NOTES AND COMMENTS

(BY "VEDETTE.")

RACING FIXTURES.

; Dec. 28.—Waipukurau J.C. Dec. 26.—Westland E.C. Dec. 26, 27.— Taranaki J.C. : Dec. 26, 2S.—Dunedin J.C. ..Dec 26. 27. 28.—Manawatu R.C. Dec 26, 30. Jan. 1, 2.—Auckland R.C. . Dec. 28. Jan. I.—Greymouth J.C. " 1930. Jan. I.—Walkoualtl R 4 C. Jan, I.—Wjndnam K.C. Jan. 1, 2.—Wairarapa R.C. . Jan. 1, 2.—Hawkes Bay J.C. Jan, 1, 2.—Stratford R.C. Jan. 1, 2.—Marton J.C. ' Jan. 2, 3. —Southland n.C. 'Jan. 7.-B.—Beef ton J.C. Jan. 9, 11.—Thames J.C. .Jan. H, 13.—Vincent J.C. Jan. 15, 16.—Foxton E.C. Jan. 17, 18.—Oaraaru J.C. Jan. 18.—Bay of Islands R.C. Jan.-18. 20, 22.—Wellington B.C. ; Jan., 22. —Asnliurst-PohanEina U.C.

*■ Reminders. Acceptances for the Auckland Cup and -Railway Handicap, general acceptances, ■f and final payments for the Derby, Foal " Stakes, and Royal Stakes ate due on Fri;day at;s p.m. i Acceptances for the Manawatu R.C.s „,Meeting and final payments for the Pal- •, riiersto'n. North Stakes are due on Friday ; at 9 p.m. Acceptances for the Wairarapa Racing Club's Meeting close on Friday, at 8 p.m. Acceptances for the Taranaki, Hawkes . Bay, and Dunedin Meetings close on Fri"...day. '"'-'. . Nominations for the Foxton Meeting V close on, Saturday at 9 p.m. "A Tough Race. - The connections of Pegaway probably -received a pound or so more in the Christianas Handicap, run on the first day at c,Ellerslie, than they would have done if . fthe gelding had been left in the Auckland ,:-Cup.-■ As-it is, there is a drop of 191b from H Pegaway to the next in the handicap, ". Panther, Seatown, Eaglet, Mervette, Merry "Mint, True Blood. Prince Val, .Great Charter,: Sir Russell, King Midas, ■Richfield, and still a few amongst the ■- lightweights, will have support for this .'/fvery open race. In point of fact, it looks .{•alike :being-the toughest one of the day. V-A Big Representation. . , Riccarton stable* are strongly represent■cd in the list of nominations for the Grey.'srinouth Jockey Club's Meeting. Among :'f;the Tiorses from that quarter booked for '^the .trip, to the. West Coast are Zeuxis, ' -Garvary, Discordia, Flair, Malmsey, Ship- : "shape, Danthonia, Kentish Lady, Troilus, S;'Page Boy, Royal' Heritage, Haulage, After Jf -Ten, Turnover, Rapina, Courtlike, Gold /roMiiit, Huntley, Wrigley, Tane, Sapient, ;,-.Audience, Waihemo, Decoy Bird Topere 7;;Chickwheat, Nastori, Sea Raid, Moracor-v-ium, .Tariff, Singlespear, Solgele, Arrowy mir, Gaslight, Gold Well, and Quarter-n-deck. ;.:...-■■. '■'.■A-Coveted Honour. Ti'-'-VV.■important happening oE wide inter-r.-est was the meeting at Newmarket of the *• Jockey Club at which Lord Astor and Sir ■f-Abe Bailey were elected to membership, .f/This is the highest honour that tan'be r ? -achieved by an owner of racehorses in this .■;-ecountry,vor in the world, for that matter. of- England has been refused mein;..»ership ; in the past, and princes of the . ..Royal blood have aspired to election to that most exclusive body with unsatisfaetory results. The election of Lord Astor ;rjand : Sir Abe Bailey will give great satis--1 faction, not only in this country but abroad, and more particularly in the ■ United States and South Africa. v - '-Pp £°rd Astor it will be regarded as a "recompense for his most unhappy experi- >' ences.iu the Derby, for which his horses ;have five.times, filled second place. He Has every classic with the exception of v'the greatest of them all. Lord Astor never r^'bets, and he has been able to make owner- .-: ship and breeding pay in the aggregate of ■•- stake money won and the earnings of his .x.Sires. •;••■■. . , ,*,;. Sir Abe, Bailey has yet to win a classic i. race; but his colours have long been familiar and popular. This season marked his ....return to active participation in racing •^ alter a temporary retirement owing to ■v.; serious-illness. Sir Abe Bailey's colours— 0-Black and gold hoops, gold cap—have been •'-"carried to victory in many races of first- ;;, class, importance and value, and with a fine colt as Roral to represent him . ; . = next-year many other rich prizes appear „•>. likely to come his way. . | [Two-year-olds in England. .'-V; Jn 'England the final test of the two. .year-olds js in the Middle Park Stakes ■ r rim at Newmarket at the Cesarewitch This time it -looked a reason-■-V ably, good thing for the Aga- Khan's Blen-*--ncim,v a colt of charming quality which .: ; Jaad- won four races out of six attempts, *^and been only narrowly beaten into second APlace at- his other tivo outings, in first-JJ-.iqlass. company, Bays an English writer. We ciad come to regard him as the pick of the 4*°« s» J"s* as Fair Isle is the pick of the 'It, '^f (she won on Middle Park Plate |4JayJ.; and maybe the estimate will yet ■W-°i\'"? ht- However, the fact remains Jjtnat he failed to live up to his reputation i¥, 1 The field for the Middle fclark Stakes stopped short at four, eloquent proof of the havoc wrought by the tProlonged conditions of hard ground. Still Ka very lively interest •' was taken in the ..chance of Blenheim against Lovat Scout ; and Press Gang from Fred Darling's fam- • ous Beckhampton stable, the one repreV Renting Lord Dewar and the other Lord - .Woolavington. -: Blenheim was probably feeling the ef- . fects of the punishing races to which he .-had been subjected in public. Lovat r.Scout was. said to be a better colt at Beckhampton than his owner's Challenger. As he was looking strong and really well, .Lovat Scout ought to have put up a god }r show, but he displayed undue excitement ■cantering to the post, and in the race made ,110 pretence of struggling when ChiMs ■- cailed on him a furlong or so from homo. *; lather he did not like the hard ground or ..-- lie did not relish the job. :: The victory of Press Gang was foreshadowed by the betting. This at least a made it quite clear that he was expected •to prove the better of the two Beckharap- ... ton colts. The fourth runner was a rather „-..-Barrow but racing-like filly from France, f ' J ata Morgana. She held on well for fully .'.live furlongs, but a moment later she had • had enough; and so had Lovat Scout. Then 'all eyes were turned on the duel between • ■'•Blenheim and Press Gang. All the way '■Lome, the-.two colts ran perfectly balanced, with neither the descent nor the. rise to the finish of the strenuous six furlongs troubling them. Neither was there any flinching, and the reason Blenheim did not justify his favouritism was that the other jVas the better to the extent of half a fpngth. Again Blenheim had to run a hard (race, and certainly his lines have not been •ast in easy places. It may be that Press Gang is the superior stayer. Now comes the fly in the ointment so far ■* Press Gang is concerned. He is not „ .engaged in either the Derby or the St. "Leggr, which may prove to be a misfor-'-♦une of the first magnitude for his owner «nd breeder. When he arrived at Beck:liamptoh as a yearling he and several ethers had colds, and Fred Darling made ,'-; "the, alarming discovery that Press Gang ■■' -actually made a noise, which in nine cases • out of- ten develops into roaring. Entries ..-i.'-Jor the classic races had to be made soon afterwards, and because of the discovery :■ .Press Gang was put only in the Two Thousand Guineas. It is bad luck for all concerned, as to-day the colt is absolutely .. .found in his wind. Press Gang is by the •unbeaten Hurry On, winner of thu September Stakes (St. Leger substitute) in ,1916, and is out of Fifinella, winner of ;;,the Derby and Oaks (substitute) ia that ■''.'.season. Zealand Winners. . - There were two New Zealand winners -at the Victoria Park pony meeting in . Sydney last week. Lucky One, by Magpie .--■. from Bayonne, won the seven furlong trial '■■ handicap, starting at a good price. He was ■■-• bred- and.sold by Mr. W. G. Stead. ;;• Melody Queen (Lucullus —Martigues) -trained by F. M'Grath at Randwick, for ..Mr. W. Scholium, of New Zealand, put -up a very taking performance by winning -the second division of the Fourteen-two When betting commenced she -•was inquired for, but, following support . ;.:for'Misß Tau arid Pure Poppy, she drifted to double figures. Some of her early sup-

