RACING NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 144, 20 August 1941, Page 8

RACING NOTES

G.N. STEEPLECHASE WINNER

Astral Flame, winner of the Grand National Steeplechase is a five year old gelding by Colonel Gygnus from Illume. In eleven starts last season he registered four wins and a second. He has certainly started the new season in good style. WITHDRAWN Kindergarten has been withdrawn from the Metropolitan Handicap, but still remains in the Caul field C'up, in which he is much better handicapped. THE N.Z. CUP The prize money for the 1941 New Zealand Cup will be. £1925, together with a £75 Cup. The Auckland Gup is of much greater value, but it has been oft quoted that "(comparisons are odious" so any annent on money values are therefore withheld. OFFERS FOR KINDERGARTEN Rumours are going round turf circles in Sydney to the effect that the New Zealand champion Kindergarten, how in Australia, has been sold) to a Queensland sportsman for "a fabulous sum.,''' Efforts to authenticate the story failed, but it is quite true that tempting offers have been made in Sj'dney and Melbourne for the son of Kincardine. The trainer. R. S. Bagby, is reported to have stated -that £25,000 would not buy the colt. POVERTY BAY TURF CLUB The Poverty Bay Turf Club's Spring Meeting is to be held at Te Aroha on September 20 and 22 under arrangement with the Te Aroha Club future spring meetings will be held at T'e Aroha, and after the financial arrangements of the Turf Club are met, the. spring dates will be taken over by Tc Aroha.

A REAL BARGAIN >

From time to time candidates that may rank under the heading of "Bargains" make names for then> selves on the turf and occasionally in big events. The latest to come into the news is The Dozer, owned by a T'aranaki sportsman and trained by Hector Gray. He won the Grand National Hurdles from start to finish, and clearly emphasised flic opinion of Gray, Avho the day previously in Ghristchurch said he considered he was a certainty. Probably because he is a plain customer, and not fashionably bred The' Dozer has apparently been under estimated since his racing career began, but he has always been quite a fair racing proposition to his owner, who less than three seasons ago effected his purchase for the manificerit price of 7/6. Paragraphs often appear recording the sales of thoroughbreds at £1000, £1500 and £2000 while it is generally known that the price paid for Qigh Caste was £7000. It is seldom, however, that a prospective Grand National Hurdles victor could be purchased for but a few shillings.

RACING CURTAILMENT A few weeks ago there was miM agitation for the. curtailment of rac- » ing daj r s in the Dominion, but the Racing Conference apparently sidestepped the subject, and the usual racing days were duly allotted 1 . Apart from direct action, however, a certain reduction is perforce talc- 1 ing place, for in July, owing to sickness in the T'rentham military camp the Wellington meeting was wholly abandoned, and last week, owing to atrocious weather conditions, the Canterbury Jockey Club decided to forego its third day of the National fixture. J

RACING FIXTURES

AUGUST

23 —Palcuranga 28—Egmont-Wanganui, at New Plymouth 30—Taranaki SEPTEMBER 4 and (i—Wanganui 6 —Otago 13—Ashburton 13—Carterton 13 and 15—Avondale 18 and 20—Geraldinc 20—Marton 20 and 22—Poverty Bay, at Te Arohn 27—-Fox ton 27 and 29—Ohinemuri