A.R.C. EASTER HANDICAP

NZ Truth, Issue 1061, 25 March 1926, Page 11

A.R.C. EASTER HANDICAP

* Honors For Visiting Owners > NONLITL'S RECORD FOR MILL

y ■ ■ ' . ■ ' ■ ■ ■•'■-" (From ''Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.) Since 1898, when the A.R.C. Handicap was decided over a mile " course, horses -owned and trained outside the province have carried off the honors m 15 of the 28 contests. v

"• ''■-.■-•■■■ IT is necessary to go -back to 1919, when Uncle Ned won, for the last ? occasion on which !a northern candidate was successful. Some really good horses have regis,t tered victories m this race, including Advance, Nonette, Aboriginie, Ventura, Merry Roe, Chortle, Parisian Diamond, ,4 Roseday, and ;Reremoana. Npnette established the weight- : j carrying record when, as a three-year-old m 1902, he lumped 9.11 to victory. . • ' *4 So lar as time goes the last three winners — Roseday, Hipo and Reremoa'na — have all registered 1.38 for the ' distance, and this time stands as the best. : Besides Nonette, horses to succeed with 9st or over have been: Advance (9.6), Gold .Crest (9.0), Merry Roe (9.0), and Chortle (9.7). ,

Five-year-olds have won the mile on nine occasions, while three-year-olds have won seven, four-year-olds five, and six-year-olds three. ; Gazique is' the only aged horse to score. C. Brown (2), A. G. Dixon, H. Wiggins, A. Reed and J. Barry Hire the only present-day horsetnen to have succeeded m piloting winners, with the exception of J. Buchanan, who now does more training than riding. He steered three winners m Rosella, Regulation and Merry Roe. The A.R.C. Easter mile takes some winning, and the struggle on Saturday week 's likely to be as keen as ever between northern and outside competitors. No fewer than 11 winners of the mile m the past have figured among the 7st odd division.