porters were naturally uneasy, but jumping away smartly she never at any stage gave them any cause for anxiety, winning by three lengths. The owner of the winner, Mr. Scholium, is well known. He was in Sydney in 1927 with Royal Blood and True Blue. Ten in a Row. Sir Sarchedon, winner of the Welter Handicap at the Q.T.C. Meeting on Saturday, 7th December, seems to be a galloper above the ordinary, judged by northern standards. His success was his tenth successive win. At Rockhampton, where he was first tried, he won six races in line, and, realising that he would hold his own in better company, the stable took him to Brisbane, where he won at his first attempt. To carry 10.2 on a 7.7 minimum is no mean task for a three-year-old, but the public had sufficient faith in the gelding to - make him favourite at short odds. For once it appeared that the winning sequence was to end. In the straight his chance of winning seemed very remote, and in the last furlong he was seen thoroughly extended when he passed. the opposition on the outside. He won by a length after he had been eased, when the race was in safe keeping. Sir Sarchedon, as the name implies, is by Sarchedon (imp.), and he is from Dame Andria, a half-sister to Double Bezique and Burnaby, by Anria (imp.), son of Ladas, from Your Majesty, by Bobadil. At the yearling sales he was not highly regarded, and was sold by the Kia Ora studmaster, Mr. P. Miller, for 120 guineas. About Strephon. London "Sporting Life," referring to Mr. Sol Green's horse Strephon 11., says that he shaped well on the Newmarket Heath in a half-speed seven furlongs spin. That was early last month. The flat racing season in England next year will open on 26th March. It is understood that Mr. Green's main objective with Strephon 11. is to win the.coveted Ascot Gold Clip, a two and a ■ half miles race. The principal races of the.' season are: 26th March, Lincolnshire Handicap, one mile; 27th March, Liverpool Spring Cup, 1% miles and 170 yards; 28th March, Grand* National Steeplechase, four miles and 856 yards; 30th April, City and' Suburban, 1% miles; 7th May, Two Thousand Guineas, one mile; 9th May, One Thousand Guineas, one ! mile; 4th June, The Derby, 1% miles; 6th June, The Oaks, V/s miles: 17th June, Ascot Stakes, 2 miles; 18th June, Royal Hunt Cup, seven furlongs and 166 yards; 19th June, Ascot "Gold Cup, 2% miles. '