WINTER RACE MEETING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 115, 18 May 1933, Page 4

WINTER RACE MEETING

THE WANGANUI JOCKEY CLUB GRANDSTAND STEEPLES DAY By " KESTREL.” To-day there will be commenced the winter meeting o£ the Wanganui Jockey Club, the fixture being set down for conclusion on Saturday. The principal event to be decided to-day is the Century Hurdles, now run over a distance of a mile and three-quarters, whereas up to 1927 the distance was half a mile further. However, with the class of hurdlers in commission nowadays the distance of to-day’s event is far enough to get a decent test. Other events which will claim particular interest to-day are the Grandstand Steeplechase, the Empire Handicap and the Winter Oats. Even allowing for the small field of half a dozen which will contest the Grandstand Steeplechase, fields for this afternoon should be of very satisfactory dimensions, as there will be few defections. The track is in splendid order and the racing should be interesting, with keen finishes in prospect. Form suggests that some* of the following candidates will be well supported in their engagements.

0 RATA HACK HANDICAP (Of £75; seven and a-quarter furlongs) Plateau, concedes from 141 b to 241 b all round, and in Plateau .. .. sp ite of the fact that he has not had a race for some five Ida Merlins .. 810 months there is no reason why he should not be able to justify the handicapper's estimate. Ida Merling has disPans ° 8 9 appointed on more than one occasion but went well on Lalla Quex .. 8 9 Tuesday morning. Pango is going to be at a much shorter price than was the case in the Tawhiti Hack at Hawera, Thrasher ..87 w hen he beat all but Fairway. Lalla Quex is small but Auctioneer ..8 7 she is smart, and she will not lack friends. Auctioneer has been off the scene so long that he cannot be preferred Nebulae .. .. 8 o th ose w ith recent form. Thrasher should be a danAraetar .. .. 8 0 gerous customer, while Nebulae will be another wellsupported Awapuni candidate. Arastar has plenty of Sir Romeo .. 8 pace t ]j e B orou gh Hack may be his mission. Sir Romeo will have some friends, but the public may prefer Pango, Plateau, Nebulae. 1 2 An BALGOWNIE HACK HANDICAP (Of £80; one mile and a distance) Here the field should permit of a dividend being Fairway .... 9 8 returned to backers of the third horse. With the excelGrand Lahu ..9 0 lent record of two wins in two starts at Marton and Hawera, Fairway is certainly entitled to his 9.8, and the Attentive .. 8 o three-year-old is in such good form that he may be Capetown ..8 4 favourite. Grand Lahu is a well bred 'Bay candidate who has some good performances to her credit. AttenDavistock ..84 tive as a p ar ti a my f or distance hack events and he has Beaconsfield . 7it only to get a decent run to be distinctly dangerous. Capetown has proved himself almost up to open class and Tentcall .. .. 7 7 compan y might be easy for him. Davistock is very No Humbug . 7 0 useful, and Beaconsfield has plenty of pace, which is in his favour on the turning Wanganui track. Tenteall has Friacilla Verne 7 0 njn g oo q an d SO me indifferent races, and of the trio on the minimum Priscilla Verne may prove best. On form the favourites should be Fairway, Grand Lahu, Davistock. 4 20 CENTURY HURDLES (Of £175; one mile and threequarters) It Is a pleasing feature of this race that ten remained in up to the eleventh hour, the only defection of note being Ganpat. With number one saddlecloth Consent .. io 12 Consent is in the position of conceding weight to performers with far better records, but even at that his Callamut ..10 9 task is not so difficult as it may seem at first glance. He Henn Navane 10 4 I s only a recruit to the game but a promising one. Callamart is a proved hurdler and if he is fancied he will High Falutin 10 2 take a lot of beating. Henry of Navarre has not been Adventus io o seen in action for a considerable time, but he is a class jumper when in the mood. High Falutin’ gives promise Ruanui .... 9 6 o f |j e i n g able f 0 foot it with the best over the battens. Red Bank ..9 6 He is improving with every race. Adventus has recent winnfeig form to commend him, one of his best performInvictus .... 