SOUTHERN VIEW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 141, 17 June 1938, Page 12

SOUTHERN VIEW.

FILLING THE RANKS. BROKEN DOWn RACEHORSES. The ancient inigiit well be excused lor wagging Ins head and murmuring. •They don't breed Vin these days." Sad to relate, they don't. The steeplechaser of the present day is recruited from the ranks of the broken-down —horses that fail to stand up to the rigours of racing on the flat, or which arc not just good enough to pay their way. The owner relegates the unfortunate to the scrap heap by selling him for a small sum for hacking purposes, and then by devious ways he often becomes a steeplechaser (says the Chri-itchureh ••Star-Sun"). Efforts are then made to patch the horse up for stooplechasing with varying degrees of success- and that is the pity, Early Returns. This si rea mlined age must <-a;ry the burden of blame. Look at it which every way you will, racing is w highly commercialized hu-iness to-dav. as far as <lil per cent of the owners ;:rc i-.m lerned. They bree<l for early speed and quick return, often burning the':.- Imr-es up before they reach maturity. The scrap heap follows. There are a few owners who love nothing better than a jumper, and 1 hey are brooding along t hose lines. Mr. .1. If. Grigg. of Longbea.'h, is a shining example, but he practically bens the torch alone. 11l Flashlight Mr. Grigg lias ■, young steeplechaser of promise who looked to have a successful career in front of him-as a hurdler, but it is steeplechasers Mr. Grigg wants, and that is t : . t - game to which Flashlight has been assigned. It was ( n true sportsman's gesture to waive aside monetary considerations in following an ideal, and it was r'warded when Flashlight won at the first time of asking over a steepledia-e course. The weakness of good type steeplechasers at the recent Dunedin mooting was emphasis,.(l ~n the filial daw when the places in the Punedin Steeplechase were all tilled by horses who had shown up in the luck stoop! 'chases

earlier at the meeting. Bally Brit won from Burwood. with Quiiiopul in third ~lace.

Burwood and Bally Brit, both six-year-olds, sired by Woodend and Balboa respectively, are definitely '"finds" this season. Burwood, after* winning the Tahuna. Hack Steeplechase on the first day from Bally Brit, started in the Wingatui Steeplechase on the second day ami defeated the Otago Steeplechase winner. Black Banner.

Bally Brit, on the other hand, wns beaten again in the hack steeplechase <>n the second day by Quiiiojml. but turned tlu» tables on both his conquerors on the third day. Ilic heavy state of the ground was all in favour of Ballv Brit under his light weight, and though Burwood is the better of the pair on form to date, there is not much between them. They are gaining experience all the time, and next season should be in the top flight.

Triso.v. one of the best jumper-, in the south la>t season, broke down badly during the running of the Otago Steeplechase, and his racing career is probably linished. -hist how good the field was Punchestown clearly showed, as though far from being at the top of his form. his jumping carried him into second place. Punchestown is now in the veteran stage and he finished th-> course a tired horse, but that was more than the re<t could do. SJLiiitller. an unsound hurdler on past performances, look third plm-e in the llliiLi-i Stei-pli-i-htiso. but was aUn lame on returning. ;nid not started iiuaiu :it Ihe meeting. \\\< ( -h:IUi-e* of ueUili" much further also look •di-mlcr. Doubtful Proposition. Siiitnft. winner of the Willingtuli Steeplechas,. hist winter, proved that he will only need to stand up to the work to play a prominent part in bi- raccagaiu this winter. He was .>l>\i,ui-l\ far from ready when he won the Paroor'a stfoplcrh-ixo at Waslidyke last imuith. It was expi-iteil that he would race at Iho Dilnediii meeting, but he was not produced. This is not a good augury for the future. ji s n hnrxo that his to be ■•nursed" will have a lot against him in i big race. With a few exceptions the junipers at KicciUtou are little better than those to l>e found further south.

For some years now the dcline in the calibre of the jumpers has been most marked ajid. though numerically stronger, the position in the north is not much better.

Lack of%ii|.port will gradually see the big prizes for steeplechaser* ' dwindle. The only solution of a vexed problem lies in ail extensive breeding campaign. The outlay and long wait for a suitable return ia a main argument again*t the breeding of jumper*, but there are enough owners in the game jeihuis of ilii'ir imputations as sportsmen to eiiMiri." its -uitiss.