DOUBLE EVENT AT TRENTHAM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1937, Page 22

DOUBLE EVENT AT TRENTHAM

GLANCE OVER FORM OF NEXT WEEK'S FIELDS

(By "Rangatira.")

Sporting interest in the Dominion nexMveek will be focused on the Wellington Racing Club's Autumn Meeting at Trentham on Thursday and Saturday, and though the fixture is a little earlier than usual this year, because of the early Easter, there is every promise that it will be the most successful Autumn Meeting staged by the club since the days before the depression. The acceptances disclose fields; of even dimensions and excellent betting size, and while the hack and novice fields may be scarcely up to the best' Trentham standard, the quality in the open events and the St. Leger is as high as could be desired. . The two-' races on the opening day next Thursday that will attract the principal notice are the Thompson Handicap. and the Railway Handicap, which form what is pppularly known as "the double." But considerable subsidiary interest will also be manifest in the St. Leger Stakes, which will decide whether Martara is of the same class as the New Zealand Derby and Dunedin Gup winner Wild Chase. .

The actual weighting .of the horses in the Thompson Handicap was reviewed previously in these columns. It is now proposed to study the form of the horses remaining in the Thompson and Railway Handicaps, so that patrons attending next Thursday's racing may have a more complete idea of the respective merits of the candidates on their, most recent. showings. Several of" the! fields were to have raced today, which might further have disclosed their; present form; and it has also to be borne in mind that any horse who won today is liable to a rehandicap for next week. THE THOMPSON HANDICAP. With a history now extending back forty-five years to 1892, the Thompson Handicap, recognised as one of the leading mile events on the season's calendar, has a title whose significance tends to be lost sight of as racegoers of a new generation take over the stage. The race was.'named after Mr. J. S. M. Thompson, a.merchant of Wellington and a vice-president of the Wellington Racing Club ;in the eighties and earlynineties. Mr. Thompson did much good work for the club, and, when he left New Zealand in 1891 to settle in Melbourne, the stewards instituted the Thompson Handicap as a mark of appreciation for the services he had rendered.' . !

year. Last year he was at his peak of form, fresh from his Dunedin. Cup triumph under 10.4; this year he has been off the scene since he failed in Melbounre last November. On his return to the Dominion last December, it was intended to run him.in the Auckland Cup, but his feet were still too troublesome. Now. he has to face the Trentham starter with .. only a private track preparation in him, and.. great horse as he is at his. best, he may find this year's Thompson well beyond him. Aged horses, too, generally , require sharpening into form with racing, and the chestnut's real mission on the trip may be the Challenge Stakes on the second day. . . ONLY THREE-YEAR-OLD. . Paper Slipper, who will,carry the No. 2 cloth, is the only three-year-old now remaining in the field. A brilliant sprinter is often a good prospect for a mile' handicap, but Paper Slipper, though he won the Dunedin Guineas, is hardly the solid type to fit the Thompson requirement, and he has moreover yet to run up to, his best form on the Trentham track this season.1 Were he to win he would be establishing a weight-carrying record for a horse of his age in the race, which in itself is not past possibility, for two years ago Gay Blonde, a filly carrying a pound more than Paper Slipper has this year, was narrowly beaten only by Rulanut, who was recognised at the time as very favourably weighted at 7.5 for a

The Thompson Handicap has always been run over a mile. There have been two breaks in. its continuity.

There W;as.no autumn fixture in 1896, nor was; there such a fixture the previous year, though .the .Thompson was then T\xb at' the Winter Meeting. The other break was in 1918, when, owing to camp activities, the club did not hold an ; Autumn Meeting. Twelve moriths ago the main prerace discussion on the -Thompson circled , round whether Silver Ring could succeed under 10.6, which not only 'would be the record weight carriedjto success in the. race but was actually the highest weight that had ever been 'awarded a horse in the long history;of the event. 31b more than Tortulla was given in 1902 on the old Hutt Park course. The general opinion, at least as viewed through his warm bothway favouritism on the day, was that this brilliant chestnut was capable of making the "record, and he came along as expected in the straight to win by. a head from Friesland. He might have been lucky in the end to hold off Friesland, who was slow away, but he merited in ; f ull the crown, of victory. , There is not, however, any such wide belief an Silver Ring's ability to carry the same impost to success again this

.One of the early favourites for the race,is Friesland. -who is now at his peak of form and is better than he has ever previously been. After proving not quite seasoned enough to bring off a coup in the Wairarapa Cup. on New Year's Day, he struck the expected patch shortly afterwards, and in his last four starts he has won the Taranaki Urenui Handicap, 7 furlongs, under 8.8, the Egmoht Whareroa Handicap. 7 furlongs, under 9.7. the Tonks Stakes, 9 furlongs, under 7.9 (including 51b apprentice allowance), and the Opunake. Cup, 1J- miles, under 8.11. Except in the Tonks Stakes, in which he was rather favourably weighted, 'he has not beaten the best class/but he has done allthat has been .required and he has already shown himself to be at his best in the autumn. . ■■ ;

