IWO JIMA IS IN FINE FORM FOR TE AROHA' £1000 RACE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22619, 23 April 1948, Page 3 (Supplement)

IWO JIMA IS IN FINE FORM FOR TE AROHA' £IOOO RACE

(Herald Special Service.)

Te Aroha races —ONE JHE Te Aroha meeting tomorrow practically sees the end of the flat racing season in the Auckland district. Big fields are engaged.

Possibly four of the eight races may be run in divisions. The £IOOO Te Aroha Handicap is the main race while the seven-furlong sprint has drawn a very big field which requires five scratchings to prevent it being run in two heats. *TE AROHA HANDICAP In the Te Aroha Handicap that fine performer of last winter and early spring, VALLEY BOY, is No. 1 on the list with 9.7, a weight he is master of when fit. Last May he resumed racing after a respite dating from the prevvious mid-December so that he is the type that comes up to form without racing and for that reason this great winter galloper is not being discarded now without a chance of success. IWO JIMA, winner of the last A.R.C. Easter was well beaten in the mile and a half race just after that success, but on that occasion was not ridden with a great deal of judgment so that that failure is not being held against him now. SWANEE is a useful mare, but is only 41b. below the Easter winner in weight. SYLIS cannot be recommended, although he is an Auckland Cup winner. The next on the list is the Great Northern winner SILVER SAM, who won that mile and three-quarters race all the way so that now over three furlongs less ground should be one to give a good account of himself; at any rate he is a very interesting acceptor. FRANCIS MOND and lIUNTORE have recent winning form to their credit so are not without chances for at least a place, while NAPREDAK, winner of the Great Northern Oaks, has been assessed at 71b. less than the St. Leger winner, which in figures means that the Te Aroha handicapper actually opines that Silver Sam is 51b. better; we will see if his version

is the correct one. GAVINMORE and DISTRIBUTOR, next on the list, are both recent winners, while those weighted on or near the minimum who are not without a show are MAID OF SHERWOOD, CONSPIRACY and PEGGY O. On the minimum is also that brilliant hurdler BRIGHT FOX, who is capable of a surprise. ★NGAE.UA handicap The seven-furlong open Ngarua Handicap is apt to give one a headache before a complete review and sum-ming-up is derived at. EXETER, the topweight. at 9.9, is always a consideration. although lie is not as good as formerly. FLOWERBURN may find the dist-

ance just a little too far, while GREEKETTE is one to ponder over. BROCKTON is sure to be hard to beat, while COWPER may not be at his best, but CONTANGO can be depended upon to make an honest effort. AIR PORT is passed over in favour of FORTUNE’S SMILE, GENERAL MENTEITH and GRAND TOURIST, all of whom arc best when there is no sting in the going. BROWN DERBY is nicely placed on the 7.13 mark, but is not exactly an easy one to follow. SWIFT FOX, although disappointing of late, is not left out of a summing-up. Of those situated lower in the handicaps. ROBIN LEIGH, second and first respectively in his last two starts, cannot be overlooked with but 41b above the minimum; in fact, to the writer he looks as though the handicapper has taken a risk with him. Of the others, the best that can be said of them is that they are outside lightweight possibilities.

PjLUNKET HANDICAP The Plunket Handicap sees the G-N. Champagne Stakes winner Beaufighter on top of the list with 9.11. or 51b more than that smart filly Chubin, who is brilliant over five furlongs, but at six- has yet to win. However, it is getting late" in the season and maybe she will manage that other little bit without a great deal of difficulty. Lady’s Bridge is held in high regard up north, and the two top-weights_ will give her the scope to see if she is as good as they say she is. Outside Regal Gold, Lady Carmel and John Silver there is little or no form offering from among the other 30 acceptors, the best being that of Exponent, Finest Hour, Maricrana and Ending. The other events are all hard ones to try and sort the right ones out. but there is an old saying that the bigger the field the bigger the certainty—does that appeal to readers?