TALK OF THE DAY. THE HANDICAPS FOE THE D.J.C.'S WINTER MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2511, 30 April 1902, Page 46

TALK OF THE DAY.

THE HANDICAPS FOE THE D.J.C.'S WINTER MEETING.

THE BIETHDAY HANTHCAP. In starring the Birthday Handicap with I Pampero at 9.5 the handicapper has not | been harsh with the son of St. Clair. He i was allotted the same weight in the DunJ edin Cup. which was a quarter of a mile I further than the Birthday Handicap, and j there is every reason to believe that a mile ■ and arquarter is more suited to Pampero i than a 12-furlong journey. Pampero did not sport silk at the Cup meeting, owing to the fact that he had badly bruised one of his heels, but the accident did not keep him idle for any great length of time. Over • a mile and a-half Pampero was a?ked to i concede eight pounds to Dundas (in the Dunedin Cup), and now over a journey more , suited, I think, to Pampero, the Gt. Ctoir j horse ii giving away two pounds to Mr j Hobba's gelding, and at the difference in i weight I much prefer the chance of Pam- ! pero to that of "Dundas. The lacier won i the Dunedin Cup in a. runaway style with i ' B.U_in 2min 38 3-ssec, but with four poiuida j • more in. the Great Autumn he faded awry. J } after going a little short of a mile and | arquarter. In Pampero's- last anpearynce i at Wingatui he won the Otago Handicap, ' one mile and a-quarter, with 810 in 2min j 14- 3-ssec, and won easily. Xext day he won the St. Andrew's Handicap with ' 9.10 in Imin 45see, and Canteen with , 8.11 and Cherrystone with 6.12 hadn't a j ghost of a chance with the bearer of thp Zetland spots in the race. On the score ot , consistency, Pampero is to bs preferred to . Bundas, although should die latter be j landed at the post in the same condition i and humour as he went out to do battle for | the prize in the Dunedin Cup, he would , be very handy at the business end of a mile and a-quarter, no matter how strong the opposition was in the contest. In allotting Abydos 8.11, and in placing j the West Coast gelding so near the topweights, I think an invitation has been i extended to the owner to scratch his horse for that particular race. Abydos's best form commences with his Nelson Cup win. With 8.10 he ran the mile and a-quarter in 2min 13sec, with Hinekoa 7.7 and Volley 8.4- in the places. Those who figured j among?i the "also starteds" were Crusoe 9.8 Cak«olaria 8.5, and Ixia 6.8. Later in the same day Hinekoa with 7.12 downed Abydoa 9.8 over six furlongs. On the second day . of the same meeting Crusoe with 9.5 beat ; Abydos 9.8 over a mile. Abydos's next display was at tbe recent "Wellington meet- | in^ In the Waiwetu Handicap,, with 8.0, j he" heat Stcpnia 7A and Rebel 7.12. Bj i the unplaced division of the fieM w«re j Crusoe 9.+, West Guard 8.5. Ayrdale 7.4, | Battlecry 7.4, la 7.3, and Blackwing 70. I Abydos won by three lengths in Imin 32 | l-ssec. Later in the same day he finished j out oi a place in the Weker with 10A On j second day of the meeting, with 8.10, i Abydos was unplaced to Bowman 7.5, | Fiofca 8.0. and Crusoe 9.4. Abydos has ( performed creditably amongst secoud-rate j cattle, and his wins at Nelson and Wellington may be taken as his best; but up to | the present he haa never met the same class , of horses as Pampero and Co. Erom what j I can learn of West Coast form, I would not be inclined to place a very high value on winning form in that part of the world, and I cannot give Abydos a chance in the Birthday Handicap with 8.11. On Jupiter's best form 8.5 is not a great burden to ask tlio St Clair gelding to carry. He won the Dunedin Cup with the same J weight 12 months ago, but he has been J labouring under the suspicion of unsound- j ness for some time, and a preparation that | would fit him to meet the company likely i to