AUCKLAND DOUBLE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 131, 30 November 1939, Page 17

AUCKLAND DOUBLE

CUP Ap), RAILWAY

EARLY GLANOE AT WEIGHTS

The^bjgV dbuble".of ;the; ChristmasNew Zeal^kjf; ii.biiday carnival is 'the Auckland;jCtap.;rand Railway Handicap on the" opening day of the. Auckland Summer Sieeting at Ellerslie on Box- . ing Day, ahd'tiiei declaration of weights; by Mr. F. J; IlicManemiri for these two: : events has set: racegoers considering what horses may. appear best favoured on handicap and form. As usual, the scale of weights adopted has kept all horses well within the limits of pos*sifcflity. .■• • ■•>■:••.,

There is a notable difference between the handicapping of important events in New Zealand and in Australia, particularly two-mile races. Dominion nandicappers generally keept their fields within a much smaller range of weights. The tops are rarely so high, and the -minimum is compulsorily 71b higher, that is 7.0 against 6.7 in Australia. In neither the Auckland Cup, nor the Railway Handicap this year, moreover, has Mr. McManemin started off as high, as he often has done. TOP WEIGHT SHARED■In the Auckland. Cup the .pride of position has. been siven jointly - to Round Up-and Catalogue, and because of their placing Mr. McManemin evi-i dently desires Round Up to carry the No. 1 saddle if he is started. -This is as it should be, as the pair were both given the same weight (9.0) in the last. Melbqitfne Cup, and Catalogue, ran and was unplaced, while Round Up has not-yet raced this season. • Round Up was second in the last Auckland Cup under 8.8, but he had then been racing priorly and successfully during the .spring, and it will therefore be a different matter with him if he goes to the post this year. His last win was in the Foley Memorial Handicap, 1£ "miles, at Avondale, last April, when he carried 9.13 and beat Gold Vaals, 8.4, and Golden Sheila, 8.12. Catalogue went some quite good faceson his recent trip to Melbourne, winning the Hotham Handicap, l& miles, oh the first'day of the Cup Meeting, artd finishing second in the Williamstbwn Cup, ii miles, and he must appeal more than, Round Up at present. Golden Sheila's recent form assured her a high place in the handicap, her last two Routings having resulted in wins in the Waikato Hamilton Handicap, li miles, under 9.1, and in thei A.R.C&: Alison; Cup, 1$ miles, under 9.6, t

and she could not' have had- much less /than the 8.12. she has been awarded. She has already won up to .-!£ miles, having taken the A.R.C. Nolan Handicap last Easter under 7.12, when Round Up was fourth with 9.13. ■-,'.. Beaupartir, with 8.11, comes in a bit better than he. might have done, the result of. his failure at Riccarton, where Royal-Chief beat him at w.f.a. in the Canterbury Cup and he tired .under 9.2 into fourth in the Metropolitan Handicap. His New Zealand Cup weight was 8; 13, but?he did not-accept. There is just a doubt whether, he will get two miles. - '■:■ SUBS'TANTIAIi DROP. From, these four horses there is a substantial drop to Flood Tide at 8.3. Whether Flood Tide can stage a full j comeback has still to be proved, also, his ability to get two miles. He failed in the Auckland Cup.three years ago under 8.11; arid it was not because he was not fit, as at the same meeting he came out later and won the A.R.C. Handicap, 1£ miles, under 9.1. Of the three on 8.1, Llangollen, who won the Herries Memorial Cup, 11 furlongs, at Te Aroha last February, beatIng Golden Sheila, 7.4, appeals more than King Rey or Sly Fox,'. who are unlikely on their past form over a distance to get two miles. Wotan, a Melbourne Cup winner, can do the distance, but he has, never since reJ peated that effort; his descent to 8.0, 31b less than the weight he failed under in the Auckland-Cup last year, indicating that the handicapper too has a doubt whether he will ever return to his peak form. ~ It becomes academic to speak of Yours Truly, who is leaving for Australiaj but he : would have been one of the first choices with T.lly 101b more than he carried to, such .a decisive win in the New Zealand Cup recently. Royevrus, as" one who might get the distance, has a good chance with t 7.10, which moves :him'■ 21b.; further, apart from Golden Sheila," who beatjiKim into second place last Saturday. (Birthday Boy, .also with;.:.7ilO, is a-' likely prospect on recent form, and so is Old Bill, 7i9, a 'Siegfried'horse'whois bred to stay.' Last year's winner, Cheval de Volee, has gone up. 91b to 7.9, but he is still handily placed. Among the others those who attract most present notice are Balinavar, 7.7, who might stay two miles though he is by Acre, Dictate 7.5, Hot Box 7.1, The Cardinal 7.1, and Spartan 7.0. HONOUR TO SULEIMAN. 'There were at least three aspirants for the top mark in the Railway Handicap, and the honour has been accorded Suleiman, 9.6, over Llangollen, 9.5, and Orate, 9.5. Suleiman's second in the Cheltenham Handicap at Ellerslie last Saturday evidently impressed Mr. McManemin. . With 9.6 Suleiman has not been by any means weighted out of the race, though winners with 9.0 or more have been few and' far /between. The last o succeed was Jonathan; who' carried

