GREAT NORTHERN EVENT

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 118, 4 June 1937, Page 13

GREAT NORTHERN EVENT

Winners Will Be Hard To Find HEAVY G0ING (Special from "Early Bird") AUCKLAND, This Day, Tbe prospects are now definitely for beavy going at Ellerslie during tbe Auckland winter meeting, and tbe weather witbin tbe next 24 hours will decide wbetber it is going to be very bad ground or just plain beavy. In any case, tbe conditions afe now Sucb as to make Itbe tasks pf tbe beavily-weighted borses more difflcnlt. Betting will be conducted under tbe old 75-25 pep cent two-dividend system. Tbe main items on to-morrow's card are tbe Great Nortbern Hurdles and Oornwall Handicap, wbile tbe Great Nortbern Steeplecbase is to be decided on Wednesday next, • Hing's Birtbday. Tbere has not been a great deal doing since the acceptances were posted and the final traek try-outs have not caused any notable change of opinion 6o far as the Great Northern Hurdle Race is concerned. Riders have been announced for the majority of the 20 acceptors, and this means there will be an unwieldy field after all, when it was fioped, for safety's sake, there would be a much smaller number of competitpr8. Jolly Beggar has schooled well, apart from a tendency to b.ore in at hda fences, but he has previously won at headquarters, so this may be overlooked. The matter of weight in the soft ground is much more likely to prove vital than any defect in his jumping — unless he jumps into trouble, a very simple matter in this race. A Strong Hand. Trainer Bagby's pair, Lord Val and Black Marlin, still have the public guessing as to which is the better. In the final summing-up the fact that the former recently won over the sticks at Te Hapa, whereas Black Marlin has not raced as a hurdler for many months, may tell the tale, more particularly as Lord Val has been susceptible of more lmprovement even than his stablemate. Tout le Monde is being fancied by virtue of his stamina, wliile the bracketed pair, Sandy Dix, and Free Air would appear to he the best of the ,remainder. Lord Val still remains.the final choice; he will revel in the bad gi-ound. The cornwafl Once again there is going to be a huge field in tlik Comwall Handicap, for with 24 remaining in after the acceptance, there should be a score of runners. King Rey has a lot of weight under the conditions, although he is a good horse. To name the best half dozen is a task in itself, but here they are : Scotland, Gay Rose, the Tooley fStreet-Horowhenua bracket, Iloyal Appellant, Knight of Anstralia and Royal Dance, while if heavy rain falls on the day Armacourt may even be the first selection. Of course, there are other lightweights that may be dangerous too, but special fancy is expressed for Royal Appellant in the event of the conditions not being much worse than they were for the final gallops. He went a fine race in the sprint at Te Rapa, even after meeting with a serious check in the middle stages, and in any case hp is now due for a wiri. 3 The Sprint With the 8.0 minimum prevailing, the horses in the open sprint, the Members' Handicap, are brought together much closer than they might have been under the lighter scale. This applies forcibly to the twe tops, Whirling and Peter Beckford, who are still nicely 'placed with 9.9 and 9.7 respectively. The former is built to carry a big impost, and Peter Beckford is brilliant. Mudlarks wlio will be right at home are Black Thread, Greefi Gold, Adaiene, Prince Acre, Kilonsa, Paso Rohles and Surella, so' the race is not going to be an easy one to win. Perhaps Peter Beckford will he.1 best. Many Open Prospects All the other raees on tu-iuorrow's card are very open, and they are of sufficieut strength both in point of numhers and quality to make for exceJlent racing, Bracketed horses for to-morrow are: J ervois Handieap. — Malagigi and Alyth, Royal Passage and Locknit, Captain Bruce and Carshalton, llopalong and Very Glad, Melvanui and Tane Mahotu. Great Northern Hurdles. — Erination aud Master Musk •Coniwall Handicap.— Tooley Street and Horowhenua. Hunt Club Hurdles. — Lochiel Lad and Smiling Thru5. Black Marlin gave liimself a knoc'k wlien sehooljng on Tuesday, and he has been absent from the traek since. His trainer says he does not think he will be" able to start to-morrow. Poroa horses engaged to-morrow are the following: — 11.44: GREENLANE STEEPLES.— iSky Pilot, Pango, Ejaiancipation. 12.29: JERVOIS HANDICAP.— Pirate King, Erndale, Survoy. 1.14: PENROSE HURDLES.— Coilision, Spcareourt, Gay Broney. 2,4: GREAT NORTHERN TITJRDLES — Lord Val, Erinatioii-Master Musk bracket, Jolly Beggar.

2.49 s OORNWALL HANDICAP.— Tooley Street-Horowhenua bracket. Royal Appellant, Royal Dance. 3.29: HTJNT CLUB HURDLES.— Tangled, All Irish, Cynical Kid. 4.14: MEMBERS ; HANDICAP.— Peter Bt/kford, Whirling, Surella.