TURF NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 240, 7 October 1916, Page 16

TURF NOTES.

(By WHAI/EBONE.)

... Rather, an interesting foaling occurred! recently at .the Woodlawn stud, Mr J. : McGuTs Alexandra, producing a filly to Siinripe (imp.). It is stated that Alex-, anclira has been at the stud for five or l six years, and had not, prior to the occasion referred to, had a foal. Sceptre missed this season to William Eufue, but ehe was mated with. Glenesky, -a son of■ the Gallimile 'horse, Leaterlia, which-goes back on the same lines as imposed FlMsh .at Steel. TLe.. Derby wipjier, Tagalie, which missed to Chaucer,, -i« in foal to Bayardo and Signorinetta, a winner of 'the Derby and Oake, nas a -Cicero foal, and has been mated with the tame eiro this eeason. The war is not affecting racing in South Africa. At the Durban Winter, Meeting last month the totalisator turn-j over for; three "days _was ; record. Durban backers have the choice of mesfhine or bookmakers for their investments, and though on the conclud-ing-day totalisator odda badly beat the bookmakers' closing prices in most cases, there was one marked exception, that of I Alluvial in the Merchants' Handicap, j Her totalisator dividend was at the ratei of slightly less than 5 to 1, -while in the; ring her price was' 6 to 1. At Durban \ the place, as well as' the fetraightKJUt "maehjne. in. ajftd, .of 'course, the .former received most patronage. . • It -was announced some litle time back that, in future, the conditions under which racing permits were issued in Victoria would be made much more stringent. These conditions have since been made known. They set out that at n. Tace" meeting for horees, not more than ; two trotting or two pony races, or one trotting and one pony race, may also be held; at a race .meeting for ponieg .not more than two ,horseraces or "tSft.:'trotting races, or one horse race and, cn.e trottin.g race, may also be held. The 1 course epon which the proposed race meeting is to be held must be repprtei upon, by the police as being safe in vespect to the riders and (horses, and suitable in respect to the safeguarding a.n<l accommodation of the public. The course •must be marked by bamboo poles or by a - ■fcofttiiittous rail. • The .English Derby was won this year by Mr! Hulton with Fifinella, and it ie quite on the cards that he will win. the race next season with Knutsford, who is being acclaimed by English writers as the. best two-year-old in England .-is

year. He won his last race at Newmarket in the style of a high class colt, and !he possesses the breeding and characteristics of a Derby colt. He was bred by Mr. Hrilton.who lias a stud-near New;-. " market,' and is by Lord Derby's old ' diampion Swynf ord. SwynfoTd was out -in-the same-year as Lemberg and Neil —Gowyand he woa-the St. Legeiv that -year. : -T4e following season he had several' great battles with Lemberg, and was undoubtedly the best horse in England, when he broke a fetlock at exercise one morning at Newmarket. He was saved for"'tHe eibu37 arid is evidently going to make a reputation, as he sired Knutsford in his first season. Swynford is by John o'Gannt—(lsinglass-La Fleche, by S.. Simon) from Canterbury Pilgrim, by Tristan (son of Hermit) from Pilgrimage.

• Kor the position of stipendiary steward -to the V:R.G:, which became vacant —owing to the resignation of Mr J. H. Davis {recently selected as V.A.T.C. Ihandicapper), Mr Wilfrfel H. Johnston ihas been <3h6sen. The position was , advertised, and 103 persons (including , a Iddy) applied. The V.R.C. committee reduced the number of applicants to (three, viz., Mr W. H. Johnston, Mr Muriray Wise (of Deniliquin), and Mr H. J. ißuckland. Representatives of the other - Metropolitan registered clubs were called : '■' together (they contribute towards the • salaries of the three stipendiary stewards), and the three names submitted to ~£hem7~T!hey offered no objection to the ' appointment' of any" of tie three, and v '%ne VJLC Conimittee, at a meeting on September 22, selected Mr Johnston'for _the vaeanrcy. He hae for many years •taken a keen interest in the turf, and has followed racing closely, but is probably "letter tnown in hunting , than in racing "cir-cles. He is a near relative of Judge "* 3 nhnsfcon. Mr Johnston, who is a jue't'iee = of" ! il;he peace, , rode'some years ago '"fa SSi , " atpateur, and..'has always been a -"sfeajght go.er" in the hunting field.

