TURE GOSSIP

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 183, 1 August 1908, Page 13

TURE GOSSIP

CBY WHALEBONE.)

I The V.R.C. Derby winner F.J.A. (who now races ac Scarpia) was well backed for a race at Kempton Park (Eng.) lust month. but, though ridden by F. Wootton, finishted last. As Scarpia is rising eight, and a stallion, it is safe to say the best has been seen of him. At Ascot (ling.) last month the eight-year-old Trenton stallion Torpoint won the Alexandra Plate, 2 miles. 6 furlongs. So yards, for the second year in succession. Earlier in the week he was beaten by The White Knight in the Ascot Gold Cup. Torpoint is undoubtedly one of the best stayers in England. Europe contains some very liberal sportsmen, and one of these is Prince Ladlslaus Lubomirski, whose colt Intrygant won the Austrian Derby of £4000 at Vienna on the 7th of last month. The Prince was so highly pleased at the result that he divided the amount mentioned between his trainer. Reeves, and tne jockey. G. Stern. Rather a ] good day's pay for both. Mr Vanderbilt is a lucky man (says the "Sporting Times"), as the tail of his stud seems to be tbe strongest port of it. luc crack of the stable having failed, Sea ~ick 11. came to the rescue and ran a dead-heat for the French Derby. Sea Sick 11. th^n went amiss, and North-east came to tlie fore and won the Grand Prize of Paris, which is the richest stake ever run for in Europe. America is the laud of big things, but a £10,000 race for trotters is something out > of the way even for that country. It is to take place on the Readville track, near Boston, and the entries total 127. It was autl- ! cipated there would be a much larger nomi- .' nation, and that such was not the case is attributed to the conditions being unusual, the race being a handicap on the lines obtaining at European tracks. ICo less than 28 horses engaged have records of better than 2.10. Mr J. McDonald's two successful brood mares, Lady Mostyn and Ronnie Rosette, both of whom are in foal to San Francisco, are to be mated with Wallace during the coming season, and previous visits by the mares named to Mr Smith's stallion have resulted In Derby winners in Lady Wallace nnd Mountain King for Mr McDonald. As Bonnie Rosette is rising 22 her term of stud usefulness is nearly over, but Lady Mostyn is only 13 next month, so there is still plenty of time for her to give the Turf another Lady Wallace. The Hawke's Bay Jockey Club, at the Racing Conference, sought to have the dls--1 qualification for taking part In unregistered meetings fixed at not less than two years. ; !Mr G. Hunter said it was apparent that' persons who took part in these meetings relied on the good nature of clubs to remove their disqualification after a brier period. His club had made-'a rule or not removing these disqualifications under ' two years. The conference, however, voted against his motion. Another fatal accident to a jockey has unfortunately to be recorded. It took place at Caulfield in connection with the V.A.T.C. July meeting. There was a steeplechase on the card, and Envoy was a strong favourite. She jumped all right for a round, but blun- ! (iered at the last of the treble in front of | , the stand, the lops, and rolled over her i ! jockey, Frederick Hayhoe. His chest and j . head were terribly crushed, and on being | ' taken to the casualty room he immediately ; J expired. His brother, S. Hayhoe. is also a . I croi-i«?nuntry jeekey. He Tode in the j Hurdle Race earlier in the day, and was a • witness of the accident i Mr John Wren is giving evidence of the ■ keen interest he feels in trotting by coming forward with a generous offer to put up a purse of £50 for a race between the twoyeai olds, Ribbons, the fast filly by RobbonI wood, the N.S. Wales champion stnllio'a. ! and, Twinkle Bells, by the successful sire I Abbey Bells, dam Twinkle, the speedy filly j belonging to the Allendale Stock Farm. The race was to have taken place at Richmond on Thursday.. It is understood that Mr L. Robertson, on behalf of the Allendale Stock Farm, has signified his willingness to race. The contest should prove a big draw, as it would