TROTTING NOTES.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19610, 4 May 1929, Page 18

TROTTING NOTES.

Noimi nation* for the Onmaru T.C.'b Winter Meeting close on Monday. Handicap* will be declared by Mr H. A. Jiirtlen after the fc'orbury Park Meeting on Thursday iiml Saturday next. Uenalkio, engaged in the Presidents' Handicap (in saddle) at Cambridge today, ii 11 five-year-old mare by Bey de Out frcim lb-quest, and wu bred in l ikfit*i'Uin >. Bhe is limned by ). S. .--haw, ami at tbti Tarannki master .M<vt!i<{£ w>>u tin* Novice Handicap, of < inik ami r» ualf, in 8.87. To-day ah* i.. Handicapped to du 2.66 for a mile mi. I it i(ii a iter, Engaged in the en me i.ii>< n Hrutus, who u nicely treated in U.iii.-, u.ktd t.t di>'J..~il, whu:h works »"ir ,it iilmiti J.l/ to t lit* mill-. Unit us ««'iii 'J 1.1 1 ,'t olf a a.l.'i luiitk when life rim third at the Onmaru Spring *pld tot m tn be very bard to beat. tii i-.it. bus won three, i»l the I i-.i loin laifs he lium htiirU'd in, mliu.iiuj/ l ln> V\ anganui Cup, in which h>' till 4 it/ 3WJ tor twu miles, und Ins i lunn<-(( «ro favoured in the Camliinifet*> 1 rutting (hjp to-day in which be H twt to do 4.8 H. He is a good, •..■!='! imivr by Kna Dillon from a Poruli.i niiirn, and the win re-l>iv-.-«-i!it-d ii part icularly fine effort. Othi-1* in tilt- Cup include tin-it IVtcr. l.imuMi, and Carina), mil Mimi't pacers. in (be Otumiru Trut to-day Li Ututnl Canyon, a two-year-old colt l>v \\ : .ii ii Nell Pointer, nst'iitly pur- < 1..in'.1 in.in .Mr 11. I* . Nti'Dil hy Messrs !l \l i-.d J. <». Uoyle, putnniM of C. I>..hi.!"h -.t.ibii' timnd Canyon is i-y. ■'.! t« !l;ii.' -down great K{MMid in in- ir.uk work and bis effort to-day Mil! iu- w*u-h«d with uitere.it in view of iim in the N'eer Zealand h,i|iii".-. M.ikc at Ashburton n«xb i..,-lit.- ! .-<■ vutmgatei is a well-bred , -i- : ■ ,!.■•;' Noll I'mnter, ln'ing by 1 .-I ~i r..t..ei (iiiiuella C-.UI and 4 "It" i [ -v !,)iii(H''V (by Vanrlevi') iji :i V., I>v Kentucky-—Harold's I!.--,!, f'v Kui); Harold. Gianella has !..-.-n' iroit at the stud for i«-,..|rti Ni-ll INnnter 4.14, a brilliant -u.t:.- *h»> left Latona 2.12 3-5, t.ibr.tlfar. mid I.ilignchl.

-.nil another Sapling Stakes and N.m 7i-iibiml IVrbv candidate will be .- ..-ii ."it il the CambridK" Trotting * l-i!.'-, Miciinii to-day »n (Jreat (■• il.ty I'arnsh from that great producer Il< t'ba Mel!. (Iwit Parnsb wal I.n-.I l.v Mr K X Ix'liuvre and sold «•. a v*-arlinfl to Mr J. T. Paid, of \ii<k!in>d m who.M- nomination he >, II i i<> i- Am>li* U!,'i Annual Meeting i.n-.it. l*tir- 'i »ti . madv favourite fi>r t!>- lfiiri!..,k» ilandit'ai), of a mile and ii ij'i.trhr ,iiid he nninhed fourth. Ni.jlb. m writers are Quite prepared '.. .»*» t>ii-i lor in improved upon m !..■ n-.it I'itirie, and it would come as ii.i :<> find the colt prominent m <>ne of his two engagements to-day.

A special horse train will leave Cariitchnreh on Wednesday for Dunedin to take horses to the Forbury Park Meeting. The train will return on May 12th. Tho Melbourne Trotting Thousand will be run at Kichmond (Vic.) course on Monday, November 4th. Entries close on Tuesday, June 4th. The race is open to all trotters and pacers with a winning record of 2.L'3 or better registered before October 28th, 19tJ9, and tho distance of the race is 1| miles. If it is necessary to run the race in heats the three placed horses in each heat will be eligible to compete in the final. Entries also clow on June 4th for the Melbourne 1981 Trotting Derby, of 1000 sovs (for present yearlings). The Derby is a mile event run in two divisions, one tor .squarc-gaited and tlie other for pacers. Entries are fr«\ and horses may he withdrawn up to Wednesday, January Ist, 1930, on payment of the first forfeit of 1 sov. In a letter to an American trotting journal It. 11. Plaxico, who recently came to New Zealand to take charge of Mr J. it. McKensie's training establishment, criticises the system of handicapping as adopted in New Zealand. He writes:—"l find that they have a situation here at present such as existed in the United States prior to the adoption of the money-won plan, that being that a good hor.se outclasses himself just as soon as he wins a race in fast time. Sonie methods of handicapping are used to obviate this condition, but they are proving very unsatisfactory to most of the horsemen, and some changes are inevitable in order to relieve the situation. There are too many really worth-while horses here now which are not provided with racing opportunities under the present system." Plaxico also has something to say about the method of starting, and again he is not in favour of our methods. "Forty minutes before racing starts," he writes, "all drivers engaged report to the birdcage, tlien parade and warm up their horses. All starts are from a standing position, and from what I have seen since being here 1 am certainly not in favour of this style, and neither do J regard it as a successful manner of getting a field of harness horses away." Plaxico may not find favour with the system of starting adopted in New Zealand when compared with that in America, but until class racing, *>ure and simple, is introduced into New Zealand, the system at present in vogue is easily the best. The move-up-start though practicable in Free for All and classic races is not desired by the great majority of trainers, and certainly not by the general public. The American system caters for horses that cannot go quickly from a stand and it makes things interesting in the fact that it assists towards fast times being registered. If flying starts had been the rule in New Zealand in late years it is quite possible that the twominute mark would have been reached for both Native Chief and Acron, two bad-mannered horses who had shown indications of registering that time. From a standing stnrt they have had to play second fiddle to good-mannered, though not so brilliant, pacers.