SOME NOTABLE WINNERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25940, 5 September 1945, Page 3

SOME NOTABLE WINNERS

By Sentinel

At this time of the year it does not create surprise if the practice of racing two-year-olds early in the season comes in for some condemnation. It would prove beneficial to two-year-olds in general if all the best stakes offered for horses of that age were deferred until the autumn. On the other hand, youngsters of the quick and early type can be raced with profit and without the risk of endangering their, future. In fact, small two-year-olds generally can be turned into stake-winners, but later on they may fail through lack of size. Although various opinions may be held about the wisdom of racing two-year-olds, the fact remains that first and second season horses can be used to greater advantage than those of more mature years. Some of the most successful owners who have been identified with racing in New Zealand built up their stake records with two-year-olds and three-year-olds because the special-weight races which are liberally provided for them prevented the handicappers from expressing in figures their opinions about the racing merit of the youngsters. The most historic case of making use of a two-year-old was that of The Bard, who won 16 races on end in his first season and did not suffer defeat until he met the mighty Ormonde, whom he could not ?xtend. It was a case of a good big horse proving superior to a good little horse. The approach of the McLean Stakes makes it an opportune time to draw attention to the fact that the early racing of two-year-olds does not cause any depreciation of subsequent racing merit. Masterpiece, who won the McLean Stakes in 1910, was one of the biggest two-year-olds ever raced ir> New Zealand. In his next season he won the New Zealand Derby, and in his third season suffered a short head defeat in the New Zealand Cup. Masterpiece also won several other races. Autumnus, who won in 1911, trained on to become one of the best performers of his time. A win in the McLean Stakes did not prevent Warstep from developing into one of the best winners ever bred in the southern hemisphere. Warstep ranks in the same class as Wakeful, the best mare ever bred in Australia. One could enlarge on other youthful winners who trained on to further successes, but perhaps the best example is supplied by Count Cavour, who won the McLean Stakes in 1923. In his next season he won the New Zealand Derby and the Great Northern Derby, and later in his career he added a win and a third in the New Zealand Cup, three seconds and a third in the Auckland Cup, and a win in the Dunedin Cup to his remarkable record. Several other early winners could be mentioned, but one is sufficient in Cynisca, who won the Welcome Stakes and afterwards won the Wellington Cup in three consecutive years, in addition to other wins. A world’s record was established by Whakawatea, who won as a two-year-old and subsequently raced until hcwas about 20 years old. Training two-year-olds, however, calls for the best knowledge from a trainer, not for getting the very important fact that “ anyone can train a horse until it needs training.”