take the form ,of an Inter-state race, and be highly interesting to trotting men. Gravitation (says a Southern writer) Is growing the right way, furnishing evenly, I and this half-brother by Birkenhead to: Elevation, will satisfy the keenest critics ; of racehorse contour and form. In sub-1 stance and symmetry Gravitation is one of the finest colts that ever trod the New | Zealand turf. He recalls SL Hippo more than any other horse, but has rather more quality than the big St. Leger had. Gravitation will make his debnt as a three-year-old In the Wanganui Guineas in September, and i all lovers of a grand colt hope that he will j have a more lengthy turf career than Elevation. ' j The Hon. J. D. Ormond put In a word • for the 'chasers at the recent Racing Con- ■ ference, and moved that each day's programme of every club holding meetings Oβ- ' tweeu June 7th and September Ist contain, at least, two steeplechases. He pointed oiit i that the public took a great Interest in j this class of race. As far as owners were concerned, it scarcely paid them at the present time to keep 'chasers, as there! ; were so few races, and it was quite likely j - that the 'chaser would almost disappear! , if some steps were not taken. The mo- : tion met with considerable opposition and 1 was lost. • ■ The Thursday prior to the running of the f rich Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park (New e York) last month, the New York papers -were full of the \ "complete breakdown of Mr. J. i R. Keene's Vreat colt Colin." Some of tlie . papers let themselves go on the subject, L and the trainer and owner were depicted as discussing the incident with "tears running I down their cheeks." Two days later (Satur- ■ day), however, Colin duly took part In the i Belmont Stakes, and won, though his rider, Notter, is said to have nearly thrown the race away through mistaking the winningpost, and easing up 50 yards from home. No doubt there was something slightly amiss with Colin, but the reports as to his critical condition and the tear-stained owner and trainer were due to Americau journalistic imagination, which is particularly vivid. A Detroit man. a practical horseshoer and horseman, lately brought forward an invention, which it is thought may brine about as great a revolution in trotting times ,as did the mvenuon of the pneumatic I sulky. It is a pneumatic horseshoe. The I model Is in four parts—a flanged aluminium I plate affixed to the hoof in exactly the same manner as the regular shoe; a rubber i bag with a stout leather steel-studded casI ing; and an aluminium hoop that frames I the cushion and fits the flange of the plate The bag is connected (a writer states) with a valve, which can be attached to the pump used for inflation, or the inventor will i supply a set of tubes connecting all four feet with an air tank In the sulky seat. The latter scheme Is somewhat cumbersome, however. The inventor, not being a slow I man says that it has been tiled on a , trotter that improved his record 13sec- in a private trial. ' I 1 During the past week (says the "Sydney Referee") some , business has been done in . connection with the Epsom Handicap. A • few thousands were taken about Soultline, and he now heads the quotations. Poseidon is now a pronounced favourite for the Metropolitan, and, there Is no doubt as to the • support accorded him being genuine. It - was only to be expected that that r.ice would ( be his mission, as he is bitter treated in it than in either of tbe big southern handicaps. r ; Besides, if he misses, he can still have a - cut in for one of the others. He looks well I for the uiuie. us does his stnble-companlou. Waipuna, whoso special mission Is-gener- ? ally supposed to be the Caulfleld Cup. For 5 the Metropolitan, Maranui. who, .looks.nice nnd liiiL'ht is next fancied to Poseidon. ' Alooltan who is progressing satisfac--1 tor iv'and Waipuna, are also mentioned 3 in couiicction with the Kandwick event. Aγ th* rniilfleld Cup, Post Town and Wai- ' L na have most admirers, while Mooltan 1 fnd Maranui are perhaps most fancied or • the remtieder. Post Town Is an undoubted favourite for the Melbourne Cup.

