TROTTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 79, 3 April 1928, Page 13

TROTTING.

WHEEL AND TRACK NOTES.

(By ORION.)

FIXTURES. . „ii i 'o —Hawcra T.C. 7 11 — N.z. Metropolitan T.C. ISril 14.—Taranaki T.C. Anril 21. —Te Aruha T.C. April 21. —Ashburton T.C. V»v 3 5- —Forbury Park T.C. May, 5.— Cambridge T.C. Jane *2 Park T.C. i%l T.C jwe 28, 27.—Auckland T.C. Treat Bingen will not be a starter in the Easter Handicap at Addington next Saturday. Taurekareka, Logan Park, Author Jinks, Padlock, and Machine Gun are amongst the fancied candidates for the faster Handicap, to be deeded at AdjHngton on Saturday. Gaza showed a lot of pace in the Wanganui Stakes on Saturday, being V int to front for a mile and a-quarter. He i S+n tired, and finished a long way back. |jie i* not » good one. 1 • ' I > —— F«T the two trotting events at the Hororata meeting on Saturday the club save £185 in prize-money, and no less fr«i. £119 was contributed by owners in nomination and acceptance fees. Hostess was considered unbeatable in the Wanganui Stakes, but the best the Gold' Bel mare could do was finish fourth. She did not jump away too well, and at one stage was a long way back, but even had she gone away right it is doubtful whether she could lave won. C. G. Lee was disgusted with the handicapping of Colonel Thorpe on the second day and- he had good grounds for . eomplairiing. On the first day with 36yda from Call Boy the Aucklander beat Call Boy by a neck for second place, gnd on the second both were handicapped on the same mark, 48yds. the Canterbury Park Trotting Club's winter meeting, to be held on J # hne 2 a»d 4, the King George Handicap on the first day is worth OOOsovs, and is for horses that have done 4.30 or better for two miles. On the second day of the meeting the principal event is the Paparua Handicap, of aOOsovs, 4.32 class. Two Auckland sportsmen so far head - the list of winning owners in the Dominion this season. Mr. Moodabe, mainly to the earnings of Jewel Pointer, is on top, with £5190, with Mr. McMillan second with As Mr. McMillan has by far the best team racing just now, it looks as tltpugh he will hesd Mr. Moodabe off before the season closes. Owqers whose present two-year-olds elaim engagements in the New Zealand Derby; Stakes are reminded that a payment of 2sovs is due for this race on May 1, at l 2 noon. The nominations totalled 102, and, as this payment is the first asked jfor.j % good proportion should reiuAiTli the race, which wiH be run at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting in November next. Explosion was produced threetimes two days at Wanganui, but he was a big disappointment, and finished well-down the course each time. It is . qtdte.cleer that he is. not at bis best, and • fis pnt no dash Into his work at all: Mr. J. B. Corrigan, who sold Explosion to Mr. Moodabe for £1000, offered to take Explosion and look after him for the winter, but the chances are the horse will he spelled in Auckland. /While, the judicial; committee were i considering the rjinnihjt of Call -Bojr «* ? thefisllance Trot at Wanganui on-Sat-uiday, A. E. Adams, who drove the horse, had already gone out with The -Abbey for the next race. It was while The Abbey war doing his preliminary that the decision to disqualify Adams for a month was arrived at, but it was ■ot conveyed to him at the moment, and ft* did not learn of the liu>jtiday awarded hin till he returned after winning the Wanganui Stakes with The Abbey.

