RACING BITS AND TURF TATTLE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 71, 14 November 1931, Page 2

RACING BITS AND TURF TATTLE

Specially Written for the "Post by - "The Judge."

Fields for the opening of the Waikato meeting at Te Rapa to-day are quite good and should furnish intexesting racing for northern sportsmen. The going should be good after a spell "of dry weather. There is not much form to serve as a guide to the solution of the puzzle presented by the Trial Stakes. Lady Musk, King's Knave, Speedfast and Lady Lulu are the only horses to have shown more than avefage speed, and the big course should suit the firstjiamed admirably. A stone rise for a dual win over poor opposition at Whangarei will be sufficient to keep Neil at home, for he now has a very stiff impost. He will have to be pretty good to acc&unt for Ruffles at a difference of 231b. Whakama, Cristobel and Cargon are others with chances, while Kairuri is well spoken of. Ruby Dawn will fly for a mile or so. The best appear to be Ruffles, Whakama and Ci'istobel. King's Archer impresses as the type for the Hautapu Hack, for he is nicely weighted. The double winner at Whangarei, Holly-holm, is getting up in the weight, but he is an improver. Prineess Bede and Yalmarie also have prospects, with the auartette fancied as named.

Waikato Cup. The Waikato Cup is going to be.a really good race; although on his recent performances Little Doubt stands out as being very well handir capped. He apparently likes the big Te Rapa track too, for in the winter he won both handicaps there. If he races generously he looks a good thing. Eaglet is well up, but she is forward now. Vali, Grand Tea, Motere and. Protomint could all be fancied, the lastnamed particularly if his owner could be induced to put q horseman up. Those that will be in deniand aro Little Doubt, Protomint and oMtere. Helium raced well at Avondale recently and that draws attention to his prospects against Brampton and Luminary in the Claudelands High-> Weight. An interesting visitor is thq Taranaki veteran Monoghan, who led for most of the way in last month's Waverley Cup. Only three out of the dozen in the two-year-old race, the Tamahere Stakes, have raced, and they have no placed performances. Miss Linley, the Taranaki hope March Alone. (Who was sprinting well in the j?arades several weeks ago), Lady Whirlwind and Miss Lorraine may be the best. The lastnamed has been recording good times in her trials at Te Awamutu. The nine stone division heading the 1 Cambridge Handicap fteld, Pegaway, Leitrim and Raganelli, will have their work cut out to defeat those below, among them being several smart recruits from the hack sprinting ranks. Gay Cap, Royal Ruler, and Ganpat will carry most money, for they are all smart and at the liberal concessions in weight they should be able to more than just hold their own with the heavyweight. Pegaway and Leitrim have not raced for seven months,

and they both contested the same race on the Te Rapa course, the former winning then. Iimeen's second to Protomint in the big handicap at the Waikato Hunt points to the Wanganui owned filly being hard to beat in the concluding event, Taupiri Hack. L'Allegro, Hit the Deck and First Lap appeal as her most dangerous opponents. Gay Crest's Bad Habit. It is a thousand pities that a fine galloper like Gay Crest should be endowed with such wayward tendencies as to demand to be carried home by the horse nearest him at the end of his raqes. It was so in the last Auckland Cup, and again both days at Trentham last month. Last week it was pointed out in these columns that this tendency would detract from Gay Crest's chances of winning the New Zealand Cup, and so it proved to be. A little over a furlong from the post Admiral Drake ranged alongside Gay Crest, who was leading, and the latter promptly sidled over to the lightweight and requested "to be carried." No doubt both horses were hampered and their winning chances lost as a result, allowing Spearful to go ahead on the inside. But the pe-

