Trivalve’s Decline Is No Mystery

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 361, 23 May 1928, Page 10

Trivalve’s Decline Is No Mystery

VITALITY BEING SAPPED WHAT THE CRITICS SAY Has the disease called Acromegaly which saps the vitality of humans arid probably affects thoroughbreds in the same way, brought about the decline m Trivalve’s form which resulted on Saturday week in his being beaten m the worst three-year-old field in Australia ? The probable presence of the disease was hinted at in “Smith’s Weekly’’ a few weeks ago. The fact that he has not won a race since and was, in fact, utterly disgraced in the South Australian St. Leger, strengthens the claim that there is something radically wr,, with a colt who six months ago, in winning the Melbourne Cup, promised to develop into one of the greatest stayers Australia had ever seen. Not only has Trimlve’s form been lost, and his vitality sapped, but worse may come. Trivalve may not race again. It will be interesting to see whether the freely offered advice is followed in view of this development, and a medical specialist called upon to investigate the colt’s strange condition. Scobie’s Miscalculation Commenting upon Trivalve’s latest defeat, another Sydney critic writes: When a master trainer such as James Scobie miscalculates the powers of a horse under his charge, what hope is there for the average backer, who necessarily has to do a considerable amount of guessing Scobie seems to have completely misunderstood Trivalve during the past couple of months. Easy victories, even though against weak opposition, at the V.R.C. autumn meeting, did not suggest deterioration from the colt’s brilliant spring form, but his defeats in Sydney by Winalot and Valamita raised doubts. Even then Scobie was not satisfied. Now that Mr. Clarke’s colt has been beaten in the South Australian St. Leger Scobie doubtless realises that there is a screw loose somewhere. If Trivalve had not seemed to be all right in the stable and on the track an experienced trainer like Scobie would not have persisted in racing such a valuable colt. The winning of another riband would mean little to either him or Mr. Clarke. The last race, however, would probably satisfy them whether it is something more than the temporary loss of form which ails Trivalve. Now that Trivalve has been beaten in an Adelaide field his case seems to

be more than ever like that of Clean Sweep (also trained by Scobie), who failed in the South Australian St. Leger in the season of his Melbourne Cup win. Clean Sweep never recovered from his gruelling cup preparation. Will the same have to be written ultimately about Trivalve? It is not difficult to imagine that while the Carbine blood in him gave Trivalve the courage and stamina to enable him to win the Melbourne Cup, the strain has at last found a weakness derived from The Welkin blood that also flows through his veins.