This Week’s Racing

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 269, 14 November 1945, Page 8

This Week’s Racing

FOUR FIXTURES LEADING TO N.Z. CUP MEETING (Special to “The Times.”) Four race meetings are scheduled for the week-end, and interest in the form will be heightened by the fact that some of the competitors are to go on to the New Zealand Cup meeting. The four fixtures are Waifcato, Levin (at Otaki), Banks Peninsula and Southland.

The Banks Peninsula meeting at Motukarara is sure to draw a very large crowd and the racing should be full of interest. It has attracted a big team of southern horses with Cup meeting engagements, and the entries included a few northerners.

Two of the more interesting runners in the chief event at Motukarara will be Piccolo and Golden Souvenir. Piccolo will be expected to strip in very forward condition and Golden Souvenir will be scrutinised with keen interest as he has been in a spot of trouble since running attractively at Trentham last month.

Some surprise was expressed when Rahiri was found to be an entrant for tho Stewards’ Handicap. If Rahiri is to have any chance in the big sprint, ho should be a strong possibility in. the highweight event at Motukarara. When he competed at Trentham, Bruce was unlucky not to win a race and his form was good enough to warrant support for him in the very near future. He will have an opportunity this week-end and afterwards at the New Zealand Cup meeting. Thornbridge, who is to run in the highweight at Motukarara, is a candidate for the New Zealand Derby. He ran a fair race in the Wellington Guineas and looked as if he would soon improve on it. Centime, a winner in hack sprint company at Washdyke in October, is expected to be in the money again at any time. Centime is a four-year-old Defaulter mare and her winning effort was impressive. Auckland’s New Zealand Cup hope, Sir Bian, left home last week for Riccarton. Northerners are confident he will run a great race. Other Aucklanders to go south are Chung Chong and Verdant.

The southern fancy Signal Officer is expected at Riccarton this week. His experience in a burning stable seems to have done him very little harm and has not interrupted his preparation at all. Douglas Haig won the highweight at Winton so comfortably that he is expected to add the highweight at Southland to his credit this week.

Some smart sprinters will be seen in action at Motukarara, among them a number of Stewards’ candidates. Two of the most fancied of the Stewards’ runners may be Irish Note and Pensacola. Both were successful last month, Pensacola at Trentham and Irish Note at Rangiora. Pensacola’s appearance and his form at Trentham greatly impressed those present and he should be a better horse now. Irish Note was a good sprinter last year and won at the Manawatu summer meeting. He was placed in the last Stewards’ Handicap and probably will be found to have improved since last season. There are still 29 horses in the New Zealand Cup, which is five in excess of the safety number. Provision has been made for reducing the field by elimination, but probably the final acceptance of £35 on Monday night will do all that is required. Horses who raced at Napier Park and horses who will race at Otaki are likely to make a contribution to the defections. Two Hawke’s Bay horses remain in the Stewards’ Handicap. One, Reorapa, is favourite, but the other, Royal Heir, would not gain any friends by his failure at Napier Park last week. He would have to do infinitely better to have even a remote chance. Royal Heir won the Stewards’ last year with lllbs. less than he is weighted this tune and it remains to be seen whether his connections consider ho can improve sufficiently on last Saturday’s poor form to warrant the trip.