VOLA DALE GOING WELL

Southland Times, Issue 23178, 20 April 1937, Page 10

VOLA DALE GOING WELL

CANTERBURY NOTES JOLLY BEGGAR IN GOOD FORM

(Special to The Times) RICCARTON, April 17.

A steady rain set in early this morning and continued until about 10 a.m. This was the only bad weather we had all the week, but it kept our record intact of not having had a week without rain for many months. There has not been much work of interest during the week; some jumping, and horses sprinting that were engaged at Waimate today. The excursion train that left for Waimate at an early hour this morning did not take many passengers from here. Most of our racing men preferred to go down by car. No doubt the train would fill well as it went south. Wild Chase arrived home from Palmerston North on Tuesday morning. He has had a most successful season when it is considered that in the spring the general opinion was that he would be lucky if he survived the New Zealand Cup meeting. Had he struck hard tracks he would not have lasted long, but he was fortunate enough to find soft ground wherever he went to race. His knees are no worse now than they were a year ago; indeed they are not as bad. He has finished racing for this season, and is running out in hjs paddock during the day. With the attention his weak spots are receiving he may stand up to a further season. R. B. Berry has his galloper Vola Dale looking and working well, in fact she is sprinting rather brilliantly. Rising six this mare has been unfortunate in the fact that she has met with several minor accidents that have yet been severe enough to keep her off our racecourses. Had she been fortunate enough to have dodged these misfortunes she would have won a number of races before this, and been well away from the maiden class. She is engaged at Timaru next Saturday, and later on will be racing at other of our country meetings.

Paper Note who won the Courtenay Handicap at Riccarton a few weeks ago, has done well since then. On the gallops she has had with Fiord during the last few weeks, she is a better mare now than when she won the Courtenay Handicap.

Jolly Beggar had his first solid schooling gallop this week. He had to go by himself but that did not prevent him from giving a splendid exhibition of fast and clean jumping when travelling at racing pace. His jumping was a great improvement on his efforts last winter. In previous years he had a trick of running to the outside of every fence; when schooled this week he went into each fence straight as an arrow. Having won the last two New Zealand Grand National Hurdle Races, he must get a big load at Te Rapa and Ellerslie, and to win there he will need to be a better horse than ever before. On his work he will be a better horse this year than before.

Should Owlsgleam win at Waimate today she will put herself out of hacks. She of course can run out her engagements. She is not a good stayer but on small tracks with short straights she has on several occasions Jed all the way to win mile races, but on a track such as that at Riccarton she would find a mile much too far. The Musketoon—Lady Epsom filly Lisnacree was given a fortnight’s holiday after Easter, but she is in work again, so her people have evidently changed their minds about racing her any more this season. She accompanied Owlsgleam in a sprint over half a mile on Thursday, that was run in fast time. t The firsi time that this filly is not

flighty at the barrier she will be very hard to beat in some maiden race.

Giggleswick And Unseen

Giggleswick and Unseen are the latest to become members of S. Barr’s team. They are to be raced over hurdles. Giggleswick has had two season’s already of racing over the battens but has not done much good. This has been rather a surprise as he has always shown his best fprm in flat races when the tracks have been soft, and in his schooling he always jumps well. Knockfin is not looked upon as a mare that might easily win an open handicap over ten furlongs. She is to run in the big handicap at Timaru, so the question will soon be decided as to whether she can win over that distance or not. Races over ten furlongs at the Washdyke course have on occasions been won by sprinters. The run from the mile and a-quarter barrier to the sharp turn out of the straight is a short one, and the first horse to reach the turn gains such an advantage that very often it is never caught. Polydora has been doing odds and ends of jumping over country for some weeks, and she shaped so well that trainer H. Nurse one day this week gave her a real schooling gallop over them. He did so with every confidence that she would make no trouble about jumping any kind of, fence. He was right; the mare sailed over every kind of fence including the double without any hesitation and never laid a hoof near anything, also she appeared to like the work.

Rdyal Limond is to be entered for the hurdle race to be run over one mile and three-quarters at Ashburton. His connections are not of the opinion that the Limond gelding will prove hard to beat in this race, but they are of opinion that he is backward, and so in need of a race before going north to run in the steeplechase events at Te Rapa and Ellerslie. He will also be entered for the Great Northern Hurdles at Ellerslie. Whether he makes the trip north or not depends upon how he behaves in his schooling over country, however. Nightbound continues to school over the hurdles in a manner that is satisfying everybody. He has only to continue to school as he has been doing and he will start favourite for the hurdles at Timaru next Saturday. D. O’Connor will ride him. Irish Fiddle continues to do well and she is sprinting well enough to suggest that she will be hard to beat at the South Canterbury and Ashburton meetings. If she goes on improving as she has done during the last few months this filly will be above the average good as a three-year-old. When Ponty came back to the paddock after running in the Great Autumn Handicap it was obvious that he was short of work. No doubt that was the reason that he ran so badly. Also no doubt that this defect in his condition will be remedied when next he races.