BALLOT SYSTEM

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24960, 22 August 1946, Page 3

BALLOT SYSTEM

RACING

revision advocated

. mrrespondent recently wrote to a Jiwton newspaper making the worthy ’c£on that some provision should be sugf e -;‘ rhe reinstatement of horses eli?ade + oH from a race by ballot, when irjnatea ecte( j by the ballot are sublhose „tiv scratched. He suggested that horses not dually engaged €iirr ‘u be placed m a ballot, and their published in the order drawn; that should scratchings eventuate, an® should automatically become reThe names of such horses could en i ftin the book and appear on the as ordinary scratchings. oay jdea is not new, a somewhat simi- . \rheme having been suggested in Melial ’"npir 1944. It is no light matter for to accept for a race and be balonlv to find on the race day several horses have been scratched, that the field is well under the safety for the race. Winter Cup was a recent specific After a ballot, no fewer than e S? P ho’rses were later scratched in the e! » nL Qf four horses balloted out, two tp still eligible for hack races, so there «nn ground for complaint on their The other two, Peter Theio and were deprived of a race, not being anallv engaged. That was a case where on automatic reinstatement clause would been justified. obviously some overhaul of the condi♦inns attaching to ballots is necessary; h„t in races like the Winter Cup no pro,n=ion should be made for the reinstaternpnt of horses still in hack company, as « would only encourage further entries of horses that should not be eligible in the first place.

in commission Again Blue Trout did not rejoin F. A. Rob--rts-s team in time to be prepared for the Tnhn Grigg Stakes; but she fs in good crder for her preparation for spring racing and should be ready to race in October. She has grown and filled out a ’ot since she was put aside last autumn and will be a formidable candidate in sprint races when she recommences racing. Irish Note has also been back in commission a short time. He is also in good order, though very big.

Succession of Losing Mounts A. G. Mulley, who topped the winning lockers’ list" in Sydney last season, recently had a run of losing mounts. After riding a winner on July 13, he rode 22 losing mounts for only two thirds. Such a happening among the best riders is not unusyal.

A Large Attendance Some indication of what might be expected when mid-week racing is resumed in Sydney was given at the bank holiday meeting at RandwiOk on Monday, August 5, when 34,000 attended, many thousands more than had been expected to attend, as the day was not a full holiday. Because of staff difficulties, full totalisator facilities were not available, yet a total of £142,099 was handled. An idea of the increased popularity of the totalisator at Bandwick is given by a comparison with the 1941 meeting, when only £29,140 was invested. Officials were surprised by the attendance. Although additional race books were printed there were not enough to go round. Can Train at Randwick Bemborough’s trainer, H. T. Plant, has been granted a No. 1 licence by the Aus-' tralian Jockey Club committee, which will permit him to train at Randwick. He is to take over the stables formerly occupied by the very successful former New Zealander, George Price. Colt Foal Sold Mr H. F. Stevens has sold his nine-months-old colt foal by Kincardine from Emmeline Girl, to Mr A. N. Gerrand, the owner of Burberry, for 500gns. Emmeline Girl was imported from Australia with her dam, and is by Backwood from Humorada by Comedy King, from Lady Fisher, a mare which traced to Fanny Fisher, the fifth dam of Nightly. When raced, Emmeline Girl won several small races. Scheme for Jockeys’ Welfare

The Australian Jockey Club committee is considering building an institute to house the school" for apprentices, and to provide cultural and social amenities for jockeys generally. This move has been prompted by the continued success of the apprentices’ school, at which the average attendance in the year just closed was 43. Stable routine, veterinary knowledge, and, above all, a sense of their responsibilities as riders, are dealt with in a series of lectures at the weekly meetings. Leading trainers and jockeys frequently attend to lecture on some specific phase of racing. The school was inaugurated some years ago by the late Lieu-' tenant-Colonel W. P. Farr, then assistantsecretary of the A.J.C.

Possible Cup Candidate Chung Chong, which finished second in the last New Zealand Cup. started off the new season by running second in the JeHicoe Handicap, of one mile, at the Pakuranga Hunt Club’s meeting at Ellerslie last Saturday. This Lang Bian gelding later finished fifth in the. Auckland Cud. but his subsequent form was not good. He is now five years old, and may be prominent • in the longer races later in the season. No doubt his programme will include the New Zealand Cup. Two-year-old Parade Only four two-year-olds took part in the parade at the Pakuranga Hunt Club’s meeting at Ellerslie on Saturday. Parisian Gold, a gelding by Te Hero from Envolee, began best and led throughout. Ticotme, a filly by Broiefort from Greenwich, was second, and Antonio was third. Antonio is a gelding by Beau Repaire from Teaspoon. The other runner was Good Pal. a filly by Man’s Pal from Ilithyia. Experience for Youngsters The course proper at Riccarton has been open for two-year-olds this week to allow trainers to let their youngsters become accustomed to the track and to running alongside a rail. There is no running rail on the two-year-old track. After to-day the course proper will be closed, and will be prepared for the New Zealand Cup meeting in November. At a later date, barrier practice will be held for the two-year-olds.

LORD BARWON IN TRIAL

(Rec. 5.30 pjn.) SYDNEY. August 20. The New Zealand colt. Lord Barwon, which is equal favourite for the Melbourne Cup, missed a place in a barrier trial at Victoria Park to-day. Little notice is being taken of the failure as he did not begin smartly. Heavily shod and ridden by W. Cook, who will be his jockey in most spring engagements, he contested the sixth heat over half a mile. In sixth place at the tarn, he made a dash a furlong from home and made up several lengths before Cook let him run to the post just behind the placegetters. ..Lord Barwon is hahdicapped at 9-0 for the Flemington Three-year-old Handicap at Rosehill next Saturday, but will not race until the Hobartville Stakes at Randwick on the following Saturday, for which race Cook has another engagement.