CHALLENGE STAKES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 28, 3 February 1938, Page 13

CHALLENGE STAKES

HAMMER HEAD SURPRISES

(From "Vedette.") SYDNEY, January 28.

Randwick racegoers experienced their wettest day for a long time on Saturday when the Challenge Stakes was won by the' comparative outsider Hammer Head. The course was.a quagmire for the concluding event, and seven of the twelve acceptors were, withdrawn. Hammer Head had galloped well at Rosehill, but few expected him to win a good sprint event at ftandwick so decisively. He was helped to victory by the hot favourite Brown Baroness beginning slowly. Brazandt went out and set a fast pace and Brown Baroness went in pursuit. When the latter had Brazandt beaten in the straight, Hammer Head came along with < hs last run. He is being hailed . iO'.v as a Newmarket Handicap possibility, but that might be aiming rather high. The January Handicap was won by the improving three-year-old Panastex. His lessee-trainer, Mr. Webster, considers him good- enough to take south to tackle Hua, Ajax, and Avenger. Tins, too, appears to be a vaulting ambition. Panaster fairly revelled An the mud on Saturday and led all the way. He' was about the only horse in tne field to manage the going. \ BEST OF JUVENILES. The Sion filly Bbfield .vas the best of the two-year-olds in the Widden Handicap. She jumped out in front and stayed in-"the lead until the post. At -the finish the Pantheon—Loquacious filly Feminist was catching her, but the effort came too late. Feminist oromises to be well worthy of her. jarents, and should develop into a.good

stayer. The Iliad colt Miltiades plodded along at the finish for third place. The George Price, stable served up a hot favourite in iPatarang in the Paddington Handicap/ but the Manfred four-year-old finished v last in a field of five. He was 'the first horse beaten. Earlier in the day Troy, from the same stable, was easily beaten into second place by Rex in the Bondi Handicap, a seven furlongs event for three-year-olds. Rex ran away with the race despite an absence from racing since August of last year.. He started at long odds, but there was. some fair money well distributed and quite a shrewd coup was negotiated. J. Carey, trainer of Rex, has been out of luck for, some time and it was a welcome turn of the tide. Hope, a neat six-year-old Heroic gelding, won the 150th Anniversary Handicap on Wednesday at Randwick. He was more determined at the finish than Mananui, who looked like winning the race when he ran up to Hope, but the Limond horse did not maintain his effort. Mr. Alan Cooper, the owner of Talking and Mala, purchased Mananui for £1000 just prior to the Anniversary Handicap with a contingency of £500 if the horse won the race. The price was right up to top value, for Mananui has" been very patchy. The second placing was worth £250, so that the price was reduced by 25 per cent., a reasonable discount

FILLIES' CLASSIC,

Prior to the Adrian Knox Stakes, George Young looked to have the brightest prospects of taking two, of the three prizes with Lady Cav and Talking's sister; High Class. Lady Cav disgraced herself by being hopelessly left, and High Class, after beginning slowly, was ungenerous and ran about in the straight. The £1000 race for fillies was won by: the Buoyant Bachelor filly Sweet Myra, who came through in the straight and--won' handsornely., Heiress, the Posterity—Episode filly trained by George Price , also finished, on reasonably .well into fifth place. Two believed non-stayers, The Jilt and Joan Darling, filled second and third places behind Sweet Myra, who ran the mile in lmin 38Jsec. Bodley Head's victory in the Kurwell Handicap provided the apprentice S. Neale with an opportunity to show his ability. He .is. one of the leading lads,' but on this occasion excelled himself, riding like a demon and outriding W. Cook on the runner-up Moonray. Not even D.Munro could have exerted more strength on the day. Capaneus, after, being a ' hopeless case on the flat, promises to make good as a hurdler. He should have won the hurdle race at Randwick on i the opening day of the Anniversary Meeting, but made, complete amends on the second day'by' a clear-cut victory. Hurdling is also improving the appearance of the Night; Haid—Sennight gelding. ; .