TROTTING NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22349, 21 February 1936, Page 9

TROTTING NOTES

CONSISTENT HORSES AERIAL BELL UNLUCKY RECORD OF SEVEN SECONDS BY ABAYDOS A feature of the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting was the number of horses who maintained consistent form without being fortunate enough to score a win. In many cases some of these competitors showed substantial time improvement that in many instances would have gained them success. One of the most pronounced- cases in this respect was Aerial Bell, who has only once missed a place this season. C. G. Lee's mare races very honestly and has been unlucky meeting after meeting in striking younger and improved rivals who have just outstayed Iter. Aerial Bell has been defeated in maiden races by Parochial, Hot Point, Baron Alfonso, Cherrill, King's Knight, Lynworthy and .Royal Jewel, all of whom look like reaching a much higher standard. After going 2.51 to be second to Lynworthy, Aerial Bell appeared to be the probable winner the second day, but, although she ran 0.25 1-5, was just shaded by Royal Jewel.

Her failure to win has been most unfortunate for C. G. Lee, who has experienced a lot of difficulty in keeping her in racing condition, but his patience should bo rewarded beforo the season cutis.

Worthy Boy, who gained third money iu the Ho wick Handicap, filled similar places last season. While Worthy Boy boat the majority, he had no chance! with Royal Jewel and Aerial Bell. 1 Racing may improve the brother to j Worthy Cause. Form of Waikato Prince Waik ato Prince missed his oppor- j tunity on the first day when he ran off j his original handicap of 4.55, but the beat he could do was to finish a moderate third. Put back to 4.54 the second day, a mark he established at Wellington after the appearance of the Auckland handicaps, his prospects did not look too rosy, and ho was early out of the race through breaking and colliding with another horse. A good performer last season, Waikato Prince has been three times in a minor place this session, but, as he has not done very much racing, should improve later. The form of Lumiuate in the spring, when he was several times placed, indicated that he was likely to stage a come-back, and his second to llayon d'Or was a fine effort. Except that he displayed a tendency to bore out a trifle on the bends, Luminate went in good style to record his best for some time. If he returns to his best, Luminate should not be long in winning. In spite of the fact that soreness prevented her from being regularly worked, Worthy Princess ran two very creditable races. She showed promise at Manawatu last season, when she ran second to Audo Patch, but in subsequent events lack of stamina kept her out of the money. That W. Hughes has made some improvement in her staying powers was illustrated by the solid manner in which she finished each day. If she remains sound, Worthy Princess should make good later in the season. Consistent Performer Although ho went two solid races, Kewpie's Triumph had to be content with third place each day in the two miles events, repeating his performance of the August and September meetings. Since reaching a 4.28 line J. Gee's .-horse has not succeeded in winning at two miles, but he has five times earned the smallest portion of the stake. As he has been shaded by younger and improving horses on several occasions, Kewpie's Triumph has been unlucky and a win for him would be very popular. While he lacks brilliance and is also at times unsteady, Stalky continues to show some form and he has only once missed a place in his last five starts. His performance for third in the Man tire w a Handicap was marred by two or three lapses, but he was aided to get third by the mistakes of many of the others. The hard track was not to the liking of Stalky, but when the ground becomes easier he may do better. „ Without winning since coming north, Tollgate has recorded minor placings, displaying form suggestive of early success. Had he run as well at Cambridge as he did in the Richmond Handicap at Epsom, the Great Bingen gelding would have won. Last season ho was several times placed in the South Island, and his failure to score in Auckland leaves the impression that Tollgate is lacking a little in real staying ability. Star Pronto, who ran third at one of the earlier meetings prior to being given a spell, showed fine return to form by finishing second in the Rangitoto Handicap to the rapidly-improving King's Guide. Star Pronto gave his best display, but, although he made no mistakes and improved his time to 3.19 he could not win. A repetition of the form should enable Star Pronto to win early." TWO-YEAR-OLD TROTTER SUCCESS IN SHOW-RING t Competing in the harness trotting section against several older horses at Te Awamutu on Wednesday, Mr. J. T. Young's two-year-old gelding Doug gained first prize. The class was judged on conformation, style and action, and the youngster gave a fine display of trotting. Doug is by Travis Axworthy from Lottie Audubon.