TURF TOPICS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume V, Issue 1293, 5 April 1918, Page 3

TURF TOPICS.

In compiling his adjustments for the i Timaru Cup Mr Henrys must have had ] considerable difficulty in bringing together such a mixed lot of horses. Borkc's Drift s i recent excellent form naturally entitled i him to the position of top weight. This Impost is a stone less than he carried into ! third place in the Rivcrton Cup last Satur- : day, but he will be meeting much stronger opposition in next week's race. Taking a line through his Gore Cup running, Ascalaphus has none the worst of it with Marsa ; and Rorke's Drift, who followed him home. I Though unsuccessful in his Riccarton eflorts, > it must not be forgotten that the Martian gelding was lending for over a mile in the Great Autumn Handicap. Marsa seems to be equitably placed, and on Rivcrton showings should be preferable to the uncertain Thaddeus. There is a doubt as to whether Mohawk can stay a mile journey, but, judging by the. manner in which he finished •up in the Templeton Handicap on Tuesday, i another quarter of a mile should not trouble him. Michaela is another whose staying ; qualifications have to be taken on trust, ■ and Scdd-el-Bahr can hardly lie at his best. . Battle Eve is racing better each time he sports silk, and is by no means overweighted at 7.11. There is nothing particu- | larly nttractive about the prospects of ] Bramblctye, Comely, Kilboyne, or Tremena. all of whom look to be held safe by Battle , Eve. The journey may be too far for Mortham and most of the other light weights. In the latter division is included the mi- ] ported Gay Lad, who created such a favour- : able impression by winning the Addington j Handicap at Riccarton on Tuesday. It is ] quite certain that his full ability has not , yet been disclosed, and he should be capable of cutting out a very solid mile under such ; a lenient impost as 7.2. It must not be •overlooked, however, that he, like Mohawk, ( Michaela, Tremena, Benefit. Golden Prince, i Love Token, Comely, Achilledes, and MaIcstikoiT, claims other first-day engagements. A recent addition to F. D. Jones's uselul team at Riccarton is the two-year-old son ] of General Latour and Prudish, who was sold on Wednesday to Mr R. McDonald at ] 240gs. ... There was a good deal of uncertainty as to who was to have the mount on Dame Acre in the Doneaste.r Handicap till within ■ a day or two of the race. Originally L. A. Walker was engaged, but his subsequent disqualification put him out ol court. Then F Dempsev's services were secured, but as it was "afterwards found that he had made a prior engagement, Dame Acre was still riderless. At the eleventh hour A Mahon was engaged, and though he is not regarded as being in the first flight of horsemen, he was quite capable of riding .the Linacre marc to victory. Probably with the idea of being able tc fulfil his cngagemenls at the A.J.C. meeting the well-known horseman L. A. Walker , appealed against the term of two months disqualification imposed on him by the Hawkesbury Racing Club. His efforts wer> resultless, as the A.J.C. was not long in throwing out the appeal. A. Fleming intends taking his departure for Auckland on Saturday with Gallantry Pitaroa, Erin's Queen, and The Linnet. He •will remain in the north for the Otahulu meeting. , W Kerr still has hopes of being able t. start President Wilson in the Trottinr Derby at the New Brighton meeting next month At present the son of Wildwood Junr. is getting through easy tasks, and his damaged foot is almost right again. The pacer Harold Devon, who was racc<' ; at the South Canterbury Trotting Club': meeting bv A. Prinfile, forms one of M. Edwards's team for the Auckland meeting After the American mare Lovelock had raced so disappointingly at Wellington last January, her owner announced that hr would not persevere further with her. Evidently Mr Conway has changed his mind for she is again in work at Pnlmerston North, and will be racing at the Manawatu Trotting Club's meeting. The same mentor also has his stallion Van Coronado in preparation for the Manawatu fixture. After the well-earned spell, the pacer Dillon Eddie has been put into work again, to be got ready for the winter racing. Bundura, Will o' the Wisp, and probably Don Ca-sar will form B. Allan's team for the Auckland and Otahuhu Trotting Clubs meetings. Allan expects to leave on Saturday, and travel by train from Wellington. M Edwards's teiun for the Auckland and Otahuhu Trotting Clubs' meetings is now on its way north. The collection comprise? Lord Rose, Leo Bell. Vice-Admiral, Mykot Harold Devon, and Sympathy. When Will o' the Wisp won the Gold Cup at the Wellington Trotting Club's meeting, the tronhv had not arrived from England, and doubts were entertained as to whether it would be allowed to be exported. These misgivings have now been set at rest by the arrival of the cup in Wellington. Those Canterbury owners who have horses engaged at the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting should not overlook the fact that acceptances close at 9 o'clock this evening A cable message from Sydney mentions that the well-known trotter Golden Robin was found poisoned in his box, and succumbed on the eve of the running of the Easter Cup at Victoria Park, for which he was favourite. Foul play was apparent, croto noil being the poison used. Golden Robin was one of the fastest light-harness horses ever bred in Australia. He held a mile record of 2min 12Jsec and a mile and a-balf record of 3min 2-lscc. On the conclusion of the New Zealand Metropolitan Meeting, Cole Nut was taken charge of by R. E. Mills, who is at present getting the South Canterbury-owned col* ready to take part in the Trotting Derby at New Brighton next month. A pleasing feature in connection with the King Gcorgo Handicap, the leading attraction at the Canterbury Park meeting, is that there are no conditions whereby horses that have not actually done 4.35 or better can compete. This is as it should be, and will be appreciated by the majority of owners. Thatsolid pacer Capriceio has been taken jn hurra again by E. McDermott, who intends getting her ready for the New Brighton or Canterbury Park meetings. Good progress is being made in the direction of putting the track and buildings in good order again at Alexandra Park, after the rough treatment they were subjected to by last .month's gale. Visitors to the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting next week will find everything in its former condition. The All Black colt Pontoon, which reached Sydney a couple of weeks ago with the rest of Mr E. J. Watt's team, managed to run second to Millie Kenilworth in a nursery handicap at the A.J.C. meeting on Monday. The defeat of Estland in the Great Northern St. Leger provided the biggest "Jioil-over" witnessed at Ellerslic for years. According to an Auckland scribe, the field settled down to a very slow pace after the barrier-rise, and took lmin 9 l-. r >sec to cover the first five furlongs, while the next two took 29 3-ssec. After passing the old mile post, Bonnie Maid went out by herself, while going along the back Estland moved up second. McFlynn was nursing Bonnie Maid nicely in front, and it was expected that O'Shea would compel him to make the pace more solid, but he was content to He in a length behind the mare, until they turned for home. Here he asked Estland for an effort, but he did not go up as quickly as anticipated, and when the distance was reached it could be seen that O'Shea was hard at him. The colt did not Shirk his task, but Bonnie Maid had ton much pace, and, keeping him at bay, won a good race by a length. Demotic was third, 10 lengths away. O'Shea came in for a lot of adverse criticism, as is usually the ease with the rider of a defeated favourite, and though he was perhaps a little over-confident, Bonnie Maid won in good style, and may have won under different conditions. TEMPLAR.