ALL THREE 'CHASES

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 13

ALL THREE 'CHASES

TRENTHAM CHANGE

BILLY BOY AND DIAMOND

With Diarhdnd rand Billy Boy the two leading favourites for,the' Grand National -Steeplechase next week, the ;-. Trentham. training - centre has bright r"prospects of, providing the winners, of .-all-,three -principal'steeplechases this -■.winter, as Biily Boy has already won- , -the Great-Northern and Diamond the Wellington Steeples. Although Coali- ;.' tion" (1.921) and Beau' Cavalier (1927) Vpach secured the'treble for a centre by ..^inning .ail three events' in-the one -winter; no single centre has yet gained .-the treble honours through the agency .riofsmore.than one horse. .- . •-•-'■ Success-for either of the Trentham -, representatives would -complete a • .rather fcen^arkable twelve months for ■■She centre. Not only would the three -.Dig- 'chases have- been won. in the •period, ;but also, the New. Zealand .and "Auckland' Cups on the flat. - For record . .purposes' it ; 'is- a" pity' the centre ■ could nothave won the-'-last ■Wellington-Gup too. The Grand. National strictly comes into the new season, but that is only , an arbitrary distinction, as the true " .sequence; is .the three races in the same .•winter. ■'- . ..... ..-.: '. /' '~.;''.■ A HURDLING TREBLE. • '...■:'■-■ It may also.be observed that another teaming centre, the Te Rapa, has the ■-. •.-chance of■recording a similar, treble "in the -big. winter hurdling events. ""Already^ Prince of Orange has -won' the .Great Northern ■ Hurdles and Traveiling. Agent, the. Winter Hurdles at , Trentham;. and the centre has Travel- ' t-lirig Agent "engaged in'the Grand. Navtional Hurdles,, for which on his recent -form he; looks one of the best propositions "ai the weight in the race. :.Trentham has had .no hurdlers of v- note .during .the present: winter. Bed .--. Sun and' Chile were a pair who might 'have achieved Grand National honours had all gone well with them, but both met with mishaps in training and • are at present put ot action. Red Sun -: deserves ranking with the. best four -'■■hurdlers in the. land; his performance in finishing fifth in. the 'Winter Hurdles'at the .recent Wellington Meeting at his. only start during the winter •■ Season; • when ■ "carrying" a joint and ■ wjthout sejibus wortf. for over a week, s.was; .striking testimony of his prowess, af,the vgafneil' .;■'■;' '■' ". ■'":■ ■- ■•- :?It -has happened ,on several occa-,-.siphs,~even during the last;.ten years, p that^one district has found the winners of all three leading, cross-country:. or "hurdle events, in—the Dominion, but "'the.'horses have come from different training centres. Only two years ago Auckland., wori the -three big steeplechases.' with Valpeen : and Billy Boy, but Valpeen was prepared at Matamata and Billy Boy (then) at: Onehunga. In 1929 (Uralla, King's Guard; and Wiltshire) - and.in: 1928 (Gleridowie, Ppurj, and Wiltshire) the Auckland" ;~district 'sirtiilarly .won the .three - cross-' country; races! but again, the • horses -came from r different centres, ; though Pouri and Wiltshire were both.Te Rapa ■ representatives in .their 'year. ■■» ■- V •-v -~:'. 'NORTH'S DOraNANCE. •";V . ..■.-,■ The only tinae 1 for niany'.years that the- South/Island has as a >whole provided the winner of more^han one of the big steeplechases was in 1931, when Paris won- at •Trentham and Snowfall. ■.at Riccarton,. so the •■■ ■southerners re- ■ ■cord': does^notocompare at all favour- . ably with; the^ndrtherners'. ; The. south,, vnowever.'.has liSd'-some: compensation ;;jn.;tße.jbi£ h,(jrd% l eye#sy>.i,th .tKfe^last; four winfter,s. n qf National' i Hurdle* alonenhailing ;ffom South■ Is--land-stables... y:''.-■'■',■ ■■''. '•.-: -;.