NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1317, 21 December 1911, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS

fJ3r Glenvoe.]

There will he racing at Masterton today.

Tho Hutt Valley Trotting Club has received capital acccptanccs for the meeting on Boxing Day, and good sport should result.

Overrate will receive strong support in the Telephone Tlack Handicap at Opaki _ today. The! Masterkiu gelding is particularly smart over a short course, and on the second day at Wmi'ville ' near the finish of the Hack Welter, and then was only beaten by a narrow margin. Those that finished in front of him were Plantation (a dual winner ) and lioya.l ArniN who scored in' the maiden event on the liral ilnjv

I'eroneal, the Achilles —Prelude two-year-old, is.engaged in the Trial Stake?' at Masierloii 10-dny, and,, judging by reports ol' her track work at the Hutt, the filly in question is likely to start favour; ie. Two-year-olds have a big pull in the weighis (something like 2f11b.) in events such a.s this, anil, in consequence, they are enabled to begin so fast that, the elder division are unable to catch them over "ucli a short course.

It was stated in town yesterday that N'vland was an unlikely starter ill the Hailway Handicap at I'llerslie, and that A. Oliver, would have the mount oil Kiiuilits. Tlie rumour would appeal .In have some f'ouiidali.ui, fur T. JVilchanl, who usually rides Kquitas, lias Iwoked engagements for tin; ManawaUi uivcting on Dosing I)»T«

Some nineteen lots from, tho Waikanac si ud.are to bo offered for salp on January 23. The list is made up of ten colts and nine liilies, and the tire* represented are Achilles, Hozonian, Soult, Martian, Charlemagne 11, Vasco, arid Sir Laddo,

II rather appears as if the lig'iM-eight division will have the say in' the .Masterton Cup to-day. Out, of the seven runners carded, no fewer than live of them have been allotted 7.-1. 3lb. or under. The topiveight, Abcrbrothock, has been" off I lie scene so long , that liis chances eanimt be seriously dismissed, and 'J"n■ Puiu is al'o very backward; If there is anything in handicapping, tile Blenheim gelding Xegalivc should have much to say in tlio decision of the' rate, for, on the last, occasion, on wliieh he was weighted, he had list. To-day he is in at 7,-t. 81b. Royal Marine, with'the minimum impost, would be deserving of support were it not for the fact that he is not, a boy's ride, and some difficulty will be experienced in petting n youngsler to do him justice. C. Emersion, who usually .does tho riding ot W. Daviess hor.-es, is in Auckland, and, when tho Trentham trainer left home yesterday, a rider had not .been secured for Royal Marine.

From Sydney (lie death of Mr. B. Allen's imported stallion Caiman iV reported. it transpires that, the horso dropped dead while exercising in a pad flock, at the Dartmouth stud, near Mu.swollbrook, oh T no.-day las!', Cailiinu was an American-bred- horse, by Ixieahatchee {-or of Onondaga) from Happy Day, by Coeruleus from Kosherville, by Cromorne from Vertuiuna, by Stockwell. Caiman was laken across to England as a yearling, and. defeated laying Fox in the Middle Park Plato, and ran second to that famous, colt in the Two Thousand Guineas and..the St. Leger, 1889. During his turf career,- which extended over ..live. seasons, lie won .«12,00(l in stakes a one, and carrying the steadying burden of !M. 21b. put up the world s record for- a mile—lniin. 33 1-ft sec—at Lingfield oil July 30,.1900. Caiman was imported to Victoria, in iot)s '.'■J' M'Ctilloch, and tho best ot Ins progeny is Carman, Who has earned several winning brackets in-'Tas-mania. '

1!. Wootton's second son,. Stanley, .who has been ridiug in England during, the past three seasons with onlv. moderate success,.is about to retire from the turf and' take- up station, life in- Now. South nales. In 100!) Stanley had 3G winning mounts.in England,, the following year 31,. and during the .season-just ended his successes were under HO.-

While anti-turf: legislation is . responsible tor the exodus of American thoroughbreds from Ihoir liativn lands, at least one of the most prominent breeders and sportsmen of that country, jir. August Belmont, president of tile 'American Jockey Club, 'has determined that all- the best horses in the land shall not ' e r ave ( s!l . vs 11,1 change). A year ago Mr. Belmont made a free gift of the higliclass stallions Henry of Navarre and Octagon to the United States Government Breeding Bureau, to be used towards tlio improvement of horses needed for military service, and last month he suppleniented his initial presentation bv devoting l'ootprint and Tipsand to (he same end. Both horses are by the' "triplecrowned hero" Rock Sand, who during his career on the English turf captured upwards of .£48,000 in stakes alone. I'etish, the dam of Footprint; was by llayon d'Or (winner of' the St. Leger, I S<')) from-Fen Follet, by Kingfisher; while Tiptoe, the dam of Tipsand, is by Hastings from Tarpeia. footprint was a good .performer in his dav, his seven victories, including -tl)e Tremont .Stakes at Gravesend,. and-the double event at Sheepshead Bay,, in. the former of which he carried Slst.-41b., and cut, out the six furlongs in lmin. Usee.. . Tipsand also distinguished himself on the racecourse, aiul the pair should prove a- valuable acquisition.to the.breeding'bureau, which' the U.S.A. Government is endeavouring to bring up to the standard maintained by Great Britain and the leading Continental nations of Europe.

Mr. Owen Symoh;v secretary to . the Ceylon Turf Club, is making a tour of the Commonwealth. When interviewed ■a davt. oi'-'-twoi.aso.'.iMi'.'iiPjinons stated tlint-"racinff • is. conducted under delightful conditions in Ceylon. There nro about sixteen race meetings each year under the jurisdiction of his cliib, and. although the most valuable stake is only worth about .C'.'iftO, there are plenty of owners, and fields invariably aro Rood. The most important event of the season is the Governor's Cup, and while it is worth but .£2OO, owners care little for expense in their endeavours to secure' a horse Rood enough to wii; it. All .the betting is dune through the pari-mufuel, and the bookmaker is not recognised, although. of course, there is no disguising his presence. All owners, who arc for the most "port Europeans, race entirely for sport, which adds to the charm of the .pastime; The, best' horses nro"' two Australians—Knox and Black Uuck— and the Ceylon sportsmen were confident that this year the latter would bring back with hitti the Viceroy's Cup. There is such a. dearth of light.-weight riders in West Australia that the controllers of the W.A.T.C. (the A.J.C. of the west) have found it necessary to suspend the operation of the regulation which prevents an apprentice from riding in a race until he has served six months of his apprenticeship. In New Zealand the dearth is not so much in light-weights, but in capable horsemen of any weight.