WELLINGTON HANDICAP

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 92, 15 October 1940, Page 13

WELLINGTON HANDICAP

WEIGHTS ANALYSED

ROYAL CHIEF AND TE KAWITI

With the Dominion's spring racing campaign now working towards its climax, which is reached on New Zealand Cup Day at Riccarton, the release of the weights ior the opening day of the Wellington Racing Club's Spring Meeting on Thursday week has brought interest in the consolidating form of horses engaged in the big handicaps ahead to a sharp focus. On this day the two open events are the Wellington Handicap, over the popular Trenlham distance of 11 furlongs, and the Shorts Handicap, 6 furlongs. The Wellington Handicap is the final important middle-distance event prior to the New Zealand Cup, and therefore it might be thought that it has at times provided a valuable line on Cup prospects. Yet the records show that the expectation has not been fulfilled. Since the distance was extended to its present length in 1919, not a single winner has gone on to take the New Zealand Cup in the same year, though Sunart and Arctic King won at Riccarton later on in their careers.

There are again numerous Cup candidates in the list for the Wellington Handicap this year, though probably not quite as many as usual. Those still retaining the Riccarton engagement are Royal Chief, Beau Repaire, Sly Fox, Te Kawiti, Siegmund, The Ring, Sword-Stick, Trench Law, Winning Rival, Little Robin, Areas, Pearl of Asia, Anita- Foe, and Auto Sweep. The nominated field is completed by Lady Furst, Royal Star 11, Ned Cuttle, Lady Montana, Homily, Lockit. Colonel Bogey, and Raeburn. As with most lists of weights m leading handicaps in recent years, there is such close correspondence among them that discussion of one is practically discussion of the others. The Wellington Handicap weights are very similar to the New Zealand Cup weights, both absolutely and relatively, and, with allowance for the difference in distance, what has been written about the one applies very much to the .other. ROYAL CHIEF WELL IN.

For instance, Royal Chief, who heads the Wellington Handicap with 9.7, has lib more than he has in the New Zealand Cup. But in the relative sense, he is one horse who is well in on the Trentham list. While he is up only lib the next three horses, Beau Repaire, Sly Fox, and Te Kawiti, all Cup candidates as well, have each 81b more at Trentham than at Riccarton. As the Chief Ruler gelding has if anything still a better record at a middledistance than over a longer distance,, and his Trentham wins have been at 1 mile and H miles, he has only to recover top form as a result of his racing at Dunedin to be one to fear next week. Not only this, but he is the one Cup candidate in the race who cannot be rehandicapped for winning, I as he already has w.f.a. at Riccarton. I . The topweights have not a good .re-! cord in the Wellington Handicap, the highest weight yet to have.been carried to victory being Cricket Bat's 8.11 in 1933. But twoC-mares, Gold Light and Cuddle., each was narrowly beaten under 9.9, which shows that there is no reason to rule out the.topweights if they are in form.; ■.■^rob-ably-it is. because" of this^r&dpird'' :itW Mr. Coyle has not been hard qn*Royat Chief though it is-difficult to see why Royal Chief should- have less than Cuddle was awarded. At this time of the year a mare is allowed" 51b under scale . weights, so that Royal Chief is really 71b better in the race than Cuddle was. .'■.= •■" , ; Sly Fox,, who was. in good form at Trentham in October the. year before l.ast, has. been fit for some time past and he reproduced his best in winning the. Mitchelson Cup, 1£ miles, on Saturday,, when he had 8.1 and beat Beau Repaire. 8:9, by a neck. For that win Sly Fox' has been brought 71b closer to Beau Repaire, which anomalously sets them at their Riccarton difference once again, their New- Zealand Cup weights being respectively 8.0 and 8.1. Beau Repaire, however, is probably the more likely to improve. . Te Kawiti, with 8.4, may be the hard horse in the field, for Royal Chief and the others. This four-year-old son of Night Raid appears to be one of the most promising open handicappers in the makings—if he is not already made —and he is bred for the highest fame,, being no other than a half-brother to King March, Limarch, and Birthday Boy." At his final start last season, he won the Avondale Autumn Handicap,; li miles, under 7.5, beating the first: day's winner, Gold Vaals, and he has scored at each of his • two. starts this season, his last the President's Handicap, 9 furlongs, under 8.9 at Paeroa a fortnight ago. Aucklanders make no secret of the fact that they expect Te Kawiti to represent there worthily at Riccarton next month. LAST YEAR'S WINNER. Lady Furst and Royal Star 11, both on 8.3, have registered their best form j at Trentham, the former having won the race last year under exactly the same weight, and they will be well respected in early discussions, though Lady Furst has as yet shown no evidence of returning to form since her resumption. Siegmund, another on 8.3, has always done his best later on in the season. The others all figure below 8.0, and it is at least worth observing that generally the winners of the Wellington Handicap come from this group, which is the common rule everywhere up till mid-spring. In the last fifteen years or so only Musketoon, Cricket Bat, Spiral, Argentic, and Lady Furst have succeeded from that part of the field above 8.0, and Argentic's was an exceptional case, as in his year the minimum was 7.7 and his weight was 111b above the minimum. Among likely sorts below 8.0 in this year's field are Ned Cuttle, The Ring, Trench Law, Winning Rival, Little Robin, Areas, Homily, Colonel Bogey, Pearl of Asia, and Anita Foe, some of them mainly because of their past good form on the Trentham track. The Ring, despite her Hawke s Bay Cup win, appears to have her full share with 7.11 in this field, but she is one always liable to upset a middledistance field and she may prove more consistent this season than in the past, judged on her recent second to Nigger Boy over a sprint course at Hastings. Winning Rival, with 7.9, is one who has been dropped a deal in relative estimation at Trentham, compared with her New Zealand Cup weight, which is 7.7, and this point will undoubtedly .be seized on by early speculators looking for a lightweight winner, as such horses repeatedly come to light when treated with more than what appears to be their due consideration. Summed up, two horses to whom the weights point in the Wellington Handicap are Royal Chief and Winning Rival. But there is real danger to them, in Te Kawiti, who is expected to make the trip down from Auckland, and Beau Repaire, Royal Star II (if ground is easy), Trench Law, Little Robin, and Areas are others with good early prospects.