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CUP. HORSES AT MOONEE VALLEY

Avenger and Nightguard Show Promise

Two fancied Caulfield Cup candidates raced satisfactorily.
Avenger was third in his race after having been unlucky, and
Nightguard ran a dead-heat with Manrico. Hua breaks down.

By Chiron

rpHE August meeting of the Moonee

•■• Valley Racing Club on Saturday was
favoured by glorious weather. One could
hardly fmagthe more perfect conditions
for outdoor amusement, and as there were
several houses-engaged in some tit the
races . was a very large attendance,
which' makes it all the more difficult to
iiuadastai^;^ should have been a
decrease ta the crowd on both days of
toe-Australian Steeplechase meeting at
Caulfleld. Not only did the crowd at
Moonee Valley exceed In number that on
the corresponding day last year, but there
was a substantial improvement in the to
tallsatot turnover, the. increase being
£5,670/15/. Perhaps the success of bo
many favourites at. the meeting held-at
Ascot during the week was to some extent
responsible for the larger Moftnee Valley
Attendance.

Excellent progress is being made with
the course improvements at Moonee
Valley. The brick wall which marks the
southern boundary of the saddling pad
dock has been completed, and the new
stalls are in course of construction. When
the work of remodelling the paddock has
been completed it will be one of the
most attractive enclosures on any of the
Melbourne racecourses. The new totall
sator building Is rapidly nearing comple
tion, and portion of it was in use on
Saturday.

Hua Breaks Down

EVERYBODY sympathised with James

Scobie when it became known that

Hua had broken down on Saturday morn
ing. Hua had been doing unusually well
in his work, and Scobie was looking for
ward to tackling AJax again in the weight
for-age races during the next few weeks.
On Saturday morning Bua worked ex
ceptionally well, and our .track repre
sentative, who has been closely associated
with the Flemington tracks for about
half a century, remarked to me on Sat
urday that in all the years he had been
watching work at Flemington he had
never seen a horse go more attractively
than Hua did that morning. When Hua
won the Leger in- the autumn' he struck
himself during the race, and tendon
trouble developed in his near foreleg. That
had cleared up, and Scobie was satisfied
that Bua was perfectly sound againwhen
he resumed fast work recently. During
his gallop on Saturday morning Hua over
reached, struck his near fore fetlock, and
injured his sesamoids.

As Hua is a heavily topped horse he
would naturally put on condition during
a period of Idleness. As he would take
a lot of work to get fit again there would
be more than a possibility of him breaking
down in attempting it. Both Mr. Clarke
and Scobie have a great affection for
Hua, and rather than risk him'breaking
down it has been decided to retire him
[from the Turf. Hua is to be sent to
Sydney for sale next month as a sire,
and there should be keen competition
for him, as he is a lovely individual as
well as a first-class performer. During
his career he raced 18 times for six wins,
three seconds, five thirds, and was un
placed four times. He won £10,655 in

stakes." ■ ■

North Cape's Fottrth Win

ON aDstralian steeplechase

DAY North Cape won toe Arkaringa

Hurdle, which/ made his third sucoessive
win over hurdles. He went one better
on Saturday, as he won the Plenty Hurdle
Race, Vhich made four wins in a row.
Since Mr. Neighbor purchased him in
March last for 12{ guineas Nprth. Cape
has won more than £1,000 in stakes,
which is striking proof that many owners
and trainers are wasting time and money
in persevering with moderate flatracers
instead of putting them to Jumping. North
Cape was the opening favourite at 7 to 4,
but he drifted to 7 to 2 when money came
freelfttor Dornford. He, however, firmed
agaln. and started equal favourite with
Dorilrord, whh wfrnt with much"more free
dom through the race than be did when

North Cape defeated him the previous
week. . v *

North Cape ran a patchy race, and. hit
a couple of hurdles heavily. After being
the early leader be dropped back, and
Dornford and Mystery Ship took up the
running. Mystery Ship soon dropped out,
and Shere Khan took his place behind
Dornford. There was little between them
over the last mile, and North Cape, who
had dropped back a long way at one
stage, moved into third place again rac
ing along the bade stretch. Be steadily
closed with the two leaders, but two
hurdles fromhome he hit heavily and
lost ground. Be, however, was soon going
again, and had little trouble to race up
to Dornford, who was tiring, and Shere
Khan. He quickly disposed of them, and
went on to score comfortably from Shere
Khan, with Dornford a moderate third.

Point Shirt,. who won attractively re
cently at Ascot was fancied, being almost
as good - 'a favourite as Dornford and
North Cape, hut he ruined his chance by
Indifferent jumping. He was never a
possibility over the last mile or so.

