TROTTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 29, 3 February 1934, Page 14

TROTTING.

AUCKLAND CLUB. THIS MONTH'S ATTRACTION. ENTRIES FOR PRINCIPAL EVENTS. Nominations for the principal events at the Auckland Trotting Club's meeting at Epsom (February 17 and 21) : — Otahuliu Handicap of £350, two miles, limit 4.35 (first day).—Te Waliia, Silver Bingen, .Auto Machine, Ngingongingo, Dan Direct, Homeward, Kaydus, Wrecker, Kewpie's Triumph, Glandore. Moss Davis Memorial of £200, one mile and a quarter, limit 2.40 (first day).—Te Waliia, Brent light, Wilma Dillon, Auto Machine. Impromptu, Kaydus, Wrecker, Stanmuor, Ivewpie's Triumph. Mackenzie llandicap of £350, two miles, limit 4.35 '.second day).-—Herod, Silver Bingen, Brentliglit, Auto Machine, Ngingongingo, Dan Direct, Homeward, Willie Derby, Kaydus. Wrecker, Stanmoor, Glandore, Ivewpie's Triumph. Forbes' Hrtndicap of £200, one mile and a quarter, limit 2.40 (second day).—Te Waliia, Brentfight, Wilma Dillon, Auto Machine, Silver Biirgen, Dan Direct, Impromptu, Kaydus, Wrecker, Kewpie's Triumph. A PROMISING PACER. Fortune King, by Blue Mountain King from Fortune Chimes, by -Four Chimes — Misfortune, was recently sold by Mr. W. (Josgrove to Mr. H. Guest, of Invercargill. Although the sum is not .stated, an lnvercargill writer says the price of the colt will probably go down as a record for a maiden during such times, as the present. CHANGE OF QUARTERS. The Christchurcli. trainer B. Jarden lias decided to live at Dunedin, where he has acquired an up-to-date billiards room business. He will transfer his small team, consisting of Ronald.Derby and two candidates for the New Zealand Sapling Stakes, to the southern city, where he will prepare them at Forbury for future engagements. Jarden will take up his residence in Dunedin during the last week in February. SHOULD DO BETTER. Wilma Dillon could not be considered anything out of the ordinary when racing in the South, and ho must have let his trainer, W. Tomkinson, down on innumerable occasions; Tomkinson brought him to Auckland for the summer meeting and then left him with 11. Mitchell. The latter now has Wilma Dillon pacing satisfactorily in his trailing and as the opposition in Auckland will not be nearly so strong as in the South the gelding might win a race or two. He is engaged in the fast sprint each day at the approaching meeting of the Auckland Trotting Club. A BRILLIANT PACER. Although Sadie Axworthy misbehaved at - the barrier in both her starts at Forbury Park, her trainer, K. Dunn, does not anticipate that she lias developed bad habits at the start of her races. He considers that she is a bit nervous at present and will be well served with experience, (says a southern writer). Of her brilliance there is no question, and in her race on Saturday, after being, in a hopeless position from the start, she showed something like two-minute speed over the last half mile. She is one of the most brilliant young pacers seen out for some time, and once she settles down she will win good raccs. TWO FALLS. Prince Author was one of the unluckiest horses raced at Forbury Park, for in three starts he fell twice. On ( lie opening day 'lie ran fourth in the Musselburgh Handicap, of two miles, and was produced again in the George Handicap of a milo and three furlongs., AVhen racing well forward lie stunibletf and fell, giving W. J. Doyle a bad tumble. In the Royal Handicap on the concluding day lie lost a lot of ground at the start, but he recovered well, and he looked like taking a hand in the final tussle when Automatic and Grey Girl came down, and again lie was toppled over. Two. spills of this nature may be expected to upset any horse, and it will bo a surprise if Prince Author is raced again for a month or so.