be found starting in tbe Birthday Han- I dicap may find him wanting. For the prp- I sent Jupiter may be placed aside, but Yip is not harshly treated on the score eftf t weight. j Glenalrvdale has 8.2, and although T am . prepared to give him a chance, through Ter- | rapin lie does not look to be too well treated. Over a mile in the Thompson Handicap both finished out of a place, and | over a milo and a-quarter on the Rccond day j of the. meeting Terrapin carried 6.12, and j beat (llenaladale 7.5 by hnlf a length. Both ] were beaten by Tortulla in the race. Now i (llonaladale is asked to meet his victor on | three pourds worse terms. In the Great j Autumn Glenaladale carried 7.5 and Dun- I das bad 9.1. The former had to be ridden j rvery inch of the way to catcb Dundas at j a mile md a-quarter Ho did so, and beat him badly at a mile and a-ha!f. For that display (ilenaliuiale has been "Kjnr up eleven ' pounds, and moots Dundas on niuo pounds I woiM' terms than when he defeated lum at | Riccarton, and on that I consider him en titled to a chance in the race under notice. Then, asjnin. (ilenahtdale i» not a hoy's horse, ' n rl talcps !oN of ruling, and what might look, like (wo or rlm'r- pounds 100 much weight | would allow a strong nder to get up without wasting. No fault could he found with M'Clusky i ritliiig when he rode- the horse in the Great A'ltumn : in fact, he rame in for high praise on all «idr>s in re< ocjTiition of th<-> manner in which he kept at the ClanranaJd horse. Nihilibt with 7.13 lias been given a pound less" thau he won the same race with la^t year. With 8.0 he b^at Pamperc 9.0 com fortably, t>»t m very heavy going, whirli \v<ls greatly in Nihi'ibt's favour. j Nihilist has been having a veij pa-y rune j for some months, and hai only been, hacked i about the streets He appears to be quite | sound at present, and races remarkably | well on a light preparation. He has not been harshly dcali with on tiie handicap, but hi 3, chance is one that can stand for I the present, or at least nnti' he is moving ' on the trac'.. j At the Cup mpTintr Canteen wa« badly ' bcaien in the Dunedin Cup with 8.5. anil | over a mile and a-quarter in the Annivcr- ' sary Handicap h^ was giving Lady Lillian fivo lioiiiid-. Tho marc won hamKotr.Hly. nnd Canteen finished out of a plaro \ow CantPPn v a-krd to !>i\p Lady Liili.iu i-itflit ' poujidt, or iiiio'j pc uiuls more t^an wh> n ' they lafct mti o\G'- tho <arac fiisriiio". i CautPcn may he p\j)r-cled lo ir.ipro\e. ptr w.f.a. -caJe. bui app^irntly is. 1 i- (■. n-ri<,iai inj; l^piJJj. if mil in tiie c^^.jxit" t:oii of \w'.rh'-r.iiiustcre. a lea^t ia t!ie c=ti , iiir.rici: of p'intr - Tn the flivat E.( = ;oiC.irue 'ii »a- ni\'n-, La.lv Lillian ii\ c j^oimci-. i.a X Lillian fii.i hed fcurih. and , ti)3 ciov with rl'p evfremp rear division, i La. liit* Liicai Auiuuiu. tiia sxay w«La Abktzd to i

concede the mare two pounds, but neither started, but it may be said that, had they -started, for every pound of money that the grey had on him the mare would have had two or more. Since then Lady Lillian haa won one race, run a second in. another, and a third in another. Canteen finished a bad s-Goond to Oitiak in the Thompson. Handicap, and that has been his best showing since his win in the early spring. It is quite posstblf that lie was second on sufferance, as many others in the race would not be ridden out when they noticed Obtiak out "on his own. The grey has dropped in the handitiinyier's estimation since he last had to weitr him, but he has Tost sight of, or taki?n no notice of, the grey's defeat by the mare in. the Anniversary Handicap. On the latter race the grey should oe held safe by Lady Lillian. Skobeloff has been given 7.9. and at that weight he has been taken caro of. It does not read a, harsh weight on his best form, but