SPORTING

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22551, 5 November 1938, Page 23

SPORTING

THE CUP REMINISCENCES AND INCIDENTS ; HOW LOCHIEL BROKE THE RING 'By F. C. THOMAS.) To-day visitors from all parts of the Dominion will join forces with local racing enthusiasts to celebrate the fif-Jy-sixth anniversary of the New Zealand Cup. It , was away back in the mid-sixties of last century that the Cup or, as it was Ithen called, the Canterbury Jockey (Club Handicap, was instituted. In the intervening years the race has certainly grown in importance, but on the other hand it has lost much of +he glamour associated with it. in pre■totalisator days. Its early career was tull of incidents that are now but memories in the lives of old time sportsSen. Even the first contest, won by an O'Brien's Tasman, was responsibly lor a remarkable happening. In the late seventies and early eighties, the Hon. William Robinson, pwner of Cheviot's broad acres, was one of the heaviest bettors of his time. He always maintained a strong stable which in different years included such champions as Vanguard, Natator, Cheviot, Ouideis, Disowned, Liverpool, and Foul Play, with whom he won nearly every race of importance in the Dominion. It was a lesser light than any of these, a mare named Nonsense rwho brought about the undoing of one of "Ready Money" Robinson's most sensational plunges. In her earlier efforts Nonsense had done little to suggest her being out of the common. In spite of this her owner took any longshot prices the ring was prepared to lay against her for the first New Zealand Cup, that of 1883. As a matter of fact, she had not been tried over a distance and little -was known of her staying ability till about a week -before the race. Then she was tried over a flnile and a half, and she acquitted her-. self so creditably that she made the big race look almost at her mercy. Bob Derrett had been engaged to rider Nonsense and he was on her in the trial, which took place at Riccarton when all the touts were supposed to be asleep. Immediately on its conclusion jthe mare's owner got his commis-

-■toner to work on what he thought would be a free Itnarket. When the commissioner arrived at Tattersall's he found that someone had forestalled him and there was little money to be had. On hearing of the position. "Ready Money" at once came to the conclusion that Derrett had given awav the secret of the trial. t. i Engagement Cancelled v. Without asking for an explanation, Mr Robinson at. once : cancelled rett's riding engagement. One of tne first people Bob met after his unpleasant interview was Dan O Brien. Noticing that the jockey had something on his mind. Dan soon got the par-. ?■.■ *'Well*.. what about riding Tasman. for me?« he asked. So it was settled there and then that Derrett should have the mount on Tasman. O'Brien had always regarded Tasman's Cup favourably, and, making the most of tnis bit of luck, he at once exploited the ring. to*a good tune before the change ©f horsemen became known. Those who were present at Riccarton on that day in 1883 will .still look back on the struggle between Tasman and Nonsense as epoch-making. The pair came down the straight almost etride for stride. Right to within a .few yards of the post,.it looked.as if Weight must tell in Nonsense's favours Then, by an inspired effort, Derrett fairly lifted Tasman past the post and got the verdict by inches. I had the assurance of Tasman's rider that Mr Robinson's suspicions were entirely unfounded, and all who knew him intimately will agree that a more" loyal stable horseman than Bob Derrett never donned racing livery. In the next year the breach between Mr Robinson and Derrett was healed. With the latter in the saddle, the mighty Vanguard carried "Ready Money's" colours to victory in the Cup, » win that cost'the. ring heavily. '•',. . • For a,week before that meeting Canterbury was swept by "an did man *ou'-wester." So severe was the weather-that training was out of the auestion, and to add to the club's troubles the grandstand was burnt flown; Right up to the day before the meeting the prospects were so unfavourable that everyone expected a postJwneihen.t A slight let-up. in the weather emboldened the Mo on* with the meeting, in spite of the wjretched state of the track and im-