FRANK WORTHY. F. Holmes has the American pacing stallion Frank Worthy in work with a view to rawing him at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting at Faster. Frank Worthy has been indulged in about ten miles of exercise work of a varying nature daily ever since he airived I'rom the United States, and is acclimatised and in good shape to receive a course of fast essays, lie has a record ol 2.2 and raced with astounding success as a hoppled pacer in America. lie is twelve years old and has all the vitality of his youth, and at the moment there is no reason why he should not survive a preparation and bo able to show something of the real quality that made him famous in his homeland. It will be interesting to see how he is assessed under the present handicapping system. INTERESTING POSITION. It is generally assumed that Walla Walla's New Zealand programme will embrace only special races of the free-for-all type. It' he is nominated for handicaps an interesting position may arise. On his two-mile .record ot" about 4.28 the "foreign horse" penalty of 2s per mile would place him on 4.24. But the latest handicapping regulations (says the Timaru "Herald") provide that there shall be some relation between a pacer's sprint and distance marks, and Walla has a mile record of better than /2.3. This was accomplished in a test against time, with pacemakers and a flying start, but the regulations seem to allow no escape, and unless an amendment is made Walla Walla would run a risk of being handicapped on 2.1 for a mile, which would manifestly be inequitable with our fastest horses rated at 2.6. Systematic handicapping reveals new amomalies every week.

ONE SOUTHERNER. It is very apparent that trotting meetings in Auckland, outside the summer three days' fixture, do not attract very much attention nowadays from owners outside the province. Before the slump, when the Auckland Trotting Club distributed substantial stake money and races for improvers carried almost as much as do the principal events now, the meetings at Alexandra Park were strongly patronised by southern stables and the visiting horses added considerable interest to the racing. Now visitors are only noticeable by their absence and for the approaching meeting at Epsom this month, a glance through the nominations received for the big handicap each day shows that the only outside entrant is Ilaydus. However, in the list are enough proved local horses to provide good contests, and though a little outside competitibn would have been welcomed, the meeting can be depended upon to serve up fine sport. BARRED TN THE BETTING. Tlie. Rules of Trbttijig -provide that no horse shall "be barred i>i the totalisator, but evidently this rule does not apply with people who regularly issue double charts on events at the more important race meetings (says a Christchurch writer). On the opening day of the Forbury Park meeting the usual charts were issued 011 the DunediiT Cup and Flying Handicap, but on each chart appeared the following footnote:. "In the event of Indianapolis winning the Cup the second horse .is the deciding factor." It was fortunate for 1 early backers that this- condition was embodied; for Indianapolis did not gain a place in the Diiiiedin Cup. For the bookmaker plucky'enough to field Mr. Barton's gelding there was a small fortune waiting, for Indianapolis was regarded as something'of a certainty for the race. He was backed down to less than even money, ! and for running third in the An Revoii;! Handicap, of a mile and a quarter 011 the second day, he returned his supporters I less than half of their original inv«stmcnts.-t

GETTING A TEAM. C. Smith is getting a useful team together at Epsom, but at present it does not look as though there is much money waiting for-him till his "horses are more experienced. Smith is a very painstaking trainer, but horses take time to make good. AFTER A SPELL. , The speedy pacer Impromptu figures among the nominations for the February meeting. • The bay gelding, has done very little racing during the past 12 months, but at his best he is a smart performer over all distances, particularly a mile and a quarter. S. WHITE SATIN SOLD. The trotting mare White Satin, by Wrack —Pearl Pointer, has been sold to Mr. A. E. Tatlow, the well-known breeder in 'Tasmania. As a three-year-old White Satiil made a mile and a half record for a trotter of 3.31 4-5, and among her victories was the New Zealand Sires' Produce Stakes. CHAMPION STAKES. Nominations for the New Zealand Champion Stakes, of £500, for three-year-olds of next season, Ho be decided at the Ashburton Trotting Club's summer meeting on Boxing Day, will close on Monday, February 5, at 5 p.m. Nominations for the New Zealand Sapling Stakes, of £1000, 1935, will also close on February 5, at 5 p.m. NOT OUTSTANDING. The successful Takanini trainer, IF. Smith, . who has easily the strongest stable in the North Island, will rely upon Wrecker in ' the principal' handicaps at the Auckland meeting this month. Wrecker has not long been in the stable, but Smith has a happy knack of winning early with horses' given' him to prepare. Wrecker has done all his racing in the South to date, but while he lias one or two fairly good performances to liis credit, he has done nothing that wonkl suggest hiin being really first-class. It is possible he will improve in his liew quarters, but he has only to line up on race day to get solid support, as any liorse trained by Smith is not treated lightly by the public.