Keen Interest in Great Northerns and Cornwall

Chronicle (Levin), 31 May 1946, Page 6

Keen Interest in Great Northerns and Cornwall

Cards For Four Fixtures Under Review v (Special — From L.M.M.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The King's Birthday holiday fixtures will commence tomorrow when four meetings will open, namely Auckland, Wanganui, Napier Park end Dunedin.- The Wanganui and Napier fixtures will conclude on Monday, but Auckland and Dunedin will continue on Monday and conclude on the following Saturday.

Keen interest is being taken in the Great Northern Hurdles and Cornwall Handicap, to be run at Ellerslie to-morrow, and the Great Northern Steeplechase, to be decided on the second day, Monday, the two premier jumping events on the North Island racing calendar. The G.N. Hurdles appeals as a strong all-round field and it should be a great race. The topweight, Bright Fox, 11.12, has proved himself a dashing hurdler this terrfi, including among his ' achievements a course record for a mile and threequarters over hurdles at Ellerslie, but he faces a difficult task in successfully conceding Hunto, Bramble Song, Sporting Gold, Abdicate and Representative considerable poundage. I think the wlnner is .more than likely to come from such good jumpers as Representative, Abdicate or Hunto. The Master . Collossus gelding, Master Meruit, 11.3, heads the field for the G.N. Steeplechase on Monday. He is a great steeplechaser, who has proved in his schooling that he can negotiate the Ellerslie country successiully and looks certain to go out a favourite. Brookby Song, the northerners' most successiul young steeplechaser, is expected in the north to make matters very interesting with the topweight. Others in the field with good leaping chances are Ballyneety, Diamond King and New Battle. Only three horses, Ramillies, Diamond King and Ballyneety are engaged in both Northerns, and if one of them succeeds in winning boch events it will be the first time the double has been accomplished since Sir Rosebery won the Hurdles with 10.2 and the Steeples with 11.5 in 1925. The Cornwall Handicap has drawn a large field, and to avoid a division will require three scratchings. Horses engaged in the event and also the Members' Handicap are Findon, Master Robin, Good Boy and Sir Leon, so there is a likelilrood that a division might be avoided. The ruling favourites are Arco and Battle Dance. Good fields are also carded for Wanganui and Napier Park. Reports from the centres at which the meetings are being held indicate that the tracks will be in good condition for this time of the year.