passable nature of all the roads leading to Christchurch. Vanguard had an easy win in the Cup, and incidentally, landed a good stake for Mr Robinson, who had supported him wherever money was on offer. Lochiel's Victory ■n, r ' rb S stor y of how Lochiel, owned by Mr G. G. Stead, broke the local ring by his victory in 1887 is well-known to the majority of early racegoers. Before this time the Canterbury "ring" was a fairly solid one. Its headquarters were at Tattersall's Club, wher* a cup candidate cculd always be backed to win up to £IO,OOO. Prominent amongst its members were such stalwarts as Alf Drake, Jim Le Seur, M ?, rtln „ Bill Hackshaw, and Billy Weston.- Early in 1887 Mr Stead nad -in his powerful stable a particularly brilliant horse by Prince Charlie ™°J5 Mopre t known as Lochiel. wiu-" 1 j- ldea S £ Winning the NewmarKet Handicap, Lochiel was sent to Melbourne in the charge of Charlie Rudings. Ridden by that prince of horsemen, Wallie Clifford, the New Zeai» w „ on b y a head, and as a result Mr Stead took about £SOOO out of the Victorian ring.. Subsequently Lochiel started in the long distance Australian Cup, without being - sighted. This created the impression that he was little more than a sprinter. On returning to Yaldhurst, Lochiel was entered for the New Zealand Cup, ;n which he was asked to carry only 7-12 Without" waiting for a stable lead, backers in all parts of the Domini i commenced to support the Newmarket winner for the cup. This caused his price to shorten considerably, but as there had been no stable lead, the bookmakers thought they were justified in going on. They had in their favour also that Mr Stead had two other representatives in the race—Maxim and Beresford —both up to cup standard. Information from their touts that Lochiel was amiss emboldened the bookmakers to go on laying against Prince Charlie's son, and so the game went merrily on between them and the noble army of punters. In the meantime, Lochiel had been- progressing satisfactorily in his training, and gradually it dawned on the bookmakers that the boomed cup candidate was something more than a sprinter. To add further to their troubles, they learned that Lochiel had done an excellent trial with Maxim, the latter of whom they had expected 'to carry the Yaldhurst confidence in the big race. But Mr Stead had other ideas. He was particularly anxious to win th Derby and the Canterbury Cup with Maxim, a feat that he accomplished. With ruin staring them in the face, the bookmakers held a meeting to discuss their, fix. As an outcome they offered to lay Mr Stead a big sum- +o nothing . about Maxim, on condition that he' did not start Lochiel. Evidently Mr Stead • was not to be tempted, for he announced a few days before the race that Maxim would not start. . This was the last straw. Now the ring's only hope lay in Gipsy King, who was trained by Dan O'Brien

; .and in whom Jim Le Seur was said to i have had an interest. Gipsy King : played his part well, but he had iid chance with Lochiel, who gave Huxi table a comfortable winning ride. When settling day came round only one bookmaker put in an appearance at Tattersall's, and even he had to ask for time to pay. Others sought pas- . tures new, mainly in Australia. Though the Canterbury "ring" had been shattered by Lochiel's win there were many bookmakers of substance in other parts of the Dominion. So it was that when the Auckland sportsman, Mr L. D. Nathan, had his colours carried to the fore by that fine colt St. Hippo, he was enabled to throw in for a nice stake. From one Auckland penciller alone he collected a bet ' "of £2OOO, and his trainer also .threw in for a handsome win. The Aucklanders evidently had solid grounds for their confidence, as St. Hippo went to the front spon after the start and never gave his backers the least cause for anxiety. A Lucky Winner The Hawke's Bay sportsman, Mr Spencer Gollan, was a solid bettor, and he gave the northern ring a facer when Tirailleur made light of his 6-9 in the ■IBB9 contest. After this brilliant performance it was confidently expected that Tirailleur would follow in Manton's footsteps by winning the triple crown (the. New Zealand Cup, the Derby, and the Canterbury Cup). Both cups came his way, but the Derby honours were wrested from him by Mr Stead's colt Scots Grey. On leaving Cra-istchurch on his way home,. Mr Gollah was loaded up with his winnings, mostly big notes. Once aboard the steamer he transferred these notes from his pockets to his belltopper, which he locked in a hatbox. -On arriving at his hotel in Wellington he noticed that the hat-box was missing from his other luggage. In the meantime, the steamer on which he had travelled to Wellington was on its way to Sydney. Uuperturbed as ever. Mr Gollan got the Union Steam Ship Company to cable .to Sydney for the return of the hatJjox. which had evidently been left in nis cabin. Eventually the hat-box arrived back intact, only its owner knowing that it contained close on £IOOO in bank notes. . , ... A Useful Habit • Halberdier's victory over 11 opponents in 1902 was a rare take-down to

