AFTER THE DERBY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19933, 31 August 1927, Page 10

AFTER THE DERBY

RACING IN BRITAIN (Special “Chronicle” Service). LONDON, June 9. There is (writes “Centaur,” the “Chronicle’s” special corespondent), some aftermath concerning ihe Derby and Oaks, which may be of interest. Hot Night, the only horse to draw level with Call Boy at Epsom, is being given a long rest, and, besides missing sitters at Manchester, does not go to Ascot. Thus decision of Sir V. Sassoon is not surprising, having regard to the temperamental nature of his colt, and a rest until the Eclipse Stakes draws near will not do Hot Night any harm at all. While we have this information about the Derby runner-up, it is bad news to hear that the actual winner, Call Boy, may not run in his Ascot engagements, and may also miss the chance of a lifetime in the Grand Prix de Paris, at the end of the month. This early decis’on by Air. Frank Curzon stands to be revised if it is thought necessary, but, as the horse is at work at Newmarket and not the least disturbed by his Derby effort, everybody seems to think it would be a good thing if the owner made up his mind to challenge the French people on their own ground. I have previously talked of the French colt, Mon Talisman, who is regarded as the best three-year-old in France, and a probable winner in the Grand Prix if England has no strong rival such as Call Boy. Hot Night and Shian Mor, who were the placed horses in the Derby, would never get the distance in the French “classic.” Shian Mor, as I expected, went out of the Royal Hunt Cup. This is another colt who may be a formidable Eclipse Stakes contender later on.

Sickle was stumped up pretty badly by the hard ground at Epsom, and it will be sonic while before he can uni again, 1 hear. There is no doubt that he was far from being at his best at Epsom, and probably Lord Derby only let him go to the post because of the large amount of public money which the colt carried.

Our “double” looked all right a week before Epsom’s gathering started, and Beam did all I expected of her in the Oaks. She is a game ’un and no mistake, making every yard of the running, withstanding the very strong late challenge of Book Law, and putting up a new time record for the race. She was, as a matter of fact, only ouefifth of a second slower than Call B‘iy over the one and a-half miles. Coronach’s Record. Call Boy beat the previous Derby time —to the credit of Captain Cuttle — by one-fifth of a second, but, when Corocach beat Embargo for the Coronation Cup, the champion beat all records for the Epsom course. His time for the miles was 2min. 34secs—or twufifths inside the previous best. According to what we hear as 1 write, Coronach is another likely absentee from Ascot’s big attractions, and that means that ho will forfeit his Gold Cup engagement. There > rt? other, and easier, prizes which he can pick up, but a lot of disappointment marked the stable’s decision not to go for the Cup, which, of course, is a coveted prize. The French people are expected to be well represented in the race, and Biribi is one that causes a lot of talk. Alec Taylor has not won a 2-year-old race up to the first week in June, but I hear that there will be a different tale to tell after Ascot. The Aga Khan, too, has designs on some of the Royal fixture plums, and his colours will have a big following.

We have had such a long spell of dry weather that the ground has been thoroughly hard for weeks. This naturally causes owners and trainers to be chary of risking their horses, but, even so, it Is to be questioned whether the policy is not carried a bit 100 far. The Ascot Stakes entry of nearly 70 was cut down to 22 at the acceptance stage, and most long-distance races arc suffering similarly at the present time. After Ascot there arc not many opportunities for future-event wagering for quite a while. The Northumberland Plate, to be run at Newcastle on June 22, used to bo a popular ante-post betting race, but it is not so nowadays. I have earmarked Border Minstrel for this, even though he failed me when I extolled his merits prior to the Chester Cup. As most of Border Minstrel’s rivals hold interim engagements, it is not possible for me to weigh up the pros and cons properly, but as Af. Peacock, the veteran Yorkshire trainer, is preparing Border Minstrel for the race we are discussing, there is no dooubt about our getting a good run.