SOME OF THEM

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 681, 5 June 1929, Page 12

SOME OF THEM

DERBY FANCIES DISCUSSED GOOD SECOND STRINGS Englishmen pride themselves that in the Derby Sweepstakes, run on Epsom Downs, they have the greatest horse race in the world., There are many reasons to support their claim. From the racing point of view, the nature of the track, with its sharp bends and steep gradients, places severe demands on the strength, .speed and stamina of the three-year-olds. The one which survives this test and the further ordeal of the excited shouts and cheering of hundreds of thousands of spectators is not only the fittest, but also the best colt of the day. Lucky winners and unfortunate losers of this great race there have been, but the one which conquers the difficulties of the track and the roaring crowd is invariably a great thoroughbred. With the growth of huge London and Calcutta sweepstakes on the race, interest in it has become increasingly keen in recent years, and wherever horses are raced the result of the Derby is eagerly awaited. Owners and trainers are •now concentrating on the final .weeks of preparation of their horses, wrote a London correspondent on April 25. Likely ones are being put daily to the test. The tried-but-found-wanting brigade is being eliminated. " At least a score of last year’s two-year-(fids have emphasised their claims to Derby candidature since emerging from their winter retirement. A brief review of some of these at this stage of discussions of the race may be of interest. The Favourites The most interesting colts are those that have won as tliree-year-olds. They are Lord Astor’s Cragadour, Major Dermott McCalmont’s Mr. Jinks, Mr. Somerville Tattersall’s Brienz, M. E. Esmond’s Montclair, Lord Derby’s Hunter’s Moon. Tliese have been responsible for a series of performances, resulting in bewilderment regarding their respective chances. Other “probables” are his Majesty’s Glastonbury, the Aga Khan’s Costaki Pasha, and Grand Terrace, the Dowager Lady Nunburnholme’s Racedale, Mr. S. B. Joel’s Kopi, Mr. Playley Morriss’s Artist’s Proof. Lord Derby’s Bosworth, Lady Cunliffe- Bullhead. Lord Woolavington’s Defoe. Lord Dewar’s Totalisator, and Sir Victor Sasson’s Gay Day. (Some of these paid forfeit last week.) A Popular Candidate No colt has attracted the experts more than Cragadour, and many see in him Lord Astor’s chance of at least gaining the blue riband that he has so long sought, but which has so tantalisingly, and often so narrowly, eluded his grasp. By Craig an Eran, a Two Thousand Guineas winner and an unlucky loser of the 1921 Derby, Cragadour is a rich dark brown, barely of medium height. but beautifully moulded, and with balance of outline, muscular development, and power behind the saddle, which find expression in his splendid galloping action. He was second in his only race last year to Mr. Jinks, and made an auspicious start this year with an attractive win in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket. (He was again second to Mr. Jinks in the Two Thousand Guineas.) ITe was bred by Lord Astor. his sire being stationed at the Cliveden Stud, of which his dam, Pompadour, is also a product. A Frenchman’s Hope M. Esmond is a French millionaire who maintains extensive stables both in France and England. He is another who has not won the Derby, but Montclair. on breeding, is capable of enabling him to attain that distinction. This colt did not run as a two-year-old. but in his first, and so far his only, start he won in attractive style the Newbury Spring Maiden Plate, one mile —a race in which Felstead last year gave his first glimpse of prowess before winning the Derby. Like Felstead, too, Montclair is by Spion Kop, a grandson of Carbine: his dam. Masr, is by The Tetrarch from Via Via, by Cicero from Pilgrim’s Way, by St. Frusquin from Canterbury Pilgrim. Students of thoroughbred pedigrees will find difficulty in faulting that breeding. Montclair, who was bred at the Sledmore stud, and was bought as a yearling by M. Esmond for 3.500 guineas, is a chestnut of fine range and power. About Brienz [ The Manton stable, that shelters

