Preparing For Trentham Races

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

Preparing For Trentham Races

GOSSIP FROM HEADQUARTERS

TXfITH the appearance of acceptances , interest in the coming winter meeting of the Wellington Racing Chit) has quickened. It is obvious that there will 'be very large fields: in fact , in several cases the fields icill be far too large , but quality is well represented.

(Special to THE SUN.) WELLINGTON, Tuesday. THE weather is baffling. We have had some clear fine days, but last night heavy rain fell, and again this morning it was very wet. However, the rain has cleared off again, and now we appear to be in for fine weather. How long it will last is a matter of guesswork at this time of the year, but in any case it is safe for those interested in sorting out the likely winners to take it that the course will be heavy when the meeting opens next Tuesday. The sand track was in most use this morning, but the roads were used a good deal, and many of the horses were merely exercised in the middle of the course. COMICAL’S SCHOOLING Comical, who has been - here some days, is watched with keen interest in all he does. He looks exceedingly well, and is to be schooled by H. McSweeney during the week. Before leaving Hastings he ' was schooled there by McSweeney, who has been engaged to ride him in the Wellington Steeplechase, and he did everything right, so mLich so that those who watched him wondered why he fell at Ellerslie. The point is that he jumps well when fresh, and it is when ho is tiring he makes the mistakes that bring him down. He looks .a better horse now than he was at Ellerslie, and he might run a fair race in the big steeplechase. A. Ellis has been engaged for Wharncliffe in the Hurdles, and there is going to be a good deal of SoLithern support for this fellow, Avho is said to be a very fair sort. Another horse which Ellis is to ride is Woden, who will be a very hard one to beat in the Hack Steeplechase. Woden is very fit, and will be running on when several of the others are tired and jaded. Ellis seems to understand him well, and has extracted a good race from him every time he has been in the saddle. OPPOSITION TO WODEN H. McSweeney’s mount in the Hack Steeplechase will be Banjuke, and the Marton gelding will be one of the hardest for Woden to beat. He is here doing useful exercise, but was not schooled, as he has had a lot of jumping this season. Bonny Rill is here, and despite expectations to the contrary it is intended that she will take her place in the Wellington Steeplechase. The injuries she received at Napier Park appear to have been patched up all right, but she looks as if she needs a few strong gallops to bring her to her best. Most likely she will be ridden in her engagements by'H. Gordon. ONE FOR FLAT EVENTS Black Mint is working as well as anything here, and might be one of the favourites for the Whyte Memorial, as he has good form at Awapuni and Ellerslie to recommend him. He looks a little lighter than he did previously, but is well and bright and is getting through all his work with a pleasing show of dash. Beau Cavalier is the ruling favourite for the Wellington Steeplechase, but the race appears to be regarded as very open, for almost every horse in has a, following of some kind. Kawini does not lack friends, and the most fancied of the South Island horses is Scamp. HOKIOI JUMPS WELL A pleasing exhibition of fencing was given by Hokioi, who went over eight of the steeplechase fences in the middle of the course. He cleared them quickly and cleanly, and with a dash that he has not shown previously this i season. He will now increase in j favour for the Hack Steeplechase, for j which he had gone out of favour after I his racing at Hawke’s Bay. P. Me- ! Brearty rode him this morning, and will be on him in his races. Degage is a regular worker, and on the preparation she is receiving one should say she is required to race very shortly. Whether it will be in the sprint events here next week, or in the Winter Clip, or both, remains to be seen, but whatever her mission she is ready to do her part. Vexatious was schooled over hurdles, and though she baulked it is unlikely she will repeat it in a race. She is a very fit mare and has been galloping well on the flat, in addition to schooling satisfactorily. TO RIDE CROWN COIN There is some doubt as to who will ride Crown Coin in the Wellington Steeplechase, and P. Mcßrearty is mentioned as the probable rider. In his Napier and Hastings engagements Crown Coin was. ridden by R. E. SPEEDY TEA TRAY TEA LEAF CANTERS IN SYDNEY CRITICS IMPRESSED Prophecies on a racecourse are generally doomed to failure, so that when racegoers reckoned, after her maiden victory, that Tea Leaf would ultimately prove a champion in open company, they were going strongly against precedent. Tea Leaf has yet to prove herself, blit she went a little way toward it by an easy win in the third division

of the Flying at the Victoria Park Sydney, ponies last week. Before she raced in Sydney, Tea Leaf, a New Zealand three-year-old had a reputation for being a brilliant galloper, and the manner' in which she spreadeagled a maiden field at her first

