TONNERRE IMPRESSIVE

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1935, Page 4

TONNERRE IMPRESSIVE

THREE-YEAR-OLD FORM HUNT MEETING SHOWING ALCHEMIC; LOWENBERG CLASSIC POSSIBILITIES (By “Hurry On.”) No runners at the recent combined Taranaki-Egmont-Wanganui Hunt meeting at New Plymouth last week were watched with greater interest. than the three-year-olds with classic engagements. Four, pf these in Tonnerre, Lowenberg, Alchemic and Bantry were seen in action and each of the quartette performed creditably and all appear likely to more than pay their way this coming season. Owing to a slight mishap Bonny Glow, New Plymouth’s promising filly of this age, was not started. Probably the most impressive was Tonnerre. He has developed splendidly since he was at New Plymouth last Christmas and he was a good looking horse then. He caused his supporters some anxiety by playing up at the barrier but eventually jumped out well. For nearly half a mile his rider was content to trail along in third place but then he let Tonnerre have his head. In a few strides he gathered in the leaders and from thence on. it was a case of Tonnerre first and the rest. nowhere. His connections were a little doubtful as to how he would handle the track but Tonnerre demonstrated' in no uncertain manner that wet dr dry it is all the same to him. He is one of the first-of the progeny Of Vaals, by Valais —Celtic Queen, to race, and looks like turning out a good advertisement. It certainly ’ appears as if Tonnerre will play his part in the season’s three-year-pld classics . and he is still susceptible to a bit of improvement. , . ALCHEMIC’S GOOD FINISH PARTIAL TO SOFT TRACKS Though Alchemic looked, fit and well when he paraded for the Wayerley Hack on Thursday, his trainer, J. Fryer, did pot consider- that he had had enough fast work to fit him for the task. However, revelling in the heavy goipg, Alchemic capie along at the finish with an absolutely irrestible run to score by pearly three-quarters of .-a, length. What was more he was going away, at the end in a fashion that, suggested that the mile in the Wanganui Guineas is not going to trouble him. . He is, a. fine big colt by Lackham, who , though he performed quite creditably last season never settled down properly; However, ;he appears to be better dispositioned now and should make, a lot of progress during the next few weeks. It is worth remembering that he is partial to soft tracks.

j LOWENBERG’S SHOWING

TRACK WAS AGAINST HIM

Though the big Lord Quex colt Lowenberg has not filled out greatly since last season, he does not appear quite so angular. He will always be one of the lean type but should carry weight. After the manner in which he foundered in the slush at Stratford on New Year’s Day, he was not greatly fancied by his connections in the Waverley Hack on Thursday. Last season he was slow to find his feet and was always giving the leaders many lengths start when the field settled down. On Thursday he jumped out particularly well, being always handy to the leaders. He ’ .oked a winner when he reached the front at the distance but the going beat him. He was making hard work of it and was unable to hold off Alchemic. Nevertheless it was a very satisfactory showing and on a firm track. he would probably have • won comfortably. Despite his great size, he is well over 17 hands, there is nothing clumsy about Lowenberg and provided that he has a firm track he will probably start favourite in the Guineas at Wanganui next week.' BANTRY’S PERFORMANCE FAVOURABLE IMPRESSION Bantry, who paid a big price at Hawera on the King’s jubilee day when having his first start in the Coronation Stakes, made his second appearance in a race in the Waverley Hack. Though a shade unlucky in the running, he demonstrated that his Hawera win was no mere flash in the pan by coming home strongly in, third place close up to Alchemic and Lowenberg. It was a fine effort considering his lack of racing experience. He has developed really well during the winter and is now more robust and stronger looking than when he scored tn May. His owner turned down a tempting offer during the winter for this son of Acre and Rapt and it is to be hoped that his courage will be duly rewarded. WINDSCREEN UNLUCKY NO PART IN THE RACE The Inglewood owner-trainer, Mr. L. Butler, has so far not been one of fortune's favourites in the racing game. After running a great race into fourth place behind Alchemic, Lowenberg and Bantry in the Waverley Hack on Thursday, Windscreen appeared to have a good chance in the Urenui on Saturday. She behaved really well at the barrier, standing splendidly, and it was unfortunate that she should just be moving back slightly when Tonnerre came into line. As it was she took no part in the race. On her first day’s showing she may not have beaten Tonnerre but she would have given the rest a good deal of trouble and been able to give a line as to the merit of Tonnerre’s effort as compared with those of the other three-year-olds on the first day. As it is there is no means by which it is possible to judge the merit or otherwise of the Vaals’ colt’s easy victory. L. J. ELLIS QUESTIONED INCIDENT AT SYDNEY It did not take long for Jimmy Ellis to become acquainted with the Australian Jockey Club’s stipendary stewards. They had an interview with him after his first mount on the PosterityEulogy three-year-old Le Grand after the opening race al. Warwick Farm,

