THE TURF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1172, 6 July 1911, Page 6

THE TURF.

OTAGO-A MOVE. (By Telegraph-Press Association.! Dunedin, July 5. Although tho U'aikouaiti Racing Club's ] credit balance is only ,£SOO, it is intended li> spend .£BOO immediately in order (o carry out the recommendations of the Racing Commissioners. Every ell'ort will be made (o induce (lie Palnierston Club to agree t'o amalgamation. NOTES AND COMMENTS. IBv Glencoe.] The Gisborne meeting opens 10-day. Amongst the runners in (ho four-furlong -Maiden Hack race is Goldemar, who was recently acquired from Jlr. G. P. Donnelly by Mr. Morse, owner of Te Ara'i. The Gold Reef gelding will be ridden by A. \\ hiltokcr, ami great interest attaches to this race, as a win lor Goldemar would place Whiltaker level with 11. Gray for the jockeys' premiership. In the south, Stepmeter is a strong fancy for tho Winter Cup. The Stcpniaii gelding is certainly very brilliant, but whether he can see out the distance of the Winter Cup is another matter. Owners of good jumping horses in Australia treat their riders very liberally in the matter of retainers. J.'Stewart,'who rode The Reckoning in the Flemington Grand National Hurdles, was laid £700 for a win by Mr. R. Clancy, while Burn, who rode Sparkle, received a special retainer of fifty guineas, and, in addition, was laid a further sum of .£SOO for a win. The black horse, Diabolo, who went wrong while doing his filial gallop for the last Auckland Cup, has been sold to a Gisborne sportsman. A contemporary recently announced that the Stepniaic horse had been at the stud previously, aud that one of his stock had broken a leg recently. This is incorrect, for the horse in question has been located at l'oririia since he was a yearling, and has won races as a two, three, four, and five-year-old. He may not go to the stud even now, as there is every likelihood of his standing another preparation.

Mr. I!. Solomon, tho well-known owner, lias just returned here after an absence of several months iu Australia. He is only on a Hying visit, and will return by Friday's boat. Speaking on racing matters generally, llr. Solomon said that the stipendiary system, as practised in Australia, was an utter farce. The small man was regularly hailed up to give an account of himself, but stables which controlled a number of horses could practise the bye running with impunity. This caused the whole business to be ridiculed. Speaking regarding the proposed introduction ot' the totalisator. Mr. Solomon said fhat, as far as he could gather, those in favour of the machine were confident that it would come into operation in New Smith Wales very shortly, but the opponents of tho system did not seem to be bestirring themselves, and, evidently, were not, afraid. Silkweb, Who is engaged at the Trcntham meeting next week, is due to arrive from the south this morning. During his stay here, he will be located at V. Cotton's Hutt stables. Says an Australian exchange: The exNew Zealand jockey R. Cameron is evidently in the riding game for all it is worth. He rode in the Jumpers' Fiat Race at Moonee Valley 011 June 24, was riding ponies at Richmond on Monday, and on Wednesday steered Harvest into second place in the Steeplechasers' Flat liace at the Melbourne Hnnt Club meeting. A coincidence in connection with the last-named race was that the whole three place-getters were ridden by New Zealanders—viz., Simple Simon by T. Cahill, Harvest by Cameron, and Paraloch by H. Cairns. Of the riders who had mounts in the V.H.C. Grand National Hurdles last Saturday afternoon, P. Cosgrove and G. Scobie are tho only two who bad wins iu that race to their credit, the former 'boms' successful 011 Marmont in 1903, and tho latter on Fossil in 1909. F. Burn, who was on Sparkle, has ridden in eight Grand National Hurdles, and tho only timo he even got into a place was on The Reckoning last year. There has always been some event or other that the mo't prominent jockeys of their day could not win, and thp Grand National Hurdles appears to be Burn s imluck\ race. .T. Chevallev, who rode Obi, has ridden in five Grand Nationals, getting _third on Pierrot in 1901 and second 011 Mercury 111 1908 His other three mounts alLgot the course safely, and on Superstition he was fourth in Bribery's year. Lady Medallist's present owner will certainly not be able to complain of tho way in'which the Australian handicapped have treated the St. Alwynnc mare. Mr. Maitland appears to have been quite lenient with her in the Caulficld Cup m allotting her only Bst. 51b., and, no doubt, J. H. Prosser would like to have her back iu the Porirua stable. Ot course, there is some doubt as to whether Lady Medallist will come back," but, if she happens to reach her best form in the spring, Sst. 51b. should not trouble her very ranch over a mile and a half. Present indications are that. Antarctic will be favourite in the Grand National Steeplechase if be gees to the post. In Auckland it is said that, whether ho is brought south or not will depend a good deal 011 his owner's health. A largo number of local backers are taking tho risk of all this, and tho Auckland 'chaser has already been accorded liberal support for the National.

FIXTURES, July 6 and 7—Gisborne lt.C. Winter July 15, 19, and 22—Wellington R.C. Winter. August 8, 10, and 12-Canterbury J.C.'s Grand National.