students of track form. For several days before the meeting- the northerner had been so lame as to make his chance seem a remote one. Even when doing his preliminary Halberdier could not hit out, yet when warmed to his task he made the opposition look cheap. On returning to the birdcage he looked almost a hopeless case, but that did not prevent him putting up another fine effort in the Fendalton Handicap on the last day of the meeting. After that, many Riccarton track watchers came to the conclusion that the gelding's apparent lameness was more of an acquired habit than a reality. Sensational Race What many good judges summarise as the best field of Cup horses ever seen at Riccarton was that which contested the sensational race of 1903. Included in the assemblage were the Auckland stalwart Wairiki, the Hying Achilles from Wellington, the Dun-edin-owned Canteen, and several welltried candidates from local stables. Right from the barrier rise Achilles took charge of his rider, and it was not till six furlongs had been left behind that Charlie Jenkins mastered him. No sooner .had Rascal taken up the role of pacemaker than Achilles had another speed spasm. Again he got the better of his rider, and it was not until the home turn was reached that Wairiki and Canteen be<gan to close on him. A furlong from the post Canteen bumped into Achilles, who. in .turn, interfered with Wairiki. Canteen was the first to get going again, and he crossed the line half a length in front of Achilles a close third. On the horses returning to the birdcage there was a great demonstration against Canteen and his rider. Jack McCombe. Most of those who saw the incident were strongly of the opinion that Canteen should have been disqualified, but the officials contented themselves by disqualifying McCombe for two years for foul riding. Only for the interference it looked as if both Wairiki and Achilles would have fin ished in front of the grey horse Canteen. Star Rose's Surprise There have been several surprise victories in the history of the New Zealand Cup. but the greatest of all was that achieved by Star Rose when he won 30 years ago. On his earlier form in the North Island. Mr Shore's gelding appeared to be quite out of his class in such a field. His trainet had unconventional methods of. getting his horse fit. He would take. on any galloper morning after morning, but in none of these bouts did Star Rose show anything better than moderate hack form. After one of these gallops a well-known Riccarton mentor asked the northerner's trainer why he brought such a screw to a Cup meet' "Wait till you see him make no race of it." was the re^lv. Evidently Star Rose thrived on his chequered preparation, for he justified

his trainer's optimism by scoring from Multifid, St. Joe. and 13 others. On the conclusion of the meeting Star Rose could hardly walk, and can •be dubbed "a racehorse for a weak." On returning to the north he failed to win another race. Truly the win of Star Rose will do down to history as one of the biggest mysteries of the turf.