Thompson, but it seems that Thompson has to ride Tuki, on whom he won the steeplechase on the final day of the recent Auckland meeting. McBrearty rides particularly well over fences, and Crown Coin should not suffer if his services are obtained. The Trentham Hurdles has been put forward on the programme in order to obtain a better light than would be the case .were it held at the time originally arranged. It will .now precede the Whyte Memorial instead of follow it. The idea is a good one. OTAKI DOUBLE WINNER Royal Came has been doing such good work at the tracks that a number of the Trentham regulars are determined to support him on Tuesday. He won really well at Otaki, and seems to be a much-improved horse, but he does not strike one as a horse who will be any good under the big weights which obtain now. Considerable interest is being taken in the special horse train which is being dispatcried from Auckland, and is expected here some time on Thursday morning with a valuable cargo of thoroughbreds. If the horses arrive here in good condition after the trip there should be some interesting work on the tracks prior to the meeting, as the Auckland contingent has had a good deal of racing and will be able to show us something worth seeing. GOING FOR THE TWO? A horse that is fancied in some quarters to win the big - jumping double is Wedding March. Certainly on his Auckland form he has some claims to being considered. He won the Great Northern Hurdles in a manner which suggested that a stiff race over steeplechase country would not trouble him a great deal. If he wins the steeplechase he will have four days in which to make any necessary recuperation before being asked to tackle the Winter Hurdles. It is difficult to say what will wind up the machine favourite for the Whyte Memorial, which will be regarded as a curtain-raiser to the Parliamentary Handicap to be run on the second day of the meeting, but Master Doon is sure to be one of the best backed, and another who will be in warm demand is Black Mint on account of his good run on the last day of the Auckland meeting, when he finished a creditable third to Master Doon and True Blood. These two might not monopolise the betting, but they will carry a big proportion of the money on the machine. FANCIED SOUTHERNER Since his win in the South on Saturday, Chickwheat has come into favour for the Whyte Memorial, but there are some who say he will be benefited by the race and will do better in the Parliamentary Handicap on the middle day of the fixture. He was ridden at Ashburton by C. Emerson, and it does not seem to have been settled who will have the mount on him here. Perlo de Leon, who is engaged in hurdle events at the meeting, has arrived, but has not been jumped yet. However, lie looks very well and will be solidly supported the first time he sports silk at the meeting. SHOWING IMPROVEMENT Nadarino and Indian Sage, both of whom are good in the wet, have done a whole lot of work, and it will not be at all surprising if either of them get

in the money during the meeting. After their poor showings at Ellerslie they will be at long prices on the machine. Cerf continues to work regularly, but is not doing his tasks as freely as he might. As soon as he rolls into them and takes a real interest in his job look OLit for him. Among the younger division is Arrow de Val. He is getting through some nice work, and he will be watched with interest if he races at the meeting. effort naturally impressed phnters to such an extent that they reckoned she would be equal to any class at the ponies. FAILED SUBSEQUENTLY But like many another runaway victor in maiden events, Tea Leaf could not live up to her reputation at subsequent starts. She failed badly against a fair encourage field, after being well placed throughout. Then, when a hot favurite soon after, for a. second division of a novice at Victoria Park, she was caught in the last few strides. Those showings were not calculated to infuse her connections with further hope, and they wisely decided to give her a short let-up. That that move was beneficial to the filly was shown by the way she won in open company at Victoria Park. Admittedly the field was weak, but there were some fast sprinters, who could be depended upon to cut out a solid pace over four and a-half furlongs. MAY PROVE A CHAMPION They did, but Tea Leaf was even faster. If her supporters imagined that she would get the early break that had characterised her earlier races, they must have felt particularly uncomfortable when Lord Rino was in front over the first furlong. Their sense of security, however, was increased when Tea Leaf shot to the front near the turn, and thereafter she did not look like losing. Remembering her previous win and subsequent failures, punters may be inclined to hold off her in future events. Good as Tea Leaf undoubtedly is, the fact that she will have to oppose f<#r better class at her next starts will mean that she may not have easy tasks in future. But Tea Leaf is improving, and, despite that the handicappers are sure to take care of her, she may yet prove a champion when she is a little more experienced.