THE WELLINGTON CUP.

NZ Truth, Issue 605, 20 January 1917, Page 9

THE WELLINGTON CUP.

A Review of the Handicaps. Another Wellington Cup meeting: has rolled round and the contest for the 1317 race promises to be as keen as m days gone by. The quality of the runners is up to the average and bo is the_Bize of the field. Indeed thia has to be said of the whole card. t When these notes were written Merry Hoe had not reached headquarters, bo no line could be obtained as to how she is, but ehe has not bad a race since the New Zealand Cup meeting, •when sho failed badly, and on this account backers will be justified m risking her running against them to-day. » Bunting has been favorite right along the piece and he will probably maintain Ilia position till the machine closes. There is just a question about his staying ability but this should not be hard to a horse bred the way he is. He has a very nice racing weight, 7.9, and everything points to nrm giving a good account of himself. John Barleycorn, 8.7, raced well at Ellerslie, but ho was a bit sore at thefinish of his campaign. Square Deal, 8.3, seemed to go all to pieces after hia win ax Awapuni and so did Indigo, the runner-up m the Manawatu Cup. Adrcnvohr ia too unreliable and Wishful is sot a very hard task by being asked to race In front tho whole way of the twelve furlongs. BJorneborg is not reliable, but Client and Red Ribbon both read as possibles. Rangitero, 7.7., is a oit of a boom from Awapuni, but it is a tall order- to ask a horse to come straight from sprinting to staying and they invariably fail unless they are worked over a distance m between. None of tho lightweights appear to give trouble. With tho Cup over punters will be on tho gui vivo till tho second leg of tho double la decided. A. success In tho Cup for Bunting would mean big reinsurances on the machine for Chakwana m the Telegraph Handicap as this combination its i h, very bad one for the "Tommies. " J. Lowe's mnro galloped a great five furlonga on Tuesday last when sho gavo the dual Ellersltc winner, Monolaus. a lot of weight and a nound drubbing. From ii time point of vlow the gallop wag the boat of tho morning, the distance being left behind In lmSn 2 sec, whilo the maro was «lx lengths m front nnd on tho bit. Ctiiittcnro m another that ha* jyalj loped woil since arriving at h«adqu4u--

ters and her trainer fully expects her to win. Bimeter and Tete a Tete are both smart performers and are sure to get into .the money before the meeting closes. The two top weights, Sleig-ht of Hand and Spain, will carry most money m the Hack Welter. The first named is a good galloper, but those who were at Marton are all going for Oliver's mount. That smart colt, Biplane, has a big weight m the Nursery Handicap, but he gallops very fast. He will be up against it to concede 91bs. to Hymenestra but the others do not look formidable enough for tiiis pair. Seadown, the top weight m the Anniversary Welter, seems to have ilost the soreness he had before the EUerslie meeting. Llanishen may be kept for the hack race. Mazama, 8.9, is a good one and will be, there at the finish. Killjoy, 7.9, is a certain favorite for tiie Ruapehu Handicap, but the filly will meef some pretty good ones that will make her go a bit faster than she has yet gone m a race. Amongst these is Form Up who is more than useful . Cheloma and Ayah will divide the machine honors m the Trial and with the distance to suit her the latter may bring about the defeat x of; the English filly,- , .