Cup Day Later At Meeting?

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31716, 27 June 1968, Page 4

Cup Day Later At Meeting?

Reasons why they felt the Canterbury Jockey Club would find it advantageous to stage the New Zealand Cup on the third day of the meeting, and not on the first day, were advanced by members at the annual general meeting of the club in Christchurch yesterday.

Mr B. D. Kinley said that the race had lost some of its standing because it was not attracting owners and trainers of good horses who would also like to race their stayers in the Auckland and Wellington Cups later in the season. “The New Zealand Cup is being run too early in the year for these horses being prepared for the other big Cups,” Mr Kinley said. Mr Kinley suggested that the club would probably attract better horses to its meeting if it placed the New Zealand Cup on one of its programmes later at the meeting, as was done in Auckland. He felt that races like the New Zealand Derby and the Welcome Stakes with a shorter race for stayers would be a big attraction on the first day. and would sustain interest in the meeting. As it was, financial support for the meeting in the last three years had shown a marked drop—an average of $190,000 —in turnovers, between the first and third days of the meeting. Best Horses With the Cup on the final day, Mr Kinley said, such a position would almost certanly be changed. "It is important to get the best horses at our meeting and I consider this is a practical way to do it” Mr Kinley was supported by Messrs J. D. Gregan and J. Hall. "All too often North Island horses coming here for the Cup are only name horses to our on-course patrons, and interest in the meeting is not sustained after they run in the Cup on the first day," said Mr Gregan. Mr Hall said that the Christchurch Hunt meeting as a lead-up to the Grand National meeting was an example of the interest that could be created beforehand. Mr D. W. J. Gould said the committee had discussed

the matter at some length at different times in the last 20 years. “We had a look at it last December and it was our firm opinion that it would be hopeless to have the Cup on the final day. Mr Gould said that on the third day of last year’s Cup meeting the club had had good fields for all the feature races yet the money had “run absolutely dry.”

The third day of this year's meeting would clash with the day the Foxbridge Plate was run at Te Rapa, and he doubted if the C.J.C. could make a success of a Cup day if it clashed with the Waikato race, but he would have the matter referred to the new committee for discussion, said Mr Gould. Mr A. G. Bailey asked if the club could attract more visiting horses to its meetings by increasing subsidies even if it meant slight decreases in stakes.

Mr Bailey said such a move would interest North Island trainers, in particular, in bringing bigger numbers of horses to Riccarton.

Mr P. D. Hall said that the present subsidy of two-thirds of the cost of the transport of horses to and from recognised training centres in the North Island wag already fairly generous.

Mr Gould said that the new committee would consider the matter.

The meeting defeated a recommendation that amounts spent on entertainment be itemised in the balance sheets.

It did not have to consider a resolution concerning the carpeting 6f an area of the bars on the ground floor of the members’ stand—neither the mover of the resolution, Mr R. P. Steele, nor the seconder, Mr J. A. C. Bain, appeared at the meeting.

Date Changed

fN.Z. Presi A>soctatlon> WANGANUI. The Rangitlkel Hunt Club's annual totalisatnr race meeting at Marton will now be held on Friday, July 2«, the secretary <Mr J. R. Watt) announced yeaterday. The original permit was for Saturday, July JT. but thia was changed to avoid a clash with the New ZealandFrance Rugby test that day.