POINT IN HANDICAPPING

Evening Post, Issue 149, 20 December 1935, Page 20

POINT IN HANDICAPPING

The Champion Hack Handicap at the Wajrarapa Meeting provides an interesting point'for those -who have made any study of the principles of handicapping. In a race with a 7.7 minimum two i maiden horses who have done a fair'! amount of racing, Sky Pilot and; Ayresleigh, are set on 8.4, and below' therri, ranging right down to the minimum, are horses who have been winners.; ; ' :\[

Sky Pilot; and (Ayresleigh certainly do not appear on the face of it to'have any of the: luck in 'this deal. Ayresleigh, in six; starts to date, has registered a single: third placing as his beit performance, and Sky Pilot, in seven starts, has been second in his last-two races. For this they are set 111b above the minimum, on the same mark as Chaste, who has won, several races, and only 21b below Darecourt, Who won three races and was very consistent last season, besides having run .well this season. .'•.:... ;

More notable than this, however, is the '^fact that Umpire, 'who was the winner of this very event last year, and, who was also successful at Otaki last Saturday, has only 8.0, . 41,b less than the ■ maiden pair. Then Grand Blow, a winner of several races, has onjy 7.10; and Pawky, a winner- as a two-year-old, is down on the minimum.

Mr. Henrys has undoubtedly treated the form of the maiden pair as "live," as he is entitled in a measure to do, but at 8.4 the form is classed as "very live." As Sky Pilot ran second to Lady Graceful at his last start, this form had to be noted in his weight, but Ayresleigh was three times beaten put of the money at Riccarton, the last time off the minimum and when in receipt of 3Jlb from Sky Pilot. If the form of these two horses is "live," is not that of Umpire even "more live"? One would not expect to find the name of either Ayresleigh or Sky Pilot among the acceptances.