STRAY NOTES ON THE A.R.C. HANDICAPS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1493, 5 December 1918, Page 9

STRAY NOTES ON THE A.R.C. HANDICAPS.

Mr. McManemin, it is known, did not adjust the weights for the spring meeting of the Auckland Racing Club. The work was done by Mr. H. Coyle owing to Mr. McManemin being laid up with influenza, but as it was decided when the postponement of the day’s racing was brought about that fresh handicaps would be made after the first three days’ racing of the

A.R.C. summer meeting, it will fall to Mr. McManemin to make them. In the Railway Handicap are about a dozen horses that were accepted for in the Shorts Handicap, which was to have been run at the spring meeting. Mr. McManemin. has treated Cardrona, Vagabond, Housewife and Cyrisian relatively the same, King Abbey 21b., Gacyium 31b., Waiuta 41b., Arran and Silver Dink 51b., Happy Valley 121 b. and Miss Ellice 161 b. worse. It is in consequence of the handicap for the Railway coming so low that the two latter at any rate suffer by comparison, but Cyrisian, a three-year-old, and those of that age are expected to improve about 41b. in the interval, comes out of the comparison best. Then King Abbey, who is the same age, and as they have been given 51b. and 31b. respectively pull over Silver Link the conclusion must be that Mr. McManemin thought her too well in the Shorts Handicap, for which, by the way, she was a strong fancy, as she was for the Flying Handicap at Avondale, for which she was not started owing to the illness of both her trainer and rider. Gaycium, by the way, was third in that race carrying 7.6, only a halflength and neck behind Rekanui (7.12) and Kereone (6.11), respectively. In the list of acceptors for the Flying Handicap at Feilding there are half a dozen that are engaged in the A.R.C. Railway Handicap, the same distance. Of these Mr. McManemin

has given Nystad 61b., 80-Peep and Torfreda 71b., Birkenvale 81b., and Vagabond 101 b. less than Mr. Henrys did, while Shiela has only 41b. lees. The meeting was to have been held on November 30. The extra 26 days favours the three-year-olds 80-Peep and Torfreda as against the older ones named. Eight horses engaged in the A.R.C. Railway Handicap are also engaged in the Auckland Cup, and it is interesting to note the different treatment of some of them; for instance, two of the same age, Punka and Taunaha, filly and colt respectively, the first-named a winner up to a mile and a-half and prominent in the best company, has been set to give Mr. Richmond’s colt 131 b. in the Railway and 21b. in the Cup. This seems a big difference. It is greater still in the case of Gazique, who is asked to give the colt 251 b. in the Railway and 101 b. in the Cup. Gazique has been handicapped as a non-stayer, and is set to meet Taunaha as if that colt were a proved stayer, which, of course, may turn out to be the case, but it is interesting to note that he is called upon to meet Gazique at such a difference as 151 b.,

Punka 111 b., and the North Shoreowned pair Housewife and Lord Kenilworth, he being the younger, on 61b. and 31b. respectively worse terms over the longer course. Lord Kenilworth whatever he may do or fail to do in the future has certainly been better treated on figures than horses he beat last year, when a three-year-old, and he won two races, ran second in the Derby to Estland, who he led until well down the straight, and now has 381 b. from him in the Cup. He ran third in the Waitemata Handicap, one mile ‘ and a-quarter, with 9.5 to British Arch (8.13) and Demotic (8.(1), and gave 191 b. to Slipstitch, 291 b. to Blue Cross, 321 b. to Pearl de Mont, three that are in the Auckland Cup, and they are now only 21b. below him in weight, with no form in the interval in the case of Slipstitch and Pearl de Mont, who did not run again last season, and only the same consistent plodding on the part of Blue Cross, who shortly afterwards won one race in which were horses giving him weight, which Lord Kenilworth had given lots of weight to. Lord Kenilworth is treated like an old horse that has lost form instead of a young one that should improve on anything he did last year. His A.R.C. summer meeting and Takapuna summer meeting form impressed both Mr. McManemin and Mr. Coyle favourably, but his one start at Avondale seems to have been accepted as a complete loss of form instead of as a gallop likely to help him to do better.