Final Gallops at Wellington

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 181, 21 October 1927, Page 6

Final Gallops at Wellington

MANY ABSENTEES LAST WORD FROM TRENTHAM (Special to THE SUN.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. THE final gallops before the Well--L ington meeting were held at Trentham this morning, but in the absence of a good number of the horses which will be competing at the fixture on Saturday and Monday. The course is still hard, and so are the trial grass tracks, but there is no certainty that rain will not fall before the commencement of the meeting, as the sky is overcast and there is a high northerly blowing. GRAND KNIGHT IN FORM Most of the work this morning was done on the trial grass with the trestles wide out, and again one of the

best of the gallops went to the credit of Grand Knight, who ran away from Lausanne toward the end of a five-fur-long spin. Grand Knight’s time for the distance was lmin ssec, and he finished up the last half-mile in 52sec. Lausanne is smart over a short course, so that the effort of Grand Knight attracted a lot of attention and this, coupled with the good gallop he accomplished on Tuesday, has brought him into strong favour for the Shorts Handicap on Saturday. LIMERICK WORKS WELL There seems to be every prospect of Limerick starting in the Champion Plate on Monday, as he worked well this morning. He was ridden by J. Barry, and did a couple of rounds at a steady pace, and then sprinted home, going nicely and pulling up well. After the Wellington meeting he' goes on to liiccarton, where his two engagements are the Canterbury Cup and the G. G. Stead Memorial Cup. RETURNING TO FORM The imported Royal Picture went attractively over five furlongs in company with his stable-mate, Prince Paladin. Their time was lmin ssec, and the last half-mile occupied 52 l-ssec. Royal Picture went the better of the pair and looks as if he is returning to form. Pie has been a great disappointment in the past, but some of his track work reveals that he possesses speed. ENDORSE HARD TO BEAT The r€‘port that Endorse had been scratched for the Wellesley Stakes was premature, and evidently the horse referred to was Episode. Endorse galloped well in company with Tea Doll and, if the course is dry, will be very hard to beat in the Wellesley Stakes, Childsplay and Prince Humphrey notwithstanding. SILVER RULE PLEASES One whose track work has pleased since her arrival here is Silver Rule, and she should be difficult to beat in the Taita Handicap, the handicap race for two-year-olds on Saturday’s programme. She will be ridden in her engagement by A. McCormack. TWO FAVOURITES The defection of Rapier from the Wellington Handicap leaves Mask and Star Stranger in undisputed possession of the top of the ladder of favouritism, and there is little chance of their being disturbed unless the weather changes for the worse. Mask does not relish a wet track, and Star Stranger might not be fancied in mud with the big weight ho has to carry. The scratching of Rapier came as a shock, as it was hoped that the New Zealand Cup candidate would be seen in action here. JAMIESON’S CHARGES The latest information received here is that Nippy will be racing at Trentham, and will arrive here in company with Ti-Tree and Prince Humphrey. S. Reid will look after them till Jamieson arrives on Saturday, as the Papakura mentor has to be in attendance at the Waikato meeting on the Friday. All three of Jamieson’s charges will carry support in their engagements, and the one who will be at the longest price on the totalisator wil be Ti-Tree, who, however, should have a good chance of picking up a stake. USEFUL TWO-YEAR-OLD Among the lesser lights, Tea Doll appears to be a useful two-year-old, and a half-mile she did on the track yesterday morning suggests that she will run a good race in the Taita Handicap. CHILDSPLAY HITS OUT All eyes were turned on Childsplay when she went out to gallop in company with Full Feather, but the pair did not pit themselves against the watch, and ran home from the fivefurlong post in 1.7. Most of those on track were pleased with the manner in which Childsplay hit out, and they are quite prepared to see her at least go very close to winning the Wellesley. MASK AT HIS BEST Not a great deal has been asked of Mask since he andved here, but he has done a lot of racing, and was at his

best before he left Wanganui. He did easy work this morning, and still looks well, though it would be difficult to get him any fitter than he was when he raced at Ellerslie. He will be ridden in his Wellington Handicap engagement on Saturday by his usual pilot, and as he goes particularly well j for Morris, he should not fail to earn some place-money. J. BARRY TO RIDE BENNANEE Bennanee looks better than he lias done at any other part of the season, and he will be ridden in the Wellington Stakes by J. Barry, who has been more successful on him than any other rider. Bennanee was galloped on the plough and covered a mile in 1.46, a gallop which is good enough to win most races of a mile and a-quarter at Trentham. However, the Wellington Handicap will be run over a mile and three furlongs, and there is a doubt as to whether Bennanee will see out the full journey. He likes to get on a turning course and, hitting the* front, have his own rules all the way. The Wellington course is far from a turing track, and the Hastings galloper might not have it all his own way. However, if the favourites are beaten he is the one that might bring about their downfall. HAWKE’S BAY TWO-YEAR-OLD The Hawke’s Bay two-year-old Raasay, who is to contest the Wellesley Stakes, was galloped with Royal Duke and Stagliunter, and the three ran three furlongs in 36. Raasay was the last of the three when they passed the post, but he would have beaten them over a longer course, and the gallop was a nice one for all concerned. OVER SIX FURLONGS A good six furlongs went to the credit of Raasay’s elder brother, Gannymede, who covered the three-quarter-mile journey in 1.18. Another who went well was Te Monanui, whose time for the same distance was a second and a-half longer. Te Monanui, who is engaged in the Shorts Handicap on the first day, and the Champion Plate on the second day, looks to be right back to his best.