9 2 ances o f recent months being his defeat of Callamart at Mise Hastings 9 0 the Awapuni autumn meeting when in receipt of 51b. Ruanui showed a lot of pace at Marton and may again Autumn Dawn 9 0 p acema k er> Red Bank may be held safe by the others, while Invietus, in spite of recent winning form, may find the company too good. Miss Hastings may be the better of the pair on the minimum. A preference must be expressed for Adventus, Consent, Callamart. 2.5 EMPIRE HANDICAP (Of £150; one mile and a distance) View Halloo ..99 View Halloo has always shown a decided liking for the Chopin .... 8 8 Wanganui track, and with all his weight, he is going to Arisus^ 1811 8 0 prove hard to beat to-day. It must not be forgotten that he won with 9.4 over a similar distance at Feilding, and Awaken .. .. 712 was running away at the finish. Chopin, with tho ser712 v *ices of the leading jockey, will have all the support his honesty deserves. Aga Khan sprang a surprise at Beaconfire ..79 Hawera but he will be better supported to-day. Arisus Little Doubt . 7 9 cannot be recommended over a distance, good as he has proved over sprint courses. Awaken must be given a Lucky Alice . 7 3 good chance, and Habit, decently handled, could be N' htm 7 3 labelled dangerous. Beacon Fire is a likely customer, ’ ” especially if he can be handled by a light horseman. Princess Bell 7 0 Little Doubt, last year’s winner, may not be strung up TO to concert pitch yet. There are some useful performers among the remaining half-dozen, with Nightmare and Senegal .... 7 0 Senegal perhaps the best. Summing them up, backers r Fair 7 0 are to overlook the claims of ** ” View Halloo, Aga Khan, Chopin. 0.45 GRANDSTAND STEEPLECHASE (Of £125; about two miles) This is a small field, though with a dearth of 2 ’chasers and with sonw already under a cloud there was Omeo -• •• not prospect of having many more engaged. Birkbeck .... 10 0 Birkbeck, as the winner of the Wanganui Steeplechase 911 two 7 earB a £°» nlus t bo respected. Fine Acre’s success Fme ere .. .. at Hawera last Saturday week had a lot of merit to it. Jen 9 5 Jen may be expected to make amends for his bad luck 9 0 at Hawera, but of the other pair, Acervate and Day Acerv .. .. Lass, it cannot be said that there is extra much to comDay Lus ..to mend them, save that the Wavcrley owner of Day Lass seldom wastes much time on an inferior juniper. Best backed may be Fine Acre, Jen, Birkbecx. o on WINTER OATS (Of £110; six furlongs) All Humbug . 811 Humbug has worked his way to the head of Pomp .. •• 8 6 the list, and even at 8.11 he is going to be hard to beat 6 if started. Pomp has been showing plenty of dash in Kaihoro -- .. essa y s on t rac k t and should not be far away at Royal Bengal 8 2 the finish. Kaihoro was second last year to Chief Link 713 as S^e * 3 * n g° od fettle the Lucullus mare must be Curle " “ dangerous. Curie is no stranger to the Wanganui track. The Tiger .. 710 Ronal Bengal, who ran well at Hawera, will have the * services of R. Reed and must be given a good chance. Arvada .. .. 710 Arvada would not relish going which proves at all heavy. Farmer .. .. 7 7 The Tiger would be a dangerous opponent if anywhere near his best. Farmer appears to be one of the most ..reen Linnet . 7 2 consistent of those below 8.0, and his turn cannot be far Knollmere ..7 2 off. Knollmere appears to have lost all form. Green Linnet is smart over sprint distances, and Sir Pombal Sir Pombal .70 should have a good chance if caught in the mood. Perhaps the best of them will be All Humbug, Pomp, Farmer. 4.15 BOROUGH HACK HANDICAP (Of £80; six furlongs) unting 9 2 As there are fifteen engaged there is ample material nstalment . 810 for a slashing race to conclude the day’s activities. Two .... Bio or three may drop out, but they can be spared. Good Jhief Marionette 8 7 Hunting showed at Marton that he is in the first flight Wasteland ..8 0 of hack sprinters, while the unlucky Instalment appears La Crown . 711 to have a good chance of making amends. Arena has King Thomond 7 6 plenty of pace and may take some catching if she gets Nebulae 7 6 awa Y smartly. Chief Marionette would be very danWillowmere 7 0 S erou s at her best. The Wasteland—King Thomond w * bracket is a handy combination, for the first-named is Boon .. ..7 0 a ver y smart customer over a short distance. La Grawn’s Diagano .... 7 o win Hawera was, it is claimed, no flash in the pan. Arastar .... 7 0 If Nebulae is started here he will have support. Of those Perimeter 0 on the minimum, Boon, Diagano and Arastar make most Hawora 7 o a PP<?al. Support may be accorded Arena, Arastar, Good Hunting.