ON THE TURF

Wanganui Chronicle, 6 May 1949, Page 2

ON THE TURF

BY

"KESTREL."

SECOND SEAL'S BESLEY MEMORIAL SUCCESS WAS OVERDUE

When Second Seal ran home half a dozen lengths ahead of his nearest opponents in the Besley Memorial, principal flat event at the Waverley autumn meeting last Saturday, he registered his first win in open company, and t'nat in spite of having left the hack ranks three years ago. Jn the interim he had contested sonic three dozen races.

Second Seal won three events in hack company as a three-year-old and made the grade with stake-earnings of £BB5, of which £715 eame from his wins. Since then he has carried his earnings to £2330, of w'.iieh £315 was credited from his Waverley win, so minor placings throughout his career—he is now a six-year-old —have brought him £l3OO in stake-money. It was not surprising that Second Seal returned a doucle-figure dividend for he had not sported silk since running unplaced in the Christmas Handicap at New Plymouth on Boxing Day. Some remembered, however, that he had been runner-up to Ngakoti in the Waverley Cup last Boxing Day and profited thereby. Investments on Second Seal amounted to £147 10s (win) and £203 (place), as against £547 and £4OO on the eachway favourite Hostess. Atomic, who finished second, was an even bigger outsider than the winner, carrying £75 straight-out and £ll5 in the place pool, and Mr Pym would have paid over a quarter of a century had he won instead of being third. As a three-year-old Second Seal finished second to Golden Kea in the first division o£ the Weraroa Stakes at New Plymouth at his first start. That paved the way fcr a win in the second division of tne Maiden Race at Wanganui. After four failures he secured two seconds at the Taranaki midsummer meeting, one of them in the Taranaki Hack Cup. He bore out this good form by winning the Eisenhower Hack and the Stratford Hack Cup at the Stratford meeting a week later. These two wins were worth £590, and Second Seal’s future racing had to be in open company. At that time he was in the stable of H. Duleu, then training at New Plymouth, and he experienced one of those exasperating runs which cqme to some horses. He was beaten half a head by Dink's Own in the Davidson Handicap at Hawera and then went under by a nose to Dileas in the Russell Grace Handicap at Wanganui. Next start he was third in the El Alamein Handicap at Levin, following that up with a second to Dunbar in the Halcombe Memorial at New Plymouth and a third to Young Trent and Dink’s Own in the President's Handicap at Stratford.

At the end of his three-year-old season Second Seal was gelded, and that operation seriously affected his form for a considerable time. Incidentally, the Revelation-Belle Caste gelding still appears in some racebooks as an entire. At four years Second Seal had five starts without finishing in a place, and as a five-year-old his only placing in six starts was a third in the Egmont Cup. In the current season Second Seal was runner-up to Ngakoti in the Waverley Cup last Labour Day at his first start of the season, and later he finished third to Miss Bairnsfather and Hormuz in the Bolton Handicap at Woodville, beaten half a neck and a head. He was beaten half a length by Barrage in the Raukawa Handicap at Otaki before taking part, at New Plymouth, in his last race prior to Saturday s win at Waverley.

Now that. Second Seal has struck form he may go on with it, especially as Stratford mentor M. Brooks has him in great fettle. Thus he is certain to have a following in the Mcßa» Handicap at Hawera tomorrow, in spite of the fact that he is now topweight with 9.1, conceding weight to the Feilding Cup winner, Loyal Bian. Other opponents likely to make a bold bid for the honours include Knight Templar (fourth after being left at Waverley). Sir Royal, White Cliffs an.. Mr Pym (finishing on at Waverley).