TROTTING BREVITIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 138, 12 June 1936, Page 13

TROTTING BREVITIES

F G. Holmes, who will drive Becky Direct' tomorrow, has already driven Uvo winners of the Sapling Stakes m Richore and Sonoma Child. When Gamble was beaten into fourth place in the Sapling Stakes two years ago one of his reins got over the shaft, and he lost about 80 yards before M. B. Edwards could get contiol of him. He finished very fast into fourth place less than 20 yards from the winner, Moana Tama. . Renown's Best, who finished second to Royal Doulton at , Ashburton last Saturday, is a three-year-old filly by Grattan Loyal from Renown, and is now attached to M, Holmes s stable. She showed a lot of speed early in the season, when she was placed in a special race for three-year-olds at almost cer t a inly be sent out favourite for the Ashburton County Handicap tomorrow. All hands in Canterbury regard him as one of the most likely in his class to qualify for the New Zealand Cup, and he has indicated that he begin with the best of the sprinters on and near his marks. . Symmetry has been back in work at New Brighton for some time and her recent outings suggest that she may be seen to advantage before long. However, her pulling habits are against her ever going far. Although he has come on the scene late in the season, there are not many better three-year-olds than Gmger Jack. He has been a winner in his last two outings, and the manner in which he accomplished his work on each occasion left little to be desired. At Ashburton last Saturday Gaillard finished fifth from 48 yards behind in the Winchmore Handicap, the winner going 3min 22sec frdm the limit. This was his first race for some time, and, if he trains on, his prospects of entering good company must be considered bright. Greenmantle's improvement to pace a mile and a quarter in a loose class at Oamaru in better than 2min 44sec will be borne in mind when the Wrack gelding goes out for the Acton Handicap at Ashburton tomorrow. He has been one of the most unlucky horses imaginable since he was a three-year-old, and his turn is long overdue. The Mayfield Handicap, for class trotters, includes a well-matched field, and the race between King's Guard, Discord, Guy o* Mine, Sandy N., Norma Bingen, Bessie Parrish, First Wrack, and Sea Gift should provide one of the best exhibitions of unhoppled trotting of the season. King's Guard gave the impression of having a little more brilliance than Discord when he defeated her over two miles at Addington recently. Isabel Derby has been one of the greatest disappointments in recent months, and she ( has cost her large following a pretty penny. Following vastly-improved track work during the week, however, her supporters have taken xresh heart, and It will not surprise to find her returning to favour at an early date. In RayduS and Mystery Yet, E. C. McDermott has pacers that should be well suited by a grass track, for both have had plenty of experience on this kind of going (says the "Press"). Raydus showed his best form at the recent Canterbury Park Meeting, where a first and a second rewarded his efforts, and although Mystery Yet was _ not seen to advantage in his latest outings, he has speed enough to win goodclass races. At the Ashburton Meeting in April he had all the bad luck of the running in the Rakaia Handicap, won by Radiant Gold, but his fast run over the last furlong showed him to be above the average.

Cloudy Range is now on a 4min 27sec mark, and requires only one win over two miles to bring him into New Zealand Cup class, if the limit is reverted to 4min 26sec. If he qualifies, the Derby Lodge stable will have three horses eligible for the big race, the other pair being Indianapolis and Tempest. Next in order comes Grand Mogul, whose long list of wins marks him as a likely winner of still better class races. Cloudy Range has suffered no ill effects from his recent racing, and in his next start he will command solid support. A feature of the entrance. list for the Auckland Meeting is the large fields in the novice and. improvers' classes, which are reminiscent of what was a common occurrence at Auckland Meetings a few years ago. Two classes that have drawn useful fields in which the evenness of the horses is a striking feature are the 3min 31sec pacers' and 4min 54sec trotters* events. With very few exceptions those listed in both sections have displayed good winning form during the! season, and from a speculative point of view these particular items will prove a fine asset. The appearance from Manawatu of the greatly-im-proved Bolinda King and the successful Arapai in the respective events will invest them with additional interest.