view raw text
• " • t : - .j 5 - , . . I I I I t I 1 , , , , , , . . j . . ] I ! 1 1 1 1 I 1 | i i ! J , j ! j . . . , J BEST ANTIPODEAN HORSES OF THE DAY Experts Estimate of Autrala-siau Racers of the Present Time. In Australasian racing practice July 1 is the beginning of ■ new racing year. corres|w ndiiig to January 1 in this country and Kuglaml. It results that their racing year is n.-aring its close, while f.nrs is still in its spring stages. If has been .1 pmsperous turf year in Australia ami N.w 7. alainl and in reviewing its incidents. Tilot" gave the following estimati- of its hading hort-s in tie-. Sydney Ifeferee of Ap;il 24: "III Victoria and New Smith Wales this MMBaN weight- for -age r.-i.-ing is ever, and •! . to a mile ..t,| a half the honors are with the N-.v Zealand visitors -Desert Cold ami Biplane. The seeming medio. -j rity of our own three-year-olds has caused some New Zettlinders to doubt •.vhether Binlane is iptit-, as gt od as we in Australia believe, hut there was no doubt as to the merit of his m rfomi.mcc in the A. J. C. Craven Blate. in which he beat the best 4,f the older horses ra. iitg at the A. J. C. spring meeting, and did the mile and a .[uart-r in 2:05 ,. In my opinion that was quite as good an effort as his Linlithgow Stakes win at Flcmiiigt. n. notwith-, standing that in the latter race he t jit a lump ..IT the previous best for the track, and eajaaJM the Australian mill- 1. cord -made tit Rami wick by Montcalm and Iortrush. On tin- two ... easions re-I ferred to Biplanes form was unite as impressive as anything shown by Desert Cold at IJamiwiik or Klemingtoii. "Desert Cold undeniably proved himself superior to our horses frojn a mile to a mile ami a h: If, but at two miles she was outstayed by Wallace I-ingliss at riemitigtoii. On tin- man-s In-half it pnt.t I*. said that during her stay over hen- she was not winked with a view t » really long np-os. anil tlnr.-- fore her failim- was exrwaaMe. Still, though her trainer has thorough belief in her as a - layer, Desert Cold has y.-t to aei-otniilish anything iii a race really convincing on that poinl. Wh.-n she W4iii the Alituinn Stakes, one mile and a half, at Kaiulwick. she was widening the gan In twee 11 lier- s-lf and lur followers when the winning post was r.-nched. but it docs not follow that in consequence she was also sun- to have beaten them if tin re hail been another half-mile to travel. It appeared as if she would, hut then at two miles the raie might have been run in a manner that would have given some of those bch-rid her a much better chance than at tin- shorter distance. Anyhow, she is a great mare up to a mile ami a half, ami a champion at a mile, as demonstrated by her easy defeat in the All-Aged Stakes of Cetigne. which. with 138 pounds, hail run a good thiol in tin- l»oii- castt r Handicap on the opening day of the meeting. AUSTRALIAS BEST MILEHS. "Cetigne is the best of our olih-r hors.s at a mile anil, when he area the Mellioiirne Makes l.st November, be equalled the Australian mile ami a 4.narler record of 2:054, but later at the sane- meeting was downed at a mile and a half by Wallace Isinglass. At t!: - recent autumn meetings C.-tigm-s efforts were principally restricted to sprinting and in the fat are 1 anticipate he will pn.ye himself a better Imrse up to a mile and a qaartrr Ihan heyon-1 that distance. That, of course, does not mean I regard him as incapable of winning at a mile and a half, as hiving run well at that distance earlier in his career, he may do so again, notwithstanding that when his present owaer iM.ught him. the idea prevailed that he was --a whistler" atj.l. therefore. liki-!y to deteriorate. Whitefirld anil VVedg" are other good ntilers, though inferior to Cetigne. "We-tconrt had a few runs in weight for age races but. though he won at a mile and an eighth at lioschill. he is a horse always Ukfdy to find saint-thing to beat him in such event-, it., matter what the distance For instance, be missed a plate in the Autumn Stakes at If ■ ml a li It and thin, though he beat Wallace Isinglass for second place in lb-- Cunilierlanil Stakes, finished Im hind the latter in tin- Australian Jo.-ki y Club Plate, a nu.n-truly run race. CimmI. but not quite g.M.d cut ugh, might saf.-Iy be written of Waaaeaarl so far as weight for age r;M-i s are coii.-erned. Wallace Isin glass stayed belter this season than - X. His weight-forage rt cord, including two v. it: - at a mile and a half ami one at two miles. He ,v.-is iM-afen by Lanitis at two anil three miles at Kami wi.k. but in the ahartef race the sh.w pace for tht-first mile settled his rhaare and in the ether it was Cairns generalship throughout the race ami strength at the finish that brought nlxiut his tlefc.it more than superiority oil the part of Lnniiis as a st.-iv.-r. Opinions differ, but I think at the close of the Australian Jockey Club autumn meeting. Wallace Isinglass was entitled to be rated equal to any other horse in Australia as a stayer. It must lie added though he has shown himself mure at borne in weight for-age races than in handicaps, m.twith standing his third in the Melbourne Cup with 123 pounds. THANA A HIGH-CLASS MARE. "In writing so highly of Wallace Isinglass I am not losing sight of Thanas win at two miles in the Kandwick Blate in the spring, lint she has not since shown form quite equalling that, though she ran a rattling race in the Austialiaa Jai kev Club Autumn Stakes. In that she BM*eared to bare Ik-si-i-t Cold hard at it for a lit. but the hitters superior condition told over the final eighth. Thana also ran second to Biplane in tin- Craven Plate in the spring, and she is the best .Australian Wl ight-for-age man- of this season. "Iiiinius won weight-forage races at four distances— mi.e and an eighth, mile and a half, two miles nntl three miles. As an all-rounder I suppose this entitles him to precedence of all except tin-New Zealauders. He was one of the well -beaten band in the Autumn Stakes, won by Deaerl Cohl. and while he cannot be Nckaaafl her equal il a mil--and a half. I do not think his two subse.iii- i.t wins really nut him in tl:e light of a better -t. r thaa Wallace Isinglass. It is fair to add that his th-rl with 127 pouiiils in the Sydney Cup was a go.nl run. as in that In- finished a long way ahe d of Ix.th Wallace Isinglass and Wcstcourt. "The f.iriii of our three-year-olds in the few weight forage races in which they tackled tht older horses, was not high-clnss. Ilitice Viridis « is a fair thin! in the Craven Blate. but was w. :! • a ten in both mile races in which he ran in tie antaaka. The two latter effects tended to .lis.-,, tint aim, but it is not imprib.-ible be would have fared better if he had run in some of ;h - longer raeaa, Tbh in view of the fact that, when meeting laaias I *aa ponnds worse than weight -far-aaje, he w.i not baataa a length by the latn r for third place in the Sydney Cup. Br.-uzetti did not tackle the wrigat-for-age races, but with s: pounds over wetghl f" age. be ran so well in the ity TatteraalPs I "P. that he is evidently not f;tr from the etaadard ■•-sjalred lar such raeaa. Kemiaquhair starteti ia the iiiiilMTlaml Stakes, but that race was run in a fashion nnsuitetl to a good stayer — which I brUi ve hfaa la be -besides which he was comem-ii-g |e I k as if previous racing was telling upon him. "Kvery y.-ar we are told by pi en ha lain thai ear horses an- deti riorating. but it must be admitted that, apart from that of Desert Cold and I.iol ° re-, this seasens weight-for-age foini has not In. 11 specially meritorious."