Promising Young Stayers

RUCK MAN has always given the Im

pression that be is a good staying colt,

but he is not a horse a tight boy can
ride to the best advantage. Although E.
Cox is small, he is strong for his weight,
and was able to get the best out of Ruck
Man In the Laluma Handicap. He gave
the bookmakers a good race by winning.
It was a rather good performance, as
Ruck Man finished strongly, and won
easily. He Is a very solidly made, lengthy,
brown colt, raced by Mr. W. Ballock, one of
the partners to Lochlee. He is by Devon
shire (son of Gainsborough) from Mercian
Queen, a sister to Royal Feast and Mar
clan King, by King Offa (son of Radium)
from Bunfeast (imp.), by Comus (son of
Cyllene) from Child's Party, by Childwick
(son of St. Simbn) from Feast, by Hamp
ton. It is not surprising that he stays.

Cassio and Caragona set a strong pace
from the start, but Ruck Man was slow
in finding his legs, consequently half way
through the race he was conceding the
leaders a long start. Turning for home,
Cassio and Caragona were still in front,
with Conway next, and Merridale on the
outside of him. Just before reaching the
straight the two leaders tired. Merridale
dashed to the lead, and showed the way
Into the straight. There he was challenged
by Ruck Man, who had made up ground
quickly from the half-mile post Ruck
Man soon took the measure of Merridale,
and went away to win easily from Caption
and Kingdom, who were both finishing
very strongly. Caption, who was nearly as
far back as Ruck Man early, was wide out
most of the way, and lost ground by being
pushed out entering the straight. The
manner in which he finished indicates
that Caption, who is by Parenthesis, is
likely to shine over a distance later on.

Although Kingdom finished only third,
cutting the favourite, Conway, out of third
place on the post, his form was an indica
tion of much better things to come. It
was his first face since he was third to
Lord Windburra and Bureaucrat at Caul
field last April. He was obviously back
ward In condition, and the race will
Improve him. He is one of the nicest
lookingofthe three-year-olds, and one I
am sure that will stay. He might be a Derby
proposition, and ;looks the part. He fa
by Thracian XSoh pf.Valais) from Queen
<Jonsort, t)y Sea'Prlnce (son of Persim
mon) from Qoeehsburgh, by Wallace (son
of Carbine) from Alexandra (imp.), by
Persimmon.

Dashing Jolly Boy

LIKE Ncw&Uape earlier in the day

jo^ly Boy woqifis fourth successive

race when J* led bogie the field in'tig

Melrose Steeplechase. ^ There were eight
starters, tot the opposition to Jolly Boy
was very weak, so backers had no hesitation
in accepting a short price about him.
Although he had 12.4 to carry, Jolly Bay
made light of his weight. He took the
lead in the first furlong, and from that
time be dominated the field. Conde was
second to him at one of the fences after
turning out of the straight, but there the
veteran blundered, and falling, broke his
neck. Poor old Conde, He had bear
battling in steeplechases for years, and
winning his share of races. He was 12
years old at the time of his death, which,
after'all, is not really old for steeple
chasers. When Jolly Boy, blundered ait.
the fence near the half-mile post, the
hopes of the backers of Brightello, Who
was trailing him, were momentarily raised,
but Jolly Boy was soon going along easily,
and; jumping the last fence safely, he won
as he liked from Brightello. The outsider,
Tornasuk, although a long way behind
Brightello In third place, was just as far
in front of any of the others.

jolly Boy was ridden a dashing race by
the former Sydney Jockey, G. Sholl, who
recently decided to settle in Melbourne.
Although there are few jumping races In
Sydney in comparison with the number
there are in Melbourne, Sydney has pro
duced some first-class riders over jumps.
One who comes readily to mind is E. Moon,
and another is Frank Douglas, who has
been living in Melbourne for some time.
Sholl has shown that he is a first-class
horseman, as well as a jockey, and he is
a welcome addition to the ranks of steeple
chase jockeys.

Avenger Unlucky

A FTER having been off the scene since

last autumn, Avenger, who is one of
the Caulfield Cup favourites, made his
reappearance in the Glenara Handicap
on Saturday. As he is being trained for
the Caulfield Cup and has the weight-for
age races at Rand wick ahead of him, he
is naturally not a thoroughly fit horse.
Holt thought him forward enough to win
the Glenara Handicap, and he met with
strong support. He was a slightly better
favourite than Desert Chief, and the best
backed of the others was King Gee. An
other well backed was Frill Prince, who
is looking in excellent condition for this
time of the year. He won the Moonee
Valley Cup last year and might prove to
be a cup horse again this spring.

