ADVANCE IN AUSTRALIA

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 44

ADVANCE IN AUSTRALIA

Nine-tenths of the sporting community of this colony must have experienced a thrill of gratification, if not pride, when the news of Advance's victory in Sydney on Saturday became generally known. Such glowing accounts of the son of Vanguard had been B ent across the water previous to the V.R.C. meeting that his failures at Flemingtcn had reduced us to a state of semi-humiliation, ibut his achievement ia downing La Carabine over a mile and a-half at weight-for-age has proved that the estimation New Zealanders held of Advance was thoroughly justified. A northern sporting scribe offers •what appears to be some excuse for the want of success of the Vanguard horse at iFlemington. He says: Apropos of all the Dice and nasty things that have been said of Advance during the time he has been in Australia it is possible that the black demon" has been condemned in many quarters somewhat hastily. It is not generally fltnown that on the day before his departure from New Zealand on his Australian campaign he got cast in his box. As a result (he had an injured knee on the inside, and bis leg. in stable parlance, went 'up. Had not all arrangements been made for shipping etc., itis probable that he would not fcave been shipped, and some of the heavy ♦backers of the horse would have been left lamenting. He was shipped, however, but Iffis trainer had his leg in fomentations con'utantly all the way to Sydney On his arrival the swelling had disappeared, but after )the very first gallop Advance did be walked hack to his training quarters sore. This was reported in the papers and in cables. iThen in consequence easy tasks were allotted Slim, and being a good doer he does a bit above himself, and it was through this that fee did not run up to hia true form at the jV.R.C. meeting. So my informant, who?e opinion I ("Whalebone") respect, states, and it will likely be found that his judgment •will be borne out when he says that Advance will redeem his character at the Australian Jockey Club's meeting. They won t End him stop so coon there.