THIRTY IN A LIE AT TE RAPA

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 34, 3 May 1927, Page 6

THIRTY IN A LIE AT TE RAPA

FAVOURITE • SCORES FROM BADLY-PLACED HORSES IN TRIAL The scratching of half a dozen left a big field of 30 in the Trial Handicap at Te Rapa on Saturday, yet despite the number the start was as good a one as one could wish to see. As a flock of ducks rose from the water at the first barrel yesterday morning, so did starter Skipwith get the 30 horses away. And there were plenty of green ones. Catapult, the favourite, the bigger the field the greater the certainty, you know, drew number 10 marble, and although he did not commence so smartly as several others, he soon showed that he had the pace, for they had not gone far when he was running in sixth place and going well. GOING STRONG The favourite had to go outside several horses crossing the top. and he was seventh at the turn. Catapult finished too strongly in the straight and came on to win very nicely. They were a bad lot, however, although Catapult showed at Ellerslie that he was on the up grade. The Catmint gelding is a useful sort, and should do well in hack company. Royal Doulton was responsible for an attractive effort. She drew second place, and failure to begin saw her in lots of trouble. In the straight she came through on the inner, and got to within half a length of Catapult. Royal Doulton looks the part, and she should do better in the near future. Only a three-year-old, the filly, who is a halfsister by Romeo to Quincoma, lias many years of usefulness before her. Master Mind was the winner 50 yards from the post, and then he weakened quickly, to finish a neck away third. His marble was 29—he actually had one horse outside him —and the rush the Lucullus gelding had to make to get a position proved too much for him. Probably his rider bustled him so as to hit the straight first, which he did. When galloping one morning at Ellerslie recently Master Mind came in bleeding, but there did not seem to be a recurrence after Saturday’s race. WENT WELL, BUT LOST The top weight, Atapai, from number 19 at the barrier, ran quite a good race, being always prominent to finish fourth, close up, and it is reasonable to suppose that with a better marble he would have been even closer. Te Waka, from number 23, ran well, and so did Whaka King, but once again he showed that he is none too generous when tackled in the straight. Of the remainder, Catclaw, Day Rose and Red Comet did best. Among those never in the picture were some well backed ones in Rina Mangu and Arinagour, who was in the limelight after going a furlong. Storm Fiend was one of the handy division to the turn, and then faded out.