ORATORIAN'S CUP CHANCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 92, 15 October 1932, Page 19

ORATORIAN'S CUP CHANCE

REGENT IMPROVED FORM

,j -When, Equitas's, Demosthenes daughter, Oratress, ( won tKc"'2?e\v'Zealand Cup in ; ~1920, she set-an example for her own offspring; to emulate, and eight years later ' her Kilbroney daughter, Oratrix, succeedSedin rising to "the occasion by winning '•another New Zealand Cup. Concentrate, '.a. full brother to Oratrix, attempted the feat 'the nest two years, and he will probably .•be making his third tilt at the prize this iyear. A. new.member of the line, Orawill be" assisting Concentrate this 'year to carry the family banner to success >gain. Were Concentrate near his right form ' he' would h,e a tougK proportion in nest ihonth's very "average-looking field. Three 'years ago he' finished seventh in the, Cup " ■■jwith. 8.4, aiid.th'e next year he was beaten 'on]y by Jfigfitinareh' carrying 8.10.-Had .■his rider jeEer-yed. his. final run on the ..■vJstter 'occasion; <*; little, longer Nightmarcli ~would probaWyi-not .have caught him in r time.; Xast'Vye^iv. he contested. the, Mcl- • ,bourne Cup/.underiß.lo, and was winning; tfrtien he brgke;down a furlong! from: horns r aridxwas beatfeii'into.thjrd place. Be has '8.10 again this ,'// ■•:•'-. ','"■' ;■',•:. {-It wasJMnlriTtunafe that Concentrate •went amissfoh-theyeye of the recent A.J.C. ■Meeting at;J?andj7ick,'for he;\was at the ' r time beginning/,toy.show glimpses- of his 'old form once.again: The trouble, according to cables;','js.'not .considered;serious, "And Ms-present trainer. (C. Emerson) has .(hopes that- he; will be able ts'commence a Xew. Zeaalnd, Ctip preparation '•• on. him, . .■shortly after'his-return-early nextweeki .He is undoubtedly.the stayer in this year's v field, .and tat. sevens years told he is -far. from past, -hiß'prime. ;.'•■ ■. „■■■/, ■.*.- . .>' , ;! CLAIMS OFsORATOFttAN. / J .The claims- of '■'' Oraterian, who has-re-: cently: shown winnine ;form in the . Sydney - handicap' - :conipany ,• is, ho Weverj .more the purport.ofthis article. -This four-' '/year-old chestnut son .of ■. Oratress is. a son of the Hurry-On horse, Hunting. Song, and is hence•a -half-brother. to i-Oratrix 'and Concentrate, As a yearling, he ;cost; • the owner: of'the1, latter .pair, Sir. Ri J., . iMiirphy, of Wellington', the Teeord yearling ... . sales price of 2400, guineas, 'and • as °. yet < -he has failed come up to the expectations,of his owner. He has, however, been .a. difficult horse to' train, losing condition very quickly, but'at last he looks like ,- coming really solid, . ■ .' When Oratress won the Cup she/was ; .'five years old, and so-was Oratrix. When "{Concentrate ran second he was five years ,:tbo. It wilj thus be seen that the earlier ■members oFthe family required some age .with; them. Oratorian is only four years m old, but the stock of his sire (Hunting 'Song), come more quickly than the stock ]ol Kflbroney, the sire of Oratrix and Con"centrate. Ocatofian is of an age when 'he might be'expected to strike really ex-;;ce]]enjt-.-forin.; The" question1 about him. is -whether he is a stayer. records in- . 'eline to show that he: is not —but" he.has' '-:xiot yet been seriously tried over a disitancej ,: .■ . ■ ■'.•■•' ■ . ■ lOra'toi'ian is in a very handy position ;in the; Cup weights, anii a good , rider ishould be obtainable, for him. His rehan- . /;dieap ;for his Kandwick win has taken him !jt6"7;5.' At weight-for-a'ge he would have,9.o, but the whole present Cup .field has ■ ;*been 'weighted below this spale, even Gay V^rest" and Historic, the original presence 'of Nightmarch haying, depressed the han- ■ -'dicap'i J'-': 4 ;"!,,'.. V: : ■"/;'•' v^ AN IMPROVING RECORD. '.'"■' At 'this point it may lie of interest to ' consider what. Oratorian has done in his 'V^less than. two. years' racing. 'T*f^As a two-year:old his early preparation V-'was checked by colds, and his then trainer, i.H, R.