latterly so much has been promised and so little fulfilled by the son of Stepniak and Pibroch that I cannot have him c« my sid». Another Tault he has is that he has taken to bleeding from the nose He ran badly in. the Great Autumn at Riccarton, and after the race I noticed he was bleeding freely from tlie i,o=trii?. That ali-o does not incline me to favour him. Djin Djin has 7.6, and might easily have been let off with less. It is now aibont lv«o j years since lie won a race, and he is not likely to improve as he is not getting any ! younger. Djin Djin should not be asked to j concede weight to the quartette immediately below him in the handioap, and were I J asked to handicap him m the race under i notice he would, at least have got in with \ > half a fctctie less. j I .Terrapin. . with. 74, is fairly well treated, j ' and appears to me to be an underrated 1 horse. In the Farewell at the C.J.C. Autumn j meeting he beat Lady Lillian when recenI ing 121b. In the Autumn Handicap at ' Timaru Lady Lillian had 8.8 and Terrapin , 8.3, and the latter won handsomely, while ! Lady Lillian finished out of a place Over [ a mile, on the second day of the same nieet- ! ing Lady Li'.han was juVo abl^ to finish in a j [ place. Terrapin »vas grnug hc-r 51b and ' I Calibre won, and receiving a stone and 91b j I from Terrapin and 51b le^-i irmi Lady Lii- j han. Th<> latter won tho Farewell Handicap j later i« the day. but I am not inclined to ! estimate Lady Lillian's c-ianeo in tho Birth- j day Ha-ndicap on her Timaru 'oim. At j Timaiu she appeared to be short of work j and was galloping bettrr ay rlip meeting progressed. Calibre canno.4' given, a chance alongside Terrapin and Lidy Lillian. Why the handieapper dropped ihe lattar 6!b from what she carried in the Aiiniverr-ary Handicap is a thing I cannot understand. Horses like Djin Djin, Canteen, and Skobeloff, who have been raced frequ"nt!y and performed badly, are kopt up in a handicap, whilst Lady Lillian, who han staried five times since she last rail a; Wingatui, is dropped 6!'b. and her form reads as follows: — With 7 13, fourth to Cruciform 9.9, Cora Linn 7.13, and Red Gauntlet 7.9, over seven furlongs. In the Farewell Handicap at Ricearton with 8.11 was second to Terrapin 7.11, over a mile. At Timarn with 8.8 was unplaced to Terrapin 8.9: Same meeting, second day. with 8.7 third to Calibre 7.3 a«d Scottish Minstrel 7.9, over a mile; Terrapin with 8.12 finished behind Lady Lillian. Later same day won Farewell, six furlongs, with 8.9. Of those who finished in front of her at Chriatchurch their form is too recent to hardly need recapitulation. Cruciform won at Wel!iii<rton. Red O-uunHefc won at H\& same meet- ■ ing. Terrapin wrci at Timaru and got beat j a heod at Wellington, ?c that though Lady Lillian wa£ beitten at Christchurch she was j not disgraced, and there was no occasion to ', tak» weight off her back. On her form Lsdy j Lillian reads to me as the pick of the handi- ' cap, and whatever beats her should win. > Transport has 7 0. and after the big burdens ■ he has been cany'"ag amongst second-raters ' at tlip minor meeting he> should gi\r a frnod ! account of himself with his present wPight. Wrndwhiptle will probably find the distance beyond her tether G-Jenelg is a fair horse who has pome fairly meritorious performanoeG to his credit. He has been at the suid, aud he and Artillry Maid, who has j been performing in. a muph different class from what '•he is now aFke-I to meet, are in j thon right place at th" foot of ihf lianrlicap. , Of Hi.- 16 Imi'--'. handicapped, at tho w«=ifrht3 I incline to the uhanccß of Lady i Lillian, Pampero, Terrapin, and Glenrda- , dale, and ha.