SOUTHLAND NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26199, 9 July 1946, Page 7

SOUTHLAND NOTES

MR D. M. TWEEDIE’S BIG TEAM (Special) INVERCARGILL, July 8. The Riverton sportsman Mr D, M. Tweedie will have a big team to represent him in the spring, and if Royal Flight returns from Australia he will have six horses racing—all descendants of the Paper Money mare Francolin. Bonny Flight has been given a chance to freshen up after her strenuous racing at Wingatui month, land the Salmagundi mare has been nominated for the Winter Cup. Because of the frozen state of the tracks at Riverton during the last week or two, training work has been at a standstill, but she will have an opportunity to have a race or two before the National meeting. Bonny Flight will be accompanied to Riccarton by her rising three-year-old sister, Special Flight, who will contest the Cashmere Plate. Special Flight has furnished into a grand type of youngster, and the patient policy adopted with her early this season will be all to her advantage.

Mr Tweedie’s two rising two-year-olds have also been in work for some weeks and have made good progress in what they have attempted. A filly by Nizami is out of Francolin, and a colt by Salmagundi is out of Ortyx. a Lord Warden mare from Francolin. The Salmagundi colt is the first of the produce of Ortyx, who was a brilliant two-year-old herself and won the McLean Stakes. These two youngsters will be produced in the early spring two-year-old races. Another of the Francolin breed in the three-year-old Man’s Pal gelding, Victory Flight,/has been qualifying with the Birchwood hounds. Victory Flight is the only member of this family who failed to win a race by the end of his three-year-old racing, and he has the distinction of being the first to be tried as a jumper. The schooling he has been given may induce him to race more solidly, as there is little doubt that he has plenty of speed. Among seevral young Hazlett jumpers qualifying with the Birchwood hounds

are French Knight and Irish Wit, both of whom show above average promise. French Knight is a good type of Sir Simper three-year-old, being out of the Tractor mare Lorette, dam also of Colonel French and Anglo-French. Irish Wit also has some good jumping blood in his veins. He is a Sir Simper four-year-old out of the Gustavo mare Slanther Again, a half-sister to a fine steeplechaser in Burwood. Eleanor Star, who would have been a winner over country this season with average luck instead of being four times second, has been kept going by J. Thistleton at Riverton, and present intentions are to race him at the Waimate and South Canterbury Hunt meetings. Eleanor Star is an accomplished jumper, and, as he stays well, he may come into his cwn during the next few weeks.

F. W. Ellis has decided to put Psalm aside for the remainder of the season. It was intended to race her at the National meeting next month, but by the time she had recovered from a bruised foot which troubled her at Wingatui last month, there was insufficient time to get her ready. She will be brought back for early spring racing. Psalm was unbeaten in her first three starts as a three-year-old this season, but she provided her trainer with no end of worry trying to keep her right. F. J. Boyle intends racing Bonnie Simper at the Waimate and South Canterbury Hunt meetings. The Sir Simper mare has raced consistently over country this season for several plaeings, but she has been handicapped by the fact that she is unable'to handle winter tracks. Given reasonably firm going at coming meetings, she should more than pay her way. Slayer continues to get plenty of schooling as a follower of the Birchwood hounds, and he has been nominated to contest his fifth* Grand National Steeplechase. He has already been placed in three Nationals, but he is now in his thirteenth year and cannot be expected to improve much For all that, his two placings at Wingatui last month showed that he had lost none of his jumping ability, although the opposition he met there was below average strength. i