KEEN CUP FINISH

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 45, 9 March 1937, Page 8

KEEN CUP FINISH

(Special from "Early Bird")

Northern Handicap Horses SINKING FUND UNLUCKY

AUCKLAND, This Day. With so many of last Saturday's runners engaged in the Ohinemuri Oup on Saturday next, ' a review of the running in the Franklin Cup may prove educative. sThe latter event was tremendously interesting, for it provided a very good contest and a thrilling tinish, with Knight- of Australia forging to the front in the last iittle bit to return his followers on. the win machine a dividend of over a score. Considering that at his two latest previous appearances — at Ellerslie iive weeks earlier — the Windbag ' gelding • had won the Takapuna Cup and been a close third on the second day of the same meeting, both races run over a. mile and a quarter, this return was a bit more than expected: " ' Knight of Australia was not prominent eaily, f-or he Had eight borses in front of him at the end bf the .first quarter, where Miss Lu had adopted the rol© of pacemaker.- • It- was going down the back that Knight of Australia mad© a forward mo've, and at the half mile he was. .up fourth, on the [ outside cf Sinking Fund,- with Miss Lu | and Armacourt together a couple of I lengths ahead. So they 'carne in file across the top, while. there was a gap ! back to Kelly and Shy, with G'ay : Talkie seven or eight lengths away from the leaders and heading the bunch. The field began to close up a bit making the home, . turn, where Armacourt and Miss Lu were still on terms. The latter was the first to weaken. * Cay Talkie's Effort. The leaders were then joined by Sinking Fund, who held ef slight advantage on the rails at the distance, with Knight of Australia challenging. The issue appeared to re&t between this pair, with the 'early- leaders disposed of and no immediate challengers in sight. However, then Gay Talkie and Keily were noticed very wide out coming fast, but the post was too near, the npshot being that Knight of Australia defeated Sinking Fund by a nock, while Gay Talkie was a head behind the latter, with Kelly another head back, not quite clear of Armacourt over on the rails, and Miss Lu a good sixth. Gay Broney was next, with Tybalt and Shy in the ruck. It was a very keen contest indeed and it comj>leted a nice . double for jockey L. Dulieu, who had spreadeagled the field 'jn the -preceding event on Royal Passage, who was at odds approaching double figures, A full ticket to win on the maiden winner, all up on the same jockey in the cup, would have brought- in £179. Knight of Australia fought on' gallantly when tackled, and the torrential mid-week rain eased the turf . nicely for him while at the same time .furnishing exeellent going.. ^he winner is engaged in the Ohinemuri Cup and also possesses a good chance there.

Locked on tha Rails Sinking Fund contipues to race consistently but unluckily," for if he had not been forced to mak,e his run on the inner at both'Te Aroha and Pukekohe he might have won both cups. He will be given another chance next Saturday. His two seconds in a week earned him £285, but with luck to win those races his earnings would have been £885 and two nice gold cups. Gay Talkie now looks like coming right back to the promising form he revealed in the spring. A careful analysis of the running of the Franklin Cup suggests tliat he lost the big stake through being allowed to drift at the five furlongs, seemingly faulty judgment. He was third going out of the straight, yet with half a mile to go he had six horses and\ plenty of daylight ahead of him. His elfort suggested a good chance in fche Ohinemuri Cup. Kelly run a fine race considering that he was where he dislikes being,, penned in on the rails, for he ran nearly a mile thero before he got on to the outer. He is not in at Paeroa. Armacourt, with every chance, failed to do quite as weli as expected, although she got to the front a bit early in the concluding stages of the contest. As she is so partial to soft and heavy ground, Armacourt is a likely horse for a race like the Cornwall Handicap in the winter. Oid Not Stay. Miss Lu has yet to win a ten furlongs in good company, but she ran well enough to suggest that she will have to be reckoned with in the Tauranga Cup on Saturday week; she won this race last March. Gay Broney failod to repeat hjs qne good Te Rapa

effort, and Tybalt, handy early, failed to hold his position. He, too, may do better when the tracks ease considerably. Of Shy's running it could be said that it was a long way be^ow hisk Te Aroha efforts, where he shaped so well. He was in the first bunch for the first half mile and then he gradually drifted to finish a long way back. Perhaps he met with some trouble and the form might have to he ignored. Crocming could never improve her position, " just in the bunch at the middle of the field, and High Tea and"Wait and See were never prominent. Whakapara drew number one at the gtarfc and when the barrier was released he chassied in behind the field, running quite a good race afterwards considering the start he gave away.