DEFEAT OF FAVOURITES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 104, 30 October 1939, Page 11

DEFEAT OF FAVOURITES

WELLINGTON OCTOBER MEETING

GREAT DIVIDE WINS IN SLOW-RUN RACE

(By "Ariki Toa.") ; The feature of the Wellington Trotting Club?s October Meeting at Hutt Park on Saturday was the consistent defeat of the? favourite division, and it was not until the final event of the day that a first fancy proved successful. However, backers were not far astray in that three second favourites collected the major money. The Royal Handicap was run at a very slow pace, and was really only a sprint home, with Great Divide defeating the fastfinishing Jackaranda by a narrow margin. Jackaranda had his turn in the open sprint later in the day.

Header was responsible for a smart, performance when he was first out and first home in the Petone Handicap, for which he was at a satisfactory return. The pace was on from the start, and passing the half-mile there was nothing between .Header, Escalado, and Biworthy, but once the turn was negotiated Header soon placed the issue beyond doubt and won very easily. He had previously won a double on' the course, and Saturday's success enabled him to qualify for faster : class itrotting events at Addingfon next week. 1 Escalado, who made a slight lapse at 'the start trotted well'. subsequently, ■)but had 'every chance, being^.within. !Sf a length Header M th^ turn lSSnflnSS«Sr^ RSUi Sioney. Biworthy gav^ his usual honest display and + did well to be third considering, that he had to cover a little extra ground over the final two furlongs Listowel was backed !down to. favouritism, But his display was disappointing, an^he^ was faUing back crossing the top the last tinie At the times he was going well in second place, and .it looks., a^ if ihe is not a good stayer.. -.Paddy^iHap-. ivestaSd AUwtirthy madefa^^ef 3, ■and the former was eventually pulled UP HER FIRST SUCCESS. I Swift Lady, who had; shown encour'aeement at Geraldine, opened her win'nfn?Sount when she led throughout iin the Short Handicap. She was^al■llowed to do her work_,well within herself, the pace being comparatively slow, and when First Shake challenged at the distance she easily held her own. '■It was a sound performance, and as lit is reasonable to expect her to derive Ibenefit from the. racing experience she should eventually make her.way back -jto a tighter mark. First Shake may have taken a lot I more beating but for running out wide at the turn, as she'finished very resolutely down the middle of the track. This mare can'usually be relied upon to go dn honest race, and a winning bracket for. the Silk Thread "maTe would be popular. ; Clockwork was making his debut, and it was a very encouraging effort. He was not unduly knocked about when he could hot. win, .and on this showing he should have good'prospects in the 'Riccarton Stakes, a race for maiden three-year-olds at Addington next week. Star Ace was most disappointing, making several breaks over the first mile. Brungasta is imi proving, but Flash By and Snowy Bin--1 gen, bVoke' up at 'the- start; ' ; : ■';.■'.' A'CLASS PACER. .-, Any doubts as to the capabilities, of Accountant were dispelled by the convincing manner in which he came from behind to cut down the leaders and win the Borough Handicap going away. He made a smart beginning and was fifth at the half-mile, at which stage he was pacing' well within himself, and when he lodged his: claim racing to the straight he soon established his superiority. This horse has won three races to date, but it will be surprising if he does not develop into, a Cup performer, for he exhibits distinct signs of stamina. :i .. ■, ■ Three Tens was badly placed all the way, and it .was not until well inside the filial futlong that he got clear, from which stage he finished very determinedly. He is a fine three-year-old, displaying all the attributes of a future champion. ; Queen's County, who had not raced this season, made a Valiant effort to lead all the way,.and it was not until well into the straight that she weakened into the minor money. Diversion was prominent all the way, but. Club King was disappointing. He was second early and held this position to the turn but stopped badly under pressure. Siege Gun broke at the stari, while Llanvabon and Kilrea were never in winning positions. ... ;. ' ■'"•■■ SLOW-RUN 'RACE. /•' '"\ .. ;. • The Royal Handicap, the chief event,' was robbed of a lot-of interest by the tactics, adopted by the drivers^ for .the race really developed into. dniy : ''a halfmile sprint with thrills .provided- by the first four .horses, crossing the line with narrow margins'. separating the lot. The eventual ",winner;' 'Great Divide, was second out and held this position to the -straight; .where he quickly ■ settled- the leader 'and- went on to win. decisively. -'HoweVer, he appeared to hav«.;.had !% .enough just off the' post, and it is possible that with the pace oil from the start there ■ would have been' a different result. Jackaranda was badly placed on the rails in fifth place'when the turn was negotiated, but he came home with a rattle ,and was finishing over everything. Had he got clear sooner it is possible he. would have won. . Fremont had the J run ■■ of the race just in beftirid" the/ leaders' and hung on usefully for, third oyer: Bill 8., who looked assured of place-mphey. when right up with the leaders at the distance. Parauri was doing his work easily at the straight ■ entrance but failed badly when the pressure was applied. Bayard and Acuity had every chance, but Cruiser would probably have done better with the pace on early. ■"'" ' ■""* ~:\ ' ;".• .. .■■ . - ERROR OF JUDGMENT. , The feature of the President's Handicap was. the; apparent mistake of the driver of, Header.m attempting to whr the race "with a round to, go. At this stage he was trailing Paddy's Harvest, but when nearing the post he brought the gelding, out and drove him hard in an effort to overhaul the. leader. Then he commenced to pull the horse up until he realised his error and continued on in the race. As it was Header finished a.fair fourth, and there is no doubt he would have taken, a lot more beating, but for his earlier effort. .. Paddy's. Harvest, who actually led throughout,-""-gave a much4mproved display upon his earlier form, but he always appeared to have the measure, of the opposition.. Biworthy again trotted faultlessly and was the only one to seriously challenge the supremacy of the winner. Escalado had every chance, being third at the turn and. finishing in that* position. Allworthy again failed to trot solidly, and Listowel was done, with half a mile from home. • WELL-DESERyED SUCCESS. Te Roto, who had been racing consistently but without luck recently, graduated from the maiden ranks with an impressive display of. pacing in the Novice Handicap. He was forced over a good deal of extra ground when making up leeway over the final couple of furlongs, but he was more than equal to the task and' won going away. It was a popular victory, for the gelding had previously earned a 24yds penalty through the securing of placemoney, although he had yet to open his winning account. . First Shake ran right up to her best form and again finished- well from geveral places back. The disappointment was Scottie Direct, who had the ■

