V.R.C. GRAND NATIONAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1015, 4 July 1930, Page 14

V.R.C. GRAND NATIONAL

BIG HURDLES CONTEST AT FLEMINGTON SWAHILLI FAVOURED | The Victorian Grand National | Hurdle race comes up for decision at j Flemington tomorrow. ! Swahilli, who has . won at his last couple of starts, lias been the earlyfavourite for some time, and he will be lat a short price tomorrow. When • Swahilli won at Williams town last j Saturday he was receiving a stone ! from Songift, who did not run into a I place if he started. j In the A.J.C. Hurdles at Randwick. ! Songift, carrying 10.0, wa.s looking all 1 over when he bungled the last ! jump and Grosvenor beat him home. j The Randwick race was two miles J three furlongs. A few days later ! Songift spreadeagled the hurdles’ field on the same course, carrying 11.6, and j running the two miles in a couple of 1 ticks outside the record. It is a pity that Songift has been taken out of ; tomorrow’s race. The following were- the horses left . in the big race tomorrow after yesterday’s ticceptances: GRAND NATIONAL HURDLE Of £2,000; 3 miles Rumford, . . 10 0 Johnny Cake 9 7 Horoscope . . 10 7 Tirade . . . 0 3 IVlosstrooper 10 7 Olina 0 2 Hay of .Biscay !) 11 Rossgole . 0 0 Hesley ... 911 Tresolaus ..90 Swahilli ... 9 S Solo Flight . 9 0 Horoscope (Absurd —Lady Rail), is the only New Zealand-bred horse engaged, and Dominion sportsmen would be agreeably surprised if he stuck on to win a three-mile race. Likely Candidates On the eve of last Saturday's race at Williamstown, which Swahilli won, a, Melbourne correspondent had the following interesting remarks to pass about the National Hurdle candidates; Form in the .Port Philip Hurdle at Williamstown should throw much light on the Grand National. Songift. _ 11.7, has top weight, and his first apjpearance here is being awaited by : racegoers. Other inter-State horses in the field are the Adelaide representative Chumree, Rumford, Hesley and Bay of Bisi cay. J. McKinnon now trains Bay of | Biscay, which is likely to be one of : the favourites. ' The former Sydneysider, Reonui, j now owned and trained by Stan Reid, is another candidate. The field is one of the best seen in a hurdle in Melbourne for many months. Ken tie will be the star of the Williamstown steeple field. He has 12.7, which is a tidy impost. Adit, Laurel - mond, and Good "Whisky are among the other likely starters. They Won There Mountain God and Beilis preceded their Grand National Steeple victories i by a win in the Williamstown Steeple, i and perhaps next Saturday’s winner at i the seaside course may equal their achievements. ! Taciturn, a member of F. W. Hoyj sted’s team, will run in the Maiden i Hurdle at Williamstown. Taciturn ! gave great promise as a stayer on the I fiat. He won four or five races, but his ' late for m has not been too good. He is j a son of William the Silent, which ran i second in A.J.C. Metropolitan and ! Caulfield Cup. Taciturn is owned by t Mr. E. A’. Shiel, who raced Rakwool. Swahilli. the favourite for the G.N. Hurdle, worked well at Caulfield this ; week, and looked particularly well. ! Swahilli has 10.5 in the Port Phillip f Hurdle at Williamstown on Saturday, and may be given an outing in that j race May Be His Turn P. K. Padfield has trained many good hurdlers in his time, but so far lie has failed to lead in a Grand Na- . tional winner. With Swahilli he looks to have an excellent chance this ! season. Swahilli has 9.8 in the G.X. 1 Hurdle, and on his Caulfield form he should have a great chance.

WHAT ABOUT IT? THE JOCKEY’S “PONY” WHEN COMMITTEEMAN COLLAPSED (The credentials of most of the applicants for licences to the Australian Jockey Club are investigated so thori oughly that the licensing committee i of the A.J.C. rarely has occasion to interview the applicants personally. ! Sometimes a few jockeys are called ! before the committee and the errors ! of their ways are pointed out in direct | but kindly tones. ; A few years ago some of the leadI ing jockeys were asked to refrain i from betting. , Two or three weeks (afterward a committeeman had a runner in a race at Randwick, and he was telling a leading jockey—who was riding his horse —that the trainer ! thought it was a good tiling. The j jockey rather staggered the committeej man by casually mentioning as he ! was about to mount that he could put “a pony" on for him with j the commission. The horse won at I long odds.