AUCKLAND EASTER ASPIRATIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1938, Page 13

AUCKLAND EASTER ASPIRATIONS

THOMPSON FORM LOOKS LIKELY TO PREVAIL

(By "Rangatira.")

It is only rarely that the Auckland Easter and the Wellington Thompson double has' been taken by any horse. .The only occasion on which a Thompson winner has gone on to succeed at Ellerslie was in 1925, when Reremoana won, the two races. Reremoana was ' pne of the most brilliant milers the Dominion has ever known. He won the Auckland Easter again in 192b, under the record weight of 9.11, and he scored his second Thompson success in 1927, under 9.8. ••_ 'Two other horses have won the two races in the same year. Back in 1909 Aborigine achieved the double feat, but the Auckland event was then decided prior to the Trentham. When Lottie won both races in 1894, the Auckland Easter was decided over It miles. . The Auckland Easter has a history dating back to 1874; but for the'firs 14 years the distance of the race was 1; . miles, and from 1890 to 1897 it was 14 miles. The present journey of r mile was established in 1898, and that has re- " mairied the distance ever since. ___ WEIGHTING OF STRETTO. A point of considerable interest in the coming Easter was the weight that that fine mare Stretto would be given. It is generally conceded that she was a most unlucky runner at Trentham, and since then she has demonstrated her worth in no uncertain style in the Awapuni Gold Cup at weight-for-age. Mr. F. McManemin has decreed that she shall carry 9.6, which is 31b above her Thompson weight and is therefore about as much as she was entitled at most to receive, considering that the main part of the field is so similar to the Thompson field. Stretto nevertheless has by no means a prohibitive Weight, and there is not much doubt that the public Will send her out favourite once again. Nothing could have been more impressive than the manner in which she downed the best three-year-olds at weight-for-age in the Awapuni Gold Cup—unless it was the way she'treated her opposition in the last Auckland Railway Handicap, when let in-at a weight that was proved to err on' the side of leniency, not in pounds, but in stones. If Stretto is the mare that it is believed she is, despite her Trentham failures, she is capable of carrying her present impost to success in the.* Easter, particularly as the Ellerslie course should suit her better than the Trentham, on which the -mile is perhaps the most difficult in the Dominion for horses who draw wide marbles, as Stretto did. Stretto would not have to equal the weight-carrying record for the race to win on.Saturday week. That honour is held jointly by-Nonette (1902) anc ReremOaria-(1926), who each carried 9.11 to victory.. Nonette won, Qnly narrowly from -Highlander:(7;6),";b'utit.was-a teflcrarkably brilliant effort.. 'Just previously the three-year-old colt had won the Wahganui Cup.J 15 miles, and on the second day. at Ellerslie he won the Century Stakes, weight-for-age with penalties, U miles. On that second day Highlander paid further tribute to Jlonette's" performance by winning a double, the Stewards' Handicap, one mile, under 8.11 r ,and the Flying Handicap, six furlongs, under 8.13, including a 51b penalty. There were three days at Ellerslie that Easter, and on the final day-Nonette found ■ the task of carrying 10.6 in the Autumn Handicap, 1J miles, beyond him "after his splendid run of successes to that'date. Reremoana, like Nonetfe, won his Easter under 9.11 only by a head, but the horse who forced him to that short margin was. the lightly-weighted Sun Up, with" only 7.2 tin his back. There was a field of 27 on that occasion, which made the effort of the Hallowmas gelding all the more notable. Lifted a stone, Sun Up beat everything except that flying machine Shirley in the second day's sprint, which speaks further' of the merit of :Reremoana's second Easier win. ; "Since the Auckland Easter has been ' decided over.a mile, that is in the last forty years, there have been five horses, including Nonette and Rere--moana, who have succeeded in doing •or exceeding what Stretto is asked to achieve. this year. In 1 1933 Golden Wings, at the same age as Stretto is now, won under 9.9; in 1916 Chortle carried 9.7 to victory;. and in 1900 the great Advance, then a three-year-old, outclassed his opposition under 9.6, which included a 51b penalty. Two winners under 9.5 have been Pegaway and Hunting' Cry, but, good as they were, it is doubtful if, even at their best, they were quite the class of Stretto. The record weight for a mare is the 9.0 carried by Merry Roe as a ■four-year-old in 1915. So much for Stretto, who it is obvious has no inordinately superequine task to achieve to win this year's Easter under 9.6, which represents 81b over w.f.a. TEST FOR ORATORY. Oratory is number two on the Auckland list with 8.13, which brings her exactly half a: stone nearer Stretto than in the Thompson Handicap. One thing that is certain, and that is that Oratory could not receive any greater advantage than she was able to take at Trentham last month,' when she was walking in to the start in No., 1 position at. the tapes and secured a break of a couple of lengths before anything else had moved. Even then Stretto might have worried her more than she did but for striking trouble on the home turn. The. figures this time look all in favour of Stretto, who is every bit as brilliant as the Thompson winner when afforded the opportunity of revealing it. At w.f.a> in the Awapuni Cup Oratory was.no match for Stretto when it came to business, and her leading for a mile was probably only on sufferance, as Stretto looked capable of taking charge just when she desired. I( Oratory now has 91b her way, compared with Awapuni weights, but that may not be enough. It is .lot intended to belittle the ability of the Gainscourt mare in any way, but Stretto appeals as her superior by the best part of a stone at least. . Z If Smoke Screen has recovered from P his recent hard races he may be a p more dangerous opponent for Stretto h than Oratory. The three-year-old was Is also none too lucky in the Thompson, si but he burst brilliantly through the c; field for an easy second. Now he b comes in at lib better terms with o: Stretto in the Easter, though he a finished ahead of the mare in the a, Thompson, and he is set to meet Ora- V tory at' 81b better terms. • h

