AVONDALE CANDIDATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20978, 15 September 1931, Page 7

AVONDALE CANDIDATES.

SOME LIKELY CONTESTANTS. BIDDY'S BOY PLEASING. BRONZE EAGLE, HIGH COMEDY. BY ARCHER. With the approach of the spring meetings there u steadily-increasing activity on the tracks at the various training centres throughout the province, and, now that preparations for (he Avondale and Auckland meetings are in full swing, there should bo plenty of interesting work in the next ew weeks. Owing 1 0 the wet weather lately, the tracks have not had a chance to dry a great deal, but in moß t places the horses have been able to do a fair amount of gallopnig, all d. although some are backward, the majority are well, forward The solid sis-furlongs gallop recorded by full Measure at Ellerslie on Saturday demonstrated that he is in capital trim at Present and it should not be for lack of condition if he fails to race well in his comma engagements. Full Measure's mission on the first day at Avondale will be the Champion Hack Plate, and, although there are other horses whoso prospects may be preferred to his, he is not likely to be disgraced even if ho is beaten. There will bo other races through the spring campaign which may suit Full Measure better and ho can bo relied upon to give a good account of himself in any hack handicaps he contests. Up to the present Marchetto has not been seriously tested on the tracks, but she has been doing everything asked of her in very encouraging fashion. As she is a fine stamp of three-year-old filly and a member of a successful family. Marchette's progress in the nest few months will be followed with a good deal of interest. As she may be called upon to have her first race at Avondale, Marehet'e may be sent along more in earnest in the nest fortnight and it may be then possible to form some idea of her future possibilities. Catoma Doing Well. Few horses at Ellerslie are doing better than Catoma, who has been executing his work very pleasingly. All going well in the meantime, he should bo one of the fittest, horses in the field for the Champion Hack Plate, and, although some of the speed merchants in the race may outpace him in the early stages, Catoma will he running on very solidly when some of the others are tiring. At his last start he gave evidence of being able to run a middle distance soundly, and he is an improving young horso who might win a good handicap before the season is far advanced. The novice hurdlers, Neil and Kouranui. have lately been getting through some very useful schooling work at Ellerslie, and for beginners they have been shaping really well. Neil was a great disappointment on the fiat, but he promises fo be more successful as a hurdler, and when he is thoroughly seasoned he should make his presence felt in hack hurdle events. Kouranui failed to win when racing on the fiat, but ho demonstrated that he was not deficient in pace and he now looks a good prospect for hurdling, although he may want more experience beforo being ready to win. Neil and Kouranui will probably both be runners in the Kingsland Hurdles at Avondale. All appears to have gone well with Biddy's Boy since ho defeated a field of smart sprinters in the Dunedin Handicap last mouth. "Without recording anything exceptional, ho has been infusing plenty of dash into his work at To Awamutu and he should be in great heart to tackle the Champion Hack Plate nest Saturday week. Some keen judges who saw Croupier score his two victories ut Kiccarton are inclined to think that he may be too good for Biddy's Boy. Of course. Croupier will not bo eligible for the Plate if he wins the Wanganui Guineas, but. in the event of his defeat on Thursday, he will find it no easy task to beat Biddy's Boy on slb. worse than weight-for-age ternrs. A Brilliant Sprinter. Consistency was a feature of the form of Supremacy last season, when ho was only twice unplaced in nine start 3, and he reached a very high standard as a sprinter in the autumn, when he ran Bronze Eagle to a neck in the All-Aged Stakes and won the Mount Eden Handicap with 'J.2 at Avondale in the fast time of 1.12. In the meantime Supremacy has not done any further racing, but he has thrived splendidly through the winter and is ;;oine great guns in his work at Te Awamutu. Supremacy is commencing the season well up in the weights, but he is a brilliant hor.se who may reach greater heights as a five-year-old this season than he has yet attained. When sprinted five furlongs with letrarchate at Ellerslie last Saturday United went in good styla for a novice, and, although he looks like a horse who will not reach his best for some time yet. it should not be long before he loses his maiden Hiatus. United v.as very unlucky in his last two starts In?-t season, when he had to be. content with minor placings, but he cannot always be unfortunate and his turn must conio sooner or later. If he maintains his present rate of progress, he should be a v«rv difficult horse to beat in the Maiden Plate at Avondale, on which course he ran one of his best Taces last season. The connections of Bronze Eagle must be extremely pleased with the progress he is making in his preparation for the Avondale Guineas, which will be his first nice this season. It is apparent from the dash he is showing in his work that he has not lost anv of his brilliancy, and any time he is asked to gallop at top when the conditions are favourable he is. likely to record something out of the ordinary In the absence of Amnion Ra. Bronze Eagle was the outstanding two-year-old in r*ew /inland last autumn and there is every reason to believe that he will retain his superiority this season. High Comedy's Chances. Three-year-olds have frequently raced prominently in the Flying Stakes at Avondale and one who might take a good deal of beating in that rate this year .is High Comedy. Having his first race this season in the Dunedin Handicap at EUershe last month. High Comedy indicated that he was going to be relatively as good as a Uuetyearold as he was a two-year-pld bv running a very close fourth. . On that occasion he carried 6lb. over weight-for-age and his performance was worthy ol note by reason of the fact that he was meetmg the three placed horses on considerably torse than scale, terms. High Comedy has been allotted exactly ha ve" To The K mUt not r be a beyond him if the conditions are favourable. , . A two year-old whose sprinting efforts have been good enough to indicate that ehe s likely to run prominently in the Avondale Stakes is Lady Whirlwind ownedl by Mrs T» T Reid and trained by M. .. <-arron ?t Te Papa Lady Whirlwind is by Whirl•wind"from done and an interesting; feature in connection with her breeding m that her kk n tike part n the two-year : old ESS: t he Vakuranga Hunt meeting. but she made a quick recovery and is vi well forward in her preparation. HAWERA TRACK NEWS. PROGRESS OF SILVERMINE. [FROM OUR OWN COWIESPONDENT.] HAWERA. Saturday. tt ,„»r 0 t,-nrk« have been busy, but the Ilawei, fiacy. n . hcen pound f " v l r v IHUe impressive work has ' HowS the horses have d %Y C good representation of , ' i l Jnllcs at Wanganui, and some ' r °i 1 „ hors. . » ; e Hkelv to run prominently l C S?apa°t Kisslr 33 : Tentcall and Gasnapper Sfeu^P^^^r^s'No^ C 'i?S e "lf- getting nui.e a string to ~ • ' 1 Li„ The Shillingleo filly. Sh"? T nge h\ was injured, has been iincr PsychologyT C eeson the Taranaki breeder. Ibis youngster Should reP» »W. Wth b h K S ' ?ZU %*« efe,ft r0 ° k met b "th a liglt nc hlent. which will delay m> opening appearance a little this season. is to bo treated to. a spell. J Fry r hj" G ' een Wnnet going along steadily again The marc did not do as well as was expected during her■spell but is beginning 1o look much bngh er now. Balloon is to race .at Wanganui Gasnapper disappointed, badly at New Plymouth but js to be .tried it Wwimn over a. longer course, which should suit him better.