WAIRARAPA.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1540, 30 October 1919, Page 10

WAIRARAPA.

Lady General Refuses to Face Barrier at Masterton Meeting — Tonukohe Shaping Well in His Track Essays—Red Ribbon Meets With Mishap—Local Candidates for 1920 Wanganui Guineas —J. T. Jamieson's Formidable. Team for Riccarton — Kilrush’s New Zealand Cup Engagement. MASTERTON, Saturday. W. Hill is now acting as private trainer to Mr. W. E. Bidwill, at Featherston. At present the horses under his care are Proclamation, Vivation and Quotation.

Dainty Step is looking very well just now, although on the big side. Mr. Fenwick still has the Lucullus mare at Tauherenikau. She is doing some attractive work on the course. Lady General would not go near the barrier at Opaki, and was left both days. T. Higgins’ mare is not herself just now, and has not been galloping up to her usual form on the local track. Lady Witchet, in the same stable, is coming on nicely. S. Pinkerton, trainer of Black Hill, has an aged gelding in work by Canada —Remittance. The name of Pension has been given to him. The local lightweight, R. S. Bagby, is riding very well just now, and was up on four winners during the local meeting. He goes ori to Riccarton after the Trentham gathering, and has several important engagements at the Cup meeting.

Judging by the record attendance on both days and the large increase in the totalisator returns, the Masterton Racing Club should show a substantial profit over the recent meeting.

H. Pritchard has Tonukohe (Advance —Loch Ayr) going along nicely in his work at Opaki. The gelding is ownsd by Mr. W. Grey, of Masterton.

The withdrawal of Red Ribbon from her Wellington engagements was due to her having met with an

accident in her box. Mr. Dorset’s mare had been well supported in doubles by local sports. For next year’s Wanganui Guineas the following Wairarapa-owned candidates have been entered: Vivation, Proclamation, Strategy, Kildee, Martian—Vicella colt, Raceful, Shepherd Lad, Missnanna and Weldone. The last-named trio are Australian - bred, and are owned by Mr. W. R. Kemball. Mr. W. McKenzie has a nice colt in Kaika (King Mark — Simois), which is at present in W. Garrett’s charge. Although on the big side just now, he knows how to stretch himself out. and promises to turn out well later on. Mr. McKenzie is an old racing identity in this district, and owns Vascovia. His successes are always well received by Wairarana patrons of the sport. The Opaki trainer, W. H. Corlett, has a nice cut of a galloper in Pakaraka under his charge. The gelding is six years old, and is owned by Mr. 'D. Donald, of Masterton. Pakaraka is by Provocation —No Trumps, and shows a lot of pace. His owner raced the gelding’s dam in this district several years ago, and won several races with her. The local horseman, R. Hunt, who is attached to Mr. C. F. Vallance’s stable, has been very unfortunate during the past 12 months. He was an inmate of the Dannevirke Hospital a few months back through a

bad fall he had while schooling a horse over country, and last week was taken to the Masterton Hospital through an accident he met with on the second day of the local meeting. He is how progressing favourably, Hunt has been riding at his best lately.

J. T. Jamieson will have a useful team with him on his trip to Riccarton, and Affectation, Murihiku, Torfreda. Rose Wreath, Strategy, Rieuse and the Martian —Vicella colt are all engaged at the meeting. The Opaki trainer has started the season well, and, judging by the appearance of his charges at present, there should be several more successes in view for the stable. The finishing run put in by Kilrush in the Masterton Cup gained him many admirers for the New Zealand Cup, as the Tauherenikau-train-ed gelding was going faster at the finish than anything else in the race. He was not too well placed when heads were turned for home, but he went past everything but Affectation, and quite a few thought that in another quarter of a mile the positions would have been reversed. A. McAulay has the son of Kilbroney and Prank looking very well, and he should be landed at the post in the big Riccarton event at his best. Sinapis is the only previous winner of the New Zealand Cup trained in the Wairarapa, and the late H. Fletcher prepared her for her engagement on the Tauherenikau track. Kilrush is owned and trained by McAulay.

effort under the conditions, as two furlongs from home his rider, H. Young, lost .his -stirrups and was of little assistance to him over the concluding stages. Gay Lad is a horse that takes a lot of galloping to keep fit, and now that his bruised heel is well again he has been getting it. He is a rare mover, but it has yet to be seen how such a free goer will shape over a two-mile course. It was intended to give him a run in the Rangiora Cup, but the rough going did not appeal to his trainer. Though Flight Commander, who is a stable companion of Gay Lad, won a race at Ashburton in fairly convincing style, I hardly fancy he will be included in the Cup field. He has been galloping fairly well, but should be better suited by some of the minor handicaps at the meeting. Another of M. Hobbs’ charges in Tortrix was to have accompanied La Piax, the Bezonian —Peace filly, to Wellington, only for going slightly amiss on her return from Ashburton. No two-year-old trained at Riccarton this season has shown more brilliancy than La Paix, and in her and Winter Wind Riccarton stables have two very brilliant two-year-olds. Bon Spec has not done much galloping since his winning effort at Ashburton. He is very forward, and of all the locally-trained candidates for Stewards’ Handicap honours appears to possess the best credentials. Almoner and Eleus have been located at Riccarton since the Ashburton meeting. The former is being got ready for the Stewards’ Handicap, but he will have to improve vastly on any of his showings this season to have much chance. Eleus is not a brilliant track worker, and though he generally shapes better with the colours up it is hard to imagine him having much chance in a New Zealand Cup field. Punka continues to go on the right way, evidently being all the better for her race at Ashburton. She may find 8.8 a full load in the Stewards’ Handicap, but can be ticked off as a very likely winner at the November meeting. Kilbrogan is now at Riccarton getting through a solid preparation for the Stewards’ Handicap. When raced at Ashburton he was decidedly backward, but promises to strip very fit by next month. Of the other Riccarton representatives in the Stewards’ Handicap, Onslaught, Miss Mimic, Mustard Pot and Cerberus have been responsible for the best track efforts, but so far as the local candidates are concerned Bon Spec appears to dominate the position. He is a remarkably quick beginner, and can be relied on to run out a very solid six furlongs. Nine of Mr. J. B. Reid’s horses arrived at Riccarton last week to fulfil engagements at the C.J.C. meeting and then go into the sale ring. Of their number Kilmoon, Sunlit and Sunart look most likely to win races. Radial was scratched for the Stewards’ Handicap at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, but it is quite probable that he will contest some of the minor sprint events at the November meeting. The Irish-bred mare First Glance recently lost her colt foal to Martian, and is to be mated with Clarenceux. Amongst the best faficied candidates for the C.J.C. Stewards’ Handicap is Michaela, who is reported to be getting through a very satisfactory preparation. A recent addition to W. McDonald’s team at Riccarton is Listening Post, who ran second in a two-year-old race at Wingatui. Spyglass, who has previously been trained by her owner, E. Fox, at Rakaia, has joined R. King’s stable. After being off the tracks for a long time, that brilliant sprinter Koesian is again in commission.