Will it be Agrion or Laughing Prince ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 241, 31 December 1927, Page 9

Will it be Agrion or Laughing Prince ?

Thrilling Derby Contest on Monday

THE richest classic event in the Dominion, the Great Northa era Derby, with its £3,000 stake, is to come up for decision on Monday at Ellerslie, and there is the material left m the race for a really thrilling struggle for the blue riband. At present a duel between Agrion and Laughing Prince appears to be in prospect.

N° thi^ni e£ i?L.i n t?T?5“ n ? faature or lufoi-Tr 01 _ yec 4 b » to a-bso-be tlfe fS-^rac^start/d 14 ? that u will rfer erected on that i he b ?T course that is alrladv P “t ti 0i t n® and a-half 1 dy open > at tlle mlle Befoi-ft o-'nino-;“”,y d Satrap Laui-hine: F>rlr£e? for JonoTa beatm S BeMnd them ZJr 1 m ?? ey - tarma am ° ns others ’ was MarThese horses will be on hand on ag°Un ay anS therein b £ U ° all " ver claiming a share in the t°M a°W e -*" ■‘Seat Charter who wef , a S for the smart 1 set in th e P land Cud Auck MAY BE A MATCH Despite the fact that at Riccarton Satrap headed Laughing Prince for second money, the situation in Mon-

day’s race appears to be a match between Laughing Prince and Agrion. The latter, having his first outing as a three-year-old, made his own Dace at Riecarton and held on to win convincingly, and there was every reason to believe that that outing oulcl benelit liim. The colt has not had a race since, and in addition he has done all his Work on the tan track at Ellerslie, which shows that the stable is not without some fear of the colt’s legs, which weakness caused him to be taken out of the A.J.C. Derby last October.

Tho recent rain, of which perhaps we did not have sufficient, would improve the course at Ellerslie, and on Monday it should not be quite so hard as on Boxing Day. THE LAUGHING PRINCE He laughs best who laughs last, and the Fordell colt may yet be on the box seat. It is argued against Laughing Prince that ho won at Riccarton very nearly as easily as he did last Monday, and then was soundly beaten in the Derby. However, there was no denying the fact that the chestnut has been going great guns on the track, and from that it must be considered that he is a better horse now than in the spring. His win in the Christmas Handicap last Monday was attained in the easiest possible manner. He vaited on the leaders to tlie home turn, where lie was lying third, waiting to pounce down on them when his rider chose. SHOT AWAY As soon as they had straightened up up Morris moved slightly, and that was the end of it. Like a shot from a gun Laughing Prince drew out from the field and he spreadeagled them to score very comfortably by about three lengths. The colt carried 5.4, and to make an exhibition of a fine field of milers as he did was illuminating, and,

incidentally, a rare good Derby trial, providing that one was assured that the colt will run out a solid mile and a-half. No one who witnessed that race would care to say that Laughing Prince stood anything but a good chance of beating Agrion. Although the latter has been confined to the tan track since his arrival he has been given plenty of long work, and should strip j very fit. His gallop on this tan on i Thursday was a really brilliant effort, ! and showed what Laughing Prince will j be up against. So much for this ; pair. Although the King John three-year- j old Great Charter has generally faded | out at the end of his races over a journey, the writer expects to see him more prominent on this occasion. In the first place, at the Auckland spring meeting, he led for nine furlongs and 190 yards in the 10-furlong race the | second day, the King Edward Memorial i Handicap, and over the last 30 yards i was just caught by Mask and Star Stranger, who dead-heated a neck in j front of him. That was pretty good ; going. As against this, however, he I shaped like a non-stayer in Agrion’s i Derby, and confirmed this to an extent j by winning at a mile later at the same ' meeting. BACK TO FAVOUR Prior to the Auckland Cup seeing i Great Charter did a splendid gallop over nine furlongs at Ellerslie. and in ; this big race he put up a brilliant j effort. He was the pacemaker through- j out, and was still going along in the* |

van inside two furlongs from home, when the stayers got to him. Although well beaten and consequently not knocked about over the finkl half furlon S. the three-year-old finished ninth but it was not so much this fact as the manner in which he carnote"that thiAim/hS only been beaten in the Derby once, by Desert Gold, when she won m 2.32 3-5, the next best time being the 2.34 Commendation last New Great Charter’s Cup run was a good one ’ ari<i there is reason to expect him to SO a good mile and a-half. From tlle purt ' ly tlm . e P 01 " 1 o£ vim he would very nearly win. In view of this fact it will be interesting to see how the King John gelding gets on on Monday. With such a free goer like Agrion in the field Great Charter may not get to the front. Cimabue has the pace, but over a

mile and a-half he is not liked :n this class. In The Shade ran a fair race in the Summer Cup, getting third money three lengths behind the winner. Paganelli appears to be only a sprinter, and Don Jose has failed !n his races to date.

Singleton, too, has done nothing so far to warrant the impression that he is a Derby possibility. Next to the three first mentioned— Agrion, Laughing Prince and Great

Charter —there is another trio that can be grouped next. They are Satrap, Mariarma and Thaw. The first of these three finished second to Agrion at Riccarton, but in the meantime he does not appear to have developed as he might have done. We have not seen the best of Satrap at Ellerslie, for he did not have much chance in the Queen’s Plate last Monday, when he was left at the start and then was off the course coming into the straight. The extra journey no doubt will see him doing better. Martarma has impressed since his arrival, and he strikes one as more of the solid type than brilliant. He won the Queen’s Plate in handsome fashion and then, after conceding the field in the King's Plate a start, he finished strongly in third place. On this showing he must have a chance in the classic if he can hang on over the last furlong. He is a Martian, and should manage this. Contrary to previous experience, this holiday racing carnival, both at Ellerslie and Awapuni, has not been of any benefit to Mr. G. M. Currie, and his trainer, Walter Rayner, for they have yet to score a win. Thaw is the stable hope in the classic on Monday, and if he can be prevailed upon to do his best he may effect a surprise. It will be remembered that Thaw finished with a great rattle in the Great Northern Guineas, won by Paleta, and on that day he made many friends for the Derby. He is by Limond, th© sire of Limerick, Commendation and Agrion so that on this score alone Thaw should be able to see out the mile and a-haif. MOST FANCIED TRIO Nevertheless, after ‘going carefully through the field, one cannot but think that the issue lies between Agrion, Laughing Prince and Great Charter.