RACING NOTES AND FORM PROSPECTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 89, 5 December 1931, Page 6

RACING NOTES AND FORM PROSPECTS

"The Judge." •

Specially written for the "Post"

by

Pralyxs, thb f ull. sistel tb Ammbii Ra, the A.J.G. Derby ViSitor, is a reai lady, ahd it is pSSsibl& that Ihe will be in the flrst flight bf tliis geasbfi's two-yeai:=&ld§, althbugh perhaps it is tOd much to say that she will be, as good as her eldfii? relative jhSt yet. Time alone will telh At Takapuna, making hei4 first appearaxiee, Prdlyxo was first but d£ the barrier eaeh day, and she scored easily on the opening day. On the second day she drew the • rails, and this enabled her to win j again, for this advantage proved very handy when Tea Trader had her being hunted along*. The filly is rather sluggish in her races, but as she is still a bit green, substantial improvement can be looked for. Will be Better On the second day at Takapuna Tea Trader was conceding Prolyxo lllb., and in addition to this the colt was well out at the barrier, whereas Ammon Ra's sister was on the inner. On top of this Tea Trader dwelt at the start and Prolyxo flew out of the tapes. Tea Trader quickly gathered her in, but for three furlongs he was ' making the bends on the outside of two other youngsters, and then Foreign Money carted him out wide on the home turn, causing him to be steadied as well as losing ground. Despite this combination of circumstances against him. Tea Trader got to within half a length of Prolyzo and it really looked as if he ought to have won. The son of Tea Trader is a big fellow and a great strider, the type entirely unsuited by the Takapuna track, so his performance was extra good. It is possible that Tea Trader will be a better horset at Ellerslie in the Foal Stakes, with the bigger track. It was claimed by the writer earlier in the season that this term would be a vintage year so far as the three-

year-olds are concerned. This prophesy has come true, for outside of the outstanding pair, Bronze Eagle and Ammon Ra, there are many others entitled to be called really good horses of that age. King Colossus won the Feilding Cup like a good one, and at Takapuna half the sixteen events decided were won by the three-year-olds. Some of those victors, notably Barascope, High Comedy, and Royal Artist (second to Barascope), should go on to big things before the season ends. In Fine Style Yolimond won the Alison Cup in fine style, but perhaps the effeets of this effort told upon her, for she was soundly beaten on the second day : over a .shorter journey. Up to a mile she was a possibility, and here she did a fade out. It was not her true form, so it might be just as well to overlook this temporarly lapse. There ! are plenty of races suitable for Voli- l mond later on, both at Ellerslie this month and later on the eountry circuit, and she is capable of winning on either two or three handicaps before she is weighted out of them. Vali was a disappointment on the*' second day at Takapuna. He was considered very unlueky to get the worst of the trouble that occurred a : short distance of the post on the open- j ing day, and this caused him to be a ' short priced favourite on the Mon-; day. He drew the extreme outside, and this was to a large extent responsible for his def eat, for he went under to a very well treated horse in Taurua. When Vali began to sky his tail half way up the straight it was obvious that he didn't relish his task. ; Very Lenient Two years ago Hunting Cry, then a three-year-old, won the A.R.C. Rail- . way Handicap with 7.5, and at the same meeting followed up with wins in the King's Plate, the G.N. Derby, and third in the Royal Stakes. Twelve

months ago Hunting Cry again won the Railway Handicap, with 8.12, and last Easter he won the Easter Handicap under 9.3. This horse has a wonderful record at Ellerslie, and in giving him only 9.4 for the Railway Handicap on Boxing Day the handicapper has been seemingly very lenient, especially as Laughing Prince and Cadland both give him weight. Had the positions of these three horses been reversed the situation might have been considered as properly met. Now Hunting Cry's owner has been extended a cordial invitation to win his third Railway Handicap, and at the weights the hat trick for the Hawke's Bay sprinter is a distinct possibility. Of course there is a great field of horses handicapped for the> Railway Handicap at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and the presence of those smart three-year-olds, Golden WingS and Croupier, will invest the contest with added interest. They ran second and third in the C.J.C. Stewards' Handicap, and the latter is allowed one pound for that result, figures which rather favour Golden Wings over the sprint distance. Among the lightweights engaged in the big six the chances of the greatly improved Arisus cannot be ignored, for he won very easily at Feilding. Other likely one are Karapoti, Leitrim, Silvermine, Refresher, Onapai, High Comedy, the reasonably weighted Great Star, and Tea Chat.