TURF NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 168, 15 July 1916, Page 16

TURF NOTES.

(By WHALEBONE.i The yearlings nominated in Victoria this >ear constituted a record for the State. No fewer than 84 of the 265 horses handicapped for the Melbourne Cup are on the minimum mark, while 67 of the Caulfield Cup horses arc on the same mark, as against 24 in the A.J.C. -Metropolitan. Last season the Kalgooriio Racing Club distributed 405"> sovg. in prize- j money. Tic sum has, however, been' reJueed for the ooming season to 12S0' soys. The Cup will be worth 700 sons, as I against 1000 sore. It is reported from Melbourne that the stewards of the Ascot. Fitzrov. and j Richmond Clubs intend to withdraw the | license of any jockey who does not regu-! larly attend the training track and ride | ■work for any owner cr trainer who requests him to do so. Diamond Jubilee during the past six years in the Argentine has sired winners of 330 races, worth £ 181.045. He toppod the list of winning stallions in 1013 with winners of sixty-six rapes, worth £42,501, and last year had winners of seventy-seven races, worth £44.108. Descendants of the Carhine hor?e Pistol were ajrain in evidence in South Australia recently. At Adelaide Tattersall'a meeting they won three races, viz.:—Marmur the Windsor Handicap. Master Pistol the Princess Trial, and Pistol Belle the Belmont Handicap. But this was not all, a≤ Greek Fire annexed the V.R.C. Maiden Hurdle Race at Flemington and Boontree secured the Myross Handicap on the same course. Such a record is worth mentioning. Mr. W. A. Gardiner, one of the bestknown, stud masters in New South Wales, has been advised of the success of Lina on the racecourses of Japan. D. Fitzgerald purchased Lina. by RouvTay from Rose Scott, from Mr. Gardiner (her breeder), and took her to Japan, ■where in 15 etarts she won 12 times, and on another occasion was second. Once, ■when ridden by a .lap. jockey, Lina was left at the post, and failed to pet a place. She is. as may be guessed, regarded as quite a champion on the racecourses ot Japan. A local rule of racing was recently passed by the T.R.C. Committee, which set out that if the committee or stewards of the V.R.C.. or any racing club within the suburban radius, refused to allow a horse to ran, such horse shall not run on any course within the radius. Under this rule the V.R.C. Committee formally disallowed the racing at Fleminzton of the Grand National winner Zephuron, and in consequence that horse cannot take part in any race on a, course within a radius of twenty miles of the General Post Office. Commenting on a recent visit to the Sherwood 6tud a Melbourne writer says: The Cyllene horse Piquet, which was imported" by Mr. E. A. Connolly at the came time as Sea Prince, i= the stallion at Sherwood, and a real nice specimen of the English thoroughbred he Is Piquet is a darkish chestnut, with a star and snip down the nose, and two white hind fetlocks. He has a beautiful forehand, good length, long powerful quarters, with the fashionable straight hind leg, and he etands well on a capital set of legs and feet. There is plenty ot character about him, and his temper ;s said to he angelic, which is a considers tion with those who have to manage a stallion. When Bruce Lowe wrote of 'horses of the Number 0 family generally being etud failures, he was quite right—at the time—but since then there has been a marvellous reaction, and it has been to a large extent due to Piquet's sire Cyllene. who developed a knack of getting great winners. PiquetV pedigTee. on the maternal side, L? a very strong one. Hie dam, Frusquinetta, was by St. Frusquin from Drill, by Chippendale from Manoeuvre, by Lord Clifden from Quick March, by Rataplan from Qui Vive, by Voltigeur. It was the late Lord Bradford's best family, and the names will recall a number of good horees. Chippendale is not so well known as some of the others, perhaps, but he won the Cesarewitch and was a very well-known long-distance horse, who held hie own when racing at the same time as Isonomy, Dresden China. End other good ones. This season two Cyllene horses, in Syce and Cyrus, have teen doing well in Australia, The Piquet i oak aie good sound solid sorts that Mr. Qiaffey has every reason to be satisfied with. In commenting on the recent V.fi.r. (National Hurdle Ba-ee, a writer in the "Australian" says: —Reversals of form and disagreeable weather were the features of the opening of the National meeting. The betting, coupled with a change of jockeys, prepared people for the startling improvement in .lullundur; the reason why the fine weather officially promised on the Friday did nnt arrive was not explained. There war. Dot much rain after racing began, but it was a cold, sunless afternoon, and Flemjngton is an uncomfortable place on a damp afternoon. South Australia and Tasmania furnished a few lirrkrstato visitors, but Sydney people do not care much about jumping. The attendance must have been a very good one, in spite of the weather. •Tullundur's er.sy victory in the Grand National Hurdle Race could hardly be expected to be very popular, but Van Homreigi, the second horse, had not been sighted in his two previous races, and as Jullundur was a great tip on the day, I suppose the public generally were not sorry to see him win. Lord Grey, of course, was the horse tke majority wanted to see succeed, but the handsome old Orey has no luck in these big races. Dr. Lang gave the old fellow a good chance, but it ■was a light handicap, and the outsider Consignor made a pace which carried the old stagers off their legs. At the end of the first round the field was split up into three divisions, with Lord Grey F.mong the last lot. They began to get together along the riverside, when Shot Out hit a hurdle hard, and dropped out. Monsignor, followed by Boyeo. went on in front, but Van Homreigh, Eoyal Precedent, and Jullundur were hand|V, and soon after they passed the sheds people on the top of the new stand were proclaiming an easy victory for Jullunder. Lord Grey made a great run through .along thp "berid but Jullunder was always goins easily. Yon Homreigh, the other Canlfield and WUliamstown failure, came out after him, but Jullunder won eaeOy.