Avenger failed, as be was defeated into
third place, but he did not have the best
of the luck through the race. He was
squeezed when the barrier rose, as Only
Oat, who was on the inside of him.
jumped out, and in doing so forced Badger

to ease Avenger.

He was last leaving the straight and
Badger was in no hurry to move into

the field with him, as it takes Avenger -
some time to get balanced. He began to .
move up about six furlongs from home
and went very fast along the back stretch.
He, however, was disappointed when going
for an opening about half a mile from
home and. then Badger pulled to the out
side. As the field turned into the straight
Gerald went wide and Badger tried to
take Avenger up on the inside of Gerald.
That horse, however, swung bade again
toward the rail, and Avenger had to be
checked again. Meanwhile Desert Chief
and Bar&pic were having a great struggle
in the lead, which ended in favour of
Desert Chief by indies. Once he got dear.
Avenger finished in great style, hut he
could not make up his lost ground and
was a long head behind Baraptc as they
passed the post.

Taking everything into consideration,
Ihe performance of Avenger was a satis
factory one, and, as he will be greatly,
fanprpved by racing, he is going to be a
"torce to be reckoned with In the cups

as well as in the weight-for-age races this
spring. He carried 21b. above his Caulfield
Cup weight of 9J3, bat Desert Chief will
meet him on a stone better terms in the
Caulfield Cup, in which he will carry
only 7.10 as against 8.12, which was his
weight on Saturday. Desert Chief is a
vary fit horse now, but Avenger probably
can be improved a great deaL In the race
Avenger had one of his heels cut, but it
was not of any great consequence. It is
likely that Avenger and Nuffield will go
to Sydney soon and race at TattersalTs
meeting at Randwick early next month.

A Dead-heat

ANOTHER Caulfield Cup candidate to

acquit himself well at Moonee Valley

was Nightguard, who divided the Kiata
Handicap with the hot favourite, the
speedy Manrico. It was good form for a
horse who has done little racing since
last spring and one that was palpably
backward. Manrico, as usual, was soon
bowling along clear of Gay Dell. Night
guard did not begin with his customary
smartness, and was some distance back
whfn the field had gone a furlong. He,
however, gathered speed, and was beside
Gay Dell as they approached the home
turn. Then he drew away from the filly
and set out after Manrico. He was on the
quarter of the leader as they were enter
ing the straight, but Manrico fought on
better than most people expected. Under
pressure Nightguard was inclined to hang
In a little, and Skidmore had to straighten

him.

Close home, when they were practically
level, Manrico made another effort, and
drew away slightly, hut Nightguard came
on again- and got up in time to make
the dead-heat. He woublhave won outright
in another stride. Tactical, who looked
above himself i* condition, was doing well
in the closing stages of the race, and was
closer to Manrico than at any other part
of the race when he reached the winning
post, but he was a couple of lengths be
hind the dead-heaters. He has done well
since the autumn, having grown and fur
nished nicely] He is a beautifully turned,
stylish colt, and shows lovely quality.

Caulfield Cup Prospects

IVntGHTGUARD, who now seems to be
-t* quite sound, is coming into increased
favour for the Caulfield Cup, for which he
^particularly well handicapped. He is a

J^ut-year-<M,vrtth^vriitoiis 121b. less
than weight for ag^A^a twp-year-old he

was mixing It with Hua, Ajax, andCaesar.
He pun the Alma StaJta§ pith 8.1, ln which
Cass&rwasseobaod with 8A&itoHuatiurd
with 2,0. He w&s tWrdtoHua s^d

, (Continued bU Next paie) .

