HAWKE’S BAY HACKS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 987, 2 June 1930, Page 14

HAWKE’S BAY HACKS

GOOD CHANCES IN JERVOIS DIVISIONS It is nearly six months since there was a division race at Ellerslie. This was in a hack event on Boxing Bay, the Robinson Handicap. On that occasion the winners of the divisions were Hunting Bay and Royal Parade, and subsequently both these speedy horses captured open sprints. Hunting Bay and Royal Parade came from the Hawke’s Bay distri<st. Will Hawke's Bay again supply the division winners tomorrow? That province also has two horses engaged on this occasion—Grattus and Air Laddie—and these hacks are good enough to emulate the deeds of Huntiing Day and Royal Parade in the spring. Perhaps the two engaged tomorrow may lack the brilliance of their predecessors, but the class is probably a bit below that of the summer fields. Grattus figures in the second division of the Jervois Handicap, and Air Laddie in the first. On his last appearance, six weeks ago, Air Laddie contested the Oroua Hack Cup at Feilding, in which he finished second with 7.5 to Llyn Bu, who won in such a remarkable fashion, spreadeagling the field over the last three furlongs to win by three lengths. Air Laddie was a well-backed fourth favourite, and ho finished a couple of lengths in front of the third horse, Grattus, who had 8.13. The race in question was a very rough affair, and both Air Laddie and Grattus received rocky passages—the riding was simply terrible (all the good horsemen were away at other meetings), and the majority of the IS runners, were bumped and buffeted about like a cork in a storm at sea. Therefore the performances of A;ir Laddie and Grattus were rather better thar they looked on paper. The two excellent races Llyn Du ran in the open handicaps at Wanganui recently indicated that the two that followed him home had something to do to beat him. Air Laddie was meeting the winner on level terms, and Grattus was conceding 221 b. to the pair of them. It is interesting to note that Grattus was handicapped tomorrow to concede Air Laddie 221 b.— the same margin when the latter finished well clear of Grattus the last time they met. This appears to be rather hard on Grattus. The position is not really so severe as it appears to be at first sight, for these two horses will not meet tomorrow: they have been drawn in different divisions. Grattus is in the second division, which does not seem to be as strong as the first, so that balances things to a certain extent cO far as his handicap is concerned. Air Laddie has some good hacks to meet, such as Chromadyne, Goldlike, and the greatly improved Sir Mond. It is believed that Grattus’s real mission is the amateur riders’ race, the Carbine Plate, run on the third day* and if he wins on the tlat tomorrow or on Thursday he will be automatically disqualified for that contest. But it is hardly likely that any owner would these days pass over an excellent. chance of picking up a £250 prize. Air Laddie is trained by F. Bavis at Woodville, while Grattus is from W. McKinnon’s stable, which also shelters that good horse Toxeuma,