Lord Falraouth'g (larisirnus. the winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, did not .start in the Derby. The colt went a trifle sore, and it was decided to ease him in his work. Figaro (.Sundridge— Sirenia) beat him cleverly in the Now>narket Slakes, and this performance brought the latter into favour for tfie JJertn. The Ep.glish-hrc.d colt Star Hawk (Sunstar—Sweet Finch) was only beaten a half-length by George Smith (Reach— | Consuelo It.) in the Kentucky Derby, at Churchill Downs. Louisville, last month. Star Hawke commenced so slowly that lie was a long last alter going a "couple of furlongs, hut put in great "york over the final half-mile. The time lor the mile and a-quarter was 2.4. the winner carrying 5.3. After the race the Governor of the State placed a wreath of roses round the winner's neck, and presented a bouquet to the winning jockey. One can imagine the drlight a similar presentation would afford sonic of the jockeys round about these parts after winning a bijr race. That the introduction of the parimutupl was advantageous to the Turf morally is not the experience of the Kronen police authorities, and the. only advantage to be derived from the machine, i.e.. thf> provision of funds tor charities and for the benefit pf horse breeding, could he obtained much more easily and cheaply by a form o f taxation of wagering a.s it now exists. I forbear to recapitulate some of my arguments in favour of bookmaking as opposed to the machine, fays an English writer, simply repeating my view that a man who deals with a bookmaker and takes what he considers to be a lair price on the course is legitimately betting, whereas the man who invests at the mutuel, knowing nothing of the price at which his fancy will figure in the eventual or s.p. question, is indulging in a more or less blind gamble. The death is announced from Australia of Mr. William Filgate, one of the oldest of owner-trainers associated -with racing in Australia. He had long been ill, and therefore the end wa3 quite expected. For many years Mr. Filgate trained and raced horses in South Australia, but long since settled in Melbourne, and. while his health permitted, never tailed to attend the Flemington training grounds in the morning. There was no more popular man in the profession than •Bill" Filgate. and no member of it believed more in giving his horses plenty of work. Akim Foo was a case in point. That horse prohably did twice as much work as any other hor.-* at Flemington while in training, and yet he won races. Of late years Mr. Filgate was unable to ] say that he had a really pood horse, but Lapidist ran in his name when he won the Ascot Vale Pukes, so did Adelaide Cup winner Cenormiston, and St. Lcgcr winner King if Mirilt. Discussing the motion to be brought forward by the Duuedin Jockey Club re the minimum weight, the Otago writer "Sentinel* says:—lt will be interesting to note how the Racing Conference will treat the. Dunedin Jockey Club's next atttmpt'to increase the minimum weight in handicaps to 7.0. The local club will receive a certain amount of support from the Auckland district clubs, which are bringing up a motion to have the minimum , weight for all handicap races outside metropolitan meetings increased to 7.(1. The northern suggestion is one that may win more sympathy than the D..T.C. idea, as the principal handicaps decided over a distance of ground at the metropolitan meetings are never too well patronised, and an increase of weight on I those at the tail of the handicap is not calculated to give them further strength to see out the fray. There are numbers of horses capable of staying a fair journey when acting under a light weight, but who would be anchored with an additional half a stone in a soFid race. The ever-present dearth of capable lightweights will in all probability never be lessened by merely lifting the minimum. The real remedy lies in making the profession more attractive. The general run of parents are loth to allow their boys to enter a raring stable, even tlionsh they may be fuEy aware that a capable rider can earn far and away more money than whai might be the case if following another calling. Tn much the same manner a prejudice exists against the stage as a profession. The improved conditions and the strict control of racing are breaking down the opposition, but it will always remain with those who are not identified with racing in some shape or form, or who are not in sympathy with the sport. A fear may exist that an apprenticeship in a racing stable may interfere with a boy's odneation. and so handicap him in the future: but there as no barrier to a boy being taught knowledge in both stable and school. The great drawback to the adoption of a jockey's career is that not infrequently increasing weight deprives one. of mounts just as experience is turning out a proficient horseman. It is. unfortunately, true that with jockeys experience and opportunity do not happen along so rapidly as increasing weight of the flesh: hence there mwt always be a certain amount of cliiiw'tion to a continuous round of lifhtivciaht handicaps, which compel ridirn tn stand down just as they are becoming proficient in the business. It cannot be said that the Dunedin Jockey Club do otherwise than practise what they preach, as no fewer than 22 handicaps on their annual programme iro considerably over the minimum allowed by j thr Rules of Racing. Tn addition, they also provide special -weight races, which grant the medium-weight rider opportunity to obtain plenty of mounts. Kvtry hack race on the Duneddn Jockey Club programme departs from the ordinary minimum, which is. however, adhered to Ai all the important handicaps, [n England some races carry the condition which provides for the raising of the top-weight to 0.0 when the highest accepting we.ijrht is below that poundage, and. of course, all other weights am proportionately increased. This also assists the most capable riders to obtain plenty of riding, instead of, as at present, placing far too large a portion of it in the hands of comparatively inexperienced riders, while capable horsemen are standing on the ground. It is a poor profession which favours the apprentice to the detriment of the tradesmen. Then, anything ■which makes "wasting;" is worthy of consideration, but even ibongh much can be said in favour of increasing the minimum, It is doubtful if a universal adoption of the. idea ■win be converted into racing law. Still, even if it fails, there is no reason clubs should not emulate the example of the D.J.C. aud have all their minor handicaps run at a. welter or semi-welter scale of weight*