NOTES AND COMMENTS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 256, 29 October 1932, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

X 1. (By “Kestrel”) |j The concluding day of the Poverty Bay meeting will attract attention in j the racing world of the Dominion today. In Victoria the big Fleming- j ton meeting will commence, while on | Tuesday the climax of Australian j spring racing will be reached when the ( Melbourne Cup comes up for decision. ( r Midinette for Ellerslie When the Koatanui studmaster was j represented by Midinette in the Cham pion Hack Plate and the Avondale s Guineas at the recent Avondale spring meeting and the Limon <1 filly failed to (| finish in a place in either event, it was (l thought, unlikely that she would be seen out at. the Auckland spring meeting. The fact that Midinette found herself unable to negotiate the right _ handed turns at Avondale did not ap- ( pear to enhance her prospects for events at Ellerslie, where the course is also right-handed. However, the straight, run from the mile barrier at (l Ellerslie enables Guineas candidates to ~ have a good chance to settle down, n while the turns are much better than () is the case at. Avondale, so it has been s decided to take Midinerte north. She „ was taken up by W. Rayner yesterday, 0 Spiral and Pomp also being in the |, t ea m. [

High Commissioner. In recent essays oxer the battens al i the spring meetings in this district ( High Commissioner has shown marked i ability. Wins at Wanganui (on the 1 Hat) and Otaki (hurdles) prepared invectors to accept a short price about I the All Red gelding at Wavcrley on Monday. They did not have much ' reason to worry about the result, lor High Commissioner was kept handy to; Day Lass all the way, ran up to the i leader at the last obstacle, and then I came on to win as he liked. I hough he may not be. up to the class yet, High . Commissioner has bad only limited experience as a. jumper and there is every likelihood of his developing into quite a useful sort at the game. Only Four StartersWhen the field paraded fur th e M '-*r ton Memorial Maiden Race at Waverley on Monday there were only four contestants in the birdcage, a fact which was commented on as most unusual for this class of event. Seldom is a maiden field less than eight or 10; more often does the number of starters approximate the score. However, the race served to show Peschiera up in a very good light, for the Tea Tray colt was always in the van with the favourite. Taitoru, and as soon as Barry asked ; him to go Peschiera left the others to , it, winning nicely. His supporters shared a nice dividend for a four-horse j race. Full Brothers. Knollmere and Grand Jury, wbo were the runners-up in the Brewer Handicap and the Wavcrley Cup respective y on Monday, are full brothers,, both being bv Grandeourt out of Orozino. Knollmere is now a five-year-old while Grand , Jury is a vear older. As W. J° r S en ’ , sen, of Feilding, trains the two ot them, though they are under different ownerships, it will be interesting to see bow the two sons of Grandeourt tare as e season progresses. Fast Passage. : The form shown by Fast. Passage at the Wellington meeting was larly good and will gain her additional ] frieitds for the New ZealandL Cu P’ “ : which she is handicapped at 8.0 1 his , filly has registered several good per- , formances during the last few mouths ( and should strip in first-rate condition for the big two-mile event at Riccar- j ton. In the past most of her successes have been recorded over distances rang- ( ing from eight furlongs up to a mile j and a quarter, but she should m her ( present condition be capable of seeing ; out a longer journey. At Rrccarton t last November Fast Passage ran see- , end to Korokio in the Oaks, one mile i and a half, and as she is now an im- , proved filly her prospects in the Cup j contest next month appear to be ex- j cellcnt. ( Two Derby Riders. If all goes well with Rocket and Drumfire in the next ten days, both i will be runners in the New Zealand j Derby. B. H. Morris will have the ( mount on Drumfire. L. G. Morris will , ride Rocket and he will also be on < Fleeting Glance in the New Zealand 1 Oaks.

Last Year’s Winner. bperffful is nowhere near his form of twelve months ago, and he is not a horse who improves quickly. In his four starts sin'ce his resumption he has been last to finish each time, and, although he is doing better with each race, he will probably be still short of a race or two on New Zealand Cup day. What is still lacking in him is his old finishing run, but it may be there at the end of two miles. Not For Red Sun? A Wellington writer is not impressed with Red Sun’s chances in the New Zealand Cup. He says: There is a lot of talk about Red Sun, probably because he races in the same colours and is by the same sire as Glare, but really he has done nothing yet to mark him as a likely Cup winner. He was quite outclassed in the one run in open company he had at Trentham, and one has to take a lot for granted in expecting him to play a priminent part in this year’s New Zealand Cup finish. About Gay Crest. In the New Zealand Cup Gay Crest looks like being one of the hardest horses to beat, in spite of his weight. He was obviously still not quite ready when galloped prior to the recent Trentham meeting, but he improved on that gallop and went quite a fair pace for > nine furlongs of the Wellington Handi- > cap on Saturday on going that is known ' not to suit, him and finished seventh. . Then on Monday, on such a greasy track that it was doubtful if he would raise any sort of effort at all, he made , all the running in the Harcourt Cup and was caught, by Historic only just on the post after the most desperate battling for over a furlong. Gay Crest ' is a proved two-miler. He was third in the Cup with 8.10 last. year, and ■ subsequently was second in the Auek- > land Cup with 9.0. Two years ago, he ' was first to finish in the Auckland Cup, but he had to reverse placings with Motere, whom he was found to have j crossed near the finishing post. He is a horse whose preparation for November seems to have been very carefully < timed. Historic at Two Miles. Historic contested the New Zealand 1 and Auckland Cups with 9.5 and 8.12 < respectively as a five-year-old, but ; failed to stay. His only success beyond 1| miles has been in the recent Wav- 1 crlcy Handicap. If miles, ar Randwck. 1 He did not beat any real stayer in that field, except Chide, who was not right. Whether he can go two miles in the best handicap company now that he has age with him still remains to be ( tested. Melbourne Cup. New Zealand representatives included ; in the final acceptance for the Mel- ; bourne Cup are: Admiral Drake, Peter Jackson, Havering, Manawhenua, Gaine ; Carrington and Compris (owned in ; Ceylon). Former New Zealand trainers ; now resident in Australia with repre- • sentatives in the race are: George Price, Havering; L. Robertson, Cimbrian ' and Oratory; Adam Skirving, Ruach; S. W. Reid,'Yarramba; and I’. J. Price, Streperus. H. R. Telford. former 1 owner of Pliar Lap, is the owner-trainer of Jd'liwallah. Knows New Zealand. t Earthquake, who is engaged with ( 7.0 in the Akaroa Handicap at. M.otu- | karara, and who is si ill in the Now j Zealand Cup. has not had a race since , early in June. She crowded a lot of , racing and travelling into the. first j eh-\eri months of last season, starting i forty times in manv parts of flic Do- ; minion. She. won six times, was second \ once and third twice. During the sea- | son she raved on the following courses: ’ -—Riccarton. Ashburton, Orari. Rangiora, Motukarara, Hokitika, Oinoto. Roeflon, Pahiatua, Gisborne. Poverty Pay, T<- A roha, Trentham ami Nelson, i