\r an inclination to add Trans- ■ port to the above q"artotte. thahesjiex's uaxhtc\p. In the Tradesmen's! Handicap Til.izrr with 10.3 holds the pride of placo in the handioap, and he is entitled to it At Wellington on the occasion of hia last appearance, he carried 10.4, and beat Canteen 8.6 a lengrh and a-half, and this after getting kicked at the po^r. Tins "tap" placed the | St. Clair gek'i'j^ in the hospital for some time, jnd ~h<j il<i 'w - :tr:. ii uill be his iJr.et atten'pi fiiup lm . tm,; wit.i tbe accident. But i n that <Ii p a-, Ourucen Irok- to bo h«-ld 'afi^ by B'nzm. Blazer and Piimprrn ''axe nevn met since they came toi<.'ti>Pi- in ilif lant C.I C .Stewards' Handi ' nu. In th.it i ace Blazer had 10.? aJul l\im; tj 90. The latter ran second, and ii'a-icr flushed out of a place. Both horses i-avt- shown good w.niung form since they last mi-t, Ji'.aztr iA«.r tpnat courts a;i>.l Pampero ud to a mile and a-cjuarter. If the latter were re*n r \ed ant 1 trained for tl'ort coiiise-, I would be niclmet! to fa\our hi-, cl-anco of the two top-wcffhts, and I th sik both would i.in-t"r (Joldspur at tiie prei-pnt handica]s. With 9.7 (iolci^pur iaii set owl to Tiaritwi m the lust Publicans' Handicap, but failed badly after pushing tha five fur long post. With .lie =aine weight next day he won ovf r bix furlouga, with nothing to npare, fro.n Ayrdale 711 and Cora Liun 9.0 Over fho furlongs with 9.12 and Ayrdale 8.0 tho latter won comfortably. Of these twej I prefer (iold.spur, but therr> arp others in the raco whom I prefer to both. Red Gauntlet has started nine times this spason, and won fivp races, secured a second i and a third, and twice unplaced. In the i Easter he was a good third, with 7.9 Next J with 8.5, in tho Tennplp'ton Handicap, he- won j ea=ily from We«-t ('Uard 8.7 and Cora Linn 9.0; at Wellington he won with 8.8 over gix furlongs, and on the second day of the meeting with 9.0 over t>e "ame distance he. won easily from Ringlet and Float and nfbo-r fpir horses. Amongst thp unplaced division was Poriiua. who had the honour of defeating Ciuciform o^er i-even furlongs | on the tirst day of the meeting. Red Gj'intlctß form jf of the best, and being ice-nt the met reliable, and of thobe w.Mvclit.'d in the race h.s is the chance I iiw,t iiiehred to favour. Of lliO'SP above him in the raco Rlazpr and Pampero may not see the post, and I am not inclined to favour Goldspur over fcix furious* on the , Winiratui track in. etrons ODDOsiuon* In-

cluded in those below are several to whom he has given handsome beatings during the season, and these are Canteen, Wdndwhistle, Pallas, I/ady Lillian, and Goldenmere. Of those he has not met and defeated amongst those below him in tho handicap there are UOne Whom I would be inclined to take against him. Goldenmere is allowed 53b for being badly beaten by Re<l Gauntlet in the C.J.C. Templeton Handicap. In that race the latter had 8.5 and the former 8.3, and on that form Red Gauntlet goes up lllb and Goldenmere 61b. The one romped home and the other was amonget the " also starteds." On. this I think Red Gauntlet's chance is to be much preferred of the two. Canteen has been defeated by Blazer over 6ix furlongF, and is now ogked to meet him on worse terms than when they last met, and the grey went under. Pampero easily accounted for the grey over a mile when they last met, when the grey was receiving 131b, and at 21b more in the grey's favour over six furlongs I think the result would be the saino Canteen has met Red Gauntlet twice, an d been badly beaten each rime, and the 91b that is between them in the Tradesmen's will not bring thorn together. Forward Guard x^a.s not done anything to entitle him to hi a* present position in tho i handicap. Ec has never previously inefe thft class cf compaii}' he is now engaged with, oud I fail to sco why he should be asked tr> concede weight, to several of those ; beneath him ia the handicap. Pallas and Red | ijraunLlen mrt in the