The stable: also has Lowenberg in the race with 21b less than Friesland, and it is quite possible that both horses will be started. Lowenberg, ridden with.more patience, might not have been beaten by Ponty in the Wellington Cup in January; but.his stock has slumped badly in two races since then, which suggests that that hard effort might have temporarily found bottom in him, and Lord Quex horses, no matter howwell placed in the handicaps, are not good ones to rely on when they have shown that their race form for the time being has . lapsed. FROM GOLD BOA STABLE. . Travenna will be the first "leg" of the Gold Boa stable's double. He will be making his first trip to Trentham, but he is.a well- performed son of Tractor in the far south and at Riccarton, and he has been a winner this season at 1J miles and at a mile. Over the past three months he has registered many seconds and he should appreciate his present drop on the Weights he has recently been required to carry in less pretentious company. Over a mile at Dunedin last month, carrying 9.8, he was beaten only by Linguist, who was recording her fifth success in line and to whom he- was conceding 261b. • Big Dook ran a good race into sixth place under 7.11 in last year's Thompson, and then won over a mile on the second day. He is a true weight-car-rier and crack miler, and he recently returned to winning form at Wairoa. When in form he races very solidly. On the same mark (8.1), however, Chief Ranger may be preferred, particularly if he has made a showing at Bulls today, for he is a class horse who easily won over the distance on the second day in January, and has since' also succeeded over 1J miles at New Plymouth at his latest outing. He was galloped on at New Plymouth, but apparently has made a good recovery.

Plato, who is not too sound, and Epris, who haa shown no recent form, are unlikely to have many present admirers unless either should have impressed in today's racing. Haut Monde, though a brilliant gelding and a winner here on the opening day in January, at the expense among others of Chief Ranger and Friesland, may also not be one of the leading fancies, though he must be noted as being perhaps the most favourably-weighted candidate in the whole field. Arctic King and Rona Bay, winners recently at Woodville. are likely to be served better by a longer journey, when the pace will not be so hot early as it will be in the Thompson. Among the remainder the thi?ee who make greatest appeal as lightweight prospects are Debham, Alby, and Sir Nigel. Generally the lightweights are overshadowed by the better-performed

brigade in the autumn, and the record of the Thompson shows that this race has been no exception. The lightweights this year are at a further disadvantage in that the minimum is 71b higher than formerly. Still the three named are horses who .might win the Thompson. ■"•-.■:■ ■ . • Debham is perhaps as-fit at present as any horse in the Dominion, as his recent record of four wins and a second in five starts since his resumption goes to tell, and he is the right type for the Thompson, smart early, able to go with them all the way, and then finish resolutely.' It was also in his favour that he is entire, as Autopay and Rulanut have been among winners of the last few years. ■ Alby is a steady improver who. impressed greatly in finishing from well back to run . second to Chief Ranger over a mile at his -only start last January, and since then he has been a winner in a single outing at .Woodville. Sir Nigel, another Woodville winner, comes only in occasional patches, but he infuses rare dash into his job on those occasions, and while his form holds he is capable of measuring swords with the best sprinters and milers in the land. He was certainly beaten' at Napier Park on Thursday, but it is possible that the small field in that race set too easy a pace for his final run to make its full impression. THE RAILWAY HANDICAP. While the Thompson issue is thus very open, many will believe that the winner is more easily to be found in the Railway Handicap. But sprints-at Trentham, even when the fields are average or small in size, often produce surprises.- During the ten years, since the Autumn Meeting was fixed in March, instead of sometimes in April and sometimes late in March, only three favourites (Cadland, Diatomous, and Silver Streak) have been ■ the winners, and only one second favourite (Golden Wings) and one third favourite (Cimabue) have been additionally successful, leaving outsiders to score on five occasions during the last decade. As the favourite (Silver Streak) won last year, it may be, the turn for another surprise this year. The class at the top of next Thursday's Railway is equal, almost to the best. Gold Boa, who heads the list I with 9.5, has won at her only 'two starts to date at Trentham, and Dungarvan, who is set 21b below- the mare, is another with a fine record on the course. Every other horse in the field, excepting only the bottom pair, Flammarion and Sansfoy, have been winners on the Trentham course: ' Gold Boa was the star, sprinter at the last meeting, scoring An the open sixes on Cup day and the middle day. On the second occasion she carried 9.0, and just won, and the field, with Paper Slipper below his best, was hardly of ,the quality of next week's. Since then Gold Boa has had one start, being pulled up in the Hazlett Gold Cup, but •probably it was the track and the distance that stopped her on that day rather than any deterioration in her form. She is always ready to do her best first up, but one. doubts whether she is quite good enough to concede weight all round to this field.

Dungarvan looks a likelier one on his past record, if his. recent racing over a middle distance has not dimmed his brilliance.' He won over the distance on the track in the spring, carrying 9.0, and onthe final day of that meeting he carried 9.7 to success over a mile. It is an easier task to carry 9.3 in the autumn, as he is asked to do next week, than 9.0 in the spring, and for once it may be allowed that this brilliant Colossus gelding has deservedly received something his way from his handicappers. It will be considered by many as significant that this race has been selected by his connections in preference to the .Thompson.. EMISSARY WELL TREATED ■ Emissary1 has1 not been, out since he won at Tauherenikau on New Year's Day, but he is a first-up -horse. In, point of weight he. is coming in now better than he has for some time past, and if he strikes a firm track he should have a royal. chance of success, for Riccarton reports-, state that he is very, well at present. Two years ago, as a three-yearrold, he ran second to Rerepai in this event, and then scored on the second day with only half a stone less than he has.now. .

As three-year-olds have often enjoyed victory in this race,' the claims of Laughing Lass, Karl, and Deficit require close attention. Laughing Lass, after finishing third on the first day in January, was an easy winner on the final day at her other start at the meeting, and she then carried 8.2, only 51b less than her weight for next Thursday. She was to have had her first race since at Bulls today, which may have given a more accurate line on her. chance, but meanwhile she has to be considered not only likeliest of the three-year-olds, but also as one of the best prospects in the whole field.

During the last, ten years horses of the age.havewon .five.times, which reveals that a good three-year-old is probably, the. soundest proposition of all