THE TURF.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 110, 1 February 1908, Page 9

THE TURF.

RACING FIXTURES. ' Feb I.—Takapuna J.C. Summer. Feb;.. 6 and 7. —Maniototo J.C. Annual. Feb. 6 and 7.—Gisborno R.G. Summer. • Feb. G and B.—Canterbury J.C. Summer. : Fob. .6—Karioi J.C. Hack. Feb. 12 and 13.-—Egmont.R.C. Summer. . Feb. ,13 and 14,-rPoverty Bay T.C. Annual. Feb. 19 and 20. —To Aroha R.C>. Summer. Fob. 19 and 20.—Woodvillo J.C. Autumn. \ Feb. 19, 20, and 22.—Duncdin J.C. Autumn. Fob. 22.—Wellington Pony and Galloway R C Initial. . , .' March o and: 7.—Wanganui J.C., Autumn. ~.March. 6.and ".—Westport J.C. Autumn.. March 11 and 12. —Dannovirke J.C. Annual. March 13 and 14. —Tolaga Bay' J.C. Annual. March -17 ' and 18. . Napier Park R..C. ■ Autumn. March 17. and■ 18.rr-6roymouth J.C. Autumri. March 25 and 26.—Taranaki J.C. Autumn. ; . ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. • : '• tV.W.—Multifid;was. second'; in -the. Great Northern Foal Stakes won'by Sungod. ; . .NOTES AND. COMMENTS. Tho . summer meeting. 'of . the Takapuna . Jockoy Club will bo concluded to-day. . Tho Canterbury. Jockey, Club's Summer . meeting takes • placo: next Thursday and ■ Saturday. .. .' . ■ . Nominations for tho Woodvillo District Jockey . Club's 'Autumn Meeting close this' evoning at 8 o'clock. • • , ■Weights for- tho Eg'mont Racing Club's meeting are .duo: on Monday. •• •. : The Newmarket Handicap is to be run on February 29, four weeks from to-day. Tho Australian i'Cup and Champion 'Stakes are ■ to be decided on March, 3. The.Auckland horseman, B. Deeley,. has ; ridden: over thirty winners since'..-tho be- '; ginning, of; tho. : present season. An English writer advises anyono who has racehorses to- run: them out 'for' tho stakes .-•whenever-they havo any-chanco at'all. - In the present/condition of tho betting market ho'does riof 'think an-owner-can get.'.half as . much out 'of bets-as .he 'can out-of-stakes. '- . Tho. times recorded for tho various, events at: this ,recent iTrentham meeting go'to show ;■that.-'tlio pace of tho New Zealand thorough-, - bred; is gradually improying., .. This 'improve-'' mentv is ,ver'y apparent: among . 'the hack division2.where,;thb, a mile oii an average;'abpu't threo'seconds .faster than -they . • -did ten 'years' ago.], ■ ;A's sbmo very speedy stallions,.liave; bben ; imported during" tho-last fejv; seasons records will.no doubt be lowered a good deal'yet; ; . ' .. ■ .. •' - Tho ideal ..of.; a''certain .breeder'';in'the. Dominion is to breed, si;horse/that can run.six ifurlongs .in ,lmra.-. ;i2£sec.';':arid ;a;.mile- -in 1 lmin.' 38sec. " ..... "" Tho. Soult—Dreamland colt,recently purchased, -'.by : tho - . Auckland owner,- Mrs;. Coombes, has, boon Ijroken 1 in, and reports say : ' •' Some of tho'.'bookmakers'. 'who went' from ■ Wellington to Auckland for:;tho Takapuna races-last Saturday: gave a very bad account i of the,, betting at JTrentham. •. . i ._ Tho brown gelding Reveille (Officor—Roll ' was sold, at the -Taratahi-Carter-ton meeting, for 35 guineas, was put up for ! auction at the Pahiatua meeting.on Wednesday -arid passed ia'/at'.;3o guineas.... .V. . ]

On/Tuesday I had a loolc' at tho Vanguard mare Valirna. She lias recently, been taken np'after a spell of-over twelve months and woks better, than 'ever'sho 'did. In tho winter sea'soii' she will .probably 'be seeh in cross-country.events? .

