WANGANUI MEETING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 228, 25 August 1938, Page 17

WANGANUI MEETING.

AWAPUNI WELL REPRESENTED. THIRTY lIORSES ENGAGED. HUNTERS’ STEEPLES TRIO. (By “Spectator.”) Power Chiefi, Hiranjfi, and Ika are an Awapuni trio engaged in the Hunters’ Steeplechase on the first day of the Wanganui meeting. Eight. horses from this centre are entered in the maiden race, among them being Ecstatic and Titter. There are 30 Awapuni horses • nominated for the first day of the meeting. \ Gay Sheila For Stud. Gay Sheila, by Gay Shield from Lady Marie, who was taken to Australia a couple of years ago, was brought back to the Dominion last week. She has been sent to Cambridge to be mated with the imported si.re Foxbridge. First Race in Dominion. Purchased from Australia by Mr W. Devon, owner of Luoullus Lad and Early Bird, the horse Gay Chou will make his first appearanco in New Zealand on the second day of the Wanganui spring meeting.

Olympus Opens Account. Olympus, in -winning the tirsfc division of the Sylvia. Handicap at the IPakuranga Hunt, meeting, scored his (first success. A colt by Pantheon, he contested several two-year-old events last season, and his best effort was a third in the Onslow Stakes at Ellerslie. He is a compactly built three-year-old. Ambition as Hurdler. ' Ambition, trained at Awapuni,- figures in the field for the Okehu Hack Hurdles at Wanganui,, in which event his stablemate Erebus is also engaged. Ambition has shown pace on the ‘flat, is a solidly built gelding, and should be well suited for the role of a jumper.. Mating With Croupier. Cuddle’s first mate as a brood mare will be Croupier, who is also owned by Mr R. -J. Murphy, although he is leased by T. R, George. Cuddle has been in the paddock at Trentham for several months and at present is in the rough. A Sound Performance. Although defeated by Long' Span in the Auckland Handicap at the Pakurangi Hunt meeting, the four-year-old El Meynell registered a sound performance, failing only near tho end after attempting to lead throughout. As 1 he was burdened with 9.9 and was conceding the winner 231 b, the honours of the race were clearly with El Meynell, who has made steady improvement since coming from Sydney to join R. S. Bagby’s team several months ago. Latest Foalings. . The brood mare Purple Shade, by Nigger Minstrel from Purple Heather, owned by Mr A. Kirton, has produced a col't foal to Vermeer, and Rose Latour, by General Latour from Wee Rfcse, owned by Mr W. Alexander, has a colt foal to Foxbridge. The mare Lady Romeo, by Romeo from Lady Kerman, has thrown a colt foal to Vermeer. The newcomer is closely related to Gay Defence, and is a half-brother to Bronze Flight, a very promising two-year-old in work at Woodville. Philcourt Shows' Dash. fhilcourt, a three-year-old half-brother by Philamor to Gay Sheila, Gay Blonde, Gay Sheik, and Marie’s Acre, who showed promise in two-year-old events last season, especially when ho won tho Onslow Stakes at Ellerslie last Easter, was prominent till the straight in the running of the Admiralty Handicap at Ellerslie on, Saturday. It is evident from tho dash he displayed while his condition lasted that Philcourt lias lost none of his speed and when ho is more forward he should be worth watching. Ho has turned into - a solid thrce-year-old.

Flower Bag’s Return. An interesting entry for the Hunt Cup events at the combined hunts’ meeting at New Plymouth is Flower Bag, who is also nominated for Wanganui. Although an outstanding hunter, Flower Bag was not placed in training until late in his career, but when he was trained seriously ho soon showed his quality. In his first start he ran away with the IPakuranga Hunt Cup, winning by ten lengths in easy fashion. At the first combined hunts’ meeting he won the Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Cup from his half-brother, Cardhu, but after a second in the Waikato Hunt Cup he developed soreness and has raced very little since. He was tried again in 1936, but after a moderate third in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup behind En Tour, he went amiss and has not raced since.