RIGHT UP TO BEST STANDARD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22241, 29 January 1947, Page 8

RIGHT UP TO BEST STANDARD

RACING AT RECENT TRENTHAM MEETING

REAL TEST OF BEAU LE HAVRE’S ABILITY

(Herald Special Service.)

The Wellington Racing' Club on Saturday concluded the most successful fixture ever staged at Trentham with all receipts makingrecord figures. „ , _ . , , „ , Recently at the Auckland Racing Club s summer fixture when £905 25* was invested on the totalisator an all-time New Zealand record was‘established, but at Wellington for the meeting just held that total was exceeded.

The racing throughout the four clays was par excellence and the class of horses racing at Trentham would compare favourably with ' ;l )iv meeting previously held in either New Zealand or Australia.

Among the handicap horses CJolden Souvenir won on the third day carrying lOst., while on Saturday Da Vinci won the big sprint carrying 10.2.

Thornbridge, Langue d'Or and others, but the class was so even that if the race was run again a different result would happen as those enjoying the best of runs had the advantage. Da Vinci’s Great Effort

Then among the woight-for-age horses the class was right up to the best standard; in fact, in the writci s memory never has a field contested a race in New Zealand equal to that or Beau Le Havre. Bruce, Soneri and Golden Souvenir, who finished in that order in the Trentham Stakes. While clubs include races of this class the standard of thoroughbreds must improve even further.

It was a great effort to win with Da Vinci's 10.2. but despite that the public favoured his chances, making him the favourite on both machines and their confidence in the black and Bill Broughton was fully justified. He was better awav than in the Telegraph and with his rider nursing him" and not covering any extra ground more than was necessary had the race in practically safe-keeping over the last halffurlong.

Beau Le Havre’s Class It was said alter Beau Be Havre s Great Northern Derby that he was the best three-year-old in the Dominion and no one cared to differ about that statement. At Trentham he easily silenced the opposition that stepped out against him in the Gloaming Stakes, but bis task in the Trentham Stakes was a real test as to his ability as he was opposed by three horses that certainly represented the best class. Once again he won, and decisively at that. lie trailed the pacemaker, Soneri. for the first half of the journey or a little iurther and was the first to race up to her and he quickly took that great galloper's measure and although challenged hotly by Bruce soon had that horse beaten to go on and win decisively and impressively and establish himself as one of the best three-year-olds that have raced in the Dominion.

It was a staunch effort and the public was not slow in giving him a “hand” when he and Broughton returned to the birdcage. 1-Ie has now won four races this season and in all has earned over £OOOO in prize money. He was given in the race book both days at Trentham as a six-year-old, but he is only five years of age, having been foaled in 1941. His sire. St. Boswells, has not been a stud success, but proved the old saying that a sire always gets one good one, while his dam, although well bred, was not of much use as a turf performer so it can be seen that there is always that element of luck in getting a good horse. Bred as he is, Da Vinci if he had been submitted to auction as a yearling, would not have commanded a great deal of competition. He was bred by his owner, the Gisbornian, Mr. A. Robson, whose uncle raced Pink 'Un, and is trained by Jack Cameron, who at one time owned and raced The Hawk.

That is saying something when one remembers the “giants” of the past. His performances of last and this season were recently published in the Herald. He is practically English bred, being by the colonial-bred Beau _ Repaire by the imported Beau Pere from the imported Modistee 11, while Beau le Havre’s dam was the imported Pretty Brown by Tommy Atkins (a great grandson of the Colonial bred mighty Carbine) from Cloelia, by Lancegay from Cleone, by The Tetrarch from Pretty Dark, bv Dark Ronald (great grand-sire of Beau Repaire and sire of Son-in-Law, sire of Beau Pere and Foxbridge's sire) from Pretty Quick by Eager (sire of the dam of Gloaming).

Da Vinci in type is not a weightcarrier but. as explained previously, he, being entire, can carry weight a little better than most of his size as he is anything but a big horse, i.t taking him all his time to measure 15.3, while he is not robust either and although the writer is not aware if he has ever been weighed would pick him not to go any more than 7001 b.

He is now well up in the handicaps and seeing that he has been assessed at 10.2 in Saturday's race he would now be given given somewhere near the same weight as Sleepy Fox. He must be recognised after his two recent wins at Wellington as among the-best sprinters that has ever raced in New Zealand. Behaved Better

Bruce’s Performance Bruce ran right up to the satisfaction of his admirers and although he could not fully extend the three-year-old winner, beat the others as impressively as he was himself defeated. He enjoyed a clear run throughout; in fact, it was a very smoothly run race. At the finish Bruce tried all he knew to get to the three-year-old, but failed to make any appreciable impression on him at the finish.

Peter Robinson behaved a little better this time than he did at the barrier prior to the dispatch of the Telegraph Handicap field. He also showed better form on Saturday than he has done for some time.