The good fortune which befell the Chevar lier Ginlstrelll. In winning the Derby and the Oaks, is by no means unique." Besides the parallel instances of 1801 and 1557 (a filly in each case), the same owner Jias more than once won the two races wittf-different c' horses. Lord Clermont had the good fortune to secure the Oaks as well as the Derby in 1735, being the first owner to do so. In IS4O Mr Gully won.the Derby with : Pyrrhus the First, and the Oaks with Mendicant, who had previously' won the One Thousand Guineas. Twenty-seven yetirs la tec, Mr Merry captured the Derby with Doncaster, a 40 to 1 chance, and the Oaks, and after that the St. Leger fell to his lot with Marie Stuart. It may be recalled that in ISO 7 the Held for the Derby numbered ' thirteen horses, and the same number ran ■/■■ in the Oats of that year. Thirteen faced , the starter when Slgnorlnetta • came in, ahead of her field. In the House of Commons last month, In dealing with the subject of horse-breedinij i in England, Mr Chapman said :"Thequestlon . ; of the supply of horses in England was in a " most unsatisfactory position. He defended the work done by the Royal Commission oa Horse JBreeding, pointing out that the Commission hnd reported that except for breeding racehorses this country had-been left ■ with inferior and unsound animals, which foreign agents had rejected, and the resu't was that there had been a marked deterioration in the general breed for which Rngland at one time was famous. Something less than £6000 a year was the- entire sum placed at the disposal of the Commission, and they had been singularly successful In > encouraging and maintaining the breed of sound horses considering the limited funds placed in their hands. If the breed of horses ' ~ iin the United Kingdom was- to be restored !to anything approaching its former excellence it was absolutely imperative that the best horses and mares which were, at present boucht by foreign Governments should be ; retained in this country. That must be the foundation of any reform on. tho subject Without additional funds supplied by the . : Government nothing sufficiently effectual could be done in the direction of improving the breed of horses or Increasing .their number. He hoped the Government would take this matter Into their serious consideration before it was too late." — —~' t I It Is often stated that the general at- M 1 rangements' in connection with' most of the principal meetings in England do not compare at all favourably with those to whicii _ ; ?|' we are accustomed at any metropolitan, fixture in Australia, but it.would hardly be thought that Epsom was bo out-of-date as ■'.-{, the following paragraph' from the London ■;,'-■ "Referee" suggests:—"At most meetings - clerks of courses publish the order of run', r-;. ning some time before the day of the race, ! which is a. great convenience. This is not done at Epsom, a detail which may be impressed upon Mr. Dorling's attention, and it is just possible that the stewards of the Jockey Club might give the' clerks generally ix hint. One likes "to know. You may have Ino particular interest in the first .race, and .. bo if you know whrt it is going to.be need not hurry down, "i imposing you had anything to do in Lena »n; or the last race maybe one you do not particularly, wantLtosee, and you can arrang; to come up early, hay- ■ ":, ing thus ascertained that there is nothing to ..->; stay for. Thsru stems no reason. Indeed, \ why the order of running should - not be fixed a couple of days or more before, and of course, annc-onced in the papers.". What 'would racing uien in Auckland say if they. ; : j were kept in the dark until the last moment as to what was going to be the first or last : ;; race of the day at a meeting at -EllersUe or elsewhere?. -.'.-'. ." « Thus a writer in the-v^^feZ.-Times" .•— "The writer holffs no brief ; : Uclons. In fact, he has 'been. a' : c6nsisteniT*\_ > opponent of the racing clubs-being compelled to license them.._lt-is,, however, generally recognised that as with the Individual, so with organisations such as racing clubs. Having on c taken a man's mjney, he has a perfect right to expect reasonably fair value for it. Idp not consider anyone justified in claiming that the W.R.C. meted out this almost' universally ; ■ ; recognised code of honour-to its bookmaker, clients on the opening day of the,:recent meeting. The circumstances were , such ac ■'.