SLEEVELESS'S MILE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 16, 19 January 1940, Page 4

SLEEVELESS'S MILE

SIR CRUSOE IMPRESSIVE

Though, the Cup and Telegraph were the races that attracted main interest, there were excellent contests in the minor events on yesterday's card. Among the winners in the lesser grade, Sleeveless, Sir Crusoe, and Lockit -were particularly impressive. The biggest dividend of the- day was that returned by Not Out in the Apprentices' Plate, and the best place price was Thrasos's double figures in the Tsentham Highweight. LOCKIT COMES SOLID. Lockit, who failed for a long time to race up to his breeding and early promise, has been on a purple patch during the past ten weeks, and he further | improved his slate with a stylish win! in the Trentham Highwoight Handicap. One of the. first to begin from No. 7 marble, he settled down behind Harina at the end of a furlong, waited there till inside the last two furlongs, and then readily assumed charge when asked to pull back the leader. Since scoring on the final day at Riccarton in Noyembe_r,, Lockit has weighed in eight times in a row, and during the period he has registered four wins. He is a five-year-old brown gelding by Siegfried from the Feramorz mare Polly Peachum, a half-sis-ter to Rurinymede and My Own, and he is very closely related to the-last New Zealand Cup winner, Yours Truly, who is by Siegfried out of My Own. He carries the colours of Messrs. D. E. Wanklyn and A; T. . Donnelly, stewards of the Canterbury Jockey Club, who bought him as a yearling for 120 guineas. Thrasos, who jumped away with White Rajah, Lockit, Hunting Moments, ami* Harina, was never further back than fifth in the running, and he came home well, out on the track a bit, to gain second money at double figures for a place. ■ \ White Rajah, who followed Harina and Lockit. to the straight, stayed on better than' he did at the October fixture to nose Harina out of third in the last stride. Harina- was responsible for a particularly good effort,: though missing a place,in the.end, as she drew No. 24 marble and was already taking charge over by the rail after a furlong. In the field of 24 many of the horses had their chances ruined early, among those well back when the field settled down being Limbohm, Gay Fox, and Raana. Raana moved up handy on the turn but could not come on. The horses next after the places were Small Boy, War Lap, Good Sun, Little Robin, Scold, Colibri, Raana, and Golden Ridge. Kalika proved: a false favourite, being always one of the last horses. The start was delayed some ten minutes through the refusal of Small Boy and War Lap to stay in line. • . SOUTHERN FORM BEST. Southern, form and riding prevailed in the Apprentices' Plate, in which the winner was the Riccarton: three-year-old Not Out, ridden by the stable apprentice M, F, Billington, and the second ■ horse was: the Wingatui three-year-bid Hearth; riddeiv by the Southland apprentice L. J. Clutterbuck. The win dividend approached the score mark.,-.- ■■■''' :. ;.-.-^-•• ; ■;•.. -' ; ' . Not Out, favoured by No. 2 draw, was first away, but he was quickly passed on his inner by Wings of Song; who had drawn the rail. When Wings of Song opened a break of four lengths Not Out was always next in pursuit * and, delaying his effort till almost at.-the distance, by which time Wings o| Song was falling back beaten, he drew>■;away, to sccfre by something over a length:' ' -> V' • ■:■>■■■ ■-■-.:. ■■'■-••■■•• / Not' Out" won his first race at the New' Zealand Cup Meeting and .this was his third success, though he. failed at Dunedin during the holidays. He is a chestnut gelding by Winning Hit out of the Paper, Money mare Dutch Money, and he is'owned by his breeder, Mr. G. Gould," treasurer :of the C.J.C., for whom he is trained by F. A: Roberts. .: '

