USEFUL TRIO

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 171, 6 August 1937, Page 15

USEFUL TRIO

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» -J* L A' Te Aroha String QOLDEN SH5U'S LET-UP

(Speqial— Froin

AUCKLAND,' Last Night. Afc the start of the season one of the teams in the provlnce appeared to be that of owner-trainer P. A. Swney, of Te Aroha. He oommenced with the crack three-year-old filly Golden She.ila. whose runaway win in the G^oat Nqrthern Champague Stakes at Eastey suggested tjiat slio had rnade vast iipproveniqnt. Theu tliere wero the two han(licap horsee, Lagoon and Mun^atoon, tlte. lattef havij]g"won the A.R.C, Haut|ir'op ihe pfevtoqB New Year's Day. lSo witk Lbg.°ou apparcnjdy on the, upward grado the triumvirate should rcally have bcen able to do several good turns fpr |heir owner. However, all was not as it appeared. tn. the first placp Golden Sbeila was not hurripd, ?tu4 while shp was a bit jjackwarcl \vhen sbe eoptestfid t}ie Great Northpm Guingajs, she was travelling well at the post jqet on thq outsidq of the third horse. On that showing an early return ivas anticipated, but lier turn did not come until six we'eks afteywards, wheu she won in very easy I fashion the opea spriut at Te Eapa.

ThiB caused her to be the early favourite for the Auckland Railway iHandicap, and despite a stifi task for a three-year-old, having 61b. over the iscale weight^ she did well to finieh fourth, That was the best performance Bince her oue win, and therefore she did not mn up to form. Should Be Better. As a i'our-ycar-old novv, Golden Sheila uiay be more solid, and as she can hold uer own with the best spriuters »he may mpke aiuends before Gliristmas. lf she eornes along well 6hp wiR probabJy bc raced at Ellerslie a couple of months tience, wkiie advancenient should entitle her to be regarded as a country eup and handicap prospect, for lier eftort in the one Guineas contest she took on suggested latent st&piina, After a good run in inid-season Lagoon also went back, extra good pertormances being intermixed with indiflerent showings. Where the cluss was not over-stroiig she would gallofj vet'> generously, and then when lined up with the best she must have sensed the strength of the opposition. She perhaps, rau her best race in the handccap event at Te liapa six months back, when Scotland jnst got to hpr on the post, and one good race on her lioine trpck ^'ollowed. Lagoon, too, phould -be improving in stamina and on her eiforts in the past she should do well this new season. Paid Rig Prices. Mungatoon, the season before iasti had a penchanf for mixiug a run ot outs with a surprising performance, in each case accompauied by large doublpfigure dividends, and in the best of ecmpany. His best efiort that terni was his surprise success in the A.R.C. Handicap. Last season his eii'orts were not at all in keepiiig with hi^ record, (jut his owner kept on persevering aml at Te Awamutu six weeks ago he had the satisfaction of seeing his favourite run a really iine raee, when he finished a neck behind Day Wind and Gay ! Rebel, so tliat the gpldmg went into | winter retirement safe in the know- i ledge that he wqpld be tried again in the new season. Mungatoon ought (o be ready for late spring raeing and | he may come to hand quicker than ox- | pected. j lt would not be surprising to find Mungatoon being tried over the. aticks iater on if he continues to race unsuccessfully on the flat, for, while his owner-trainer may not be keen on ha.ndling jumpers at fhe same time he raay be keen to have anotlier good one like Taumai, who was a firet-class hurdler many seasons back. Mr. Swney 'g toain promises tq dq piuch better during the nest twelve montlis, for this time he will have in additoion to the trio named a .threo-yeqr-old by Vaals from thq Limond maTO Yolimond, as well as a two-year-old by The Ace. j