GREAT NORTHERN HURDLE RACE SHOULD BE INTERESTING

Wanganui Chronicle, 1 June 1949, Page 3

GREAT NORTHERN HURDLE RACE SHOULD BE INTERESTING

AUCKLAND, Last Night (Special).—Though the field for t'ne Great Northern Hurdles at Ellerslie next Saturday may be regarded as a. little below the standard expected for the £3OOO stake offered by the Auckland Racing Chib, the event may yet prove worthy of ranking alongside the majority of the contests provided in the history of the race, w'nich was first run in 1892.

So many race meetings clash these days, and there are so many oppcrttunities for junipers, that fields are inclined to be weak in numbers. Moreover, there are no horses of the calibre of Liberator, ; El Gallo, Lochella and Sir Rose-1 bery, who proved equal to winning the Hurdles and Steeples; double in their years.

Even these giants of the past did not carry the weight which Corineus has been asked to lump over the long journey next Saturday, though St. Simort won in 1897 with 12.12. Topweights have not always fared well, and Corineus, with his 11.10. has the hurdles in front of him in very truth. Makeup won with 11.5 in 1934, but of those in the 11 stone division and over to win one has to go back to Royal Conqueror (1902) 11.4, Coeur de Lion (1901) 11.8, St. Simon (1897) 12.12, and Liberator (1895) 12.9. Those were the days! But if ever a horse should make history it is Corineus. He is a big strong horse and one well up to weight, and he can be improved considerably upon his success under--11.5 at Te Rapa three weeks ago. Given the usually very heavy track at Ellerslie in June, then the Great Northern Hurdles becomes almost a steeplechase run at hurdles pace. That illustrates why it is so hard to win. Horses may chance one hurdle in this race but not more or they pay the penalty. Corineus 12 months ago was just nosed out of the Great Northern by South Riding, a horse that has not started since. It was a triumph for his trainer to get him to the post, let alone win the most valuable hurdle race in the country. Night Fighter, who follows Corineus in the handicap, is a grand horse, one that has previously won on the course, but that in midsummer.

Kauri Pine, a double winner over the sticks at Easter, is going to be carrying a lot of Auckland money, for his success on the flat last week revealed the condition he is in. And he is trained by the man who won it last year with South Riding! Ruling Master, a Parliamentary Handicap winner last winter, has come into the limelight by a series of four really good efforts in the past four weeks as a hurdler —second (to Whooray) at Avondale, third, a second and a win at Te Rapa, the last two outings in the open class. Now at 9.7 he will be in demand for the Great Northern. It is claimed that a horse has to be thoroughly seasoned to win the Great Northern Hu>'es. Ruling Master has jammed his four “seasoning ’ efforts into three weeks, or on four consecutive Saturdays in the month preceding the big race. That is not exactly “seasoning,” but it may well be sufficient for a horse of his class. Ruling Master has been a most inconsistent performer on the fiat. His efforts at hurdling on the other hand have been consistency itself.

Master Ted injured a knee when he toppled over the spread-eagled Moutoa Lord at Te Rapa, and as he has been schooled twice since it is likely tflat he will be a fit horse. But that week’s interruption to his preparation rpight prove fatal to his chances, which were highly regarded earlier. On the figures Our Gold, who ran Corineus close at Te Rapa the first must have an undeniable chance, for he now meets his conqueror much better.

There may be others in the running nept Saturday, but those named appeal most of the Great Northern Hurdles field, with a preference for two northern candidates, Kauri Pine and Ruling Master. The failure of Brookby Song to survive the results of his schooling at headquarters last Thursday and his absence from the acceptances because of a doubtful tendon in his off foreleg means that the Great Northern Steeplechase field is small in numbers but rather even in quality. At this stage the most likely contenders may well be Golden Reign. Gaiety and Murphy unless Whooray shows signs that he can be depended on to negotiate the Ellerslie “hill” which has thwarted the ambitions of many a Great Northern Steeples aspirant.