DOURO CUP UPSET

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 17, 21 January 1938, Page 13

DOURO CUP UPSET

MISHNA OUTSTAYS FIELD

Victory in the Douro Cup Handicap, the premier hack event in the Dominion, went to one of the outsiders of the field, the Rabbi horse Mishna, who secured his lucky investors a straightout price of over a ; quarter of a century. Though he failed in the apprentices' event on the first'day, he is not a boy's horse, and he ran a much different race under a strong horseman yesterday.

Mishna was actually in front after the field had gone half a furlong, but at the end of the first furlong Silver River passed him and before the halfmile he was also headed by Relative. The three leaders were the same entering the straight, but then Mishna swept down on Silver River and won decisively by three-parts of a length. It was only last autumn that Mishna first appeared on the race track, and when he ran into a place at Trentham in the winter at his third outing: and later beat everything except-Mittie at the Grand National Meeting; it was fairly clear that'he was the makings of a useful horse. However, he did not win his first race till the recent Manawatu Meeting, and yesterday's was his second success. The Douro Cup prize is sufficient in itself to remove him 'from hack class, but two fourths in the main handicaps recently at Wairarapa indicate that before long he may be performing with credit in open company. A chestnuts entire, Mishna is a four-year-old son 6f Rabbi, and his dam is the Elysian^-Lawn Rose mare Conviction, who descends from the Rosebud taproot through a branch that in recent years has produced such horses as Frenzied Finance, Miladj, First Money. Kilperon, Boadicea, and Race Boy. He is a typical son of his sire, who is now at the stud in Australia. He was bred by Mrs. W. A. Watson and races in the colours of Mr. C. G. Watson, of Blenheim, for whom he is trained by W. A. Watson. - ...

Silver River, who was the Rangitikei Hack Cup winner at Marton recently, .set out early to 'make every post a winning post, and only the one horse in the1 field was able to frustrate his gamble... He, is "a much-improved

sort who should pay his- way during the autumn. ■

Good Sun. who drifted back into the bunch in the middle stages, shot through an opening in the straight to gain the other placing. He is another horse who is likely to be profitable following during the next few months. Relative, always there, found the distance just too far.. Night Dress, sixth in most of the running, hung on better than he has on occasions for a close fifth, but he is still failing to come up to his earlier promise. Lickem, at the head of the others, had every chance, for he was next after the winner into the straight, and apparently going well, but he did not come home as expected. Balmenter, checked, when trying to burst,through; along the inner in the straight, might have been a .shade unlucky, but he would not have won. Tail Light, also checked, was another finishing on, Salient Knight, after going over a lot of ground, faded in the straight. Neither Cricket nor Studley Royal was ever prominent, but each was unlucky in being squeezed back just after the start. Wagner and Noisy Night: were handy to the straight and then stopped badly. ... - ,