THE EASTER CARNIVAL

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 70, 24 March 1937, Page 13

THE EASTER CARNIVAL

WAIRARAPA ISSUES

LEADING FEILDING EVENTS

■ The multiplicity of racing, fixtures over the Easter holidays has ordinarily resulted in small fields at the Wairarapa..:Z^3c.ing Club's Autumn Meeting on Easter Saturday and Monday; but there has been a most unusual response for this'year's meeting, with fields oE splendid size and excellent quality in all events. The actual number of acceptors for next Saturday at Tauherenikau is 91 in air events, which is a very considerable increase on the 65 -of.last year, which in turn was better than the average of immediately preceding years.

A pleasing feature of the Wairarapa acceptance is that the fields have been secured from centres mainly handy to the district. In most recent years there would have been very poor racing at Tauherenikau without some South Island, and particularly Riccarton, support,'but the only South Islanders figuring in this years-list are Free Rose and The Sandwich Man. The club's policy of considerable increases in stake-money,, actually a doubling of the prizes in some instances as compared with only twelve months ago, has been well repaid in the response already received, and it now requires only reasonable weather for the meeting to be an outstanding success. HORSES KEPT AT HOME. It is common, knowledge how the Auckland district, has become almost a complete racing entity in itself by a policy of giving the highest possible maximum in stakes. Horses owned and trained in the north now very seldom travel afield. The stakes given by 'the Wairarapa Club this Easter, combined with those provided by the Feilding Jockey Club, have apparently already had similar effect at this end of the North Island in keeping at home horses who in other years would have travelled north to Ellerslie or south to Christchurch. There are less than ■ twenty horses in all from the Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Taranaki districts who will be racing outside this compass during the coming Easter carnival, and most of the travellers are aiming at the classic or big handicap prizes. Though the Feilding card for Sat■urday does not show the improvement the Wairarapa does, it nevertheless about holds its .place so far as-figures are concerned. The acceptances secured number 87, one less than last year. It is rather surprising to.note that the Feilding aggregate is less than the Wairarapa, for the nominations were considerably more numerous. ■ Wairarapa has taken the lion's share of the available material this, year mainly by -its. own bold policy of lifting prizemoney to the. highest' possible maximum, a policy incidentally'that has made the available material larger than it would otherwise have been. There are three open events on Saturday's card at Tauherenikau, and they all promise to be contested by near-metropolitan fields, an experience that in the past has been as rare as the. proverbial dodo at Wairarapa Meetings. The inducement is now so much the' greater for potential Wellington patronage. From the viewpoint of a pleasurable day's racing there is no more, picturesque,or convenient course in the whole Dominion than the TauherenikatiT ' ■ ' ■ GOOD HANDICAP LIST. The Easter Handicap saw only two horses dropping out at the acceptance, and neither matters. There is still a field of fourteen remaining, headed by the stablemates, Friesland and Lowenberg. • Perhaps Lowenberg will now keep his Feilding engagement, but Friesland has now burned all his bridges except the one taking him to Wairarapa. . :. Friesland travelled to Tauherenikau at the New Year, but his coup on the rich Wairarapa Cup failed when he was beaten into, third place by Tiger Gain and Hazoor. Since then his form has been very 'much superior than that ' of either of his New Year victors, and ■ consequently he meets them both on much worse terms on • Saturday, • but he may be preferred to them, as, despite, his lapse on the second day recently at Trentham, his line of successes during the last month makes a very formidable show. Among' Friesland's most-favoured rivals will be Big Dook (who ran. a dead heat in the race last year' with Pladie, also engaged again), Pukeko, Rona Bay, and_Debham. Big Dook's fine race in the Autumn Handicap recently at Trentham will make him one df the principal choices. Pukeko was a double victor at Pahiatua last week, and though he will be more truly tested here it is worth remembering that this has been an exceptional autumn for sequences of wins. Rona Bay looks the best proposition solely on score of weight, and she could hardly be more fit. ■ , The sprinters will have their opportunity in the Mokai Handicap, which is the second event on the day's card. Only Ben Braggie and Notiurh dropped out of this field, and L^vina, Deficit, Solaria, Flammarion, and Lady Ina are five alone among those remaining who should assure a keen battle for the honours.- Similarly there have been only, two defections from the Martinborough Handicap, an open mile this year instead of an open seven, and, besides Friesland and Master Cyklon, who are also in the Easter Handicap, the fieldincludes the form horses Sansfoy, Darecourt, and Pennycomequick. as w.ell as Boomerang, who races well when fresh, and the Gisborne visitor Lordly Knight, who'was fourth over a' mile and a quarter at Poverty Bay at his last start. _.• . THE FEILDING CUP. The class in the'Feilding Cup, the principal event on the Feilding schedule on Saturday, is also excellent, much on a par with that at Tauherenikau. That fine performer Dungar.van heads- the list with 9.8, but he is also in' the sprint with 9.13, and the latter race may now be preferred with, its much-diminished field. Dungarvan was favourite for the Cup last year, and was'beaten into third place by One -Whetu. and Hunting Cat. . One Whetu figures in the field again "dn Saturday, and the race offers him an opportunity to set his name once more 'on the winners' scroll." He has riot yet opened his winning account this season, either in Australia or the ' Dominion, but he has been very consistent recently in filling minor places, and:it might' be regarded by some as significant. that he tackled a shorter race at Stratford last Saturday in pre- - ference to the main handicap, for which he was also accepted. For come time past he has been troubled with soreness, .so an easy track would be a factor in his favour. .

Among others who will have good followings in the Feilding Cup are Taitoru, Lapel, and Lowenberg, and, probably to a less degree, Spiral, Grand Jury, The Buzzer, Maestro, and Hound Score! Lapel was r«-ost disappointing at Pahiatua, but it ijay be a different story on his home track with the pace on all the way. Spiral, back to his Christmas' form,, when he won the Manawatu Cup, would be among the very hardest to beat. - ' The field, for the Mangaone Handicap has been reduced by more than ■half at the acceptance to only seven, but the number include, besides Dungarvan, such -form horses as Ben Braggie, Karl, Land Tax, and Lady Ina. With the diminished field Lady Ina • may prefer her Feilding engagement to her Tauherenikau. There.is a better relative acceptance in the seven-fur-long Halcombe Hasdicap, the field for which includes Entail, Hunting Lodge, arid.'- International among the recent form- section.