euliar part about the affair was that Admiral Drake's rider has been oq Gay Crest often — he was aboard in the last Auckland Cup — so that he must have expected trouble. It would therefore seem that Admiral Drake's rider was mostly to blame for his mount's narrow defeat. The latter's great showing over two miles clearly established the fact that the Chief Ruler can stay. Spearful Surprise. On what he had shown to date in his races, Spearful could not by any stretch of the imagination be indieated out as the likely winner of the New Zealand Cup. The fact that he was referred to as the most likely North Island contender was arrived at no doubt because the northern representatives were such a poor lot, and that Spearful was the best of these moderates. However, under his light impost he stayed on well enough to win, and perhaps he will go on improving. It was rather surprising- to find Gay Crest the favourite, for he was carrying a weight that had been won with only twice before when Count Cavour 8.13 and Nightmarch 9.6 won. The New Zealand Cup is not a good race for top weights, the task apparently being too strenuous. The easy victory registered by Laclc at Riccarton points to this youngster as being the best seen out to date. He beat Tankard at Trentham and then won in most easy fashion the C.o.C. Welcome Stakes. Lack will no doubt be on hand in the Great Northern Foal Stakes on Baxing Day, and both Inflation and La Moderne, who seem fated to chase Lack home, will also be at Ellerslie. Unfortunately Tankard is not engaged so that another meeting between him and Lack may not eventuate next month, but both are engaged in the

Wellington Stakes at Trentham in January. This weight is run over five furlongs at weight-for-age, with penalties, and is open to* two and three-years-olds. This practically ensures °that Lack will have to concede weight to the northerner. It is unusual to find two one-diyir dend fields in action on the concluding 1 day of the New Zealand Cup meeting, but such will be the position at Riccarton this afternoon. A braclcet causes this in the Hurdles, while there are but three in the Stead Gold Cup, run over a mile and a quarter at weight-f or-age . The opening event is the Port Cooper Hurdles, Landmark-Gourmet being the bi'aeketed pair, and they will be opposed by four others. The former is very high in the weights, and perhaps Lancer and Quinopal may be too good for him. . Gourmet was fourth on Monday and he, too, may improve. Lancer and Quinopal may be the best. In the big field in the Seymour Hack the competition is confined mostly to southerners. Adventus, Moorbird, All Smiles, Solwit, Monastic and Jason's Quest all have chances, and the first mentioned will probably be fancied as written. Adventus went a good race in the best company on Monday. Cressy Handicap An even lot is engaged in the Cressy Handicap, for among the possibles could be named Royal Saxon, Char- 1 maine, A1 Jolson, Fitzquex, Chief Cook, Sharp Thorn, Lord Argosy, Ravine and Jayson. Probably the pick will be Ravine, Fitzquex and Chief Cook. | There will be no dearth of runners in the two-year-old race, the Pioneer Handicap, but form makes it a bit more easy to pick (on paper) than some of the preceding events. La Moderne stands out on her form to date, and she ought really to be at a short price. Posy goes well and does not stay too good, but Drum Fire is a good youngster of whom better things can be expected shortly. Mister Quex is the only other with any form, but the best pair may be La Moderne and Drum Fire. Metropolitan , The first five horses to finish in the New Zealand Cup— -Spearful, Admiral Drake, Gay Crest, Jaloux and Compris — are to meet again in the Metro-> polican Handicap, with the addition of Compris and Lady Pam and others, so that it ought to be an exceilent contest. Lady Pam, Admiral Drake, Spearful and Compris impress at the weights. I If Lady Pam contests the Metropolitan Handicap, the Stead Cup will be a match between Bronze Eagle and Croupier, and it is safe to assume that the Derby winner will be a warm favourite, despite the fact that in the

Harcourt Cup (same distance) Croupier easily beat him. It is a pity that there will not be another runner or two, but whatever~the outcome., whether it be a sprint home or a pure test all the way, Bronze Eagle is preferred. The three-year-olds will have the Stoneyhurst Handicap to themselves, and on wbat form has been disclosed to date View Halloo (who should have got in the money in the Derby) , Gallant Fox and Monastic will hold their own with those lower down in the handicaps. Cricket Bat's fine race in the Stewards' Handicap, counting out altogether his Derby failure, points to him being a hard proposition in the Members' Handicap, while others that will be backed are Arrow Lad, Autopay and Spoon.