Always well placed, he ran on solidly at the finish to collect the £3OO that went to the second horse. However, it must be remembered that this Wellington Stakes winner was receiving from Da Vinci no less than 211 b, which gives an indication of what a good horse Da Vinci really is. Now that Peter Robinson has mended his manners a little he can be ticked off as a very early winner. Specialist, who was nowhere the other day at Ashhurst in a very moderate field, this .time was backed rather confidently in some quarters, but third was his best after having every show. Peter Gazelle, who had run a very close third in the Telegraph, ran another honest race for fourth. He received one check three furlongs from home, but it is doubtful if it made any material result. Not Yet Race Experienced

It was left to Soneri to make the pace so that she had the hardest job to do of the five runners and, as expected, this was one of the means of her defeat —the first for some time, and her .third broke a sequence of nine wins in a row. Maybe she is not the stayer that her opponents are, but over a mile or even as far as a mile and a quarter, she would give anv in the Dominion a very severe test and the meeting of her and Beau le Havre and company in the next Awapuni Gold Cup will be the tit-bit of the autumn racing. Golden Souvenir ran a capital race, but found the distance a little too short for him as he is a genuine stayer and anything under a mile and a half is not 'iar enough He and Bruce will shortly go to Australia, but both are in such a position in the handicaps in New Zealand that their chances of winning a big autumn handicap are not exactly bright as the Australian handicappers have for some years handicapped New Zealand horses, if anything, above their form. Indian Gold’s Best Win

The Hastings maiden Flare Path, having only his second race, was again in second position, his previous second being when he acted as runnerup to Tracer at Hastings He is not yet race experienced, but when lie is Mr Hylton Smith should have a very fair performer in this chestnut son of Kincardine and Dance Flame. Wairoa-bred Winner

Indian Gold enjoyed his best win to date when accounting for the Summer Handicap, which was worth to his owner-trainert Mr. J. A. Hennah, £1790, which, together with his Hastings cheque, makes a total of a little over £3OOO for January—a very pleasant New Year's present. Indian Gold ran a very attractive race in the Wellington Cup, in which he did not enjoy exactly the best of runs and might have been closer to the placed horses than sixth.

Clyde Brigde, winner of the Kelburn Hack Handicap, was bred in Wairoa by Mr J. E. Svcnsen and sold at a four-figure sum to his present owner, Mr F. Ferretti, for whom the ex-Aucklander, G. H. Glover, now trains. Clyde Bridge lias been racing impressively of late, but the best of luck was not on his side.

Putting up a little overweight so as to get the services of W. J. Broughton, that action was justly rewarded when this son of Foxbridge '-md River Tide won impressively 1o collect fhe first prize of £490. He was always in a handy running position and at the finish won decisively, although h: did not have a big margin to spare. His dam was a fast galloper and was bv Tidal and does not appear to be in the Stud Book, which must have been an error as she is well bred, her darn being Tina Atua. a mare that traces back to the imported Lady Chester, ancestress of Miss Delaval (N.Z. Derby), Master Delaval (Auckland Cup), Putty (Auckland Cup). Solution (one of the best mares that ever raced in N.Z. or Australia). Chester (Melbourne Cup, V.R.C. Derby), and other good winners from this No. 8 family, which is also the numeral after Beau le Havre's name.

On Saturday in the ‘Summer Handicap he was in a very satisfactory running position throughout and in the run home lightweight jockey K. Ford took him out clear when giving him the long rein and the son of Bulandshar and Jacquette simply out-stayed his opponents at the finish. 1-Ie has developed better class than expected of him and better, too, than what bis owner anticipated as he told the writer some time ago that Indian. Gold was just a horse, but he hoped that he would develop class as a jumper later as he had done a fair amount of hurdle schooling and showed promise.

His dam. Jacquette, was tried on the turf, but Jack Hennah soon discovered that she was not a paying proposition as such so retired her to the stud, in which misfortune seemed to have followed her Her first l'oal by Bulandshar died as also did the second one, a filly by the same horse. Then came Indian Gold in 1942, but the next season she missed to Bulandshar. Last season she produced a full brother to Indian Gold which at the recent national sales was sold on account of Maurice Hennah (son of J. A. Hennah) for 1000 gns to Mr. Tom C. Lowry. This mare was a full sister to Gold Mag by Magpie (bv Dark Ronald, the sire of Son-in-Law) from Kaahumanu (full sister to Gasbag), by Demosthenes from Lady Cila by Gold Reef, tracing back to the unnumbered Cutty Sark taproot. Unfortunately, Jacquette died last spring when foaling. Runner-up to Indian Gold

H B. Owners Do Well Hawke’s Bay owners did well at the Wellington meeting, winning in all £6650 in stake money and doing best on the last day when collecting half the programme with Desert Fox, Indian Gold. Da Vinci and Opulent. The following were the Hawke’s Bay winning owners: Mr A. Robson. £2275, with Da Vinci; Mr J. A. Hennah, Indian Gold, £1790; Mr T. McAvinue, Opulent and Blue Moon, £1090; Mr T. C. Lowry, Desert Fox, £860; Mr J. G. Alexander, Sakuntala. £200; Mr Hylton Smith, Flare Path, £120; Mr A. S. McNaughton, Denny’s Gift, £120; Mr W. Holden, Perfect Peace. £75; Mesdames Holden and White, Skyhawk, £7O; and Mr F. Ormond, Selas. £7O.

Swift Quarry ran a much better race than he did in the Wellington Cup to finish on Saturday afternoon a very fair second to Indian Gold. The run-ner-up was always in the call over the last, half of the mile and a half and just when it appeared as though he would win Indian Gold came along and outstayed him, while the runner-up in the Cup, Broiefield, was third and was very heavily backed. Broiefield, although he might have fared better in the running over the middle stages, enjoyed a better run than he did in the Cup, a race that took a little sting, the writer opines, out of the Broiefori gelding. However his second in the Cup and his third in the Summer Handicap was a little consolation to his owners, Messrs. 11. L. and L. H. Collinson. as those two placings were worth £1550.

Sakuntala ran a very fair race and at the finit'b was sixth after having every show, although she was wide out over the last half-mile and but for that, the writer thinks would have been close to earning some of the jnjnoi place-money. There were a few disappointments in _ this race, including