. Trainer Hathaway-has been very unlucky V With Rosegrove sinc'o November, but on Wednesday tho Hangijjulu .gelding broke his long ..spell of .bad;'luck- ; by - winning the Konini Welter at ;Paliiatua> -Tho chestnut was ridden by L.; Wilson, ' and put up a meritorious performance,- .for after being passed by ,tho Ciptain Webb maro in the straight he responded, gamely to'his rider's .call,-and.'Won a nice race by a neck.' Need- . less, to say.-; oveiyone: ' was - pleased' with .; Hathaway-s succfess.j

Steeplechase rider C.' O'Neill intends -returning to .Australia in three weeks':, time when no will take over a couplei of horses purchased in "New;' Zealand' by.'a Sydney. spossrjian.\ . Prior to his return'he has «n T gagemenfcs t-o ride at the Egmont and Woodvillo meetings. "' . ' . ' .

,: -, ' J. Cameron, who fractured, his'thigh while tchooling two months ago, is ma'king slow but satisfactory progress towards 'recovery. .

. Tarina was not seen under silk at ■the' Tahiatua Raciri|;.piub's'meeting.-' Sorses sired by; Seaton Delaval were placed arst and secondini the Pahiatua Cup. .■ <

■ i Jsova,.who .ran third in the Pahiatua Cup on Wednesday, was second in tho same event last year;. ■Ho is a great finisher, but requires vigorous riding'beforo ho will do his best. Yory often his finishing sprint has been too .liite to bo effective! but oil tho second day, at Pahiatua L. Wilson kept at, him the whold way, 5 with the result that bb managed to get up in time to win.

' As tho track-,iras rather hard at Pahiatua HatJey was not;started at tho meeting/ but ho will be-contesting'hurdlo events as soon as the going is; suitable. Ho is now. much quieter than heiaised'.to be and performs his tasks on the trjick without any trouble.'

Chatting withlMr.. Watson,.of Masterton, during the week',:,ho informed me that Riflemaid had apparently - rcfeovored from ,the accident she mot'jwith at Tauherenikau, but alio would bo spelled for somo time yet. Mr. , Watson's yearling colt, by Conqueror—Lady, • Funcipal, is getting along' famously. >'

The. Tr'enthamrj'ockey, It. Hatch, will ride Saga, in the Midsnmmer Handicap at Riecar,ton next Wednesday. He will go South on Monday night. ' j

■ The Auckland'thorseman C. Cross was'riding at Pahiatuaion- Wednesday and Thurs--day. Cress's' headquarters will in, future bo at' Opaki. -~ 1

Dan Leno is .jengaged, at the ' Gisborrio meeting at the: end of -the week; ' , Thp' halfbrother- to Moral, is in great form just now.

St.' Joo has!'keen allotted ' ,top ,woight, 10-it. lib., ill ■ lio Launc'eston ■' Cup to be decided on I'ebnary 5, so that S. "Reid/will have 110 difficulty jin: getting the Weight. ■.'•

.The Aucklandjtrainer J. Gallagher, has acquired tho stables recently occupied by Mr. H. Wright at'Panmure,Auckland,: and is preparing Guidwifo and Waikato" for future victories. . i ; ;;

Advantago ran poorly 'on the : :first, day of the I'ahiatua';meeting, so - Birkett decided it would bo -.useless to acce'pitwith her,, on Thursday and! shipped her home.

A geiitlomau who camo from Melbourne to buy a few- ricehorses in,' tho Dominion thinks it Js..,noro than' likely; that ho will go back cmpt,- handed,. I 'as.. New Zealand owners, aro adiing what ho considers excoseiv'o prices, j , :

Mr. G. L. Hawley. Dreiv, secretary of tho Pahiatua Racing Club, worked very hard to make last-week's meeting a success, and as lie, advertised the meeting widely there'were' good fields and largo crowds of spectators present each day. .. Tho arrangements on clio course wero carried out satisfactorily, and despito the fact that there; were'twenty, bookmakers plying their calling -there each ,day, tho totalisator returns- showed a sub-i stantial"increase', on last year's figures. ,'

