NORTHERN TRIALS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 105, 20 May 1937, Page 15

NORTHERN TRIALS

From ' ' Early Bird. ")

Allegretto's Return To Steeplechasing HAWKE'S BAY HURDLERS

(By Telegraph —

AUCKLAND, This Day. The very bad weather that caused the Waipa fixture to be abandoned was general throughout the province and the tracks in the north from now on will Ulmost certainly be very heavy. So the mudlarkB should come into their own at Te Bapa next week-end and again at Ellerslie next month. It will be remerubered that the Ellerslie eourse for the last Great Northern meeting was unusually fast, the 10-furlong Cornwall Handicap being run in 2.5, while the hacks did the seven in 1.26 2-5. This sort of thing was experienced. over all three^daye, but this year it will be very different going. Monastie's success in the Adamson Steeplechase at Hawera last Saturday, foliowing on his very good second to Don Erma on the opening day, draws attention to his prospects at Te Rapa, while, df he contests the Great Northern Steeplechase, he will not lack support if he continues to make the expccted improvement. He made up a lot of ground in the final mile cf the Egmont Steeplechase and, as he opparently stays well, he should win again cn the trip. Monastic is to race at Te Bapa this week-end and his efforts •will tinally deoide whether he will race at Ellerslie or Wanganui. A Good Hack." Philemup might have been wanting a race when he defeated all but Proiessioxiai in the hack sprint at Pukekohe last week, so ought to do better when he is produced on his home track at Te Bapa and also at Ellerslie. In the spring he ehowed excellent form, emerging from the maiden class to deadheat "with Quadroon in the Waikato Huck Cup. He made a very promising reappearance at Pukekohe and is evidently going to be good. He can handle soft ground and in tbis respeet he will get things to his likingvnow. Next season Philemup should be capable of wiuning open handicaps. Another smart hack that should do well in the very near future is Valspar, whose owner ia one of the few in the Domiuion who do not believe dn overracing their horses. This gelding has plenty of paee and, judging by the way he is shaping in his work, he has not lost any of his dash and should be worth followiug at coming meetings. Valspoar is nicely placed in the handicaps now, but with the 8.0 minimum comiug into force (except for the prmcipal handicap each day), as from the second day of the Great Northern fixture, he will need to -win while the present handicaps pertain, for subsequently he will be higher up the scaie. A Cornwall Pancy. Boyal Appellant is one of the early fancies for coming handicap events, notably the A.B.C. Cornwall Handicap. In it iie has only 81b. above the m'iuimum, so that if he can handle the heavy ground he will be dn evidence. Boyal Appellant raced very prominentiy at the last Great Northern meeting, jvinning the open handicap, one mile, on the final day with 8.11, the minimum then being 7.0. Subsequently he won over a mile at Te Bapa in the late spring with 8.9 and was second and third at Ellerslie at tke summer meeting, foliowing this up with a third with 9.0 on January 30 on the same track. Ou Easter Monday, too, Boyal Appellant finished fourtk, after a very bad beginning, in the Auckland Easter Handicap, carrying 8.4. Thua he looks like having a great chance to extend his winning record in the very near future. Horowhenua hau been very disappointing in the past twelve months, but his showings at Whangarei and Pukekohe indicated that he is at last getting back to his best form. He has always been partial to soft tracks, so his turn may not bo far off, especially with important winter handicaps in the offing. The conditions are now made to order for him and, while considerabie improvement is necessary if he is to do more than hold his own, he really looks like making amends. His next engagements are at Te Bapa and Ellerslie, while he inay also be on hand if the Waipa Club decides to hold its abandoned meeting on June 26, the first available Saturday.

Hurdles Affected. The loss of the chance to race at Te Awamutu through the abandoument of last week's fixture is going to be a serious thing for horses with early engagements at Ellerslie, for inany owners were looking to this outing to assist their horses in preparations for the long jumping events to come. Among those to be eeriously affected will be the Hawke's Bay hurdlefs Boyal Mimie and Collision, both of -whoin are entered at Ellerslie. Even if they do compete at Te Bapa, they will lack the experience of raciilg and jumping the reverse way xound at Ellerslie and that is a serious handicap. Te Bapa is a left-handed course. Much interest will be taken dn the efforts of AUegretto in his coming raccs over country, for he was one of the i best steeplechaeers produced at the Great Northern meeting twelve months ago. He has not raced in the interim. At ihe last Waikato winter meeting he won the Hack Steeplechase ^ with 9.0 and then went on to Ellerslie to capture the Greenlane Steeples under 9.S and the Tamaki Steeplechase with 10.12, winning in very easy fashion each time. The form of AUegretto was even better than any of the prOved cross-country performers that raced in the bigger evento, so his reappearance in the neaT future will give a line on his Great Northern Steeples chance. When he won at Te Bapa twelve months ago Allegretto had been off the scene for over eighteen months.