FEW FAVOURITES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19821, 24 December 1938, Page 9

FEW FAVOURITES

AUCKLAND'S BIG DOUBLE NEVEE WON EACH "LEG" SUCCESSFUL OUTSIDERS By "Trenton" During the 23 years since it was first permitted by law to publish the order of favouritism for races in the Dominion, only four actual favourites have been successful in the Auckland Cup and the Railway Handicap respectively, and on not a single occasion have the favourites won each "leg" of the big Boxing Day double in the same year.

The following table gives the order of favouritism for the two races since 1915:—

-Dead heat. vßun in divisions. The best order of favouritism for the two races appears to be the third, which has found the winners of six Auckland Cups and six Railway Handicaps during the period. On two occasions each "leg" has been the third favourite.

The biggest outsiders to win the Auckland Cup since 1915 have been Depredation, Malaga, and Motere, who were eleventh favourites. In the Railway Handicap, Master Doon was fifteenth favourite when he narrowly beat Hipo in 1924, and Royal Blood, who beat the favourite Glentruin in 1922. and Adalene. whp beat the second favourite Oratory two years ago, were each twelfth favourite. In last year's Railway Handicap, the winner and runner-up, Stretto and Ben Braggie respectively, were first and second favourite, with the seventeenth favourite, Marie's Acre, third A truer-to-forecast result, however, was that returned in 1917, when the first and second favourites, Hymestra and King Lupin, ran a dead heat for first, with Nanna, who was bracketed with Hymestra, third.

Auckland Railway Cup. Handicap. 1915 3 3 1916 11 2 1917 .... 10 1 & 2* 1918 3 3 1919 ... 3 0 1920 .. . G 3 1921 11 o 1922 ... 3 12 1923 5&7* 8 1924 3 15 1925 .... 3 4 & Gi1926 ... 9 ft 1927 ... 2 1 1928 ... 5 3 1929 .... 7 10 1930 ... 1 l )°l 11 I 4 8 1932 . . . 1 5 1933 . . . .... 7-5 L-l 193-1 4 3 1935 1 3 1936 1 12 1937 .... 10 1