Trotting Prince Polka May Be Starter At Addington

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28343, 31 July 1957, Page 4

Trotting Prince Polka May Be Starter At Addington

The 1955 Auckland Cup winner, which has been off the scene since May, 1956, is back in work with N. L. Berkett at Yaldhurst, and he will probably resume racing at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s national meeting on August 17 and 24. Raced by Mrs G. Carmichael, ot Auckland, Prince Polka failed to strike worthwhile form on left-handed tracks, but at Auckland he was outstanding. It will be interesting to see how he fares this time at Addington. But, unless he can handle the track better, ' his chances could not be highly regarded. Prince Polka is on 4min 24sec for two miles, and he will be eligible for the main handicaps at the Addington meeting. Berkett will also have Phantasy engaged in races for inter-mediate-class pacers at the Addington meeting. The U. Scott mare has won four races and £1568 for Mrs Berkett this season. She has not raced since she outclassed her opponents on a sloppy track in the Monte Carlo Handicap at Addington on April 20. By U. Scott from Princess Maritza, she is a rising flve-year-old. A bold front-runner, she has done well in recent weeks and, if on the front over a middle distance early in the season, she should soon extend her record. Willowdale, Onawe and Elsinore are being prepared for early spring racing. Willowdale, an aged gelding by Quite Sure, won three races this season. He showed outstanding ability, but proved far from solid. He will be a candidate for slowClass trotting races at New Brighton in September, and if he races kindly he could pay his way. Onawe, a rising six-year-old trotter by Quite Sure from Forest Wrack, was unplaced in three starts this season. He is quite sound again, and hopes are held that he will stand up to more racing. Elsinore has been off the scene for some months because of soreness, but she has recovered. By U Scott from Volometre, she is fast enough, but Is not always reliable.

Among the unraced horses in Berkett’s team are a rising two-year-old colt by Light Brigade from Camille, a daughter of Josedale Grattan and Polka Dot, the dam of Soangetaha, Prince Polka and other winners. He Is the first foal of his dam and looks a likely sort. A rising three-year-old gelding by Young Bob from Clean Sweep is also showing promise. Clean Sweep, by Grattan Loyal, took a mile and a half record of 3min 16 l-ssec for one mile and a half.

Five-shilling Unit Something had to be done to try to get the public back to the racecourses, said the president (Mr T. Davidson) at the annual meeting of the Invercargill Trotting Club. He said a five-shilling betting unit should be used. An electric totalisator would be a great improvement, too, he said. Inter-Dominion Conference Mr C. S. Thomas, of Christchurch, president-elect of the New Zealand Trotting Conference, has been elected a vice-president- of the Inter-Dominion Trotting Conference. Mr J. P. Stratton, of Perth, has been re-elected president of the conference, a position he has held since its inception. Mr A. T. Cusick, of Sydney, is the other vice-president, and Mr J. R. Reeves, of Sydney, has been reappointed treasurer. Sydney Sires Springfield Globe, with £15,450. was the leading sire at Harold Park during the present season. Second to him was U. Scott with £13,085, with Van Ayr third with £12,655. Other New Zealandbred stallions, and their totals, were: Fire Bar, with £6790; Jackie Guy, with £3275; Conflagrate, with £3260; Highland Fling, with £3255; Southern Brigade, with £3210; Attack, with £3175; and Fallacy, with £3075. Messrs R. Cleary and R. V. Farrell,, with £5675, were leading owners. Messrs D. D. and D. R. Moore, owners of Caduceus. were second with £4BOO. A. Phillis was the leading trainer with 25 wins, while he headed the drivers’ list with the sa: le number of successes. Final Appearance The champion pacer, Ribands, may make his final public appearance at Harold Park, Sydney, on August 17. Tentative arrangements have been made for Ribands to take part in a special exhibition at the reopening meeting at Harold Park on that date. Ribands is one of the most popular pacers raced in Australia and he was also successful in New Zealand and in the United States. Ribands will return to Sydney this week after his trip to the United States, where he won five races. He is to stand ‘at his owner’s stud at Cowra. While

in the United States, offers of about 50,000 dollars for Ribands were refused. Another Flying Mile Southland racegoers may have a chance of seeing some of New Zealand’s best pacers in action at the Gore Trotting Club’s Boxing Day meeting in December. The club is considering staging a race over one mile with a flying start. It is hoped to cater for horses assessed on 2min llsec or faster. This-is equivalent to 2min 45sec for one mile and a quarter. The stake would be in keeping with the class of field the race would draw. The matter would rest with the new committee, said the secretary of the club (Mr R. S. Green) on Monday. The retiring committee was very enthusiastic about the race. There would be meetings at Auckland and Ashburton on the same day, but there were many horses on 2min llsec and better and many of these were owned in Southland. The club did not anticipate any difficulty filling a field, said Mr Green. The club had approached Mr A. J. Corrigan, president of the Hawera Club, which ran a similar race in April of this year, and he said he was prepared to go to Gore to Install the starting equipment required for a flying start