FIELDS AT RICCARTON

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 105, 25 July 1927, Page 6

FIELDS AT RICCARTON

THE THREE BIG RACES UNDER THE BINOCULARS

(Special to THE SUN.) WELLINGTON, Saturday. August 9 the big steeplechase of the present jumping season will be run—the Grand National at Riccarton. On the same day the annual contest for the Winter Cup will be held, and two days later the Grand National Hurdle Race will be decided. The C.J.C. does not offer the biggest prizes these days, but some of its events still hold pride of place in other respects, and one of those events is the Grand National Steeplechase. THE BIG STEEPLES With the whole of the season’s form to act as guide it seems possible to fine the big steeplechase down to half a dozen horses at present, and as the day of the race draws near it should be possible to reduce the number of selections at least by half. FROM OBSCURITY TO FAME Perhaps the most-discussed candidate for the race is Beau Cavalier, the Auckland jumper, who has risen from obscurity to fame in a single season. By winning both the Great Northern Steeplechase and the Wellington Steeplechase he has written his name on the scroll of fame, and set people asking themselves the question: Can he win the treble? He might, and analyse the handicap as you will you cannot come to any other conclusion than that he has a first-class chance. He is a good jumper, and only a good jumper will get round the Riccarton course. He has a fair turn of speed, as he showed in all his jumping races and also on the flat, when he contested the High Weight Handicap at Trentham. Probably he will be out in the front clear of all trouble, and there is little one can think of as being necessary to success over the big country at Riccarton that the Chesterfield gelding does not possess. His looks like a chance second to none. CROWN COIN AND TUKI Looking through the list for one that might bring about his defeat the names of Crown Coin and Tuki crop up. Crown Coin must be given credit for having done exceedingly well so far as the season has advanced. He made his first appearance over country at Wanganui in May, and on the second day of the meeting he ran second to Peter Maxwell, and was running on very strongly at the end of the contest. From there he went on to Napier Park and won the Napier Steeplechase from Bonny Rill, who had run second to Maunga, who won the Wanganui Steeplechase, and ran second to Beau Cavalier in the Great Northern Steeplechase. His next appearance was in the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase, and again he won. At Trentham last week he contested the Wellington Steeplechase, and five furlongs from home he was going so well that he looked a possibility, but he got into a couple of fences and that took a good deal of the steam out of him. He finished third, and he looks full of possibilities for the future. One would not like to select him to beat Beau Cavalier, but it must be recognised that he has a chance, as he is a careful fencer and a great stayer. He might not be quite good enough for this season, but don’t be surprised if he is knocking at the door on August 9. ALWAYS FINISHING ON As to Tuki, anyone who saw the way he finished on the final day of the Auckland winter gathering will not need to be convinced that the longer the course the better It will suit him. He finished just as well as that in the Wellington Steeplechase, which is run over a different class of country, and so there is no other presumption to entertain than that the longer Riccarton course will suit him better than either of the other courses mentioned. There is no safer jumper in New Zealand to-day than Tuki, and that is another thing which will help him in the big contest next month. Tuki has won one Grand National Steeplechase already. He might win the next. IMPROVING STEADILY Kawini seems to be improving all the time with the racing he is having, and at Riccarton he might break his run of placed performances by winning a race. If he doesn’t win on the opening day. and the race improves him, he certainly should be hard on one of the latter days. His second at the Wellington meeting was a good performance, and he is now getting a bit the better of the weights than some of those who have been doing the winning. MAUNGA A POSSIBILITY As he stays well, Maunga is a possibility in anything he takes on at Riccarton. First in the Wanganui Steeplechase and second in the Great Northern Steeplechase is not bad form. He did not contest the Wellington Steeplechase, blit was run in the Winter Hurdles on the last day of the fixture, and that race will serve to bring him on in condition. He has not done much of late, but it might not take a lot of work to get him right as he is not a gross horse. Maunga is another with staying credentials, and he will have a following in anything his trainer decides to race him in at Riccarton. ZIRCON IMPRESSES

