 1925, and Reremoana that year benefited through the fields having to be divided. Silver Jubilee is still in Australia and he will probably be remaining there for the summer meetings. There is a wealth of form among the remainder, and it is too early yet, to 'discuss it satisfactorily. Silver Streak, the only previous winner in the field, is not badly weighted with ■ 8.9, the same impost, as he carried on the final day at Riccarton recently, when he won attractively after drawing a wide

NOTES AND COMMENTS

TAKAPUNA FORM NOTES

(Special from "Early Bird.")

AUCKLAND, December 3. Fleetwind had her first race for several weeks at Ellerslie last Saturday, and she failed to show up. Indeed her display was most disappointing, and one would not have recognised her as the same, filly as did so • well as a two-year-old last season.

King Tut was the chief victim in the trouble at the barrier when the-final race was started at Ellerslie last, Saturday.;' It is difficult to understand what actually happened, but the whole field appeared to charge through the •tapes before they were raised, and King Tut's rider was pulled off. This hack revealed pace at Pukekohe Recently, and he may make amends on his home track this week, on. .the occasion of the Dargaville fixture. - Rereatu was given a fine chance in the sprint at the Waikato Meeting last month," but' before going out for his preliminary he was severely kicked by another horse:" This incident, might have affected him, for he was never prominent in the race, and again last Saturday at Ellerslie :he failed to get into the limelight at any- stage, of the event .won by lmpasto. "Rereatu is not engaged at the Dargaville fixture.

Although she was decisively beaten by Polly/Douglas last Saturday, Tidalia was not; disgraced, and under punishment she finished very gamely after being apparently hopelessly beaten. This filly is going to be more than useful, for it is probable that, like her sire, the French horse Tidal, she will improve with age. Tidalia is a halfsister to those good horses King March, Limarch, and Gay Marigold. She claims engagements at Avondale this week,- and is a distinct■ possibility if started. LOWENBERG'S NEXT RACING. The New Zealand Derby winner Lowenberg has been nominated for the Te Awamutu Cup and the open mile at the Waipa Meeting on Saturday week next, so it is obvious that he will be at Ellerslie for the Christmas and New Year racing, the fixture next week being seized upon as the one to give him his final outing prior to appearing at Ellerslie. The Te Awamutu track may not suit - this bigstriding gelding, for it is very much on the turn, although the turf itself makes excellent galloping ground, practical evidence of which is always forthcoming in the. continued success of horses trained there. '. Light Comedy went a fine race in the Takapuna.Plate,being always in a very handy position and, then finishing on the heels of the placed horses. This event ,was contested, by one of the greatest '■■ hack, fields1 ever brought together .in the north, and the contest was one worthy of the ; occasion, with half a dozen horses stretched across the course at the distance. This, of course, made Light Comedy's effort really good, * and -if she is produced in the hack class in the near future she will' take 'some beating. . She may take on the hack seven, furlongs on this- week's Dargaville programme. On Parade ran a very fine race in the Alis.on>Cup, and he should not. be long in ■ making his presence felt. He pulled-Miard in the early part of last Saturday's .contest, and this must have taken,'a lot out of him; and that he was out in:front to below the distance indicated that he went very nicely and that his form was promising indeed. He was regarded, as something'of a mystety horse last week, for he had not. been noticed by track watchers of late and his appearance in the Alison Cup was "■■ intriguing, but the race the Grand - Knight gelding ran indicated that he' had certainly got through a lot of work. . . MAXOWN MAY BE GOOD. Maxownhas irhproved a good deal as a result ',, of. his two outings at Te Rapa, and he won the Cambria Handicap iike a good one. He showed plenty of pace, but was dropped in behind Surview to the turn. When asked to go up to the leader in the straight, however, he did so without apparent difficulty, and went on to an easy victory. It was a rather impressive showing, and stamped the General Latour colt as a good one with possibilities ■in the later classics. He is closely related to the speedy Karapoti, for his dam is a half-sister by Day Comet to' that horse. He is a wellfurnished colt, and races in the ownership of the Wellington sportsman, Mr. C. E. Robertson. Mungatoon and Sir Abb both went fine races in the Alison Cup, the former finishing right .up fourth behind Sir, Abb,>.and the latter not getting a good run in the straight. Mungatoon is _ not engaged at Avondale or Te Awamutu, so'his''next outings may be at' the Auckland' summer fixture. Sir Abb is engaged at Avondale, and will probably race one day at this meeting;- He has also been entered for the Waipa Cup, and the stable has Gay Marigold engaged.-- as well. Impasto -rather-surprised by the double-figure dividend he paid in the sprint the .first day at the Takapuna Meeting, for at his previous start, at Te Rapa, he • had finished a good fourth. In' Saturday's contest Impasto. drew the extreme outside marble and was off the' course the~ whole way, so his effort was- a brilliant one. Star Artist. threatened danger' to him over the final stages, but she had to make up a good deal of ground in the final quarter, and she did very well to get within less than1 a length of the winner.' ' .

Rona Bay, who created a mild surprise by her success at Ashburton last Saturday, . can.- claim, some -sound breeding.. She is by Musk'etoon from Caviare; by Lwcullus from Minsk, by Martian.,from Stephanie^- by Stepniak from Fanna,, by Maxim.

Last April Rona Bay won two races at the Dargaville Meeting, and a few days later she won a mile hack event at the Whangarei Meeting, being ridden on each occasion by her present trainer, W. H. Jones. In the same month she failed in her only race at Ellerslie, and started twice at Avondale without being- placed. Her next appearance was at the Wellington Winter Meeting last July, 'and in her only race she and Dollar Bill fell. She suffered slight injuries, and was put aside, resuming serious- work only a few weeks back.., She is the first winner Jones has produced since he took out a trainer's licence.

An inquiry into interference by Thangilamba with Primak in the Melrose Maiden Handicap at Ellerslie last Saturday by the judicial committee of the Takapuna Jockey .Club resulted in P. Fearn, rider of Thangilamba, being suspended for careless riding until December 16.

The falling of Kelly in the Alison Cup was also the subject of an inquiry, but, the occurrence was found to be purely .accidental. . •

marble. A good Paper .Money horse is the ideal type for such a race.

Impasto's, winning performance at Ellerslie last Saturday has evidently impressed' the haridicapper, for he has the same weight (8.11) again. - Star Artist and Sinking Fund, who filled the minor places, came in at 31b and 41b respectively better, but Impasto might be best of theni again. Diatomous, though without'form this season, has been third in the last two Railways, the turning course suiting him. Emissary, Bon Tray, Grand Sport, Galilee, Dv Barry, Rerepai, Prince Acre, Astarth, and Symcony are other good prospects with their weights, Grand Sport and Rerepai particularly appearing well treated.