TROTTING

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 556, 8 January 1929, Page 10

TROTTING

By ABAVDOS. NOTES AND COMMENTS SQUARE-GAITERS AT EPSOM SOME CONSISTENT PERFORMERS The trotting department at the recent Alexandra Park carnival provided plenty of interest, and at times a good deal of excitement, for followers of the pastime. The performances of some were consistent in the first degree, while others were not so easily followedAgain, some were good, others indifferent, and a few bad, but the form of several was of sufficient merit to suggest that a victory is not far off. In the primary division the Belfasttrained Kempton demonstrated in the "Rowe Cup that his track essays for Wally Wright on the eve of the meeting were not flukes, and when it came to the deciding point in the contest, those who expected to see the Xelson Bingen gelding get the stitch received a shock, for Donald's charge responded to the final call with plenty of vim, and won comfortably. Mrs. E. Berryman, the lady owner, was justifiably proud of Kempton s achievement, and equally proud of the beautiful and valuable cup which accompanied the stake. The trophy, manufactured by Kohn. is the best of its kind seen in the Dominion. An Honest Trotter As the fixture progressed, the old black gelding Xgatira became the idol of the fans, his honesty and consistency gaining the admiration of the crowd. G. A. Williams's square-gaiter was unlucky more than once, but on three occasions he finished with a dash and determination that secured him second money. The two solid races on the middle day of the session evidency got to the bottom of the son of Ripoin Child, as lie did not reproduce his dash on the last day. His consistency, however, returned his Wellsford owner £4OO in prize money. Public Opinion The Auckland trotting public wili not allow Young Blake to go out either alone or in company with a stable companion without making him favourite. Each day the Tomkinson bracket found most support in the main trotting heats, and when the Wildwood Junior gelding tackled the opposition in the Christmas Handicap, from 144 yards behind, on his lonesome, he was still favourite. After failing badly in this particular heat, the Addington trotter came out later in the day, and won comfortably. The earlier run evidently did him a power of good. Two Good Efforts The Petereta mare Elzear, without getting into a dividend-returning position, ran a couple of good races during the carnival, and on two occasions the third end of the purse was her portion. In her essays at the park each day the Addington-trained trotter was driven by J. Bryce, who always got her close up to the leaders early in the contests. This saw her left without the dash over the final quarter that marked her splendid efforts at Christchurch during Cup week. Out of Luck

Trampfast was one of the main disappointments among the high grade square-gaiters competing at Epsom last month, and he proved fairly expensive to a good number of staunch admirers. In the Rowe Cup the Logan Pointer gelding was all over the place, and had anything but a short route, while the second day. when driver Bill Lowe was taking a short cut for home, he got badly stopped. So noticeable to the public was the incident that on the final day Trampfast was made a good second choice on the machine, but he failed to act as well as in his previous essays. There was a general cheer when “Togo” Lee drove Tiger Salve home a winner on the last day of the session, many who were not backing the Rock Huon gelding joining in the refrain of appreciation. In his two previous essays the Tiger was always at the head of affairs, but the last furlong or so in the heavy going found him out. With the footing more to his liking the last day, Tom Richards’s trotter hung on just long enough to get the decision, and his victory was due in a large measure to the expert manner in which driver Lee handled the ribbons. He never wasted an inch of ground at any part of the journey. A Quick Return Harry Kinnimont was not long in getting some return for his outlay in purchasing Napland, and the son of Petereta —Dreamland went very close to tearing off the first cheque. Under the Royal Oak reinsman’s guidance, the one-time crack trotter gave his best display for a couple of seasons, and if he repeats the performance will not be long in saying “How do you do?” to the man in the box. And when Napland does the trick in the magenta and black jacket, tlie success will be popularly received by all followers of the sport. Long Voyages Among the trotters in the secondary section. Etta Cole raced with all the luck against her. On the first and second day the Peterwah mare travelled a lot further than the two miles set out in the programme, and then finished second on each occasion. The mare was as far back in the handicap on the last day as if she had won on the opening day. but the hard races previously saw Etta run much below her true form in her third start. The public stuck to the Docherty representative solidly each day. Patience Rewarded T. Roe lias succeeded in getting Gold Sovereign to trot solidly, with the result that the son of Gold Bell is proving a payable proposition for owner R. Peacocke. He scored nicely at Hamilton early last month, and after looking on at the first day’s races, trainer Tom Roe decided to start the trotter on the second day, with the result that he won in good style. There will be no races to suit the Mangeretrained gelding till the Waikato fixture in March. No one has anything on Mangere mentor when it comes to training and driving square-gaiters. Conditions Suitable ith the class to suit him, and the sting out of the ground, Raima looked a real good proposition on the middle day of the carnival in the Christmas Handicap, and he duly landed, after making a mistake early in the race. Over the. last 100 yards his driver made a mistake that might have cost him the race, but the committee considered a caution sufficient to meet the occasion, and Raima’s backers breathed freely, while the Peter McKinney people got nothing.