CHRISTMAS RACING REVIEW

NZ Truth, Issue 1045, 5 December 1925, Page 13

CHRISTMAS RACING REVIEW

Auckland Cup Candidates

CHANCES OF LIKELY STARTERS

Mr. F. J. McManemin has announced his adjustments for the Auckland Cup and with racing 1 not attracting too much attention this week the figures are the sole topic of" discussion m sporting circles^' :■• ..... ' ■• '-,

As we anticipated, the honor of being top :. weight fell to Rapine, who, with 9.8, csLiiriot be said to be overburdened. . He had, a pound less when he won the Metropolitan, but on Boxing Day he has four furlongs further to go. •••■ The weight has been carried to victory before to-day, but not m recerit years, but if. : Rapine should start he is. just the sort to. do the job. Gold Light has a pound less, but she is out m the paddock and. will : not be a starter. t Musketoon and The Banker' each are allotted 9.2.' : , ■ The Banker is getting' the same allowance from Rapine as he did when he beat the Martian gelding m the Canterbury Cup, and if that race could be taken seriously The Banker would again finish m front. Musketoon ran a. great race at Takapuna with six pounds more on his back and the course did not allow him to give of; his best. He will get more room at Eller.s.lie. On New 'Zealand Cup form, .Count Cavour with . ' 8.13 ' must be ■ gfiven' a chance, especially if he is more -patiently handled. . :.•'■'• He" was asked to win the Riccartori; event from the half-mile — an impossible task— and he stuck to his task,like a game one. ' Listening Post must be taken on trust to see out the journey, but as compared -with his weights down south he is only carrying a flyweight. Against this, however, is the class of /field he;. will meet on : Boxing Day. r Suggestion will notsee the post, ,' but Te Monanui with 8.7 will. This., fejlow, is ... improvjng all; .the tim'eTari'd 'though he has yet to run out the distance there is no reason to think he won't. Muraahi appears to.be coming back and with 8.3, should he reach, the form he showed 'two years back, would be a nuisance. However, he is not growing any younger, though the fact that he likes the course must not be overlooked. Last year Polonett was one of the favorites, and he was set to cover too much ground. He is back to his bestnow, and with the handy weight of 7.12 should be one of the hardest to 'beat. Ngata and Ruapapa,' oh the same mark, are not fancied, though- the latter won at Takapuna last week. .Still,

this is a two mile race and 'that' "should find Mi*. Scholium's horse out. Tarletori> : Deucalion, Illumination, and Kilfai{e will .not be wanted by early bettors, but on the 7.3 mark one or two horses will be nibbled aamt — m 1 fact the' early . favorite should come from this bunch. . Carrying. that poundage are Spoony, Star -Ranger, Tresham andlast but not least, Haze. Of the quartette the one most fancied is Haze, who, with four pounds more, ran second to Rapine m the Metropolitan at Riccarton. There is a growing feeling that Mason is about to retire and that he wants to end up his racing career with a win like the Auckland Cup. . , Haze is just the sort to do the trick. He stays ..well,.- and-. is. big enough to look after himself m such a field. The only . question is the rider, and at that weight it •.must be. a more or less inexperienced lad. Still, : Mason can be depended upon to get the best going-. '-.'' - ; ';"".".. Spoony^has won two races m recent weeks,. ancTon that form he is sure to <be sought .after. There should be no obstacle m: his of seeing out two miles -and with the Jamieson trot now very, much m- \evidence the public will swing .his way a little. ' Tresham ■ ran \a .-respectable rape m the New.^ealarid.Cup.but it was hot a good enoiigh effort to win at' Ellerslie. Star Ranger will probably find the ground a bit on the hard side, , but with 'the sting out' of it he would ..have a show. _ In all there are thirty horses on the minimum— liatt, tils: handicap. The thirty comprise all shapes and sizes, from allegedly good horses to admittedly bad horses. -,'lt is hard to see the winner coming from' this part of the handicap, and on paper horses with best chances appear to be Cureaform, Nippy, Desert Glow and Shining Armour. . ; Altogether it is a good handicap, m fact it could be called a flattering handicap, and at this early stage it is hard to give. an. indication, ' Horses that may do well are: Haze, l , .... Te Monanuiiv ■ ■ ' ■;{.. Polonett," .; ■■'. - y ' '■ Rapine,' and • „.'.•• Count Cavour.