THROWN IN CAULFIELD CUP

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 89, 6 July 1927, Page 6

THROWN IN CAULFIELD CUP

SYDNEY CRITIC GOES FOR COMMENDATION AND THE BANKER The weights of the good horses in the Caulfield Cup seem high. Spearfelt is handicapped out of it even if he strikes form. But a glance through the mediocre horses reveals that they, too, have their full measure, so it must be accepted that Pantheon 9.11, Amounis 9.9, The Banker 9.5, Gothic 9.4, and the New Zealand crack, Commendation, 8.13, are by no means out of the Cup. Indeed, they will be right in it, or those whose mission is made the Caulfield Cup, for the indications are that the Caulfield Cup will attract a field that is not very strong this year. And as Manfred showed 12 months ago, weight will not stop good ones in poor company. And outstanding amogn all is Commendation. PICK OF THE HANDICAP Commendation appears to be the pick of the handicap at 8.13. Rarely does a classic four-year-old get less than 9st in the Caulfield Cup, and Commendation must be accepted as a class horse. There is no strong line on his form to compare with Australian standards, but good judges in the Dominion say

he is the equal of, if not better than, Limerick as a middle-distance horse. Commendation would need to be only the equal of Limerick, or slightly his inferior, to win a Caulfield Cup with 8.13.

KEPT FOR SOMETHING? New Zealanders are shrewd judges, and big offers were refused for Commendation. The sum named as the purchase price that would buy him was £IO,OOO. Obviously, his connections are not eager to sell, and, in keeping him for something they evidently have in mind a big Australian race. Nothing could have played better into their hands than the weight the handicapper has given him for the Caulfield Cup, and if this good fortune doesn’t induce them to go for this event, then they don’t know when they are well off. He is a stayer, thoroughly capable of running the mile and a-half, possesses the brilliance necessary for a Caulfield Cup, and it seems merely a matter of his arriving safely and going satisfactorily through his preparation to have a once-in-a-lifetime chance of landing this Caulfield Clip, comments a Sydney writer. PROSPECTS OF OTHERS Pantheon is better off in the Melbourne Cup with 9.7, for, although the indications are he can just get two miles and no more, his connections might realise that he will not strike the class he did last year, when Spearfelt had to run record time to beat him in the last 50 yards. So this might mean a preference for the Melbourne Cup. Still, he is a brilliant mile and ahalf horse, ajid 9.11 would not put him out of the Caulfield Cup. Amounis’s ability to run a mile and a-half has yet to be established, though last year he ran a wonderful race in the C. B. Fisher Plate over the distance and was a close third to Pantheon and Spearfelt. Since then he has beaten the cracks at a mile and aquarter weight-for-age at Warwick Farm, and won the Wagga Gold Cup with 10.2. But critics can’t forget his dismal failure as a Derby candidate. ABOUT THE BANKER The horse among the top weights that will definitely run a good Caulfield Cup race is The Banker, who ran a splendid second to Manfred last year, and is raised only 61b to 9.5. He is likely to improve in form. Godby found the knack of transforming Purser from a failure to a weight-for-age horse when he had had him long enough. The Banker wasn’t quite good enough last year, but he might be a whole lot better this year, and if the Caulfield Cup is his mission he will prove very hard to beat. Last year’s second in the Caulfield Cup and failure in the Melbourne Cup suggest that a mile and a-half is nearer his distance. He is reported to be in better condition now than ever since his arrival from New Zealand. SPRINTER BRED TO STAY Gothic won the Newmarket with 8.10, and although it is a far cry from success with that weight in a sixfurlong event to a Caulfield Cup chance with 9.4, Gothic may be capable of bridging the span. He is bred to stay, and the manner of his finish in three separate races over a mile in Victoria leaves little doubt about his stamina. There is no reason why he shouldn’t prove an ideal Caulfield Cup horse. Another promising importation is Star d’Or, second in the last Williamstown Cup (beaten a head) and winner at Flemington. But, before the King’s Cup in April he went amiss. And until he proves sound and able to stand a preparation, he is not a safe horse to touch in the Cups. Nevertheless, he is well handicapped at 8.5. WELL TREATED A Sydney mare who might come good is Vallino. A four-year-old, she is well treated at 7.11, though past form wouldn’t justify any more weight. She won a mile race as a two-year-old at Randwick, but a subsequent fall marred her racing record. Her present training is an experiment to see whether she will stand. If she does, she might be a Caulfield Cup possibility. They are just modest performers, who, if the good ones mentioned above failed to contest the race, might possess chances. THE THREE-YEAR-OLDS Good three-year-olds haven't tackled the Caulfield Cup for a long time, because of the penalty, so choice of the good ones, Royal Feast or Cannon, would prove unwise. Statesman is another promising two-year-old stayer. But he would be unlikely to tackle the Caulfield Cup with 7.2, for if he proved good enough to win that race, the Derby would no doubt be at his mercy. Form to come will probably indicate other possibilities as time goes on. But analysis of the weights commends the good horses, and to make a choice at this stage Commendation, The Banker and Gothic will be selected.