PATIENCE REWARDED

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1933, Page 4

PATIENCE REWARDED

THURINA’S RACING RECORD. HAS HAD MANY FALLS. It is a coincidence that not only the Winter Cup winner Mount Boa but also the Grand National Steeplechase winner Thurina should not have begun their racing careers still five years old. Mount Boa was actually just on six before he stepped out first, but Thurina made five occasional appearances at various .stages of his five-year-old season. Thurina, with the exception of a third in a hurdles at Wingatui at his first start, has done all his racing over the country. In toto, however, he has been saddled up only fourteen times, winning four races and being placed three times, so that his record is very sparse for a National winner, though it is four races longer than Luna Lux’s would have been had he succeeded. His National success was the first for a horse trained at Riccarton since Eurus won the race in 1908. At first Thurina was a very unsafe jumper, though he shirked nothing, and on a visit to Trentham just over two years ago he brought his unpromising record up to five falls in five starts with two more failures to complete. Returned to Riccarton, he finally safely compassed the full course and duly won the Hunt Cup Steeples at the Grand National meeting, and on the final day of that meeting he repeated the. feat in the Aylesbury Steeples. Tire next winter he was producd only twice, and a year’s necessary spell followed till his reappearance recently at Trentham. He is now eight years old, and his full racing record is as folows: — Starts Wins Stakes £ At 5 years 6 — At 6 years 4 2 245 At 7 years 3 1 145 At 8 years ........ 1 1 100 14 4 £lO9O Thurina was bred by the late Mr. W. J. Causland, who hunted him and raced him in his first two or three starts. He then passed into the hands of Mr. J. R. B. Bell, for whom he won his two steeplechases at the Grand National meeting two years ago, being then trained by Mrs. J. Campbell. ■ Shortly afterwards he was acquired ty Mr. W. J. Doyle, a brother to Mrs. Campbell, but he contracted unsoundness and veterinary opinions suggested various ailments which were -difficult to locate and harder to remove. ‘ Mr. Doyle, however, decided to take the horse to his own farm at Doyleston, and after long treatment, following X-ray examinations, he got him sound enough to put him into easy* work. This was carried out for some months on his owner’s trotting track, and he was given an Occasional schooling task and some slow jumping. It was only about two months back that Mr. Doyle sent Thurina to Riccarton, and he did not require much fast work or jumping to fit him for the Wellington meeting last month, at which he won a hack steeplechase and acted as runner-up In his second attempt. .In his next start, at Washdyke, he did not impress as a likely Grand. National winner, but that race and a solid winding-up preparation brought him up to the required standard in accordance with the precedent set by Snowfall two 'years earlier. Thurina is a bay gelding by Thurnham from the Australian-bred mare Silverina, by Goya from Themia, by' Corinth, and, like Nightmarch and many other notable Dominion representatives of tile No. .18 family, he traces back to the Manto taproot, but through a branch that is not well known in the Dominion. Silverina went to the stud in 1912 as a four-year-old, and her first foal was Silvasco, who won races. Later on she produced Gay Jim (by Gay Lad), who would have been an excellent crosscountry performer, too, only for unsoundness. Thurina has now proved himself best of her foals, and as he is still quite young as steeplechasers go he may rise to more complete honours next winter, for he is now a very brilliant jumper, though as yet he has failed under weight. His failures on the two concluding days of the meeting did not cause him to lose much caste. He is now to be put aside until next jumping season, when he should do even better than, he did in the National.

iTARANAKI BASKETBALL

RESULTS AND FIXTURES. SELECTION OF TEAMS. Results of basketball matches played last week are:— . Inglewood Convent 10 defeated Stratford 4. Midhirst 7 defeated. Raleigh 6. Okaiawa* B 6 defeated • Hawera Old Girls 81. ' j H-H.S.O.G.A. 15 defeated Hawera Convent 6. Hawera High School 'A 19 defeated Hawera Convent 1. Hawera High School B 12 defeated Hawera High School C 4. Convent Blue 15 defeated Hawera High School Old Girls 12. Athletic 21 defeated Bonitharis 7; West End 30 defeated Albion 4,. Matapu 17 defeated Okaiawa A 10. Fixtures for this week are:— Northern Seniors. Saturday, August 19: Tainui representative team, v.. New Plymouth B representative team at 2 p.m. Wembley representative team v. New Plymouth A representative team at 2 p.m. Central Division. Thursday. Raleigh v. Stratford at Stratford. Midhirst v. Inglewood Convert at Midhirst. Kaimata v. Inglewood at Kaimata. Stratford Technical a bye. ■ Southern Saturday. Manaia v. Matapu at Manaia. H.O.G. A v. Okaiawa B at Hawera. H.O.G. B v. Hawera Convent at Con* vent grounds. Okaiawa A a bye. Northern Saturday Referees. Representative A v. Wembley, No. 2 court, 2 p.m., Miss Bannerman. Representative B v. Tainui, No. 1 court, 2 p.fn., Miss Martin. Atjawa? v. Convent Blue, No. 1 court, 3 p.m., Miss Abraham. Athletic v. West End, No. 2 court, 3.15 p.m., Miss Tarry. Clifton High School Old Girls No. 3 court, 3 p.m., Miss Kyrta. Bonithan v. Albion, Na. 4 court, 3.15 p.m., Miss Simpson. The following players have been selected for the New Plymouth A team to play Wembley (Wellington) on Saturday: Carter (H.5.0.G.), Carter (H.5.0.G.), Gruszning (West End), Redman (Convent Blue), Sturmey (West End), Roebuck (Athletic), K. O’Sullivan (Convent Blue), Dillon (Albion), Knott (Athletic). Emergencies: Duffin (West End), Hammond (H.S.O.G-), Sisarich (Convent Blue).

The following have been selected for the B team to play the Tainui representatives on Saturday: Lang (Convent Blue), Puiford (H.S.O.G.)', Dyer (Athletic;, B. Bamitt (H.5.0.G.), Wigley (Athletic), J. Bamitt (H.5.0.G.), J. Todd (Convent Blue), R. George (West End), Duffin (West End). Emergencies: Thompson (Convent), May (West End), M. Clio (Athletic).