WELLINGTON MEETING

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 16, 20 January 1936, Page 6

WELLINGTON MEETING

FORM WORTH REMEMBERING

SLANT FROM ELLERSLIE

(Special from "Early Bird.") AUCKLAND, January 18. As a general rule the form revealed at Ellerslie at Christmas and New Year is good, and has often paid to follow at Trentham during the progress of the Wellington Summer Meeting. Quite a number of Jiorses engaged at Trentham on Wednesday next raced at Ellerslie, and therefore a few comments on their efforts recently and their prospects at their next, appearance may prove of interest.

LIKELY TWO-YEAR-OLDS. Four of the two-year-olds remaining in the Wellington Stakes contested events at Ellerslie, Notium and Wild Chase winning and Gay Chief and Moquette earning place-money. On public performances to date Wild Chase may be chosen as the best of these youngsters, and it is possibly in his favour that he will be better suited by Trentham. However, to suggest, as has been said, that he might have beaten Stretto in the Royal Stakes requires a good deal of imagination, and it is probable that the rider of Wild Chase might have been deceived by Stretto's jockey, who put up a bluff that his mount was beaten. Notium is a very fine colt and considerably improved since the spring. He has grown into an upstanding horse, and if he runs up to his looks he will be a surprise packet. It puzzled, northerners when he was defeated at Stratford, but from all accounts he was very unlucky in the running." r Gay Chief is a solid little fellow who is very genuine, and as such always to be respected. Moquette is still endowed with the pace she displayed when she won at.Wanganui in the spring, although she does not stay on too well. , „ . Corroboree showed up fairly well in his outings at Ellerslie, without ever being able to get into a winning position. However, the class in the Apprentices' Plate is not actually strong, and so he should do better here. But there is a hack called Solaria who may upset the lot, for there is no doubt that he is a very fine type of galloper. He has been located at Auckland for some months without being raced very much, so that he should be a fit horse. Early in December he was unplaced in open sprint events at the Takapuna and Dargaville Meetings, but his last start prior to that was in a division of the Gordon Handicap in mid-October at Ellerslie, which he won, carrying 8.12. He defeated Scotch Nation (who a fortnight later won the big handicap at the Waikato Hunt- Meeting) and Tray Bit, so that the form was excellent. Solaria comes in well at the set weights in the Plate, and he has only to run up to form to be one of the titbits for investors. The only youngster in the Fitznerbert Handicap that raced at Ellerslie was the Hawera colt Brilliancy, whose fine finishing effort on the third day suggests his prospects, for he made a. good race of it with Queen's Counsel. The latter was further back than Brilliancy two furlongs from home, but she came through the field, whereas Brilliancy had to go round, and so covered plenty of ground. On this showing Brilliancy should be a good prospect for place speculators.

CUDDLE OUTSTANDING. Half a dozen of the Wellington Cup field raced at Ellerslie, these being Cuddle, winner of the Auckland Cup with 9.0 and the two weight-for-age ■ races, Spiral, second in the Christmas Handicap, Argentic, fourth in the Auck""and Cup and Summer Cup and third in the A.R.C. Handicap, Senior, second in the Auckland Cup, Gay Broney, second in the Grandstand Handicap, and the three-year-old Lowenberg. If Auckland form is to be taken at its face value then Cuddle could be regarded as a "racecourse certainty," if there are any such. Kun the Wellington Cup at Ellerslie next Wednesday and the topweight would be an evenmoney proposition. Roaming, engaged in the Kuapenu Handicap, went well enough in better company at the recent Auckland fixture to be recommended strongly as a likely winner before the meeting ends next week. His best effort was in the Royal Stakes, when he finished fourth behind Stretto, Wild Chase, and Gay Chief, and he was not more than five lengths away from the winner, a splendid effort for a maiden. In this classic 1 the Nightmarch colt footed it with Stretto to the distance, so that his effort was very promising indeed. At 7.4 Roaming must be given excellent chances in the hack sprint. Silver Streak, Diatomous, and Variant contested the sprint races at Ellerslie, and they clash again m the Telegraph Handicap. Silver Streak "Tan really good races without being any too lucky, finishing right up fourth in the Railway Handicap, m which also Variant was a very close third, finishing under the judge's box. But for covering so'much ground Variant might have won instead of being beaten two heads by Jonathan * and Rereatu, in addition to which she was one of the last to leave the barrier. Variant did not repeat this form on the later days of the meeting, but on the roomier Trentham sprint track she may be more at home. If she repeats Railway Handicap form she should win. Diatomous had his chance ruined in the Railway Handicap through being drawn ofi the course, and while he ran a good race he was never a possibility. It is in his favour that he races well at Trentham. Plato, engaged in the Anniversary Handicap on Wednesday, failed to show any form at Ellerslie on this occasion, although in the spring he scored at both Avondale and Ellerslie. The opposition is not particularly strong in the mile, and if Plato gets back some of his form he would be in the money.