CHANGED CONDITIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 42, 18 August 1941, Page 10

CHANGED CONDITIONS

RICCARTON FORM

NORTH'S GOOD INNINGS

Visitors from the North Island who were present at Riccarton on the opening day of the Grand National Meeting were rather disappointed by the displays of their representatives, for only two got on the winning list. Silver Ball, an attractive-looking half-brother to Sunny Knight, .took the second division of the Cashmere Plate, and Pekoe the Jumpers! Flat, with two fellow-northerners in - King Rey and The Dozer filling the minor placings. Apart from these placings the northerners had to be content with three seconds and two thirds. However, on the second day, when track conditions were appreciably worse, the visitors from this island came more into their own by winning six races, apart from supplying the runner-up on five occasions and the third horse in three instances.

Well Distributed. The training honours for those two days at Riccarton were well distributed, although home-trained performers accounted for five events. The other four southern successes went to Otago and Southland. Where the northerners were concerned not one training centre registered more than one win, and the eight singles went to Takanini, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Hastings, Greenmeadows, Masterton, Awapuni, and Trentham. Further, there were only two horsemen who saluted the judge on more than one occasion, P. Burgess riding Pekoe to victory in the Jumpers' Flat and his own representative, First Round, in the Woolston Handicap, while C. T. Wilson scored on Treasurer in the Winter Cup and Arabian Night in the Aylesbury Handicap.

Disappointments. j Two of the biggest disappointments on the opening day, not only with northern visitors but also with a percentage of southerners, were Sunny Knight and Wings of Song. The former was the win favourite for the big sprint and the latter held pride of place on the other machine, despite the fact that both were badly drawn at the barrier, Sunny Knight being No. 13 and .Wings of Song No. 18. The brilliance of the two horses was expected to overcome the handicap, and, Wings of Song certainly did reach the front but only to weaken a long way from home. Sunny Knight made only a brief showing. It was difficult to understand their form.

A Strong Hand. The Riccarton trainer H. Nurse furnished a strong pair of Winter Cup candidates in St. Cloud and Treasurer, and he was quietly confident of the outcome. His optimism was borne out in the race, for he had the distinction of supplying first and third horses, although it was not the Brabazon Handicap winner St. Cloud who carried the day, but the Paper Money gelding Treasurer, who had been promoted from the hack ranks for the occasion. He won like a really good one, for he started from No. 14 position at the barrier yet was able to secure a handy position on the turn and then put in a solid finishing run that carried him through to victory, narrow though it was.

Sensational

Although he had not made an appearance in public since the Wanganui Meeting early in June, that being his one and only outing for the season, Algerian came in for strong support in the Winter Cup. He failed to finish as a dividend-payer, but did weigh in as the fourth place-getter, his finishing effort from the rear of the field bringing him to the attention of patrons. A lot of people were waiting for him to figure again at the meeting, but he was withdrawn on • the second day and it is not improbable that y<? will next race across the Tasman.