". "A correspondent of ilie Jjondon "Sporte-| writigg. from Petrograd ,on July. 20. .eaidthat racing was. not only bein2 kept going in Russia, but was. more poplar and miking more .progress than ever before This was chiefly due to M. ZvequitzoJF. (president, of thePet/ograd Racing Club), who], with a view of alleviating the hard times as a consequence of the' wihole of Rufiina eacriiiping ever}'tbing io the needs of her immense army, .made large purchases of. corn, and hay which he has been retailing to owners and trainers, at cost price. By this means email owners and trainers have been able $g carry on instead of having to efrnt their etables. M. Zvequitzoff aleo purchased large quantities -of flour, sugar, tea, rice, etc., and practically-gjyes it to those employed in and ardund : the stables. A large number of extra races have also been provided by the clnb, and the conditions attached are drawn up with the object of giving email etablea every chance to pay their way. Laet year the Petrograd Club held several extra days' racing, and the profits, ..amounting to £20,000, were devoted to the Red Cross Fund. As many as from .14 to 16 races per day are got off. Ea«ing starts at 2 p.m. on Sundays and continues up to 9 pjn., at which time it is still quite light during the season. Stakes range in value from 80sovs to s,ooobovs. The Russian Derby wae decided on July 9, and was won by M. Mantascheff's Macbeth, a, son of Macdonald 11., wio wae got by Bay Ronald. . The Englib rider,. J. Wiugiield, steered -_,th<kwinner. Tie Mogppw Trotting Derl.yl won .by the Amprjcaiirbred horse I Jflftn MeK§rron, an 4\t is stated that the " Bcccess of .the meeting at which tbe clae- ' Bif was "decided can be easily gained by ' tlie fact that no less than : £125,0(>0 on. the totalisator on the, ""l)erby atone. The above iacts wer.e sup'fmtifflhw R. HuxtaSle, an'Enfrlish trainer ■ if present.inrßußsia',.and the letter con-•-icludes.-T>y"laying tUat in PefeSSrad; it ■#eipe=tea ®at:the. war.wiU be prer by ' tie end Of *h?; J?ar, ~

Mr E. Hulton was right out from the i remainder of the English winning owners up to the middle of July. His horses had won thirteen races of the total value of £8529, next coming Lord Derby with eight wins for £5766. For the same period, S. Donoghue led the joe-, keys with twenty-five wins out of 160 mounts, J. Childs being second with tvyenty wins for 101 mounts. In winning percentage the latter was an easy first. Fw the first four months of the season only seven jockeys had reached double figures in winning mounts.

An authority on breeding, writing to "Audax" in "Horse and Hound," says: "I like mares to go over time, and always find -their offspring ,have great constitutions. 1 am glad to say all my marcs have gone considerably over their times tliie year. Two of them went a year, and theirs are certainly, the best two foals." Wiien Lily Agnes was carrying the great Ormonde, she went three ■weeks past her time, and when the foal appeared, on Sunday, March IS, 1883, the little chap, destined to prove such, a celebrated and unbeaten racer, had a coat like a 'bear. Another famous racer, Sceptre; always goes over her time.

The crack English jockey, S. Donoghue, at the conclusion of the current eeaI son in the Old Country, is goiug to South Africa to ride for Mr S. B. Joel, i who intends Taring on an extensive scale in the last-mentioned country. Mr !J. B. Joel, a brother of the ■ owner named, sold a number of yearlings to American buyers last, season, these including Star Hawk, who ran second ,in the Kentucky Derby. This year Mr Joel has disposed of ten more youngsters to go to America, and this has a deal to do with his nominations for the English Derby of 1918 only totalling four.