•,,.:■:: In the Grand National Steeples the issue this year^decidedly favours the - NQrth,..lsland. ;rhe.'3buth • representation is numerically still one stronger than the Northybut-as Dunmure is said .•-..torbe a definite J non-starter the field becomes-equally divided between the two .islands. .Whereas, however* the . North, has Billy. Boy, Diamond; Forest Glow, Manawatu, and Battleground to £a.rry its ; banner, the South must rely on Royal Limond,, Pahu, and - High : bpeed-as the horses who/have done any racing , this winter and on the faint ■prctspects that;the npri-raced Punches'town and TKurina might possess." ■ '■■■;. .The Trenthams hand; -with the two ~tppwe.ights,,lopks;,: v ery .strong, ,and Efi^^SavtHe-^ppk^it is very difficult, to. go past: ife: The. connections of Diamond make no secret of their coh- " fidence in'the; chestnut to1 v jump 'the <:cmintfy ;Safelyijan^o/stay/;the: jourBfey. , With; little (experience and , .np,.fnrrori schooling."-Diamond I went ►round the-Riccarton course last August ■ --and waa.beaten only by the favourablyweighted -Makeup; in the Ehfleld Steeples:-The Grand National is near--TX:.twice as ; far;., but-Diamond is a seasoned/horse,.now. .;, ' . : •., ■. ■W'i^r DIAMOND'S_StAMINA. \_^ , -^Diamond's being by Diacquiehod is hardly a factor in his: favour for stamina, but he. is not a typicalson of,his sire and it; may be assumed that • he has.thrown mainly to his dam, that /gQod Limondmare Lady Desmond,-as happens in a small minority of cases, .when horses 'by' non-staying sires 'may get stayers, ox. at leas;t horse's-who'can manage, much longer" journeys than ..one.,would expect, from a mere, inspection of the'pedigree table. ■ ■ •,» ' ' A\? he uc??& Billy Boy there is-no doubt-.about ability to get the distance -?£ 't&e country, if the assumption K/aafowed;that 'the Billy Boy of ' n'+YJiPl? Same' BilJy Boy as won the Grand,Nat«)nal four years ago and has since been twice third in the race; Billy Boy s .owner-trainer (R. W. A. "Lewis) -believes -thatr ,his_ champion is a better rse. -M? ?yer hi* ; was before: He ; bases this assumiJtion on his good tecordof the present winter ahd.onithe .^ay^e has, been doin^ during the last /twelve months. -Lewis stated on the eye of .his departure, for the that Ji6_ has- never; had Billy Boy so weU as he- is at present. -, ■ ■ ■, ■■■-•Billy Boy is'riow twelve years old Lross-,Qountry. performers have.' lasted to greater years than that, but they ..are rare exceptions.. The 'Grand National for the last thirty years has been a race m which youth has nearly always triumphed. But here arid there down the record is the name of a veteran winner.. Paritutu, the 19H win,ner, was,thirteen years old, and Snowfall was-that age when he won five years ago;; ; -then in,:-. 1924: Sturdee, a \y?lYe:?eax-pld< " led home the field. What-those horses did Billy Boy might repeat, particularly in such a 1 year as this, when the class outside of two or three of .those sound enough to have .been raced is apparently so poor. ..-; Yet,..though .Billy Boy must be favoured; .under, all the. circumstances of this year's Natiprial; one still harbours a doubt about him because of his years •?£?• °- W, eri. Kotses who have won the National have generally been lightly weighted.. For a performance su | h / s BiUy- Boy must .register to win thi= year one hgs-to go back to the twelve-year-old' Ahua, who carried 11 9 to victory-in 1892, 41bmore than Billy Boy's weight. Billy Boy will-jump the country next week better than any of his -rivals, but-it remainsl to be told whether the. last portion of the Ion" journey WiU'nofflnd some weakness if he has younger opponents standing and pressing him hard, particularly if the track should be soft or heavy. The likelier of the Trentham pair would distinctly seem to be Diamond But many^who" know the two horses are still prepared to stand by the veteran.