Promising Trentham Youngsters Ready

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 455, 10 September 1928, Page 10

Promising Trentham Youngsters Ready

STAGHUNTER IS WELL

WELLINGTON NEWS

(Special to THE SUXJ WELLINGTON, Saturday. One of the Trentham three-year-olds that might be good this season is Staghunter. It is a gamble, of course, trying to size up the future of a young horse, but Staghunter was a good two-year-old at one stage of last season. He won three races, the most important of which was the Great Northern Foal Stakes, in which lie defeated the crack Riccarton galloper, Cliildsplay, and Raasay, who afterwards ran Reremoana to a neck in the North Island Challenge Stakes and lately ran a good second in Australia.

Staghunter went off for a while later in the season, but has come up well for his three-year-old career and might play an important part in some of the early season races. He is engaged at Wanganui, and rumour has it that he was responsible for a particularly fine gallop there this week, a gallop better than he is generally credited with having done. There are many who contend that Staghunter will stay, and if he begins the season well they will have him on their list as a good chance for the Berbies.

Matu has made a good recovery from the little knocking about he received on the Riccarton trip, but he is not to be put back into work for some time. He will be turned out on his owner’s property, and should be a useful steeplechase horse next season. The Wellington-owned Beaumont made his debut as a hurdler at Marton on the day his owner, Mrs. T. Bwan, returned from a trip oversea-s. Beaumont shaped well in his first try, and when he jumps better he will win hack hurdle races. Cohesion, who beat him at Marton, is one of the best seen out for some time. On Wanganui Tracks Tea Taster and Burnt Note, two of the young horses that H. Telford has had at Wanganui for some time, are to return to Trentham, as they will not be required to race at Wanganui. All Telford’s horses are well forward for the time of the year, and their condition speaks well both for their trainer and the Wanganui tracks. Wanganui is a popular winter training resort with Telford, who takes a team up from Trentham every year to get the benefit of the good tracks. It will be remembered that it was one of hie team, Frenzied Finance, who won the first two-year-old classic of the season, the Bebutante Stakes, two years ago, and there is no question that that was due largely to her forward condition. Royal Game is not racing as well now as he was a while back. He ran a fair race in the mile and a-quarter open event on the first day at Bannevirke, but in the open mile next day failed to run on after having a nice inn in front most of the way. It will be bad luck if Royal Game does not strike form before the end of the spring racing, as he does best while the sting is out of the courses. A lot of money was lost over Wanderlust at his last start, and it would not surprise were he to be given a spell if he does not make an immediate improvement. He beat Beaumont at Napier, but ran badly at Gisborne, and again at Dannevirke. His Bannevirke form was surprisingly bad —the worst he has yet been responsible for. Still Among the Hacks Kilmezzo, owned by the 'Wellington sportsman, Mr. J. O’Brien, was big when he raced last week, but the racing benefited him and he is now coming to hand nicely. Kilmezzo is well enough bred, but be is a six-year-old still eligible for hack races, so his prospects of soaring very high in the racing constellation are not bright. However, he si expected to give some of the fair-class hacks a job to beat him a little later in the season. Imperial Spark, who raced unsuccessfully at Bannevirke, is coming on nicely and galloped well on the tracks this week. He looks fairly fresh and well, and might be good enough to win a middle distance handicap when the really useful performers are out of the way. In any case, theimprovement he is making is pleasing. Smart Juvenile

Moutoa Treasury, winner of the hack six furlongs at Marton, is one of the best of the track workers and those who have seen her over the last several weeks have declared that she only needed to run up to track form to win. Her win was full of merit, and on her public showing she will be given a chance in the Guineas at Wanganui next week. J. Hastie has her very well, and is exceptionally pleased with the way she lias come on. It should not be overlooked that her outing at Marton was her first race of the present season.

Among the improving young horses at Trentham is Tclieka, the Nightraid gelding which carries the colours of Mr. T. M. Wilford. Tclieka was merely fair as a two-year-old, but was not hurried, being looked upon as one that would not come to hand quickly, but would do well if given ample time. The policy pursued looks likely to work out well, as he is coming along very rapidly. He looks well, is showing speed in his work, and should be a fair winner this season.

Black Mint is going along the right way, and in all probability will make the trip north for the coming meeting of the Avondale Club. He will not need a great deal of sharpening up as he has raced through the winter and was a thoroughly fit horse last month when he scored at the Grand National meeting at Riccarton. He is one of the horses that the big courses suit.