When the laet mail left England, the Bend Or torse Radium was at the head of the winning sires' Jist, but he owes his place almost eolely to the victory of Clarissimus in the Two Thousand Guineas. He won £5400 of the £6023 standing to. the credit of Radium. PolymeVue comes next in the list 'with £5627, of which the Derby winner Fifinella won £4000. Pommern, who is being kept in training, has won one race this season worth £975. By winning the One Thousand Guineas, Canyon placed Chaucer third in the list with £5573, and then came William the Third £4275, Fugleman £38.51, Bachelor's Double £2816, Sundridge £2531, and Orbv £2324.

la deciding tihat a .bookmaker who had a starting price limit of 10 to 1 straight out could,not be called on to pay more than 5 to' 2 for a place, the V.R.C. committee gave a ruling that hae been the subject of much adverse criticism. In the case submitted to the committee the '■-■backer supported,"forthat won, starting at 50 to 1. ' The Ibacker claimed one-fourth of the odds' of 50' bo 1, but the bookmaker contended I that as he 'had a straight out limit of 10 -to 1, all the backer -was entitled to was one-fourth of his limit, or ,in other ■ words, 5 to 2. The committee upheld the bookmaker's version, and t>he ruling'must | 'govern future betting transactions until \ it is rescinded. Several correspondents have, writen to the Press condemning the committee's decision- The opinion expressed generally is that the committee had no justification in fixing a place limit for the bookmaker who had forgotten to do it for himself. In stipulating that he will only pay, say, 10 to 1 about a horse that starte at 50 to 1, the bookmaker, it is contended, is taking an unfair advantage of. tine .backer, and betting men argue the committee should not 'have endorsed such a one-eided policy. If the bookmaker, they contend, did not state specifically that he had a limit for a place, he should, have 'been made to pay one-fourth of the actual starting price, as laid down in the new betting rulee. Air C. E. Ogden, in referring to the committee's decision at tihe annual meeting of the Victoria Amateur Turf Club, eaid that the puling waa unfair and ridiculous, and he 'hoped the V.A.T.C committee would not endprse it. '*Tihe V-R.C. committee," he added, "exceeded its duties in adjudicating on a betting dispute such as the one under discussion, and by the ruling it gave it practically allowed the bookmaker to put his hands into the pockets of the backer."

An important verdict was given in the Melbourne County Court recently by Judge Box. The plaintiff was David Mcnamara, and the defendants A. T. Keating others, being the committee of the Woodend Racing Club, and R. G. Caeey, representing the V.R.C., as nominal defendant. Plaintiff's claim was for £30 against the Woodend R.C. in respect to stake money won by a pony named Dante in the Handicap Pony Race and Novelty Pony Race. The defence was that plaintiff, by signing the entry form had agreed to he bound by the rules of racing of the V.R.C. The V-R.C., after inquiry, decided that the pony mentioned was not identifiable as such animal, and that by the rules the Imittee's finding was decisive. His Honor, in giving his decision, said pony won two races. A.competing jockey protested, on the ground of interference. The stewards of Woodend Club, after inquiry, dismissed the protest, and the protesting jockey appealed to the JJLC. The latter body called upon plaintiff to appear before them in reference to an allegation that the pony in question had been entered in a wrong name—that it was not Dante, but Kangaroy. But when this-objection was raisrd more than a month had passed eince the race, whereas the rnlee provided that an objection on the ground of misstatement in the entry must be received "*rithin_ one month of the conclusion of the meeting. It was one thing to disqualify a horse, and quite another thing to deprive an i>wner of the stakeshis horee had won. The committee of the V.R.C. found that the pony had been entered in a -wrong name, but it shrank-from finding that McNamara knew anything about the matter, and therefore no "improper practice" was proved to its satisfaction. Ilia Honor's opinion was that a man I who innocently Tan a horse in the only name known to him, although it might have another name unknown to him, j could not be held to be guilty of an j " improper practice." Therefore, whilst j he could not interfere with the disqualiI iieation of the pony, he thought that in the circumstances the committee of. the V.R.C.: had no power to deprive plaintiff of the amount of the stakes.. Judgment was given for the plaintiff for ,£3O, iwith cos<^