. Owing to an accident to the PalmerstonMasterton train at Woodyillo oil Thursday, Masterton visitors to tho Pahiatua races aid not reach homo until long after 11 p.in; . ,

Tho running of several horses' at tho Pahiatua, Racing Club's Meeting was far from satisfactory, : and soveral cases which should havo conio under the notice; of the stewards -went .by unheeded. Tho owner of Mikotahi was questioned as _to the-running of his horse in the Mangahao Welter, arid his explanation was, accepted. As tho "jockey' was not called, the owner must have-had-a vory sound defence, which, 1 understand, hinged on the': racing plates worn' by .tho gelding. Had the inquiry been held-immedi-ately after tho race,' the jockoy could ~hAv» been called without any trouble. It wci"'f bo interesting for,tho public to 'know'what' was wrong with Mikotahi in the owner's opinion. • '■

The owner of Splendid Idea was questioned as .to tho running ' of tho: maro in'.'tho Stewards' Handicap, and his explanation; was accepted. Tho maro 'had ; 9st. (ilb., : and -had run two races the day before. " Sho was beaten by Golden Eagle,' who was unplaced in a hack, race tlio prcyious day.'■■■ The -St. Clements mare rantho six furlong's in lmin. 15sec., ■ . i .

Mcrrie Zealand is a brown. gelding by Merrio England — Zealandia. He ran unplaced in the Flying Hack-on the'.first 'day at Pahiatua,rand cantered homo •in tho Makuri Hack Handicap on tho second day. .Runiour has it that his connections' would havo ' won a small fortune had. theybeen able to place all their commissions on ; Thursday. ■ ■ :. ■ . ■;/ ~ .

king's Lynn;. was, perhaps, feeling tho olfects'of.his exertions in the Cup rac^ 1 when he ran last' in tho Racing Club Handicap at Pahiatua.

1 Tho pony, Soaton Dale evidently runs better on the second day of a meeting, as Jiis second to Axito in tho Newmarket,' Hack on Thursday was very diffore'nt : to the form shown by' him on tho previous day

,iOwing.,to the death of, iiis ownerj\.Gaelic was withdrawn from his engagements oh the second day of the Pahiatua Meeting..' --'■•• .

:. Tho..roguiatiphs recommended' to Racing Clubs by tho Racing Conference for the "control of tho: bookmakers, do ' riot I .''makbVpieareading for the men who lay-thoVodds. Thev Conferenco, it appears; will not. recognise any Tattersall's, Club, and, as' ;they -,requjro no deposit; fr<6n bookmakers, ! tho publiq'.will liave no guarantee as. to the financial' position of ; the' ; bookmakers they ibei with,, unless tho ' guarantee 'comes , frbni-a -sectiou of tho bookmakers "themselves.' :-xl -• - -v- ■

: Ihe - rule ■ prohibiting ,:doublo.- 'belting- -will iif; enforced by tho clubs): bo a.serious blow to tho fielders, -as the double books Would frequently.,'.help , |hem through -when tho straightiou^e^g:^^'^p£^tJ]i)l^; : ''i'- ,

: At. a'bookmaker was laying a false price about Splendid Idea, and consequently got a'fair amount of money ill his, baglt is alleged that ho duly.in- , money- on*.tho; toitalisator;. Spleha thebookmaker .collected the dividend, gave his .backers their money-back, and kept the profits. All arguments failed to extract any. dividend from him as ho would not, or could not, pay\tho prico lie had laid. -

Under the present order of things,- the unsuspecting-, .investor . may ©xpect to' be caught in this way. Such occurrences snouia strengthen: the totalisator in ■. tho * loiig-' run.

The . clause which' prohibits' 'bookmakers, or those, who have at one time' b'eeh'ibookfrom _acting as clerks isj 'noidoubt, intended to, ; hinder two or moro bookmakers from sharing profits where,'only one; license tee has. been, paid to a club. It will bo. interesting to see what' action''tho bo6lsniakers take, in regard' t'o. tho regulations^"'HTh'ov will scarcely accept them : without-hjv arcumcnt, - ■/> / ...®