WANGANUI RACES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19768, 16 February 1927, Page 4

WANGANUI RACES

CUP MEETING OPENS TO-MORROW LATEST FROM THE TRACK The autumn meeting of the Wanganui Jockey Club. the most important ef the three fixtures allocated to the local body, is to be held to-morrow and on Saturday, and present indications point to a most successful gathering. To-morrow the Wanganni Cup comes up for decision, and with several of the best handicap horses in the Dominion down to compete it promises to be a stirring contest. On Saturday the outstanding event is the Jackson Stakes, and -with The Hawk, Grand Knight, Beremoana, Lysander and Limited as certain starters there should be thrills in plenty for the big crowd that will be there to see these brilliant sprinters in opposition.

INTERESTING TRY-OUTS LOCAL TRAINING OPERATIONS. FAST TIMES REGISTERED. The weather wjls fine but overcast yesterday morning for training operations. There was a fair amount of fast work recorded, with the majority of the locally trained horses being galloped. There are a few visitors, and these, together with a number of horses due here yesterday, will be given their final ry-oiits this morning. Number one track was open, and this was in splenlid order, with a good breeze dead behind to assist in the run up the straight. Royal Elm (J. McDonald) was the first to work, his task being a nice work-out over five furlongs. The Elysian gelding ran the first furlong in 12 3-5, the quarter in 24, three in 37 2-5, and the full distance easily in 1.4 3-5. He looks very forward. Mask (lightweight; and Bent (J. Barry) were sent over six furlongs, and from the first the former cleared out from the daughter of Cyntoi. who will need several gallops to bring her back to form. Mask got to the end of the initial furlong in 12 2-5, two furlongs in 24 3-5, three in 36 3-5. the half mile in 48 4-5, and he finished strongly in 25 3-5 for the final quarter, his time for the six being 1.14 2-5. Bent's time was 1.17 3-5. Mask appears to have come on a good deal lately and looks better than ever. Musket Vein (J. Bsirry) finished four lengths ahead of Thaw (lightweight) in 513-5, the first quarter occupying 25 1-5. Neither horse was extended. Civility and Lysander. A most interesting gallop was that indulged in by Lysander and Civility, who were sent five furlongs together. They were a few lengths in front of the peg when they jumped off, und were not quite at top when the watches were set in motion. Lysander had the better of the start to the extent of a length and a-half, but they were together at the end of the first furlong, cut out in 12. with Civility showing the way at the end of the second furlong in 23 1-5, the three furlongs being left behind in 34 4-5 (very fast travelling), and they came up the straight a little short of being all out. The last couple of furlongs took 26sec.. and the time for the five was 60 4-5 —a brilliant effort. Civility, who had the outside running and therefore covered a good bit more ground than the colt, was three parts of a length to the good at the finish, and Lysander was getting down to his task in typical style over the last bit. It was a splendid effort on the part of both horses, despite the fact that they were (tarrying about seven stone. i Decoy Bird went a round at a strong three-quarter pace, coming home over the last quarter, in an easy 28 1-5. He looks very well. Break o’ Day (T. Bound) was sent from the five furlong peg by himself. Timed from the half-mile post he cut put the first furlong in 11 4-5, two furlongs in 23 3-5, land the four furlongs in 49 4-5. He shaped well, although he was stopping a bit at the end. Great Day (D. C. Watts) had little trouble in holding Star Area (H. K. Alexander) at the end of a spin over six furlongs. They ran the first three furlongs in 37. the half mile in 49 2-5, and the full distance in 1.16 2-5. A Smart Half-Mile. Deluge, ridden by a light boy, showed no inclination to loiter in his gallop over half a mile. He cut out the first furlong in 11 3-5, the second in 23 2-5. find he came home in 48 2-5. Deluge is all right so far as his condition goes, and he has a very light weight to-mor-row. It all depends on whether he has the inclination to go fast in his race. First Acre did a nice working gallop over six furlongs in 1.20 without being hurried. It is understood thnt he will be a starter on the second day of the meeting here. Whenuanui (T. Bound) ran an easy five furlongs, getting to the end of the first in 12 3-5. the second in 24, three in 36, and the full distance in 1.2. He looks none the worse for his recent racing, and should strip in good order in the hack sprint to-morrow. Paleta (D. C. Watts) sprinted a couple of furlongs in 26 4-5. * He is being kept going with easy tasks in view of his engagements at Easter. Rapine was given a round at a strong three-quarter pare. He looks in good order for his Wtanganui Cup engagement. Shirley, Rascal and King’s Folly were all given good strong work without being sent against the watch. Notes and Comments. Haze has been responsible for some useful track work at Riccarton lately. He figures in the Trial Stakes at the one day Canterbury fixture next Saturday and on his best form he will be hard to beat. Silver Coot, in spite of his moderate