run of the race behind the leader but weakened in the straight. However, there was some measure of excuse for him in that he was sporting an enlarged knee as the result of his fall at Epsom last week, and he xshould definitely make quick amends. : Star Ace again failed to pace evenly, while -Brungasta was right up with the place-getters after being in the firing line throughout. Swift Lady found her 60yds penalty beyond her. FAVOURITE FALLS. !For the seventh consecutive time the favourite was beaten when Great Blaze failed in.the Suburban Handicap. The winner, Queen's. County, ran to the front with a round to go, and although seriously/challenged in the run home she succeeded in staving off- Three Tens by a length. Considering her. sound thijrd/placing earlier in -Hie day over two Jurlongs, further her win return of over double-figures was a particularly good price. ;' The three-year-old Three Tens was possibly a good thing beaten for he received a poor run all the way, while he also struck interference at the turn where there was a mix-up when Great Blaze fell. As it was Three Tens finished'with a rattle on the outside and returned to the birdcage with a punctured tyre. • Sentiment*was always in the thick of the fray and secured the minor money, while it is possible that Siege Gun would hfive done better with an earlier challenge. ' Great Blaze .was pacing particularly well when he came down, the incident subsequently being found to be accidental. Huguenot and Diversion showed speed, but the re"mainder were never dangerous. JACKARANDA'S SPRINT. Jackaranda made; amends for \his earlier defeat when he came with a rattle to win, the Electric Handicap easily. He was v not asked to make, any. particular effort until the distance was reached, but once shaken up he shot through an opening'between Fremont and Lightning Lady to easily dispose of the pair. This"horse's fftrm is difficult to follow,, but there is no doubt- about his ability. ■-,-.. Fremont looked like winning when he settled Lightning Lady inside the final furlong, but he weakened a little and had to be content with second money. No excuses could be offered for Lightning Lady, who assisted to make the pace with Bayard, but both were done at the distance. ; Donald Dhu was last all the way arid failed to reproduce anything like his recent form., Rey Spec showed useful spe,ed. :..--.. : ANDVBETTTING : : r Favoured with fine weather, there was a large attendance at the Wellington Trotting Club's October Meeting at Hutt Park on Saturday. The track was ifl excellent order, and the 'totalisator' handled the sum of.: £28,771 '(win £11,806, place £16,965), compared, with. £29,256 10s last year, a decrease of' £ 485 10s. . The investments earlier in the day were more than holding their own with last year's figures, but they lapsed -unaccountably during the remainder of the programme. Results:— x Petorie. Handicap, £200; -3.36 class; X% miles.