~ESrigany had- considerable trouble) ■,mi, getting "proper condition on him. In . ;* looks;? he wais .^e'ipart' ialKirght^i'anTJ: jjJiprigan had>gr^;J^f(esJm-jiim.</V-Hol'wai; gaot djsappointe^Uijat^he' di^: noj clo..weil? ■!»'as' a .youngster;,"because.lhenever .really' rhad a propeir'.lc^anee'i Seven starts that ]term .rresultep!:4n- two..second plaeings—-in; tthe Nursery '^Handicap' at the. Wellington 'Summer Meeting, in' which; he ivas ni;i j-lucky not to get' the; winnM-, Dulen, and ...-in, the Plunket-.JTursery'attne Wellington -'Autumn Mee'tmgy' iri -"' which ■ he 'dead- ; heated withs High Comedy ' for the plac- : ing behind Bronze' Eagle; who; .owith ' £: 4 stone advantage'in tlie weights, won V. .EarJy_ last Reason "he left for *Sj7dney cbropany :witK':other members of Jili-.; Murphy's teamj*but again his- trainer- (H.; "B. LoriganJ a difficult 'horse <to fit" for racing,, and he was .not often ■started. At :his -first appearance-he ran • third in the; Highweight at-;I\osohill. (won c by Sir Duninald): His next race was in .the A.J.C. Derby;, in fwUfeb; he ,rarj iin-i : placed,; and at hisj only, otlier start' iix. New '!South. Wales'he ,finished third in ■ the ' A'.J.C. ClibWra Stages'l (won by~Winooka) -'on the final:'day at 'Rand wick. : Taken down'to'Yicteia for. the Melbourne Cup Meeting, "he won the .Maiden -Plate,/one ; lriile, on the iirst day^ .^va"s third in the ,Van Yeari.Stakes, one mile, on the sec.ond day (P.enth'eus won), and was fourth j in ithe ; Batman-Stakes. '6ne mile, on the. v final day '(Dermid won): These were his 'only five feturts on last-year's tnp across f the .TasmanV; •-■ • ' ; : ' '■.?'■ Returned ; .'ftq ; the' Dominion' he contested '•five races forWtwoss'ecorids and a third beifbre being senfe^put for a spell in the late ■^summer., H|s.;^seconds'; were in an open •seven furlongs 'at,the -Wairaiapa Summer ■ Meeting (beaten,, by Ball -, Dress) and in ?the Apprentices' Plate, seven furlongs, at '■ ;j;the Wellington. Summer Meeting (beaten ' qy Heremia).'.; ! ..' ■■"" HIS REGENT SHOWINGS. ~■■ '.■.■ He was sent over to Nelson for his rest, . and on being brought in again in the • winter,was handed to C. limerson to trAin at Riccarton. In July he comprised one of Emerson's team for Sydney, and. he evidently proved easier, to keep in form, for he "Was. started in all on ten occar sions"for,'a wjii, two' seconds, and a;third.! ~ It was his showings, at /Randwick that .-suggested that he is now coming into his :~.own at last,; as his: former trainer, Lorigan, always declared 'he would. He ran a capital; race" int6' seventh place in tlie .'Epsom, wasisixth in the Grantham Stakes; nine'furlongs,1 on the second day (after making' most of the running), won the '■ Suburban Hatidicapi one mile,-from a very . iiiseful afield ion :the -third day, but jailed in the Final iHapdicap, one and a quai-- > ter miles, on . last .day and finished .last. His' effort in the PinalHandicap may ,; still show that he will.not yet stand'up -to too rauch: hard racing without a break. r Oratorian is now on his way back to the ■ i Dominion^ 'and he isexpeeted jo arrive on ■.Tuesday's'boat. He need little-further .training to fit him for the Cup, and he .should strip one of the best-trained horses .in this year's, field. ',-'". .. ~ The doubt'about him iswhether he w'H . ' go two miles. The few times he has been; -'.tried above a mile he has failed. He has .'the b'reediDg;'however, especially on the •■ maternal side.- ■ Hunting' Song, his sire, ,-has not left-a ;real, stayer: yet, but-this ■'■Sorse'is i son ipf Hiirry On, one of England's bestiprogenitots of stayers in, recent ; years, anoV"it vl\\\ surprise jf hisstud career , /closes without .his having produced some real Etayer4i;.Oratress, .the-dam of Ora',toriari, has.cortainly thrown her best stock '■-■ U> OrmeVblood -(Represented in Kilbro-'_ney)i-but' she-should--mate well too With" . Barcaldine blood (represented in Hunting ■ Sons). Oratorian must be the proof of \this, and he, will have his chance in next : month's Gup. , :