VERY UNLUCKY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 32, 30 April 1927, Page 6

VERY UNLUCKY

CIVILITY’S DEFEAT BIG EFFORT JUST FAILS LEFT AT POST, BEATEN BY HEAD If ever a horse should have won a race, that horse was Civility, and the race the Prince of Wales Handicap, at the Manawatu meeting on Thursday. Defeat was brought about by a chain of circumstances not usually seen on a racecourse. Despite her weight—she had 9.5 she was expected to run well, and on her Ellerslie running these expectations were based upon solid foundations. In the Prince of Wales Handicap, nine furlongs, Civility drew the extreme outside in a field of twenty-one, and this put a good many off supporting the daughter of Elysian. IN THE SHUFFLE But there was a lot of shuffling before the tapes were skied, and in the rearranging Bert Morris wound up in thirteenth position, and yet as it turned out this did not do him any good. There was a run of a furlong before the field commenced to swing

round the bend going out of the straight, and when the field was got away to a very poor start Civility was one of those left practically standing. Consequently the Auckland Easter Handicap winner was second to last as they went out of the straight, and on this track it looked a hundred to one against her getting within cooee of the leaders. It was then that she proved her class, for she accomplished the seemingly impossible, and but for force of circumstances must have won. FLYING FAST 9

At the half-mile Civility was still a long way back, fourteenth, and her pilot was threading a way through the field to obviate the necessity of having to go round and so cover too much ground. She was flying past the field a little later on, and in startling fashion was making for the lead. Indeed, Civility was travelling so fast that before Morris was aware of it she was in front as they came into the home stretch. A hundred yards further on, a hundred and fifty yards from the winning post, Civility was in possession of a lead of three lengths. At this stage it now looked a hundred to one on her winning, and when she began to ease off #ier jockey did not worry about keeping her up to the task, and he might be pardoned for thinking it was all over bar the collecting. FLOATING There was Civility, with a threelengths break bn the big field, and the judge not very far off, and it was the mere fact that she had such a lead that proved her undoing. She was floating with nothing in sight, and then along came two horses, Ypma and Black Mint. The former soon spent himself, but Black Mint kept up an astonishingly fast finish, and fifty yards from home he ranged alongside Civility, much to the surprise and confusion of the latter’s jockey. Then Morris sat down to ride again, and right nobly did the Wanganui mare respond. In the meantime Black Mint had pushed his hqad in front, and it was this that decided the issue, for although Civility took up the challenge in most courageous fashion it was that head lead that told the tale, and Black Mint’s head went past the judge first. THE OUTSIDER SCORES

It was rather an extraordinary race with a sensational denouement, and the eleventh favourite downed the third choice. The honours were with Civility, who was conceding the winner twenty-seven pounds, and with an ounce of luck she must have won. Civility was conceding most of the field both a start and big poundage, and that she should go such a big race once again proves how unlucky she had been in some of her previous outings. Her effort yesterday, for one with a knowledge of the Awapuni track, shows what a task she was set from the start. Black Mint’s finishing run was an eye-opener, and showed of what he is capable. Yoma, beaten into third place, was one of the quartette slow to leave the mark, and on his running yesterday he looks like being in rare fettle. * FAVOURITE RAN BADLY. Mandane, who was a short-priced favourite for the Prince of Wales Handicap, was in the ruck immediately after the jump-off, and that was the end of her, for she was near the tail end all the way. Vertigern was conspicuous over the business end, but he had little on Novar, Kilceit, Vivo and Buoyant. True Blood was prominent during the latter half of the race, and when he ran into the lead between the three and four furlongs it looked as if he would be certain to take a hand in the finish. However, he was done with after another furlong, and he was one of those that finished in a bunch behind the third horse. Peneus was handy to the leaders throughout, only to fail when it came to the business end.