TROTTING Addington Meeting Sets High Standard

Press, Volume C, Issue 29444, 21 February 1961, Page 4

TROTTING Addington Meeting Sets High Standard

Visitors to Christchurch for the Inter-Dominion Championship series, which concluded at Addington on Saturday, have been high in their praise of the conduct of the meeting by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club.

There did not appear to be a serious hitch throughout the four days of the meeting. There were some minor irritations for some patrons, but most of those could not fairly be blamed on the club.

The racing on Saturday in particular was equal to the best ever seen on the course, most events being marked by thrilling finishes, while the performances of many of the horses, were in world class.

Unfortunately, the club is expected to be a fairly substantial loser on the meeting. Not only did it have to recoup stakes of almost £33.000 and the other expenses attendant on meetings, but the meeting has to carry fourninths of the club's share of the costs of maintaining Addington racecourse for 12 months. In addition, entertainment expenses are always substantially greater for an InterDominion meeting than any other because of the tremendous influx of official visitors from all parts of New Zealand and Australia. The Metropolitan club draws for its patronage on a population considerably smaller than that of any other club running the championships, but the stakes on offer are equal to if not better than those paid, particularly by some clubs, in Australia at a championship meeting. Lagging Interest Interest in the meeting was high until after January 26 when Sun Chief took a heavy fall, causing his withdrawal from the first day and ultimately from the whole meeting. Then Lookaway, which with Sun Chief was expected to be False Step’s main rival, took a fall in his heat and he had to miss the second day of the meeting. A very tame final looked likely after False Step had taken his fall on the second day and failed to begin cleanly on the third day. However, successes by the Australian horses Three Aces and Redwin on the third day and the decision of the club to invite Maestro’s Melody to compete in the final, caused an upsurge in public interest Although the attendance of 21,500 on Saturday was not outstanding, it was considerably better than could have b-en expected had there been an all-New Zealand final. The form of the Australian

horses at the meeting was most disappointing. However, only Redwin. Maestro’s Melody and First Kiss had raced in the best company in their own country before coming to New Zealand. The three Western Australian horses were also top-class winners in their own State, but they could not give of their best because they arrived in Christchurch so low in condition after a strenuous rush trip from Perth. The Australian horses all improved considerably with each race. Luck was not always with all of them; but nor was it always with all of the New Zealand horses. If Australian horses are to race successfully in New Zealand, it appears that they will have to be brought here some weeks or even months before major events. That would give them a chance to become properly acclimatised and to become used to the style of racing in New Zealand. Bigger Tracks The bigger tracks in New Zealand are strange to Australian horses, most of which race on three and four-furlong tracks. In Australia most of the races are run at a steady pace was strong in almost all straights and the pace slackening again on the bends. At the championship meeting the pace was strong in almost al the races, with extreme stamina necessary to hold positions when the pace was applied over the final halfmile. In Australia a horse in the first three into the straight usually takes a prominent part in the finish. However, the longer Addington straight found most of the visiting horses wanting in stamina. Redwin was the only visiting horse which looked likely to make the grade among the best pacers in commission, although with more experience of New Zealand conditions some of the others could

well develop useful form, particularly Three Aces which is loosely assessed by New Zealand standards, with five metropolitan wins to his credit Some of the visiting horses may start at the Wellington meeting on Saturday. They could fare better there under lights than at Addington. Disappointment With the exception of Massacre, which surpassed all expectations, the New Zealand horses raced very much as expected, one of the biggest disappointments being Scottish Command, which failed to strike form until the final day when he won the First Consolation Race. Smokeaway, too, did not do as well as had seemed likely after his three wins and a second at Auckland in December. Now that False Step and Arania have finished racing in New Zealand, there is a sad lack of good-class horses in the better classes. The only redeeming feature is the large number of promising four-year-olds sprinkled through all classes. They should do much to strengthen the best classes later on. One feature -of the racing was the consistently high standard in the races for trotters. Their performances on the four days were superior to those in all but a few of the races for pacers. The pace was on all the way in their races and the finishes were the cause of great enthusiasm, particularly on Saturday when Mighty Hanover and Ordeal fought out a desperate finish to the New Zealand Hambietonian Handicap. The performances of the trotters confirmed earlier contentions that the stakes available to them were much too low. They raced for £lOOO on each of the first three days, and on Saturday the stake was only £l2OO, poor recompense for the entertainment they provided.