THE TURF (Continued From Page 11)
Caesar in the Sires' Produce Stakes, which
Kua won by half a head from Caesar,
with Nightguard a head away. Ajax was
unplaced. Csr»r, Ajax,, Hua. and Night
guard was tb ? order at the end of the
Ascotvale States.
In. the A.J.C. Sires' Produce. Stakes
Nightguard was third to Ajax and Csesar.
and third to Ajax and Hua in the Cham
pagne Stakes. He was always there or
thereabout with the cracks. Last spring
Nightguard finished third in the Moonee
Valley Gold Cup with 7.7 to Prill Prince
and Mala. He led early. and then dropped
behind the pecemaker. Navarino. but he
was in front again "approaching the
straight entrance. Frill Prince and Mala
wore him down in the straight, but he
was less than' a length behind Frill Prince,
and lost second place to Mala by only
a'head.' AH going well with him in the
interim, Nightguard seems a possibility
for the Caulfield Cup with 8.2. Avenger
will have some difficulty in conceding
him 151b. over the Caulfield Cup dis
tance.
Consistent Carra Rice
ONE reason given for the popularity of
betting on Melbourne races in Ade
laide, and to a lesser extent in Sydney,
is that our horses run much truer to form
than they do in other parts of Australia.
It is flattering to Victorians and those
who control the sport. That view, however,
received strong support at Moonee Valley
on Saturday, as North Cape. and Jolly
Boy each scored his fourth successive win
there. Carra Rice, who won the Argyle
Welter Handicap, has been equally con
sistent, although not quite so successful.
He has been placed in his last seven races,
winning three times. He was second in
three, and third in the other. On the
strength of his close second the previous
week to Dazzling Star, he was made a
slightly better favourite than Sun Beau
tor the Argyle Welter Handicap, and after
a hard struggle pulled his backers
through.
After The Egotist and Plymouth Hoe
had each bad a turn at making the pace.
Elmdale shot to the front turning for
home, with Carra Rice in pursuit. About
half-way up the straight Carra Rice ranged
alongside Elmdale, and they had a great
struggle to the post, but condition told
at the finish, and as Elmdale weakened
slightly near home, Carra Rice defeated
him by little more than a head. Grand
Hero did best of the others, but be never
seemed likely to run down either Carra
Rice or Elmdale. Plymouth Hoe faded
out after being conspicuous to the home
turn. Sun Beau began slowly, and was
badly placed most of the way. He moved
up approaching the home turn, but could
not get a run until the race was practically
over. Pilot was well forward early, but
he lost ground in the last half mile.
South African Winners
'ruts horses purchased in Melbourne as
yearlings by the South African sports
man Mr. J. Muir a couple of years ago are
beginning to show form. In a recent
letter to Mr. J. F. Guthrie, Mr. Muir re
ported a win for Startler, a colt by Great
Star from Enough, at Durban. Devon
borough, a Devonshire colt, ran second,
and Gondolier fourth, in a race on the
same day, and Chiming, a son of Brazen,
ran a third.
Gondolier is the Thracian colt purchased j
from Mr. A. T. Creswick by Mr. D.
Mackey.
Startler was bred by Mr. Guthrie, who]
will offer a full brother to him at the next j
yearling sales.
Adelaide National Meet ' :\g
DOMINOR confirmed the good impres- j
sion he made when he won at the
Birthday Cup meeting a couple of months
ago by easily winning the Adelaide Grand
National Hurdle Race on Saturday. The
field he defeated was by no means a strong,
one, and that was reflected in the bet
ting, as he was an odds-on favourite, which ]
Is unusual in a jumping race, and par- j
ticularly a Grand National. The weak
ness of the' opposition does not detract
from the merit of the performance of
Dominor, as he appears to have won very
easily, even after having nearly come to
grief at the last hurdle. After all, Domi
nor could do no more than win, and,'
apart from the blunder at the last hurdle,
he does not appear to have ever been in
danger of defeat. He is a big, upstand
ing, and well set-up horse by Stand By.
and is a Jail brother to Blackford. He was
bred by Mr. T. S. Ryder, who some time
ago leased him to Mr. L. Fierce, who has
been having a great run of success with
him. Dominor is to come to Melbourne for
the hurdle races at the spring meetings.
We win then be able to see how he mea
sures up with the Victorian hurdlers. Mr.
Ryder is having a great run of success j
with his jumpers sired by Stand By.
Dominor outclassed the hurdlers, but]
he did not make quite such an exhibition
of them as the Victorian-owned colt Odd
Red did of the Adelaide two-year-olds ]
in the Fulham Park Plate, which fs the:
first two-year-old race in Australia. The
Adelaide clubs will not fall into line with
the other Australian clubs and defer two
year-old racing until October, which,
after all, is quite early enough. At a
special race meeting held by the A^C. at
Rand wick on July 16, 1881, the Prince's
Stakes, a race for yearlings over three fur