Cragadour, lias another candidate in which much hope is placed. This is Brienz. This colt, like his stablemate, is by a Sunstar horse, Blink. His dam, Blue Lake, is by Gainsborough (by Bayardo) from Miss Cobalt, while Cragadour’s dam is by Bayardo. There is thus similarity in the breeding of these two colts. Brienz is bred to stay at every point of his pedigree, and he has justified his stamina lines in every race he has run. A handsome dark brown, he is of just the right size for the Epsom course, is difficult to fault in regard to conformation, and possesses the bearing and carriage associated with the best thoroughbreds. He won several races last season, but many critics were not impressed by his victory in the Column Produce Stakes, liis only race this year, as he showed an apparent dislike for his task. The stable associates, however, know him as a lazy fellow, who will do no more than is absolutely necessary to win, and they do not doubt his honesty or courage. A Speedy Grey Air. Jinks presents a pretty problem. He was brilliant as a two-year-old, and has retained his great speed this season. The doubt concerning him is his ability to stay the Derby distance. His sire, Tetrameta, was a sprinter, but is not any proof that he is not capable of siring a stayer. Mr. Jinks’s dam. False Piety, is bred on lines suggestive of stamina.' Whether Air. Jinks will confound the critics who say one of the most interesting problems associated with the race. He is a big, powerful grey, with a will and a capacity to use his strength. The King’s Colt The King’s representative is Glastonbury (who dropped out last week),

a half-brother, by Friar Marcus, to his Majesty’s classic winner last year, Scuttle. Glastonbury gave a' glimpse of form last week, and although no victory would be more popular at Epsom' in June, the concensus of opinion is that whatever distinction the Royal colt' earns will be in shorter races than the Derby. Costaki Pasha, by Gainsborough from Cos, w£s the winter favourite after an excellent two-year-old season, but he lost many friends by his first and only race this season, and He has now been withdrawn. He was backward in condition then, and the improvement his trainer can work in him might make him a different colt on Derby day. Th© Aga khan has a us'eful .second string in Buland Bala (by Blandford from Saffian), winner of the Nonsuch Stakes at Epsom this week. , ~ -Lord Derby has a tliree-year-ola winner in Hunter’s Moon, which, however is not thought to be up to classic standard; and Bosworth, by Son-ra-Law from Serinissima, might prove his owner’s better representative. He is considered a Derby type, but is backward in condition. Sir Victor Sassoon’s Gay Day was an early favourite, but ran ungenerously in the race won by Montclair recently, although he fin r ished third in the Guineas, tie is an erratic colt, but the wily “Steve” Donogliue, who is to ride him, might persuade him to do better over the Epsom course, of which “Steve” is such a master. At this date, there remain about 10 of the original nomination of 306. It is impossible to mention many more, but among those Tikely to prove leading candidates before the day are Racedale (by Buchan from Perfection), Defoe (by Hurry On from Daughter-in-taw) and Bullhead (by Phalaris from : Cartonna). All these are magnificent colts, but backward in condition.

WINALOT BACK MAY RACE AGAIN Following on his contesting the last Sydney Cup, Winalot was regarded in many quarters as having hopelessly broken down. His owner, Mr. E. K. White, expressed the' opinion that the Rossendale horse would never race again. In view of the departure for England of Strephon and the enforced retirement of "Winalot, the indications were that our w.f.a. races in the spring would be very poorly contested affairs. But in this regard there is now a certain amount of room for hope. Winalot, who has been spelling at the stables of his trainer, J. W. Cook, will probably resume work in the course of a week or so. Whether Winalot will be able to stand up to the rigours of a preparation only time will tell, but the signs are, to say the least of it, hopeful. AVe can ill afford to prematurely lose gallopers of the calibre of Winalot. The latter is not the only horse Cook will be reintroducing to the tracks shortly, as it is that trainer’s intention to recall from the paddocks Habashon, Sackbut, and Margarethal. This trio have been spelling at Scone, New South Wales.