 | RACING HISTORY |
YEAR: 1926
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
1926 NEW ZEALAND TROTTING CUP
Two of the possibilities in Native Chief and Queen'a Own spoilt their chances by an inaccurate beginning and Great Bingen took i11 during the early part of the race and was pulled up. Of the 14 acceptors Black Admiral was not started. The favorites were Ahuriri, the coupled horses, Acron and Great Bingen, Native Chief and Waitaki Girl.
Had Native Chief not misbehaved at the start he may have occupied a winning place. As it was the pace he had to go for the first half-mile to regain his lost ground took all the steam out of him and he died right away three furlongs from home. From the word go Ahuriri never looked like getting beaten when the field had gone a furlong. He was in fifth place, where Bryce was content to allow his candidate to shelter from the wind till a mile and a-half had been completed. At this stage of the race he dashed into second place where he stayed till well into the home stretch, where he gave him a tap with the whip and home he came winning comfortably by twp lengths. Prince Pointer, who filled second place, began smartly and went into the lead at the two-furlong disc and acted as a pacemaker right into the home stretch, though he beat Talaro by five lengths for second money. He had no chance of finishing m front of the winner.
Talaro went a stinging good race. He led for a quarter- of a mile where he dropped in behind Prince Pointer. Even when Ahuriri collared his position three furlongs from home he boxed on in determined style and gathered third money. Considering the ground he lost at the start Jack Potts went a wonderful race to occupy fourth place to which is attached 300 sovs. Acron and Man-o-War had every chance. Waitaki Girl and Sheik battled hard through their field but neither ever threatened danger.
This is the second time that Ahiiriri has annexed the New Zealand Trotting Cup. He won it last year he is owned by R. N. Morten who bred him, and is trained by J.Bryce.
The first mile was cut out in 2.l3 2/5; the mile and a half in 3.20 4/5 and the full journey in 4.25.
His connections must have been confident.
The judicial stewards severely cautioned J. Bryce, driver of Ahuriri, for interfering with Talaro and fined him £15.
Credit: NZ Truth 11 Nov1926
YEAR: 1926
FEATURE RACE COMMENT
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| J Bryce & R Morten after the1925 NZ Cup |
In 1925 and the following year Ahuriri was successful in the Cup. His dam was the great mare Muricata. Muricata was by Mauritius, imported from America by the late R McMillan in 1905, and was a son of Bingen, Mauritius served a few mares before being sent to Australia, amongst them being Queen Wave,the dam of Muricata. Muricata was a roan mare favouring her dam in colour and a great trotter in her time, winning freguently against the pacers. The late Mr N L Price, who trained her for most of her races, once stated that she was the only trotter he had ever known who could change from trotting to the pacing gait at top speed, and for that reason he was always on "pins and needles" when racing her in trotting races.
Credit: 'Ribbonwood' writing in NZ Trotting Calendar 31 October 1945