~ The second issue of that handy little / publication, the "New Zealand Trotting Record," ig to hand, and, covering as it does all trotting meetings in the Dominion from December 1 to March 17 • of this year, it is a book that no trotting enthusiast should be without. In addi- . two to giving all particulars cf all horses faring in trotting events since December, there are statistics bearing upOn the winning owners, horses, and sires, and successful trainers and reinsiifcn. > "It is 11 * *ny complete record of the trotting [ t sport and should find a ready sale. *| Th® Melbourne Derby, Thousand, decided a fortnight back at Richmond, s; run in two divisions, one for trotters ' •"d one for pacers. The distance was >J mile, and Night Sign, a gelding by r J the imported The Design, won . the t trotters' division by a couple of lengths, ■ jT®. Journey taking 2.44}. In the pacers' division the winner was Robert Derby, by Globe Derby—Honest Kate, add he f J!®" b 7 nearly a length in 2.205. Robert Derby is claimed to be the best young. , ( Pscsr seen in Australia, and he is trained hy J. O'Shea, who will be remembered • • ** coming to Auckland last season to drive Auto. Machine, Machine Brick, and Machine Gun in their engagement's. Haroto, one of A. Cameron's team, w *s made a very warm favourite for ' the mile saddle at Wanganui on Sat- • • nrday. It is four years » ince the son fi of Normintson raced, and ridden by R. ' smith, who had never had a ride in a ■y- be?>re. It was surprising to see so much solid support accorded the gelding. Haroto was soon up in the lead, but he had no chance of going the last , eouple of furlongs with AbrudberJya, and ? f hitter cleared right away to win In little more than a walk. Haroto was not kicked right out when there was no ' °' winning and his rider took things easy to get recond place. TE ASOHA MEETHTG. < NOMINATIONS TO-MORROW. Owners have had ample opportunity to peruse the fine programme offered b] the Te Aroha Trotting Club tpe' th *nnual meeting to be held on/April 21 The classes are suitable to most of tin 'j J horses training in Auckland, and owner should note that nominations closei w Wt.®prrow (Wednesday) at 5 p.m. wit] Blomfield and Co., Auckland,®

A CHANCE MISSED. The activities of Mr. R. T. Reid, one of the newly-appointed stipendiary stewards, at the Wanganui TroWng Club's meeting on Thursday and Saturday makes it very clear that ha is not gcfing to stand for any nonsense, and one driver was disqualified for a month, while a word of advice was quietly tended to others. But Mr. Reid missed a great chance on the second day in one race, a chance that may not come along again. The number of triers in the race could be counted on the prongs of a clothes peg, but even then the result was not in favour of the shrewd (?) ones. Next time the choice will no doubt fall upon a reliable horse and not an "iffy" sort, like the one wno let the heads down so badly on Saturday.

NIMBLE DIRECT DISQUALIFIED. At the Richmond (Victoria) meeting a fortnight ago, Nimble Direct, who raced in New Zealand last season, caused one of the worst hooting displays seen on a trotting course for many years. It was in the Flying Handicap, and Delavan won from Nimble Direct and Pedro Pronto. The stewards began an inquiry into the running of Nimble Direct, and after hearing the evidence of F. B. McFarlane, owner-driver of Nimble Direct, decided to disqualify McFarlane and the horse for a period of two years. McFarlane, who is the leading amateur owner-driver in the State, controls one of the largest teams in training. He Was successful in the initial event on the programme with Tom Marvin. Wilbur White, a son of imported Wilbur Loo, - who was considered to have more than an outside chance in the pacing division of the Derby,is one of McFarlane's team, but owing to his owner's disqualification was not permitted to start.

BENEFIT OF DOUBT. Although the judicial committee of the Wanganui Trotting Club accepted the explanation of the parties connected with Mokanna regarding the trotter's performance ir. the President's Trot, it was not considered altogether satisfactory, and the actual finding of the committee was that although not altogether satisfied with the showing of Mokanna the connections would be given the benefit of the doubt Mokanna is one of Mr. J. R. Corrigan's team and is a five-year-old gelding :' by Woodland Whispers-Petereta mare.. He won the Kirkwood Trot, but in the President's Trot showed no pace at all and it was this exhibition that exception was taken tix The explanation tendered was that Mokanna was only a young trotter with little experience, and that in his second start that day his driver, A. Corrigan, could not get him to show any sjiecd.

SHUT OUT. The connections of Lady Ena, while winning a race at Wanganui and getting second in two others, were not altogether fortunate in their., betting. After her good showing, when she beat all but Mokanna id the Kirkwood Handicap, tney gave her a winning chance in the President's Trot, decided later in th§_ afternoon., v The field •» jrps not a good 1 : one; but as the general opinion was that the Auckland mare could not see out two miles she was' not given a great deal of support, and eventually finished tap only fifth in the order of betting. However," when the race came on the times of starting had dropped behiitd; something like half, an hour and the ..clnb endeavoured to pick this: up., As a consequence the machine was closed on the President's Trot before the public were prepared for it, in.fa#, when) the windows closed there was only £378 invested on the race. And included among, those shjit out wis the owner of As s&e paid/* good price he W«s distinctly unfortunate as h« should have had a good Win. :' t