There is a view that Smoke Screen ran a bad race in the Awapuni Gold Cup, but that opinion is by no means subscribed to on the way the race was run. Smoke Screen was the victim of a most unfortunate passage at Awapuni, forced to remain on the outside of Stretto all the way, while the other four horses were almost always on the rail, and he was then carried out when Stretto moved off the fence entering the straight to challenge Oratory. As Stretto set up a track record of 2min 3sec t , time only a fifth of a second outside the New Zealand .record, it is no wonder that Smoke Screen could not go over so much extra ground and then still come home with the others. It was also little wonder that he was distressed at the end. It might be most unwise to take the line to Smoke Screen through, the Awapuni

Although there may not be quite so much "history" attaching to it as to its Riccarton counterpart, the Auckland Easier Handicap ranks as one. of the more important events of. the Dominion's annual calendar, and it takes its place among the leading mile events of the year with the Winter Cup, Jockey Club Handicap, and Thompson Handicap. The W.R.C. Thompson and the Auckland Easter are the two big autumn miles, and. both of them are very difficult races to win. This year's Auckland Easter will be more than ordinarily interesting, as it is probable that the first five horses in the Thompson —Oratory, Smoke Screen, Stretto, Suleiman, and Francis Drake—will again be clashing.

Cup in preference to the Thompson Handicap and the Hutt Handicap (which he won) at Trentham. BRILLIANT AUCKLANDER. Suleiman, who was a good fourth at Trentham, was also an unlucky horse on the day, as he drew No. 20 marble, three places further out than Stretto. He produced a rare turn of speed after the field had gone a couple of furlongs and followed Oratory into the straight, then still hanging ' on when extended to retain. the barren honour. ' It was a performance whose merit might be overlooked when all the factors are not given due consideration. With a drop of 31b in the Auckland Easter, whereas Stretto has been raised 31b and Smoke, Screen 21b, Suleiman must be ranked among the most formidable opponents for the topweights. Francis Drake, now that he has returned to winning form, may be regarded as the. likeliest of the lightweights. It is believed that a decided risk has been taken in dropping him from the 7.8 he carried at Trentham to 7.1 in the Easter. Such an impost is very lenient for a good three-year-old, and it contrasts strangely with the 8.9 the Auckland handicapper gave him in the mile Christmas Handicap three months ago,, for on that occasion he was rated of equal merit with Royal Appellant, who now has 111b more in the Easter, and also with Whirling, who has 81b more in the Easter. A three-year-old in the autumn will generally improve more than older horses. . As to his Thompson effort, Francis Drake was not too lucky, as his rider elected to go in pursuit of Oratory, and that bid finally found him faltering when his objective had not been achieved and the pressure was on inside the last two furlongs. It seems as if the Thompson form will prove the dominant factor in the Easter on Saturday week. But Auckland provides numerous fresh horses in winning form, and several of them will be favoured aspirants on the day. It will be recalled by many doubtless that there was a big upset in last year s race when Tooley Street won off the then minimum, beating Whirling and King Rey. But this year's field, is of all-round better class than last year's. Among the fresh horses who may join worthy issue with those already mentioned are Llangollen, Golden Sheila, Royal Appellant, and Round Up. Catalogue, too, if sent north in preference to taking on the Feilding Cup, in which Oratory is also engaged, would have his friends with lib less than he carried in the Thompson for his Winter Cup and Jockey Club- Handicap wins showed that a mile is near his best distance.