T-emplulou Handicap, and. the latter was giving away 91b; now he is giving away 10lb, and Red Gauntlet will probably bo able *o account for Pallac at the extra pound. l'alla-i is a promising faort oi hors". but doc* aoi, appear to possess much of a i-h&nce at? the present j scale of weights. Dohiu. Rosa is a good, consistent little mare, and has her recent form at Invprcargill to recommend: but her wins wre achieved in a totally different class to what she is now meeting. Ayrdale is an in-and-out customer, ani hao been running badly in his recent essays. On the form lip showed when he defeated Gold-spur and Tsiritza at our last meeting he would he entitled to a chance, but I much prefer his stable companions in the iace. Lady Lillian, w-a^ close to Red Gauntlet at the finish of the Great Easter when giving him 41b: now she is meeting 1 the chestnut on 171h betau- terms, and on this she may In' :)bi<? 10 make a race with the Lcchicl gelding. Howmar, she Is well handicapped in the Birthday fliindic-up, and that may be her mission on ijie day. Alany thought her capable of i^niiPXing the Easter and Autumn Handicaps, but it is not likely that shp could win the Birthday and Tradesmen's wh-n both ure decided on the same day. Al"en ro' ibie is a light of other days, and hn ch.. i.i > can stand aside. Lady Dnn'tas i- i?o- but erratic, and she is not o'j my side. Wiiidwhistle was beaten out of a place by Rad Gauntlet at Wellington at a difference of 91b, and now Windtvhistle is receiving 22ib from the chestnut. Windwhistle, if "she w;;s not too badly beaten, is receiving a liberrJ concession for the defeat and on her past form &he is entitled to a chance. Magnificent has a light weight, but -en his Tiniavu form he has no chaneo, if that form coi/ld be taken as a criterion. He may run veil if started, aud would probably give a- good account of himself ; but he is likely to find the company too brilliant for him. Of those weiSfht^d th-e he^t-handicapped appear to ba Red Gauntlec, Lady Lillian, Windv.'histle acid Pampero, v.'ith a decided yreferenca tor the nrst-nam^d. THE 3mtOß BAXDIC.VPS. In the First Hurdl<M the weight-adjuster has commenced v/ith a low standard in placing Huku it 11.12. At the New Zea- j land Cim meeting Hukn commenced win- , ning v.it'.i 10. 1C aft?r dead hnatinw wth 10.0. j \le afrerwir'k won vrith 12 0. and was w«i;btc'l for tho last diy at 12.10. At tbp C.J.C. Easter meeting he had 12.8, and M\ in the race. On the pecond day of the meeting he ),ad 12.12, and was badly ridden by an atnatpur. Roller had 2 c t from him each day, ;\>id i* now brought v-ithrn Sib of th^ Vmguard gfldimt- I thml.- Huku shou'd he :ibl& to account for Roller en thr fir-fc day at Winjjatiu .S»;dpr has been wit'ii^ng ny t bi:* country at Riverton, but ml arnon^'-t Roller* cud ITtikus, and T pa-s him on one side. Ilc\ is not getting any younger, and is now inclined to dod^e his fenr^p. Pioi i.i at present being hacked about, and of the others none ap peal to me exopt Surrey. After running well in tho Miiden Hurdles at the last National meeting, he came out on the second day and carried 12.8 over one mile and three-quarters in the Hunters' Hurdles in 3min 37i<5ec, and won voiy easily. With 13.4 on the. last ctay • f the same mieting he won once round acid a d^tai'ce in 3min 145 ec in thp Thirr] Hur-t-"-s' Hurdles. He won easily, and should ;>o-pess an excellent chancr- at 10.2 in the present handicap. Huku, however, is not far away in the handicap, ji'-id through commencing the handicap at 11.12 the diance^ of mopt of the others appear to be extinjruished. The winner ohould conip from Huku or Surrey Of thosp enjruKed in thp Wintor Welter I like Abydon, First Light, C'aubnrn, and Ri?d Raiiner. and in the Fir&t Hack. Good Spue, Bill Perkins, &?id Y'-eult read the best to the writei.