SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1918, Page 8

SPORTING.

DESERT GOLD'S SECOND DEFEAT. AND WALLACE ISINGLASS'S FOR}.!. Desert Gold was beaten at two miies

yestciday. but not by any moans disgraced (wrote "Iroquis" in the Sydney Sim on Wednesday last). Sin was set a colossal task in being asked to make her own pace over audi a journey. and the tactics thus adopted played into the hands of sncli a solid stayer and a brilliant finisher like WalJ.K'C Isinglass, so that, under the circum-r-iances. there is no wonder that Mr. John "Baron's'' horse was able to outstay her in a thrilling struggle over the lasi, three furlongs.

Desert Gold set sudi a strong pace in tilt "iirly stages of the race that she sef'.ied ;i ten lengths' lead in the rim dcvvn flip back of the course, but Wallace Isinglass had her at the turn, and tbey fought out a strenuous battle over the next two furlongs, but over the lact one the chestnut secured her measure, and won by a length and a half. 'While it was a fine performance on tlit. port of the mare, her stamina still remains onen to doubt. On the one hand, it may be pointed>out that for Wallace

Isinglass to catcli and licat her after giving away ten lengths, she must have finished very weakly, while on the other hand the time indicates that the racs was run at remarkable spoed. The tw& miJcs occupied 3min 2Gfsec. No other two mile weight-for-age race has been rr.n at such a pace, and the time has been bettered only once in the history of Flemington. This was in the Melbourne Cup of 1914. when Kingsburgh, with 6st 121b ran 3min 2Csec. Derert Gold's connections had decided —Qi! Saturday to run the mare in the Governor's Plate, one mile and a finlf, •'n preference to the C. M. Llovd Stakes, for the purpose of testing the stayers with a view to her Randwick long-dis-tant engagements. Her owner was keen on meeting Cetigne in the Lloyd Stakes, bvt a decision was made in favor of the irrlc and a half event, because it would ; fit her for yesterday's two-mile race, "here will be another chance of chal-

lenging Cetigne in the All-Aged Stakes, at Kandwiek, and the mare will also Jiave further cfpportunities of trying her stamina at the A.J.C.' meeting, but her form to date suggests that a mile and a half is as far as she can go at her best. A New Zealand sportsman, who has seen her in all her races and witnessed the Governor's Plate on Saturday, said 'hat was the first race in Australia Til which she had run to her best New Zealand form. In her engagements in the. Dominion she usually secured a big break, allowed the field to run up to htr at thr>iome turn, and then ran away again in the straight. That was exactly ■what happened in the Governor's Plate, and it led to believe that having struck her best form she would experience 110 difficulty in accounting for the

| King's Plate. WALLACE ISINGLASS'S FORM. Wallace Isinglass is unquestionably a fine performer; but be could never be a public idol. His form is too unreliable for that. One day lie will put up a brilliant performance, and be will be baiici as a world-beater and made favorite for the next big item on the turf calendar —a sort of supreme test which is going to place liim on the very crest of turf fame. In similar circumstances most other horses will run good races, at least giving their admircrssome satisfaction, but not so with Wallace Isinglass lie will shape like a working i'lillock, so that the worst condemnation will )iot seem too severe for him. And the most aggravating thing about b'-ni is that just when be has been called ; '!\i! the worst names that figure in the turf vocabulary, he will crop up again as near to championship honors as a • horse can get. Three times ho has been through th!» routine, and his backers in the last .Metropolitan, the Caulfield Cup, and the , Australian Cud will nrobably never forgive him. Wallace Isinglass "registered a rcr.ii." great performance vesterdav in running bis two miles in 3min 2(l%see, ;ind beating Desert Gold, despite the ?'„art be gave her,'but those who had backed him for the Australian Clip must have viewed the race with mixed feelings. In the Cnn tbe.leaders had him beaten by over 100 yjtrdg five furlonjs from ii'otafc, i