showing on the opening day, was made favourite in the Hopeful Handicap, and he won with something in hand, com- I ments “Mascot.” As he had not done a great deal of work since he returned ! from the Wellington fixture, he might’ have needed a race. Limerick is bowling along freely in his tasks, which are gradually beeoni- I iug a little more strenuous. This week 1. D. .Tones will send the Limond geld- j ing along in real earnest in preparation for important autumn engagements. During the New Zealand Cup fixture at Riccarton, Air O. R. Falkiner purchased Fool’s Paradise from Mr Rid-! diford, and had the gelding sent across to Australia. He did not have to wait long for a return of some of his outlay (said to be 1200 gns.) as Fool’s Paradise won the first division of the Flying Welter Handicap at the Rosehill meeting on Saturday. He carried 10.5 and completed the journey in Imin 26isec—a good performance. The stake was only 200sovs, but Mr Falkiner is a liberal bettor, and it is safe to assume that Fool’s Paradise is practically on the credit side. A coincidence regarding the first and second division i of the Flying Welter is that both were won by the progeny of Absurd. Speed and Stamina. In these days, when there is a wellfounded belief that in the breeding and training of racehorses, stamina has been sacrificed for speed, it is instructive to note that the two young stallions who last season were at the head of the winning sires’ list, now challenge the supremacy of Comedy King in their ability to get horses possessing stamina, comments a Sydney writer. The test of accomplishment is to take all the wins of a sires’ stock, and average the distances won over. The figures for the three leading Australian sires last season were:— Stakes. A vge. Won. Distance £ Fur. Valais 57,368 8.05 Magpie 36,003 7.68 Comedy King .. .. 28,412 8.18 While Comedy King’s percentage has practically not altered from the 8.10 of two years ago, when these figures were previously taken out, those of Vajpis and Magpie have improved, as their stock were not more than three years old, Valais having jumped from 6.46 to 8.05, and Magpie, from 7fur. to 7.65. The distance honours are really with the two younger stallions, whose stock •won several w.f.a. and set weight races at distances beyond a mile and a quarter, while the Comedy King’s Jong I races were handicaps, in which they had moderate weights. Magpie’s WindI bag. who won the longest race (21 miles), also two-mile events, was the outstanding stayer by these sire, and it is surprising that more Magpies have not been tried out over a distance. Perhaps we shall see more of them since Bacchus, in the Anniversary Handicap, so brilliantly rewarded Kelso’s perseverance. As a matter of fact, eight furlongs seems to be the best distance of the Magpies, as their 14 wins at a mile equalled the eight of Heroic and six of Comedy King, combined. Beyond that distance, the Magpies won 10 races, while Valais’ stock carried off 21 and Comedy King’s 20. The greatness of Valais lies in the fact that [ while his stock are able to win their share of sprint races, they have been successful at every furlong up to 14. High-Priced Bargains When Mr N. Brown without a moment’s hesitation a few days ago turned a deaf ear to an offer of £3OOO for the. Carrington Stakes winner, Grecian ' Orator, some of the bystanders were astonished. Comparatively seldom, however, do horses that have done so weU as the Demosthenes gelding fail to justify the high prices given for them by speculative owners. The proportion i of successes is certainly greater than ’ of big winners among two thousand guinea yearlings. The two most notable failures to return the outlay on them were the New Zealanders, Canteen and Golden Slipper, each of which was sold to an Australian for something like £5OOO, but did not come up to expectations. On the contrary, a cheap New Zealand gelding was Pilliewinkie, who was ’ thought to be well sold at six years ! of age for £2500 and a contingency to Sir Samuel Hordern. True, he missed the Melbourne Cup which loomed large in Sir Samuel’s eye at the time, but Pilliewinkie afterwards won an Australian Cup, and has returned the popular knight over £ll,OOO in stakes. This is some solatium for the many thousands of pounds Sir Samuel had spent dipping into the yearling branpie. The profit on the Pilliewinkie trans-

action did not end with the stakes he won, because his owner, beipg a good bettor, is reputed to have cleared much more in wagers over the Australian Cup win. It is, indeed, the betting possibilities of good performers which often account for the high prices given for them. Mr Percy Jones, for instance, is understood to have given £3OOO for Lausanne, and though he failed shortly afterwards in his attempt to win the Doncaster, the two minor races he has won at Rosehill probably relieved the ring of a five-figure sum, as his owner is one of the pluckiest and shrewdest of Sydney’s punters. The Banker Pays. Another owner of the same type is Mr Otway Falkiner, who gave 3000 guineas for The Banker and, though he, too, failed to land a gigantic coup with him in the Melbourne Cup, no doubt made the gelding’s ledger account satisfactory when he won a subsequent race at the meeting. David, another of his purchases, was even more profitable, as he picked up about £20.000 in stakes with him, and when ho won the Sydney Cup, to mention only one race, £16,000 was paid over in one parcel of notes by Sydney’s leading bookmaker. An owner of quite another stamp, who buys well, but, as he does not bet, looks for his return in stakes, is Mr T. M. Burke, of Melbourne, a newcomer at the game, whose 1800 guineas gelding Quintus recently won the Standish Handicap, worth £B9B, within a fortnight of the time he was bought. Quintus had won the Newmarket and another race worth between them £3672. and he has now gathered in about £5500 in stakes. Mr Burke was not quite so fortunate with El Dorado, for whom he gave 3000 guineas after that horse had run second to King of the Forest in the Summer Cup. He got back £1244 quickly enough in the Anniversary Handicap, but afterwards could not do better than run third to Aeearak and Jarkstaff in the Australian Cup. Quintus, bought a little later, has, however, paid for himself and El Dorado.