longs, was won by Mistake. A suggestion
to-day that any club should put on a
race for yearlings would raise a storm of ;
protest. There was strong critic'sm of j
the race won by Mistake. The Fulham i
Park Plate is only a month or so later i
than Mistake's race.
Old Record Lotcered
OLD RED is trained at Mentone by
Fred Hoysted for Mr. A. Crdfts, who
purchased the youngster at the Melbourne
sales last March for 500 guineas. He re
calls memories of that grand 'chaser Red
ditch, as Old Red was the name by which
Redditch was known at Hoysted's stables.
Old Red is a brother to Lady Mauve, who
was raced by Mr. Crofts with success,
as she won him the Debutante Stakes at
Caulfield two years ago. Old Red, who
was bred at St. Albans Stud, is by Great
Star (son of Sunstar) from Mauve, by
Mauveein (son of Rueil) from Falling
brcok. by Bridge of Canny from Film, by
Enthusiast from Glass, by Springfield.
He won running away, and in doing so
created a new time record for half a
mile in South Australia, as he ran the
distance in D.47j. which reduced.the record
made by Bis Bis, a filly owned by the
late Sandy Gordon in December, 1882.
Although a young two-year-old. Bis Bis
tackled the old horses over four furlongs
in the Free Handicap at Victoria Park,
and defeated another two-year-old. Land
League, who was giving away 101b.. by
half a neck in 0.48.
Tempest appears to be quite as far ahead
of those of his own age in Adelaide as
Old Red is of the two-year-olds. He had
an easy task to win the Adelaide Guineas,
and it appears to be merely a matter of
form winning the Port Adelaide. Guineas
and South Australian Derby, as both races
appear to be quite at his mercy. He was
bleeding freely after he pulled up on Sat
urday. and it was discovered that
he had bittfen his tongue. This
son of Windbag is undoubtedly a colt
of class, and bis presence will add
interest to the Victoria - Derby, as
he is likely to contest that • race
after he has completed bis. engage
ments in Adelaide. South Australia is
due for a win in the Victoria Derby, as no
South Australian has won the race, nor
has there been a South Australian-bred
winner of the race.
Some Cup Notes
rjiRE racing during the last week-end
A dfd hot have much effect upon the
discussions connected with -the Cups.
On Monday tne only double mentioned to
any extent was Avenger and Nuffield, and
the amount laid was by no means large.
With some bookmakers Avenger is favour
ite for the Caulfield Cup, and others have
Ajax at the head of their charts. They are
in about equal demand, and next in favour
to them is The Trump. We are likely to
see Ajax and The Trump in the Under
wood Stakes at Williamstown to-day (Sat
urday), and they should provide a thrill
ing race. The Trump, however, is more
forward in condition than Ajax. It has
been decided that it would be unwise for
Nuffield to chase Ajax so early in the sea
son, as a couple of hard races in the
Underwood Stakes and Merasie Stakes
might seriously jeopardise his Derby pros
pects. Nuffield and Avenger are to be
sent to Sydney shortly, and Nuffield will
have his first race this season in the
Chelmsford Stakes at Tattersall-'s meeting
at Rand wick on September 10.
The Melbourne Cup candidate Bristol
appears to be progressing satisfactorily
with his preparation. At Victoria Park
on Saturday he defeated a field of smart
sprinters over six furlongs and a half,
and the price at which he started sug
gests that he surprised his connections by
winning. For a horse regarded as a stayer
rather than a sprinter it was good form.
He is holding his position at the head of
the Melbourne Cup lists with L'Aiglon
and Nuffield. Avenger was supported for
the Melbourne Cup in Sydney on Monday,
but that was probably a precautionary
measure. If he fails in the Caulfield Cup,
which is bis mission, he will still have a
good chance in the Melbourne Cup, and
in the event of his showing good form
in the weight-for-age races in Sydney
he would come to a much shorter price
for the Melbourne Cup as well as the
Caulfield Cup. Bristol is now second fa
vourite for the Metropolitan, but whether
he will start in that race has not been
decided. His next outing will be in the
Warwick Stakes at Warwick Farm, and
after that race will decide his spring cam
paign. L. Robertson is having bad luck
with his horses. Damalis, who had been
doing well in his preparation, went amiss
during the week-end, and will have to
be put aside for some time. He has been
relieved of all his spring engagements.
Kaolin, a stablemate of Damalis, is also
In trouble, and will not race during the
spring. It now seems that Mr. Creswick's
hope for the Derbies will be Kingdom, who
ran a good race at Moonee Valley on Sat
urday.
" Following is the order of popularity:—
CAULFIELD CUP
Avenger, Ajax.
The Trump.
Courage, Footmark, Nfghtguard,
Apollo, flood TWf, Desert Chief, Gene>
tout, Elaaage,
MELBOURNE CUP
Bristol, L'Aiglon, Nuffield.
Apollo, Avenger. Spear Chief. The
Trump, Elanage.
Actor, Footmark, Fort Regal, Genetout.
Ajax, Crojlck. Lord Wfndburra. Tacti
cal, Tempest.
$