HORSE POWER PROGRESSING

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 80, 1 October 1938, Page 23

HORSE POWER PROGRESSING

GENTLEMAN JOE SHOULD MAKE THE GRADE

(Special from "Irvington.") CHRISTCHURCH, September 30

The Addington track is taking on a busier appearance now that the spring meetings are approaching, and several pacers and trotters are undergoing a special preparation for the New Zealand Cup Meeting there. There are some 100 horses in work at the course.

The latest addition to S. A. Edwards's already big team is the five-year-old Wrack mare Waitemata. Last season she gained attention by winning three races and being twice placed in her first five starts, and although she has been unplaced in her last two outings, she has the reputation of being a mare of great possibilities. Blondie has been sold to an Australian buyer, and he left recently to take up his new quarters. As a young horse this pacer was highly regarded, and he gave every promise of reaching good company but a number of falls, both in private and public, saw him lose confidence and race badly. He does not impress as likely to recover his form without a great deal of racing and time. Although he is not well placed in the principal handicap at the approaching New Brighton Meeting, Horse Power will probably be seen in action. He continues to make good progress in his track work, and a race should provide a good line on his future prospects from the tight marks he earned as a three-year-old. Among the novices being worked at New Brighton is a three-year-old filly by Jack Potts from Carol Nelson. She has been moving attractively in her training, and she shows every promise of being a useful pacer later in the season. , Following a short spell and a change of trainers, Maltravers is settling down nicely in the tasks being given to him at Addington, and he appears to have lost his pulling habits. However, it takes little fast work to develop wayward habits in him.

While his form over a period has not been good, Aide de Camp has pleased of late, and he is pacing in his best style again. He has built up into a solid type, and it is possible that he will shortly show a return to his early form. J. -J. Kennerley has taken in hand a filly by Wellington Direct from Central Pointer. A two-year-old, she is not yet far advanced in her education, but she is coming to hand quickly and has an easy manner of pacing. Not a great deal has been seen of Royal Romance in recent months, but she has been kept in steady work and will need only a few sharp runs to be at her best again. She has filled out well since last raced, and although she is lacking in stamina she has the speed to pay her way in her present class. A short time ago it was intended to send Agility north to be trained at Hutt Park, but those arrangements have been altered, and he will probably remain at Addington. At his best he is no more than useful, but he is an honest pacer who should not find it difficult to pay his way. The recent failure on a. number of occasions of Bill B. to figure as a winner has caused the American-bred horse to go out of favour, and it seems that his prospects of living up to his early reputation are remote. His finishing efforts have been weak and have lacked the dash of his early showings. J. Fraser, sen., is handling an un-

usually fine type of young trotter in a two-year-old colt by U. Scott from a sister to Elzear, a great squaregaiter a few seasons ago. This youngster has a good style of moving, and he gives the impression that it will not be Jong before he is capable of recording smart time over a short distance. He is owned by Mr. G. J. Barton, and when further advanced. he will be taken over by J. Fraser, jun.

Although his two exhibitions at the Wellington Trotting Club's Meeting last Saturday were far from encouraging. Axiom is being kept in steady work at Addington, arid he is apparently to be given another chance to race up to his private displays. He can trot faster than most in his present class, and he has done a. great deal of work in recent months, but his racing has not shown any improvement. % A recent winner, Gentleman Joe is being selected as a horse likely to reach a high, standard. Only a five-year-old, he has now won both as a trotter and as a pacer, and his showings in each department have been of a good order. His routine of training does not suggest that he is being asked to concentrate on, either gait, and there are few horses who could mix their racing with the same measure of success. In his last three races he has worn hopples, and on each occasion he has been responsible for a fine display of speed. There is little doubt that if he is kept at this gait he will soon be racing in good company. Lady Slipper was given a short spell following her last appearance in public, and she has now returned to the tracks in greatly-improved condition. This mare has been something of a disappointment, but her connections are giving her every ornortunity, and it is hoped that she will show the benefit of a patient policy later in the season. . Both Indianapolis and Grand Mogul have failed to show their real worth for a considerable time, and although the former was a winner at the recent Inter-Dominion Championship Meeting, neither has raced up to his best iri the past twelve months. In the circumstances there is a tendency to regard them as being "spent lights, and their displays at the coming New Brighton-bMeeting should offer an indication of their prospects in the important handicaps to be decided at Addington next month. Grand Mogul's lack of form can be attributed to unsoundness, and if he stands up tb the work necessary to bring him back to his best, there is no reason why he will not prove a danger to the best handicap performers. He has done remarkably well in the past few weeks, and his connections are hoping for a complete return to form. In a measure Indianapolis's failures can be attributed to his exceptionally tight marks over all distances, and it is doubtful whether there will be classes, outside the Free-for-Alls, to suit him in the immediate future. However, he is working freely and looks well, while his usual weakness, his near hoof, is showing no signs of troubling him to this stage.