WAIKATO CUP FIELD

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 121, 18 November 1932, Page 4

WAIKATO CUP FIELD

ROYAL ARTIST'S CHANCE

Bearing in mind the fact that Royal Artist will not have several horses who finished immediately behind him in the recent Mitchelson Cup to oppose him in the Waikato Cup to-morrow, he must be regarded as something in the nature of a "sitting shot" for the race, comments "Early Bird." •

For his Mitchelson Cup victory Royal Artist has gone up 101b, but 'this rise is balanced to an extent by the fact that there is a quarter,of a ijiile less to travel, and this journey may be more to-his liking than the longer trip. However" this may be, the fact remains that the horses that finished second, third, fourth, and fifth, then seventh aqd eighth, will not be in the Waikato ,Cup " field. The sixth, horse in the Mitchelson Clip was TeiHoia, and as the track is likely to be hard.to-' morrow he is not likely to improve sufficiently to turn the tables on Royal Artist. On a soft turf there might have been a different story. . ' -:.,'. . ;.'■'■'::

.Ninth in the Mitchels.ori. Cuf>, .and travelling like a train at the •ppst,:;when the race was. all over, was. .the filly Limeen, and' incidentally, those .who* saw her, effort Jwere not unprepared for what proved to be a surprise win. and a. big. dividend on--the second day.: For ..that win, with Royal Artist-out.of .the-■way, Limeen has'gone up 111b, arid -she^•nqw meets the, Mitchelson Cup victor"^ dn'Sbne. pound worse terms. Strictly on that! Royal Artist should not have^ any great difficulty in heading Limeen once again.

It is not-all;-'however, as simple as it looks. In the first place, Limeen is improving, probably more than Koyal Artist, and, secondly, the latter is now getting up in the weights. So after all the position is rather interesting as between this pair, but the solution may lie in the fact that the gelding has been at least more consistent than the filly. Their duel tomorrow will be interesting.

The position becomes further complicated when oue commences to introduce

previous" forinT Tal>;e~Bronze"Tilay,"for instance. He won the Ayondale Cup like a reaU.horse.Y, In that event he was with Antique tailing tlie field until -they had straightened up for the run home. Then he put in some good ones, and getting through without a check on the rails he beat Royal Artist in ~ comfortable fashion. Subsequently the latter improved considerably, and Bronze Tray in the Waikato Cug has one pound the worst of it as compared with their Avondale Cup weights. That makes j;he Te Rapa race additionally interesting. There seems to be only one other horse that can enter seriously into the calculations to-morrow, and that is .King's Archer, whose recent ;efforts have been over shorter journeys, apart from his disappointing showing in the Whangarei Cup last week.. The muddling pace at: which that, event was run probably caused him to fail so badly. The Te Rapa track' will suit, him: better, and it is probable that he will ;make' a bolder showing: . ':. ■• ' .The Waikato Cup issue appears to lie among this quartet, for to win the'others engaged will have to reveal sharp improvement. ; One newcomer who is returning to scenes of former: days is the Cup winner, Refresher, whose success over ten furlongs surprised northerners. Prom all accounts he Was very lucky indeed to head off Grand Jury,.but the latter represents a little, short .of..the best handicap form.. Refresher may' therefore be taken' to represent the best form of the remainder.'But it takes a genuine stayer to wiii down the long Te Rapa' straight. It was not surprising that. P. E; Pope's stable' decided to run' Royal Artist only m,the,Waikato Cup, for. this gelding is owned by a steward of the: club. No doubt' Speedniint will be produced' in' the handicap on- Monday, and what is more she .mijst very nearly win,, taking. ; her Ellerslie form as a criterion. *,- ■-.""..■" ,