SEASON'S FIRST TWO-MILE HANDICAP

NZ Truth, Issue 1144, 3 November 1927, Page 9

SEASON'S FIRST TWO-MILE HANDICAP

NINE-STONER TO MAKE HISTORY

Review

of

TIME FOR A

THOSE who are m a position to tell, state that there has been Tittle business on the Cup, but all the same there are decided favorites. Rapier, Star Stranger and Piuthair are all ante-post fancies. Count Cavour will carry number-one saddle cloth, but on what he has done this season he does not appear to have a great show of repeating last year's win. He has not had the necessary racing to fit him completely — twelve months back he had a spring campaign over m Sydney. Not so this year. With 9.6 Rapine failed last year and on Saturday his stable-mate, Star Stranger, with two pounds less, will attempt to avenge that defeat. Star Stranger has done a most satisfactory preparation — he started off racing at Marton m September — but he will have to contend with the hoodoo that engulfs horses with nine-stone or over m this event. Sooner or later that long sequence of defeats to top-weights will be broken and there is no reason why this year should not see the exception. With two thirds m successive Auckland Cups, Te Monanui appears to be up to the distance, but there is just a doubt that he is not. The ups and down of Ellerslie missing may help him with his 9.1, but on the other hand the long Riccarton straight may more than counterbalance this. When the weights appeared Footfall was the nominal favorite, but now he has gone back m fancy. He is another -which has not come through the necessary campaign and though he will get some strenuous winding-up gallops, they will not have the same effect as a race or two. Piuthair and her bracket-mate,

Clarinda, will appeal to tote bettors. ] The two chances appeal to all and prospects are fairly bright, too. Piuthair did not strike her best form m Sydney, the boat trip" over giving her a bad time. A great stayer, her owner gave her a chance m the Melbourne Cup. That being so, she is a probability on Saturday. Count Cavour, bar winning a small handicap m Sydney last spring, was a failure, but he came back and won the Cup. Piuthair may repeat . the performance. Clarinda, the other leg of the bracket, is a peculiar sort of customer. She is a good galloper, but likes to have a bit m her favor. Any interference at all upsets her. In this direction she is the opposite to her sister. Piuthair is a mare that can be handled m an extraordinary manner and she always suits herself to the circumstances prevailing. Next on the list is Beacon Light, a real good horse, which has unfor-

Candidates and Their Prospects In The New Zealand Cup

II Saturday will see the first two-mile handicap of the season decided, when the New Zealand Cup will be fought ll out. For a number of reasons the race does not attract the attention it did m years gone by — and this falling If away of public interest could well be investigated by the club. jU This year's Cup has attracted an acceptance of seventeen and the first half of the handicap is made up of good j| handicap horses. With the absurd maximum top-weight there is a decided tail-end, but, with one exception, the II winner should not be found sheltering on the minimum. ii

tunately not been able to show his best owing to unsoundness. He appears to be all right now, but the last bit may find him out. Just that necessary condition again. Rapier, by scoring on Saturday last, showed that he is going to be a nuisance and with 7.11 he will be a thorn to the top-weights over the last two furlor.gs. His party make no secret of their optimism, though his showing at Trentham m the Champion Plate threw somewhat of a damper on their ardor. However, the success at Motukarara has them smiling again. And the smile may develop into a chuckle on Saturday. There is no gainsaying the fact that Yoma came at the right end of the mile and three at Trentham and that he won nicely, but also it has to be considered that he was more than a little lucky to beat Star Stranger. On Saturday the pair meet on practically the same terms again — to be accurate, Yoma will have half a pound the better of it. Yoma has to be taken on trust for iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim

the journey, though his breeding suggests that he will run it out. However, taking a line through Yoma and Star Stranger, the balance is particularly m favor of the latter. His capabilities are known. Puzzled to death is Fred Jones over Battlement. He can gallop if he wants to, but unfortunately it is seldom that he is caught m that humor. Horses of moods do not fill too great a space m the hearts — and pockets — of punters. Royal Game, even with his flyweight, does not appeal as the winner, though such a success would be very popular. Now comes the tail end, the bunch m on the minimum. Pink Note is spoken of way down south, but to most the horse with more than a possible show is Lady Desmond. She is flighty as could be imagined at the barrier and this may be her undoing. Once on her way and on terms with the field, she can gallop. From the stable came The Banker, winner two years back, and it is betraying no confidence to say that this year they think they have the winner again. Three that may be out setting the pace are David Garrick, Bennanee and Vaward, but when the pressure is applied they will probably be found wanting. Of the lower division, Lady Desmond stands out on her own. Backers will, however, be found entrusting their faith m horses they know by their manners and their deeds. Three under this heading are STAR STRANGER, RAPIER and PIUTHAIR.