BIG HANDICAPS AT RICCARTON

NZ Truth, Issue 1062, 1 April 1926, Page 11

BIG HANDICAPS AT RICCARTON

Great Easter Autumn Fields

* GRAND KNIGHT AND COUNT CAVOUR

What promises to be the most important meeting held at Riccarton at Easter time, both m regard b to aualitv and Quantity, will be opened on Monday next. ,

' | N recent years the" C. J.C. . autumn ►I meeting-' has not attracted" the attention it once did, but surely this 1 year the club has come back into its ' "own. ~ '•'■'■ .'•■'■ "■■ •.'.• ■" -. Even with the final acceptances to ! be taken, the fields engaged m both j 'the Great Easter Handicap, run over seven furlongs, and the Great Autumn ! Handicap of a mile and a-half, will ♦be of considerable dimensions and of undoubted quality. , The Great Easter- is run on Monday, Vand present ' indications point to the field being, if anything, a little on the -.big side. .... , The English horse Grand. Knight is top Weight with 9.3, and though he may appear a little overbur- " dened, he is going to be one. of the crowd which "will be there at the .■ distance post. . ' He has not , had a race for sbme ( t'me, and' this is what will-beat him ■if he is to lose. . r ; . Listening Post will have friends, but he cannot be liked over such' a course £nd at the same ; poundage. Royal Divorce should ,, account for him. : The English horse runs well, at Rlciparton, and though he is best at a mile he should be capable of running a slick seven. * • On her track work at Wanganul • before the meeting Civility is going to be one of the favorites. In .the same race last year she was just touched off, and if anything she &* m better form now. . Her chance is indeed rosy if she runs up to her work, i Siabsi has-been a little disappointing of late, but catch him on the' day and he is all right. ". . , *. Hjs owner^must consider, him, to ■<.■ have a greati.chance, fori. he has. , taken him avlong way/; y ' ■.■- ■■;„ V At Bulls Fool's Paradise failed; bo tn days, after having : every snbw/ but he TVjU Appreciate the long. Riccarton tftraight, for he. will have plenty of time to get on to his feet. this being so, he can be ex•fit cted to do better. Baldowa is a good horse which has vpver had the best of treatment till lately. ,■'■■■ At Dunedin m February he showed h(iß appreciation, but it was on a wet k track. '.'';'•. :' : . '' " : ■• ■ Qiye him such a track next 1 /Monday and He will take all aorts s-' of beating.

i , Set Sail has winning form of late, ■ but she is now going to meet the hot 3 s'.uff, and it may be asking her; a bit i tco much. . '. All the same she must have. a chance > for Charlie Emerson to take the i mount. The promoted hack Kilbronsyth i would appear to be out of his class, 1 <nnd possibly it will be found that he t will go down .to a number of the others m the handicap. , . Father O'Flyhn was second at Na--5 pier, finishing like a train, and he is i going to have a rough show. ■ He should account for both Los Ambus and Rosenor,, though the last-named is .the makings of a real class horse with time. If Overdrawn runs -he will be pi'oml^ nent, but it will be'\a question of his rider. Unless better served than of , l&te,. he will ". not appeal to many. „ , I Quite a number; are on the minimum,

i •'Out" the winner: should not be found i m that bunoh, the best of which will i possibly be Miss Minerva. . E A difficult race' it is going to be, an^ the winner is going to need all the • luck going. • Given fair treatment from the i jump away, Grand Knight, Civility I and $iaosi are sure to run with credit.. [ In • tli.e Great Autumn Handicap, run ■on Tuesday, Count Cavqur' and Gold Light are on the same footing: with 9.13 each. Fit and well, the mare would beat the '(Count," but m this event a sea-

soned horse is going to meet a mare which has not raced for months. The law of averages is m favor of Count Cavour. Grand Knight ran a creditable race m his first start over the distance at Trentham, but punters will not want h:m' in this event with 9.4. Listening Post failed at Treritham, but possibly he was not at his bes.t, and he should beat Royal Divorce at level weights. Still, there are others that , should beat the pair. TJiere is a big drop down to Deucalion, whjch is not much spoken of, a.nd possibly will thus run all the better. . Baldowa is next, but the track Is ffc-ing to settle" his chance. Giye.it to him soft, and look but for him running a real good race. • Tommy Dodd failed in 1 the Dunedin Cup, and on that running he will fail again. Of course, he may have improved as a stayer m the interim, but it is hardly likely. Haze is like some of our boxers, he In always second, and it will come as no surprise to find him m a similar berth this time. He has got the punters m a bit of a quandary, and it is hard to diagnose his case. He is either just a moderate or ele r e on unlucky horse. Probably the former iff the case, Still, his seconds are there and must be respected. As m the Easter, Overdrawn would lie given a sporting 1 chance with the riant assistance, but it is hard to. see him getting it with the weight he has. Of the lot on the minimum, Mantua io the only one to have any pretensions to staying form, but she is not the mare she was. The dangerous candidate of this lot would appear to be Mount : Marta, and then only on the score ■■ of condition. "..;' >' He is not brilliant but he is solid, which counts a lot. Even with his burden, Count Cavbur" iis v going to be' the hardest to beat- — that is, if his jockey gives him a fair show and does not ask him to win as he did m the New Zealand Cup and m the Dupedin Cup. A little patience will win the day. Next to him Gold Ught and Haze are looked upon with most confidence to take the minor money.