One of the fresh cross-country horses who showed great form at Wellington on the concluding day was Zircon. His speed took him far clear of the field early in the race, and as he jumped well he was still clear a furlong from home. Finally Tuki beat him a head, but was a little lucky to get up in time. Zircon might not be seasoned enough to run out the full distance of the Grand National, but even so he is a horse that must be considered in the near future. A FORMER VICTOR Peter Maxwell won the race a year ago, and therefore has proved that he is capable of doing the job. When he won at Wanganui he did not beat very much, and, going on the Ellerslie, he ran rather disappointingly at the Auckland winter meeting. However, he is reported to have been training on satisfactorily since then, and even though he missed racing at Wellington it might be possible for his trainer to get him fit enough to win his second Grand National. The chances, however, are against that. SOME OF THE OTHERS Pamplona has not shown himself in public a great deal this season, and that is an observation that applies also to Charlatan, though the latter is likely to run at the meeting, as his owner is very keen on winning a steeplechase at Riccarton. He will be an extraordinarily fortunate man if Charlatan wins one for him this season, as up to the present he has not been a success at all. Frenchman was on the easy list recently, and reports from the far South indicate that Scamp also had not done a great deal of work just prior to his race in the Wellington Steeplechase. If Scamp runs at Riccarton he will be watched with keen interest, as he looks to be the sort who eventually will make good over severe country. A GOOD QUARTETTE To sum up, present indications are that the hardest to defeat might be Beau Cavalier, Crown Coin, Tuki, and Kawini.

A HARD HURDLE RACE The handicapper was set an awkward task in the Grand National Hurdle Race, and he in his turn has set just as awkward a task to those who get their pleasure out of trying to find the winner. SOUTH ISLAND'S CHANCES It will not be surprising if the winner is provided by the South Island, which houses a good sort of hurdler in Wharncliffe, whose form at the Wellington meeting was almost all that could be desired. He won the Trentham Hurdles, a mile and threequarters, on the opening day of the meeting, and on the concluding day he ran a creditable second to Nukumai in the Winter Hurdles, two miles and a-quarter. He finished so well in the latter race that he ought to be well suited by the Grand National Hurdle Race, which is run over two miles and a-half. He will be ridden by A. E. Ellis, who at his best is a very capable horseman. Kawini ran a good race in the big hurdle race at Trentham. and seems to be equally at home over hurdles or steeplechase country. CAME FROM THE BACK

Perle de Leon is difficult to understand. He -won a couple of races at Hastings in such good style that he was marked down as a possibility in open company. He straightway confounded his admirers by running badly in hack company. Then he came out in the big hurdles at Trentham, and ran a remarkable race, coming from last to third in the concluding stages of the contest. On his best form he has a chance in any company. FINING IT DOWN

As Beau Cavalier contested both the Wellington Steeplechase and the Winter Hurdle Race at the Trentham fixture last week, it is possible he will be asked to mix his work at Riccarton. He is a pretty good hurdler, too.

Kaikahu has been showing good form for some time past, but a Grand National looks to be beyond him just yet, though he is one of the sort who ought to improve, and it would not be surprising if later on he turned out to be a useful steeplechaser.

A good jumper like Royal Form might upset calculations at Riccarton, but present indications point to Wharncliffe. Perle de Leon and Kawini being the best of a difficult field. THE WINTER CUP

Coming to the last leg of the big treble, we find that over 50 horses have been nominated for the Winter Cup. That there will be a weedingout before August 9 is inevitable. Though he has been very solid in the past, a mile race is not a thing that should be beyond Magna Charta. The Lowry cast-off gave a lot of promise at one time, and he has pleased those who have seen him working in the South. He is a strong possibility for a race of this class.

There seems to be no reason why Vaward should not run a good race, and the big Riccarton course, with its long straight, might suit Black Mint as well if not better than any other racecourse in New Zealand. He will not be bothered by the going if Riccarton is softer than is usually the case, as he is among the fortunates that are quite at home when the mud is deep.

Chickwlieat ran very disappointingly at the Wellington fixture, and so did the Wellington pair Indian Sage and Tresham, though were Tresham back to his best form he is just the sort that might win a Winter Cup, a race that Kuhio won for his owner, Mr. J. A. Taylor, a couple of seasons back.

There was something about the manner in which Hathor beat a field at Hastings last month which makes her read as a possibility. The field she beat was a weak one, but she made absolute hacks of her opponents. There was no fluke about the win, for Hathor had shown her trainer a great gallop beforehand, and was backed as a certainty. She comes from the stable of the veteran trainer T. Quinlivan, who knows as well las the next man what is required to win a big handicap.

Huikai came into favour at Hastings, and Peho’s Wellington form drew attention to her. She is a nicelybred mare, and if she could be relied on to begin smartly she would have a great chance, as she ran out her race at the Wellington meeting in great style, and was not in the least troubled by the very heavy going that was the order there. i CAN YOU PICK IT? The best of the top weights appears to be Overhaul, Master Boon, and Degage, but remembering the successes of the light weights in the past one is inclined to look to that part of the handicap for the winner. Horses like Tresham, Black Mint, and Chickwheat ought to run prominently.