DOMINION FAILURES

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 67, 16 September 1936, Page 15

DOMINION FAILURES

CANTERBURY PARK

CUDDLE POSSIBLY UNLUCKY

(From "Vedette.")

SYDNEY, September 10.

The New Zealanders went down with a thud again at the Canterbury Park Meeting. Arachne beat Cuddle, Custos was out of a place in the Guineas, and Golden Treasure was beaten into second place in the handicap. F. D. Jones also missed first place with'.Cyrillian in one of the minor events. Cuddle appeared unlucky in her defeat and deserved some excuse, although it is a bad practice for beaten horses. She did not begin well and then when moving up three furlongs from home was checked. Down the straight she made a tremendous effort, running Arachne to a long head. The Australian mare jumped out in front and was 'able to show all her real brilliancy, but with anything like an even break Cuddle would probably have won. , . . The best performances behind the two smart mares were those of Cabalist and Sporting Blood. Cabalist was always handy to the leaders, but Sporting Blood came home very strongly from a hopeless place. He is regarded now as a most likely Metropolitan winner. , Stretto had her first race in Sydney in the Stakes. She followed Arachne for five furlongs but then retired, her condition having given out. She showed plenty of pace, however, 'and should pay her way here. VERY ROUGH RACE. The Canterbury Guineas was an unusually rough race, although there were only ten runners. The small turning track does not suit mne-f urlong events and there is always a rush for a position at the first turn—going out of the straight—and then another scrimmage for the home turn. Custos was one- of the eavly sufferers, and, becoming unbalanced and upset, he was very ungenerous. He lay right over on to the second favourite, Tonga, and appeared to try to savage him. Tonga was hustled away and Custos dropped back and was boring out all the remainder of the way. He certainly gave McCarten a very uncomfortable ride. Over the last furlong he went on again and finished up in fourth place. A. E. Ellis, who watched the colt from the stands, expressed surprise at his display, but was sure that the track had been the cause of the display- of temperament, longa, the other fancied colt, simply did not stay and was well beaten. The Guineas saw the return to form of Billy Boy, who was one of the best of the two-year-olds until last autumn, when he lapsed badly. He was admirably ridden by D. Munro, who waited behind the half-doze"n striving to lead into the short straight and then sailed through to win going right away. Billy Boy carries the Sylvandale colours of "Miss Lorna Doone," who is on her way back from. England. He is now a certain runner in the Derby, but some difficulty is being experienced in obtaining a rider. . The retirement of J. Pike and the death of J. Pratt have;made a big difference to owners and trainers and have reduced the supply of competent and experienced riders for the classic events. . Three-year-olds who stayed on fairly well behind Billy Boy were Lasting and Otto. -The'.latter^ a-. Magpie colt,; was very1' impatiently ridden,' making a fast run to win the race at the turn. Naturally he did not go on from that point when Lasting and Billy Boy passed him. The race disposed of all candidates as Derby hrjpes except the three place^fillers, and really their efforts did not, compare with the performances a week earlier of Gold Rod and Talking at Warwick Farm. PADISHAH NEVER SEEN. Thebez, having his first run for months, beat a second-class flying handicap field. Turbine, topweight with 9.10, made a last-minute rush to within half a length of Thebez but the form of the others was unimpressive viewed from a Randwick standpoint. Padishah had a run under the flyweight of 0.13, but was never near the leaders. Golden Treasure added still another second to H. E. Russell's list when beaten by El Paraisb in a field of five in the Canterbury Handicap. W. Cook rode Golden Treasure, and for such a small field stuck an extraordinary amount of trouble. Cyrillian and the New' Zealand-bre-d (Chief Ruler—Rosellate) had the first heat of the six-furlong Park Stakes to themselves. Cyrillian paced it well with Stalin but just weakened into second place in the last furlong. Stalin is trained by W. Bootli for the newspaper proprietor, Mr. Ezra Norton, and despite some moderate form the .win was .well anticipated; Riposte, was a starter in. this event and' only for running rather green would have done better than finish fifth. It was an improvement on his display at Kensington. Kow Tow had his' second run for the week, at Canterbury Park and improved. He raced in front with The Darter for five furlongs and then both had had enough, Kow Tow going back to fourth. He should be able to win a six-furlong maiden event or some race of equal class. The race he contested was marred by a fall, the three-year-old filly Matchless breaking her back. ■ '■-..■■ The Ashbury Handicap, run over the nine-furlong course, the same as that of the Guineas, was another very rough affair. It was won by G. Price's charge Imbiber, who was almost down on the turn out of the straight. His effort to get up and win was extra good. The Queenslanders Auto Buz and Spear Prince are now at Randwick. Auto Buz is a big, loosely-built chestnut and not a class galloper on appearances. Spear Prince is in fine order and looks in< better trim than on any of his previous visits to Sydney. The A.J.C. handicapper, Mr. Fred Wilson, iisually expresses some definite opinion of the Epsom Handicap and Metropolitan when he frames the Tramway Handicap weights for Tattersall's Meeting at Randwick. This year he tipped The Marne to win the Epsom in no uncertain fashion. The Marne was set to meet Cuddle on 131b and Sarcherie and High on 151b worse terms in the Tramway Handicap than in the Epsom. The Marne had admittedly to prove himself at a mile, but he could hardly have won the Hobartville Stakes in better style. -,Allunga is the latest of the leading horses to raise doubts as to the fufilling of his immediate important engagements. He deveoped a limp behind which defied diagnosis until it was discovered he had strained his abdominal muscles severely. He has not worked for a week and has been given a dose of physic. At present he is still idle and likely to be for another week or so. This would spell good-bye to the Metropolitan and the good races in Sydney, but L. Haigh hopes, to have him right again for Melbourne. He has been left in the Metropolitan and included in the general entries,' but this only on account of the bare chance of a quick recovery.