Hearth, who was a winner at Vincent .last Friday, came home strongly from some distance back to cut Meadow put of second, an effort worth remembering, aj he drew No. 15 marble. Meadow, from No. 12 marble, j was never far away, but after running up to Wings of Song and Not Out by the inner route below the false rail he-could not sustain the claim and just held on for third from Serenata, who finished resolutely. ,'Lady Tinkle improved on-the turn but reached onlyfifth, place, the race, however, being likely to benefit her a lot. Of the others the best were Millament (third most of the way); Myarion, Wings of Song (who stopped quickly), and Pearl of Asia. . Veldette and Greatford were pulled up near the straight. Veldette was one of the first away but her saddle then | slipped. Greatford broke a ,sesamoid : bone, but it is understood that he was j not destroyed. A RULANUT WINNER. Form clashed from most quarters of the Dominion in the Fitzherbert Handicap, the event for the two-year-olds who have not , yet .assumed classic aspirations * and it was a race in which many of the youngsters ran greenly. Among this lot was Stencil, who finally started from several places further out than she drew, but. who over the last two furlongs of the contest ranged up along the ■ outer of the pacemakers, Don't Forget, Triple Crown, and Chary, and then comfortably defeated Chary by a length and a half. Stencil had won at her. last start, at Stratford, where among the horses she beat was Ringling, a winner of three juvenile races to date. She is a bay filly by the Chief Ruler horse Rulanut (a winner of the W.R.C. Thompson Handicap) out of the Leighton mare Artistry, a. half-sister to the Wellington winner, Royal Artist, and her form in four races makes her out a promising handicap youngster. She is being raced by her breeders, Messrs. B. Dickson and W. Patterson, of Hawera. Chary, a winner at Feilding at his only prior start, showed similar brilliance again, but he was unable to concede 71b to Stencil. Shikari, who had failed in three previous starts, was always wide out and he finished on solidly to be a good third. Grandora,, aftei breaking away before the start, ran very greenly for a colt who.has.done a lot of racing, but the nature of the track possibly upset him, and he.might do better than fourth before the meeting ends. Triple Crown, a Wheriko filly, showed great improvement on her only previous outing, and she should win races before long. Retrogression, Chablis, Speedwell, and Don't Forget were best of the others. Don't Forget, starting in several places closer than he drew,, made most of the early running, but he tired in the final two furlongs. CLASS ABOVE OPPONENTS. Sir Crusoe showed himself so greatly superior .to the class of his rivals in the Ruapehu Handicap that it is difficult to say how much he really had in hand when winning by half a length. He ran effortlessly to the front near the- distance, and it was only in the last fifty yards or so that Wiggins really rode him at all, when he was inclined to loaf: This was Sir-Crusoe's third success in a row -and the weight he had in this race for-onlj two previous wins is sufficient indication of the impression he has made on/ the handicapper. A three-year-old half-brother by Defoe to Meamea, he is a colt who promises to go on to- notable victories for his breeder-owner; Mr. N. Clout, of Wellington. He is one of the truest types of the Defoes yet to have raced.

Gold Dale, who performed well on the Taranaki circuit during the holidays, made the pace and wound up .an easy second. Phenomenal, also one of the leaders throughout from a wide

niarble, hung on for third. Sky Limit was finishing on fourth, and the best of the remainder were Lord Lynn, Punarua, Siglow, Floral Robe, and Areas. Autolite and Nelumbo, prominent early, both failed to get the distance. Mayfair missed the jump from one of the 4nner marbles and was never near the leaders, being one of the last horses to complete. SLEEVELESS IS TOUCSH. Sleeveless, tackling a mile for the first time, was responsible for a highly courageous performance in narrowly winning the Anniversary Handicap, xn which she had P. Burgess once again in her saddle. This filly has had many hard races this season, but she has a heart of steel anc 1 with brief respites is always ready for more. Sleeveless ran through to the front inside the first furlong and made all her own running. Near the finish she was determinedly challenged by Yogi on her outer and Haughty Winner on her inner, but when the whip was drawn on her she responded gamely and held her challengers narrowly at bay. . It is a coincidence that Old Bill and Sleeveless, at Awapuni in the last start prior to their respective successes yesterday, had fought out a strenuous, finish. It is another coincidence that j Sleeveless and Sternchase were two who participated in a desperate finish at Trentham in October, an occasion on which the filly prevailed. Haughty Winner was well back to the straight but came through resolutely along the fence below the false rail for second. . Yogi, one of the first to show out from a very wide marble, dropped back,into the field to secure a position nearer the rail, and this move enabled bun to finish on for the remaining dividend. ■■■•.' Paper Chase was always handy to the front and finished fourth, and Boldstep came through the field for fifth. Baran went with Sleeveless to the straight but tired into sixth. The best of the others were The Wrecker (who also ran in the Cup), Gay Mimic, and Trebor. Flammaridn faded after being third to the straight, but he used up his reserves early .from a bad marble. -• . • , ' =' ■-•;: Several horses lost their chance at the start, among them . being Rarotonga, Full Hand,, and Gay Mimic.