—3-3 Header, scr (owner), 1; 5-7 EscaWOi 24 (owner), 2;; 7-5 Biworthy, 24 (owner), 3. Also started: 1-1 Listowel 12, 4-4 Paddy's Harvest 12, 3-8 Sphinx 12, 6-6 Reception 36, 2-2 e Allworthy 36. Three lengths; neck. Times, , 3mln 28see, 3m!n 27sec, 3rnin 27 l-ssec. '•'■■■. . Short Handicap, £175"; 3.5 class; I^4 miles. —2-2 SMft Lady, scr (owner), 1;. 5-5 First Shako,- 12 (owner), 2; 4-4 Clockwork, scr (R. Donald),. 3. Also started: 8-6. Flash BY scr, 1-1' Star Ace scr, 3 T 3 Brungasta scr, 7-8 'Snowy Bingen scr, 6-7 Beymere 86. • Length; head. Times, 2min Sosec, 2min' 54 ;l-ssec,'2mln 55 2-ssec. ■, Borough Handicap, 525J5; 3.34 class: 1% miles.—2-2 Accountant, scr (,C. S. Donald), 1; 5-4 Three Tens, scr (R. Pringle)', .2.; 10-10 Queen's County, scr (3. Bryce, jun.),.'3. Also started: t-7 "Huguenot scr, 4-3 Siege. Gun scr, 3.-8; Sentiment scr, '6-5' Llanvabon scr, .11-12 Diversion scr, 1-1 Club King ser, 9-9 Kilrea 24, 7-8 -Popeye^ 48; 12-11 Bopata 48.: One length; haif> -Times.-. Smln 18." 4-s.see, :3mln Iflsec, 3min" "19" TrSs'ec. :^::.:: '.". ':■.::..r: '. ROYAL HANDICAP, £ 400 ; ' ■ _ .;.4.34 class; 2. miles. .. :_. , 2—2-^<?reat. Divide, 12 1.1." Pringle)"....'.. 1 6—e —Jackaranda, scr. (owner) 2 B—B—-Fremont, scr if,.., J. Berry) ....... 3 Also started: 1-1 Cruiser scr, 3-3 Parauri scr, 4-5 Acuity 12, 5-4 Bill B. 12, 7-7 Bayard 24. Half length;' head. Times, 4mln 31 4-5 sec, 4min §3sec, 4min" 33 l-ssec. President's Handicap, £225; 4.50 class; 2 m ii eß ._4-3 paddy's Harvest, 12 (D.-C. Watts), 1; 6-5 Biworthy,-48 (8,. Young), 2; 1-1 Escala-j do, 24 (owner), 3: Also: started: 5-6 Listowel 12. 7-7 Sphinx 12, 2-2 Header 36, 3-4 Allworthy 48. Three-quarters of a length; four. Times, 4min"4lsec, 4mln 39 l-ssec, 4mln 42 sec. ■ ■ '"■ ' ■:■■■ Novice Handicap, £175; 3.43 class; 1% miles. 4-4 Te Roto, 24 (J. A. Gerrard),-!; 5-5 First Shake, 12 (owner), 2; 1-1 Scottie Direct, ser (R, A.. McMillan), 3. Also started: 2-3 Star Aco scr, 3-2 Brungasta scr, 8-8 Snowy Bingen ser 7-7 Plate Armour scr, 6-6 Swift Lady 60. Length and a half; neck. Times, 3mln 25 l-ssec, 3mln 26 4-ssec, 3min 27 l-ssec. Suburban Handicap, £200; 2:57 class; 1% miles.—s-3: Queen's County, scr^(J. Bryce, inn) X; 2-2 Three Tens, scr (J. Pringle),. 2; 7-10 Sentiment; scr (R. Young), 3. Also started: 4-4. Huguenot Her, 6-6 Siege Gun scr. 1-rXireat Blaze scr, 11-11 Diversion scr, 9-8 Llanvabon ser, 8-9 Kilrea 12, 3-5 Coquette 24, 10-7 Popeye 36. Length; length. Times, 2min 46 2-ssec, 2min 46 4-ssee, 2min 47 l-ssec. ELECTRIC HANDICAP, *£ 300; 2.47 class; 1% miles. I__1 —Jackaranda, suf (owner) 1 4__3—Fremont, scr (R. B. Berry) 2—4—Lightning .Lady, scr (owner) d Also started: 5-6 Bayard scr, 3-2 Donald Ss-Smla 45 8 ec 2miu 43 1-530 C, 2min 45 3-ssec.