Quite a number of North Island horses and thousands of. their supporters were unable to attend the 1913 meeting owing to a watersiders' strike in Wellington. One northerner to get through was Sinapis, owned by Mr A. R. Durant, of Wellington. It was only on the night before the meeting that the wharfies, as a particular favour, undertook to ship the mare, and she did not arrive at Lyttelton 1111 cup morning. Then there was further trouble about railway transport, and eventually Sinapis's trainer had to walk his charge all the way from Lyttelton to Riccarton. With only an hour's spell before the race, the northerner's task was truly a herculean one. yet she showed the way home to a field of 13, and pulled up less distressed than nny of her more favoured competitors. Noctuiform's win in 1905 was an outstanding performance, one that, in .the writer's opinion, stamped him as the. equal of any three-year-old ever bred in the Dominion. With his A.J.C. Derby honours fresh upon him, the Multiform colt was backed as a certainty. He pulled his supporters through all right, but no cup winner has been faced with such a difficult passage. Interference came his way almost from the start. Even when commencing his run in the home straight the Yaldhurst colt was blocked and sent back on two occasions. In spite of this, he gradually worked his way through, and on getting a clear passage left the others standing. Warstep That doyen of the New Zealand turf, George Murray-Aynsley, is emphatic in his opinion that had Warstep been ridden with any judgment she "must have beaten Indigo in the dead-heat contest of 1914. Vindication of the veteran's judgment found confirmation in the mare's subsequent achievements. Without doubt Warstep can take rank as one of the greatest gallopers over a distance ever raced at Riccarton..

TURF GOSSIP Te Hero Withdrawn The hoped for second meeting of Defaulter and Te Hero is not to eventuate as the Auckland colt was withdrawn from the New Zealand Derby at 2.30 p.m. yesterday. English Bred Royal Star 11, who is at Riccarton in charge of H. Telford, has had an easy time since the Wellington meeting, at which he had two hard races, including a long tussle with Punurua, with whom he dead-heated, and his first race at the meeting will be in the Epsom Handicap on Monday. The English horse is now out of hacks, and it will be interesting to follow his form in open company. Bracketed There -will be only one bracket. Paper Slipper and Counterblast, in the Stewards' Handicap, at Riccarton today. At Flemington To-day The Victoria Racing Club's soring meeting will be concluded at Flemington to-day, the seven events being as follows:—Batman Stakes, of £7OO, for three-year-olds, one mile; Flemington Stakes, of £.700, for two-year-old colts and geldings, five furlongs; C. B. Fisher Plate, of £IOOO, weight-for-age, one mile and a half; V.R.C. Handicap of £IOOO, one mile and three-quarters; J. A. MacLeod Steeplechase, of £7OO, about two miles and a half; Ottawa I Stakes, of £7OO, for two-year-old fillies; and the Final Handicap, of £7OO, one mile and a quarter. A Useful Trio

Three-year-old winners of the Stewards' Handicap in recent times have been Eulalie, Autopay, and Paper Slipper. Horses of the age in this year's race are Gay Son, Surmount, and Rakahanga. Change of Owners The former Riccarton gelding, Roaming, disappointed his connexions in his races at Trentham, and it is unlikely that he will race again for some time. When he next appears ". will probably be in different colours. Piling Up Records Ajax has raced on only four courses in his career, and is a record-holder on each. It is doubtful if any horse has held so many records at any one time. At Caulfield, his five furlongs in 59£ sec, eight furlongs in lmin 37sec, and nine furlongs in lmin 50.Jsee, are the best times there. He established a Flemington record, and equalled the and New Zealand record by running one mile at Flemington in lmin 35Jsec. He has run a mile in lmin 3Js£sec at Randwick, and shares the record with Peter Pan. Ramdin, and Sarcherie, and his nine furlon s and a half at Moonee Valley in lmin 56:|sec broke a record that had stood to Manfred's credit for 13 years. The Flemington record for 10 furlongs is 2min 2:, , sec, a quarter of a second slower than Phar Lap's Randwick and Australian and New Zealand record. Solid Juveniles Two of the biggest seen at Riccarton for some time are Daniel Defoe and Baran, who are to make their first appearances on Monday. The former is by Defoe and is trained by L. G. Morris, and Baran is by Bulandshar from Clemency, and is trained by J. H. Jefferd for Mr A. B. Williams.

