RACING REVIEWED

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 235, 26 May 1932, Page 2

RACING REVIEWED

FORM AND PROSPECTS FOR COMING EVENTS '• ELLERSLIE NEXT WEEK It was stated reeently that that good little handicap horse Chopin would do tbe Dunedin meeting next week, but his name does not appear among the horses weighted for the opening day. Chopin is engaged at OtaJB, "held at the same timfe, and it is more ,than likely that he will race there. Chopin has been nominated for the hurdles' the second day at Otaki and" if 'he is given a chance as a juniper it will be very interesting indeed to see how he shapes. They-say that the greater the field the greater the certainty, and this was certainly illustrated in the Fairfield Handicap at the i*ecent Waikato m'eeting. There were 29 runners and the favourite was Puss Moth, a three-year-old gelding 'by Catmint from Midget. He won rather easily, showing a lot of paee early and hanging on where seriously ch.allenged up the long straight Like all the Catwints, Pus's Moth can handle heavy ground. It now remains to be seen if the favourites will capture the two division races in the Jervois Handicap at Ellerslie on Friday week, the openiiig" day of the Auckland Great Northern meeting, for even if cut up in divisions the fields. in each will be very' large. There were 78 horses entered and it is expected that more than half of them will face tKe barrier, making about twenty runners in each division. That will make eight paces and the divisions will be treated on the totalisator as two separate races. "Like a Tradesman" While the recent Waikato meeting d'id not serve" to throw much light upon the chanees of horses engaged in the Great Northern Hurdles and Steeplechases, it is highly probable that those present at Te Rapa saw the winner of the A.R.C. Cornwall ! Handicap in Little Doubt, who scored very comfortably in the Winter Handicap. The "Taranaki gelding carried 8.5 and did his job like a tradesman, the winnjng margin perhaps being just about as much as his rider desired. As he was not penalised after his Wanganui win it was obvious that success would bring a rehandicap, and his owner could not have been surprised. Even with his penalty, which brings his weight up to 7.18, Little Doubt is still handily placed in the Cornwall Handicap and he is going to take a lot of beating in that event, that is, unless he slips into his old tricks of unreliability. B. H. Morris rode him at Te Rapa, but this horseman will be required for Historic if the latter starts in the Cornwall Handicap. No matter what the state of the track is on Friday week, Little Doubt loolcs certain to run a great race in the big flat event at Ellerslie. The Two Great Northerns It i's probable that when the acceptanoe lists are posted on Saturday for the Auckland winter meeting the fields for the two big jumping events, the Great Northern Hurdles and the Great Northern Sfeeplechase, will prove to be the biggest for many years- It is expected that among them will be Otairi and Omeo, two horses that were given out as being extremely unlikely to be sent to El-

lerslie. Otairi disconcerted his sup-portei-s by faulty jumping in each pf his last three starts — in the Maryon Steeplechase, when he fell at the sixth fence; in the Tongahoe Hurdles, where he finished second, losing a good position through making a poor jump half "way through the race; and at Wanganui, where the simple fence at the five furlongs in the Century Hurdles nearly brought him down, just when he was making a strong forward move. With his big weights in the two Northerns, he cannot make teo many mistakes. Type to Improve Landmark was going so well three furlongs from home in the Adamson Steeplechase the second day at Hawera that he was being proclaimed the winner, but he fell there. As this was his debut over the big fences his display was distinctly encourag ing, so it was not surprising when he won last weelc's Waikato Steeplechase, in which his fencing was not without blemish. He is the type to improve with experience and he is well up to weight. Apparently the stable would not run the risk of another penalty by starting Make Up, but Landmark proved a worthy second string, although Lucess might have* proved troublesome but for that bad jump three fences from home. It is a pity that Cruachan was not entered for the Great Northern Hurdles, for his wins at Hawera and then at Te Rapa stamped him as a very fine perfofmer over the sticks, and as he could stay a mile and a quartet on the flat it is probable that he woulct stick on the two and a half miles over the battens better than many other horses Cruachan seems to be a natural juynper, and with the light impost he wmild have been given in the Great Northern Hurdles he would have been a possibility He is to take on the hack hurdle' races at Ellerslie and with a big weight now he still has the job in" front of him. Standfast's Admirers Admirers of Standfast -would not be dismayed at the failure of • this horse to' win last Saturday. He was f ourth at ' the post," several lengths behind the winner, but he was travellihg snaoothly and the additional mile at"ElIerslie on june 3 will be something in his favour, especially 'as he can handle bad ground and has won over the hurdles at Ellerslie already. Standfast looked r'eally well when paraded last week' ahd it looks as if he wall'hbld" His position a's favourite for the big hurdles right up to the time of the'"off." With Little Doubt regarded as next to a good thing in the Cornwall Handicap, and Copey being looked to to almost capture the Great Northern Steeplechase, there remains only the Gre^t Northern Hurdles for punters to pick ahd to he well in the funning for the treble.' Three" that can be expected to run forward in the big 1 Hurdles are Standfast,- Easterly and Luminary, and perhaps Advance Camp after his forward showing at Te Ilapa. It is worth noting that Luminary was finishing on at the end' of the mile and a- half at Hamilton last weekh- 1 * nir'i