-,- might have led to a'modicum'of-elasticity. The main grandstand at is a spacious one. On Saturday It contained only a handful of people. Another thousand or perhaps more could have been"Comfortably - ! : accommodated therein. -When- the-weather ■ was so vile as. to' almost-warrant a member !of a S.P..C.A. taking proceedings against ■■■:;■ a man for turning a cow or ■ horse :!out In ilt unless well rugged. It surely, would noe i I have been too much to' exp'ect'f rom ose : who have control of affairs at-Trentham, ' ito have permitted their. 20$sqv.. patrons or the lawn, to have had the use of a small section of the southern end of the "stand. ' Had this been done, it. would- doubtless ; i have been appreciated by both layers ana i taktrs, nor would the club have run niuclx risk of being twitted withifndue generosity '": -.' towards clients who were -professedly considered by some cbibs. as extremely, undesirable, until - c fact was disclosed that In- • variauly, the shrinkage In totalisator percentage was found to be a mere' fleabita r compared with the handsome revenue. -deri»» able irom the new source."- .._■_-. — As there wiu be no further "racing at Kandwick this season, curiosity to know how the favourites had fared at headqoart. , ers since the commencement of last Aui gust tempted mc to run through the results " r M the other night (says "Pilot" in the "Syd- i; ney Referee"). In all lIS races have been contested, and if the non-success of favourites constitutes satisfactory hondicapnine. ' .Mr J. Daly certainly has cause to be on good terms with himself. Exclusive of those for two-year-olds, 67 handicaps on the flat have been run, and of these 17 were won b.v first, 12 by second, and"9 by third ■ favourites, while 20 were accounted for by horses ranging from fourth in demand to rank outsiders. The Metropolitan went to a particularly hot favourite in Mooltan, and another strong fancy in Dyed Garments won the Sydney Cup; but on the-other hand. Melodrama and Togo were at outside price! for the Epsom and Doncaster Handicaps respectively, Kyeadgerie for the VlllieS, and Vanadium for the Summer Cup beln~ also very little favoured. The, longest-priced successful favourites were Heiro and Keith. * i and the others were at such short odds thai , anyone investing an equal amount on the favourite for each race of the C 7 races would have wound up a loser. Seventeen two-year-old races, were decided,' six • being .at set we lg hts, and 11 handicaps. Four of the V^^f" 5 won by favourites, and. .one by a third favonrite, the winners of the other ' six events not being fancied, which of course, meant a golden harvest for most of the bookmakers.. Of the sis races at set weights, four were won by favourites, three of these going to Malt Queen and on« to ■'■■■- Armlet, and, with eight wins out of a possible seventeen to his credit, the backer who stuck to first choices for the two-year-old races would have made money. Out- ■-■' slders did not crop up In any of the steeple- ■ chases, four favourites and two second fai yourites being the record for the six races. . §S • In hurdle races only three first favourites : out of 12 were successful. Five ' winners -, ■ ■■'■',: , : were not even among the first three in the 'I quotations, so the hurdling results-were de- : i cidedly in favour of the layers.. However, ;..'vi I in the wei<jhMor-age and three-.venr-old . Vraces, also three other events at set welghte, . favourites were well to the fore, only faili ing theii , backers four times out of 16 raoes. i though In one Instance the winner divided . favouritism with another runner.. From the above it will be seen that the past-years I handicaps of all classes at Randwiek.totalled 36 of which "2S were ivon.by first.favourites. I Fifteen of the other 22 races were won by ! actual favourites, nnd in another the winner : divided favouritism, but though 44 winners 1 out of US sounds an excellent average, a loss would have attended an iuvestnient at starting price on each favourite at Baud•wick throughout the year. As Mr Daly also handicaps for Warwick Farm I ran through results there. Fifty-five races, were run at the ten meetings held on that course, sue cessfnl favourites totalling IS,' second favourites 13, and third S, the other 16 races going to horses less in demand. On the starting price basis a loss would have been the outcome of a bet on each favourite. When an average of about one favourite in three wins, and yet a backer can lose, it Iβ evident there Is but little chance of beating "the books" at suburban meetings, where <.ne proMdiuncs are entirely made ud at [handlcafis. ■ -.