WANGANUI.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1241, 29 January 1914, Page 16

WANGANUI.

Dorando Doing Light Work —Hurdle Events at Wanganui Attract Small Entry—Likely-looking Trio in Egmont Cup. (From Our Wanganui Correspondent.) WANGANUI, Monday. J. Lambess evidently has hopes of making a hurdler of the son of Torager which tie has in training, as he is . schooling him over the small sticks. He. is a likely cut, but it will take some time to get him into proper shape. . .

Euroco does not appear to be making any improvement in condition and it will bte a long time before he is back to his best form. He looks quite a wreck at present and has nasty lumps on his elbows. The gelding Dorando is a frequent visitor to the tracks, though his work of the lightest description. He is in splendid condition for one who will not be wanted to race tor about three months, by which time there, is every prospect of him being as good if not better than ever. His owner has hopes of taking the San Fran gelding to Australia for the coming steeplechase season, and if he does make the trip across he should able to pick up a good stake or two. White. Plume, which is being trained by W. H. Keith, is engaged at the Egmont meeting next month. He looks a bit on the big. side,- but is very well, having done a lot of swimming.

• Aruake, ■ who had his first lesson over the hurdles a week or so ago, was given another turn over the small sticks on Friday, when he again shaped remarkably well for a - beginner. He is engaged in the Hack Hurdles at the- Wanganui- Cup meeting; Though the total nominations received for the handicap events at the Wanganui Autumn meeting do not come up to last. year’s record, they are very. satisfactory. A pleasing feature about this year’s entries is that the principal events all show an increase, numerically,. while in - point of quality nothing .better than those engaged. could b l e hoped - for in the Dominion. ..There are,thirty engaged in the Cup, and amongst -that, lot are the winners, of all the season’s big events, including' Sinapis, Kilrain. Sir Solo, Sea Pink, Bon Ton, and Tiresome. Tannhauser, last year’s Wanganui Cup winner, is also in the list, and several other' good performers, so that a-splendid race may be looked forward to.

A local sport, who recently visited the West Coast, was much struck by the annearance of Britain Crown, and he looks to this horse to run a big race in the Wanganui Cup if he goes on all right. Postillion’s failure in the Waterloo Stakes-was costly-to Wanganui backers, who also supported Record and Sunbird fairly solidly without success. All three are’sure to make amends before very long.

The Boniform —Carissima filly Mai Cara, owned by Wiri Tokena and trained by Tilley, shaped well at Trentham, and the opinion is expressed that she will be a good performer. She is one of the biggest of Boniform’s gets yet raced, and should develop into a slashing three-year-old. It is-not often that F. Tilley takes a team to Wellington without landing a race or two, but he failed to score with any of his half-dozen at Trentham Itst week. Leonta is credited

with running a big race in the Cup, in which she finished fourth, and would have been closer with any luck. The racing there should do the Conqueror gelding good, and he ought to be at his top form by the time the Wanganui Cup meeting comes round. It looks as if the Wanganui Jockey Club will have to take into serious consideration the question as to whether or not it would be advisable to strike the hurdle events off . both the spring and the autumn programmes. The nominations received for the hurdle events (both open and hack) for the Cup meeting are small and very poor in quality. Some years ago a fine lot of hurdlers was always seen out at the Wanganui meetings, but of late years there has been a great falling off, and the entries received are much under what might reasonably bfe expected, considering the value of the prize-money offered. It would come as no surprise, therefore, to find the club cutting out some of the hurdle events at its spring and autumn meetings. If a move is made in this direction it is hard to say what could be substituted, though I would like to see the club put on a good weight-for-age race at each meeting, over, say, a mile and a-quarter or a mile and a-half. Such races may not draw any more, nominations than the hurdle events, but they would, at all events, attract.the best class of horses and provide somevery interesting contests. The Wanganui Trotting Club should make a big success of its next annual meeting, which will take place on tlie Wanganui racecourse on February 27 and March 2. The Wanganui Jockey

Club’s Cup meeting is being held on the. 2 6th and 28th. February,, so that sportsmen will have four days’ racing on end served up for them. The trotting club is offering ’ liberal prizemoney, so that the nominations, which close on the 6th February, should be large, and the sport should be of an interesting description. Mr. Ulic Shannon has been appointed to do the handicapping. The Summer meeting of the Egmont Club' will be held on Wediesday and Thursday of next week. If the acceptances, due next Friday, are up to expectations, the gathering should be one of the most successful ever held by the club. Mr. George Morse has declared the weights, and his adjustments will stand a lot of scrutiny, as they appear to have been framed in the handicapper’s best style. Bon Ton (9.3), Expect <8.12), and Con the Shaughran (7.2) ’ are a likelylooking trio in the Cup. Leonta (7.8) is not a boy’s horse, a fact which.was further demonstrated at Trentham, otherwise he would look the pick of the handicap. In the Flying, Zetes (8.2) will make the best of them scamper. Grattan (7.9) and Tree Lucerne (7.9) read as well as anything else. If Ngatiruanui (11.10) is back to form his prospects in the hurdles must be considered very rosy. Square Deal disappointed his backers at Trentham, but may be he will do better at Egmont. He seems to be nicely weighted at 8.4 in the Waipapa Hack (seven furlongs), but there are a number of good hacks engaged in Counsel (8.11), White Crane (8.10), Conney (7.6), and Record (7.4). The other events all appear likely to be well contested, and some fine racing should be witnessed at the meeting.

Goldmore, by Goldreef —Kilmorey, both imported parents, won the four-teen-two Handicap at Ascot on January 10. Goldmore was bred by Mr. G. P. Donnelly.