RACING FIXTURES November s—Whangarei R.C. (second day). November s—Napier Park R.C. November 5. 7, 9. 12—Canterbury J.C. November 12—Napier Park R.C. November 12, 14—Avondale J.C. November 19-—Levin R.C. November 19—Southland R.C. November 19, 21—Waikato R.C. November 26-—Ashburton County R.C. November 26, 28—Auckland R.C. November 26. 28—Feilding J.C. TROTTING FIXTURES November s—Thames T.C. November 8, 10, 11— N.Z. Metropolitan T.C. November 24, 26—Forbury Park T.C. December 3—Waikato T.C. December 3—New Brighton T.C. December 3—Wairio T.C. December 10—Waikato T.C. December 26—Ashburton T.C. December 26—Wairarapa T.C. December 26—Gore T.C. December 26, 27—Westport T.C. December 27. 29, 31—Auckland T.C. December 29—Reefton T.C. December 31—Winton T.C. January 2. 3—Canterbury Park T.C. January 5, 6—Greymouth T.C. January 14—Cambridge T.C. January 14—Timaru T.C. January 26. 28—Forbury Park T.C. January 28, February I—Nelson T.C.

TROTTING KOTES In Form Bonny Azure is working particularly well for L. O. Thomas at Addington, and she appears to be in better order than ever before. On the limit of the New Zealand Cup, Bonny Azure may set a merry pace from the start, in which case the back-markers will be set a very difficult task. Another of the front-markers trained at Addington is Evicus, and the work accomplished by this mare during the week has impressed track watchers. Evicus failed to win a race last season, and even if she does not fill a place in the New Zealand Cup she should be worthy of consideration in other events at the meeting. Sage King Sage King, in J. Young's care at Addington, has been doing most of his work with Evicus, and while the two horses are in different classes, Sage King has been working, in a manner that suggests a win in the near future. On the opening day he will contest the Empire Handicap, and he may make things interesting for the ruling favourites, Fine Art. Lightning Lady, and Fremont'. An Imported Stallion The American-bred ' stallion .Lusty. Volo arrived from Wellington yesterday and is now at C. S. Donald's Belfast stud. From Auckland

F. J. Smith, who will have King's Warrior, Ironside, and Bexley Girl engaged at Addington next week, will drive at the Thames meeting to-day and will arrive in Christchurch tomorrow evening. King's Warrior, in preference to Ironside, is now the choice of the Auckland stable for the big race at Addington. A Methven Pair The Methven trainer M. C. McTigue has two horses, King's Play and Morello, engaged in the New Zealand Cup, and he will probably drive the latter. The names of G. McKendry and O. E. Hooper have been mentioned as the driver of King's Play. On the Improve Royal Romance has been doing good work at Addington and she has only to begin well to win one of the slowclass trotters' races. In a work-out with Tonee on Thursday she was altogether superior to her companion, who is regarded as a fair trotter. .Royal Romance appears to be in better condition than for some time past and a win will not surprise. Plutus ' Last season Plutus won £1135 in stakes, and for a period looked like reaching the best class. Some of his performances since then have .not iim&d Mffi as SjeaJly, KgSgrg&YjeJt

but in the last few days he has come into favour for; the New Zealand Cup. He is seven years old, an age at which the best might be expected from this good-looking pacer. Thames Meeting At the Thames Trotting Club's meeting to-day the win-and-place system of getting will be in operation. Rere Oro has joined F. J. Smith's stable, and in the opening event will .fee btaclteted, with Kewpje's Jewel f . an

s improving pacer. Van Derby, who. showed great speed i in his races at the recent Auckland : meeting, is likely to see a • short price' in the Goldftelds Cup. Contender,. who is engaged in the Great Northern Derby, will race in the ■ Totara Handicap. He is by Travis Ax- ' worthy—Bessie Bingen, and in his only start last season he won the Great ' Northern Trotting Stakes. Owned and trained by J. T. Paul, Contender is-a :

Bingen, being sister to Grea.t Bingen and Peter Bingen, by Nelson Bingen—- . Bertha Bell. Contender is a halfbrother to a good trotter in Bessie Parrish.

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