BIG TRY THIS YEAR.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 494, 1 July 1932, Page 10

BIG TRY THIS YEAR.

N.Z. Horses and Victorian Grand Nationals.

FAMOUS FLEMINGTON HURDLE. New Zealand jumpers are often nominated for the V.R.C. Grand Nationals, but few of them have made the trip in the past and for those who have no success has come as a reward. This year, the Dominion looks to be more strongly represented, and much 1 interest will be taken in the showings made by Captain’s Gift, Copey, Make Up and Landmark, who are in Mel-1 bourne with one or the other of the double as their objective. Unlike the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase, to be decided next Saturday, the Grand National Hurdle Race, to be run at Flemington tomorrow, is a bad race for heavyweights. The 11.13 of Don Quixote is the record winning weight for the Hurdle, and that was carried so long ago as 18S4. For a number of years past the V.R.C. handicapper has for this reason framed the Grand National Hurdle Handicap on a comparatively light scale. The Steeplechase, by the way, . is much the older race of the two, having been first run in 1866. The Hurdle race dates back only to 1881. The cables have been silent on the subject of the V.R.C. meeting this week and at time of writing there is no news as to which of the New Zealanders are likely to start to-morrow. When the last mail left Australia, Make U p was under a cloud. At that stage, the chief fancies for to-morrow’s big race were:—Nauru, Alwynian, St Magnus, Laniroi, Bhopal, Bay of Biscay, Poidale, Cockrow, Mosstrooper, Lady Doris, Polygonum, Gadray, Redditch, Landmark, Make Up Cenlight, Ithuriel, Dunkeld. In 1918 the old style of hurdles used for so many years gave place to padded battens. The change was prompted with the idea of lessening the risk of injury to horses. On the other hand, they have always shown themselves to require good jumping, for they are not easily knocked down. Whatever injury they saved the horses, they were blamed for inflicting a lot on punters on the first occasion of their use. The only horse in the field that seemed to relish the new obstacle was the greatest outsider in the race—Narahquong, who flew them “ like a bird ” and led all the way. At an earlier stage in his career, Narahquong had been used in the work of herding sheep on an Australian station. The Great All-Rounder. Some high-class horses figure in the list of winners of the Flemington Grand National Hurdle Race. Among these certainly can be placed Malua, the greatest all-rounder the Australian turf has ever known. In 1884 Malua won the Oakleigh Plate, 5i furlongs, the Newmarket, six furlongs, the Adelaide Cup, one mile and five furlongs, and the Melbourne Cup, two miles, with 9.9. In 1886 he won the Australian Cup, two miles and a quarter, with 9.9, and in 1888 his owner, Mr J. O. Inglis, rode him to victory in the Grand National Hurdle with 11.7. That was Maiua’s only hurdle race. Malua, on going to the stud, sired a Melbourne Cup winner in Malvolio. Malua, himself, was a son of St Albans. Marmont, after his Grand National Hurdle success, won an Australian Cup, while Realm, as his sequel, captured the Sydney Cup. Obi, who won the Grand National twice, was also a good performer on the flat. Tim Swiveller, the Grand National Hurdle winner of 1893, was first past the post in the Caulfield Cup that year, but was disqualified for boring and the race was awarded to Sainfoin. Buz zi won the Grand National Hurdle in both 1896 and 1897, a feat that Fiscom equalled in 1921-22; but of al! the winners the greatest, considered as a jumper, was the famous Redleap. He won the Grand National Hurdle irr 1889 and again in 1892, when lie also was successful in the Grand National Steeplechase with 13.3 up. Then he went on to Caulfield and won the Grand National Steeplechase (nowadays the Australian Steeplechase) there. It was a four-mile race then, and he carried 13.12. Sequel to Derby Sensation. A remarkable Grand National victory was that of Aquarius, who scored in 1900. Some years before, Aquarius had ruled as one of the favourites for the Victoria Derby. The famous Tom Hales had been engaged to ride him, but on the eve of the race he broke down and could not run. Aquarius proved impossible to train, and drifted off the racing scene. He eventually came into the hands of Harry Connelly, at Warrnambool some 160 miles west of Melbourne. Connelly had always had a great name for his skill with equine cripples, but this time he was generally credited with achieving a miracle. Even when Connelly took Aquarius to Melbourne some weeks before the race none of the regulars paid this candidate the slightest attention except to scoff. A regular preparation was out of the question, but somehow or other Connelly got the old fellow safely to the post, and Aquarius gladdened the bookmakers by winning. In later years Connelly won the Grand National Steeplechase with a grey named Cobram. This gelding was so badly afflicted with string-halt that a new-chum bookmaker at a Bendigo meeting once had a very bad race through laying against him under the impression that he was the only person who knew Cobram was very lame. New Zealand Riders’ Wins. If New Zealand horses have not achieved success in this event, the same cannot be said of her cross-coun-try horsemen. That fine all-round rider, the late Hugh Cairns, scored on Clontaft in 1914 and on Merunqua in 1917. Fred M’Cabe, who is ownertrainer of Appellant, a likely candidate for the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase this year, rode Obi to victor}'’ in 1913. 11. Thompson, who is still riding winners over there, was successful on Berrinbo in 1923.