[ Sydney, on Saturday. However, after L hearing the evidence of the trainer, T. JR. George, the matter was satisfactorily 1 explained. , * As all Trentham track watchers know r Le Grand is a moody sort and pleases himself as to how he gallops and it is probable that Saturday’s incident would have only caused New Zealand officials to smile. Ellis is a particularly straight rider and not likely to fall foul of the Australian officials. BEST ENGLISH SPRINTER BELLACOSE’S FAST TIME England’s notable sprinter of this season is the three-year-old colt, Bellacose, who is by Sir Cosmo from Orbella, !by Golden. Orb. There are no gradients I specially favouring fast time on the I Newmarket July course, but, on July 4, I Bellacose carried 9.10, and cut out the I six furlongs in 1.9 4-5. ! The . well-performed six-year-old i Strathcarron was second with 9.5, and among the unplaced runners were Flam- ! en.co (10.8) and Knighted (9.7), winners of good races this season. AGUA CALIENTE CLOSES BETTING BAN IN MEXICO News of the closing of the Agua Caliente racecourse, the scene of Phar Lap’s great American triumph, was brought to Melbourne by Mr. J. P. ■ Stratton, president of the West Australian Trotting Association,. who was ; at Agua Caliente at the time operations ceased. Mr. Stratton, said that President Lazaro Cardena, of Mexico, issued an order banning all gambling at Agua 1 Caliente and Tijuana, arid next day I Agua Caliente was deserted. As the I President had won his -election on the I anti-gambling issue, Americans felt that it was not likely that the famous racecourse would be reopened until a new regime had the political reins. “Racing was being conducted in all its glamour on Saturday afternoon, July 20, and the hotel near the racecourse was taxed to its utmost,” said Mr. Stratton. “An even larger crowd was anticipatedon the Sunday, when Hollywood celebrities usually visitod the course, but late in the afternoon the order was received that gambling would have to cease from six o’clock the following morning. After that time the place was empty. The manager, when informed, ; immediately declared that no racing would be conducted until the Government countermanded the order.” The racecourse and its associated ; buildings cost the promoters about , £1,000,000 to erect, and they are at present lying useless in a wilderness. VOITRE’S HORSEMANSHIP CAULFIELD WIN ON METRO j

Keith Voitre has given many fine exhibitions of riding at Melbourne, but it is doubtful if he has ever been seen to more advantage than when he landed Metro the winner of the mile and a quarter Nerrin Nerrin Handicap at the V.A.T.C Meeting a fortnight ago (says a Melbourne critic).

From a good start Metro soon took up the running and led from Cardo, Villius and Rightspear. Nearing tire straight, entrance Cardo ran past Metro, who looked beaten. Voitre, however, was saving him for one short, sharp run, and though Percival rode Cardo desperately to the finish he could not stall off the New Zealander, who in the last stride landed Metro winner by a short head. Metro, though now owned by Messrs. W. J. Pelham and C F. Taylor, was formerly one of Mr. W. R. Kemball’s numerous team. He is a five-year-old chestnut gelding by Chief Ruler from Kilboy’s sister Kilteel, and he is thus a half-brother to Plato, who is expected to play a prominent part in this year’s Dominion classics for Mr. T. H. Lowry. He cost Mr. Kemball 160 guineas as a yearling and h was passed on to his present owners at a substantial profit as a two-year-old after he had won his first race. He did not score again till this year, but lately he has won several races. RELATED TO TONNERRE KIA ORA PROMISING FILLY The Hawera-trained filly Kia Ora made a fine showing in the Maiden Scurry at New, Plymouth on Thursday, when she beat all but the more experienced Red Sand. She added one more to the long list of Trainer T. H. Fryer’s second placings. She is a shapely filly who should not be long in winning her way out of the maiden class. Kia Ora is a three-year-old bay filly by the Australian-bred Vaals from the Some Boy ll—Sphinx mare Some Lady, who did a fair amount of racing in the Auckland district a few years back, but won only a couple of small races. It is a half-sister by Quin Abbey to Some Lady, named Miss Sphinx, who is the dam of Tonnerre, another offspring of Vaals, so Kia Ora and Tonnerre are very close relatives. Vaals, a son of Valans, who was a sensation at the stud in Australia, was a high-class performer himself, winning among other races the 1927 A.J.C. Epsom, and with his oldest progeny only now just turned three years he promises to make good at the stud. JUDGMENT ASTRAY AN UNFORTUNATE JOCKEY Even those who possess the best of information concerning the capabilities of racehorses can easily make mistakes. The crack French rider, Bouillon, first jockey for Baron E. de Rothschild, has not been in luck this season. The stable had Peniche and Vignes de Seigneur engaged in the Oaks. He chose the latter and Peniche won. The Baron had three runners in the Grand Prix de Paris— Peniche, Bokbul and Crudite—and again Bouillon's luck was out. He preferred Bokbul, who ran nowhere, while Credite won. PAYMENTS FOR TAXATION. HUNT MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH. The following are the taxation figures for ' the combined Taranaki-Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club’s race meeting at New Plymouth last week:—Totalisator duty £454 4s sd, dividend duty £496 4s, stakes duty £44 15s, amusement tax £25 10s 2d; total, £lo* 13s 7d. Gross riding fees earned totalled £194 16s, the chief participants being C. Thomson £l5, I. Tucke. £l4, A. McDonald £ll Bs, A. Jenkins and L. Dulieu £ll each, F. E. Baker £lO, B. Liddall £9 Bs, R. McTavish and W. E. Pine £9 each, S. Anderson and S. Wilson £8 each, B. H. Morris £7. Among the apprentice riders Shield, who earned' £B. was the most successful. '