CAN HONOUR WIN

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1929, Page 5

CAN HONOUR WIN

RICH DERBY “FIRST UP”? MYSTERY OF TRACK TRIALS SCOBIE TRAINS CARRADALE PHAR LAP IS FORM HORSE When the 1928-29 racing season had seen the last of the main classics, students of form in Australia, and even more so in New Zealand, sorted out Honour as being worthy of comparison with the crack Australian two-year-olds, Parkwood, Holdfast, Carradale and Comanche, as a Derby proposition.. Those ambitious speculators, however, did not look far enough: into the subject and they now find that — while Parkwood, Holdfast and Comanche have raced and been- beaten — Honour and Carradale are to attempt the difficult task of winning this valuable and hard classic “firstup.” Of ‘Carradale; with a .“first-up specialist,” .James Scobie, for his mentor, they express, leats surprise, but in the case of the Maorilander, Percy Mason is to attempt a daringproject which his famous parent had never entertained in his successful- , career, and the problem as to whether the younger. Mason can ■ bring home the blue riband leaves Honour’s' most ardent admirers sceptical. • The course of; getting a horse ready for a big race without a run in public is unusual, and so problematical 'is the result (iri the majority of cases) that trainer's generally prefer to give their

charges a race or two over shorter courses and in weaker company. Blit the veteran Australian trainer, Jim Scobie, has performed this feat so often that it might be stated that he specialises in this branch of surprises, and the Australian sporting public look to Scobie’s “first-up” candidates as a tip. When Bitalli went to the post of the Melbourne Cup in 1923 he had not raced in- public since the previous July, but in the. intervening four months Scobie ■■ 'trot the best he could-out of him on the tracks and he guaged the capabilities .of. his charge so well that he was'able to 1 advise his owner to back him confidentially; So sound was the judgment that Mr." A. T. Crajg cleaned up £70,000 as the result of Bitalli’s victory. Two years ago Jim. Scobie saddled up Trivalve for the A.J.C. Derby -under similar conditions and the public did not hesitate to accept the tip. Trivalve had not raced. for seven months, but his rigorous track work enabled him to stand the strain of a,tough finish and he responded gamely to Bob Lewis’ punishment to beat Winalot by a neck. It now remains to be seen how Scobie’s judgment works in the case of Carra-. dale! In deciding plans for a horse in his keeping, Scobie guages the individuality of the animal. He knows that it would be unwise to treat all alike and expect every* animal to do its best at the first- time of asking. Some thoroughbreds have not the constitution to stand the hard preparation, necessary. Then most trainers will tell you-that a race in public is worth three gallops on the track for a strenuous engagement. Consequently it would not be advisable to adopt this method with all horses. Even so, if a trainer is not able to fit a horse to make a decent showing in his first appearance in public after a spell, he is surely not worthy of holding his license. As a betting proposition, the “firstup” system, had a big advantage and it is safe to aver that if Phar Lap was as far forward on . track work .alone and was making his. first appearance on Saturday, Hughie Telford could write his own price about the son of Night Raid. However, it must not be mistaken that Telford has had to race Phar Lap into condition. On the contrary, his candidate was sufficiently conditioned to run a race against older first class horses in his first outing to mark him as an exceptionally brilliant three-year-old. In his next race he ran Mollison —the mighty Mollison —to half a length and would have won with another hundred yards to go. So consequently the Rosehill Guineas were completely at his mercy and here, too, he was able to give another exposition of outstandstamina to give a huge break to the leaders and simply mow them down in the straight. Phar Lap is undoubtedly the form horse and in ruling a clear-cut favourite; he is justly entitled to the prime position. But the cloak of secrecy that surrounds the operations of .Honour and Carradale savours of brilliant trials too wood to disclose to the public, and their confidential backing is a cue that their connections do not fear the upstart Phar Lap., Just how far this confidence is justified is a moot point and Percy Mason and Jim Scobie will require to produce their respective candidates at the -peak of their condition to be of much worry to the Night Raid gelding and, on paper, Comanche may prove one of the hardest for the New Zealand-, bred galloper to • keep off. ■],