'9.12 to victory four years ago. Ten years previously Reremoana won one of the divisions, of the 1925 race under 9.7. Only three other horses have been winners among such weights, Silver Link, 9.0, in 1921, Hohoro, 9.6, in 1903, and The Workman, who dead-heated with The Dancer under 9.8 in 1894. Twelve months ago Stretto was fourth under 9.7. '

Suleiman is entitled to be regarded as the leading sprinter in the Dominion at present, if an exception be made •of the three-year-old Beaulivre. Some might have considered that Llangollen was more worthy of top weight, but the majority will probably side with Mr. McManemin, though, at the only meeting of these two horses last season, Suleiman, 8.10, was fourth in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap,1 1 mile, and Llangollen, 8.10, second. Llangollen has had several starts without a win this season but Suleiman reappeared only a fortnight ago. Suleiman is the type of horse for a race such as the Railway, as he is sheer brilliance, giving all that he is capable of producing and hence more favoured by six furlongs than a longer trip.

Llangollen was second favourite under 8.10 for last year's Railway, but missed the money. Orate has shown some very solid form this season, but he failed.under 9.12 at Ellerslie last Saturday, when Suleiman, 9.10, was second to Arvakur, 7.0, and the fact that he' has been produced at a middle distance recently rather suggests that his connections believe he has reached his limit as a sprinter.

Paper Slipper was fourth in the C.J.C. Stewards', but it is doubtful if he will ever again be as good as he was and his 9.2 is only lib less than the weight he carried unsuccessfully at Ellerslie last year.

Amigo is a. sprinter of class, as he showed at Trentham last July, and he would require only to run forward races at Feilding this week to become one of the early Railway fancies. He should not be unduly inconvenienced to carry 8.13, for, as a three-year-old under winter conditions, he lumped 9.11 at Trentham. ' ,

Farland, 8.13, though, recently second to Orwere at Waikato, is unlikely to be among the early selections, as Amigo appeals much more off the same mark. Nightcalm failed at Riccarton, but he is now down 51b on his Stewards' weight. Disdain, last year's winner under 7.4, is up to 8.5, and her form this season, except for one flash when-she nearly won the Jockey Club Handicap, 1 mile, at Riccarton, has been disappointing to her connections.

Our Jean is a brilliant three-year-old in the field, as she demonstrated at Waikato, but she is not as well served withy 8.0, lib above w.f.a., as Disdain was last year. Still at Te Rapa she had 8.2 when beating Llangollen, 9.7, by a length in track record time, and she comes in at. the same difference of weights again compared with Llangollen. Gay Blonde, one of the best three-year-old fillies in recent timeSi as she showed particularly in her second under; 8.12 to the favourably handicapped Rulanut in the.W.R.C. Thompson Handicap, had 7.13 when she won the Railway Handicap by a head in that season. As a majority of Railway winners have come from those weighted under 8.0, it is always intriguing to search out the likely ones in this section. The group this year includes three-quar-ters of the nominated field, and among j

Itheni are form horses such as Bron-

wen, 7.13,, Maxam, 7.12, "Sleeveless, 7.8, Arvakur, 7.3, and Orwere, 7.3. Sleeveless, who was second to Beaulivre in the C.J.C. Stewards' under 7.4, would require only to show this week at Feilding that she has taken no harm from her Riccarton racing to be lined up one of the early favourites. There are other likely sorts as well in this division, such as Orelio, 7.7, Rakahariga 7.4, Olympus 7.4, Nora Gregor 7.1, Valimeen, 7.1, Foxmond 7.0, Konneta, 7.0, Lady Tinkle, 7.0, SilverStick, 7.0, and Wings of Song, 7.0.