NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2641, 11 December 1915, Page 12

NOTES AND COMMENTS

IBt GiLESCOK.I The annual meeting of the Bay' of Plenty Jockey Club will be held to-day. Acceptances for the first day's handicaps | at tho •Manawatu meeting close on Tuesday next at 10 p.m. The Opaki traiuer, W. Garrett, has already reached Eilerslie with Sir Solo and Red Ribbon. P. Davis will leave Woodville at the end of next week with Balboa, Desert Gold, Egypt, and Bjorneborg. Tho quartet were ou the course on the first day of the Woodville races, and all looked well, particularly Desert Gold. The promising hurdler Skyline pecked badly on landing over a hurdle during schooling work at Ricearton on Wednesday, and, breaking a shoulder, had to bo destroyed. He was by Advance, and was trained by L. Hegarty. Canute (Charlemagne ll—Lady Helen), who formerly carricd Mr. G. D. Greenwood's colours in the Dominion, was among the winners at the Gosford (N.S.W.) meeting on November 30. Mr. E. J. Watt has a two-year-old chestnut filly, by All Black from La JiJotte named Knight Owl engaged in the December Stakes to be run at the A.J.C. Summer Meeting at Christmas time. The youngster is a full-sister to Blackball and Nocturnal and half-sister to Midnight Sun. All Blaok (Gallinule—'Vortex) was last season tenth on the winning sires' list with i£4895. Desert Gold was then the chief contributor, and the way she has started the present season it looks as if she will help put-Mr. Watt's sire at the top of the list this season. It is interesting to note (hat the Auckland Cnj> candidates Kooya, St. Elinn, and Mauiaroa have been nominated for tho Manawatu Cup, which is Tun on the same day as the Auckland Ouip. The trio -will probably bo seen out at Awapuni. At the Methren meeting' held on Thursday the Cup was won by Aerial; a winner at Timaru in October. S. TrilfoTd, who trains Aerial, was also successful with Te Hua, who Bcored in the Springfield Hack Handicap, five furlongs. Tho Gluten filly, Comeby, trained by F. D. Jones, won the Viewmor.t Handicap, six furlongs, from S'veaborg and Forest Belle, both winners at Hororata, the latter ■ defeating Comeby by a head, though most people thought the other had won. It appears that Sveaborg and Forest Belle were lucky to score at Hororata. The pair were ridden by C. Emerson, who had tho luck to jump out first and made use of the Bharp turns.' His Eminenoo broke down during the running of tho High Weight Handicap at Woodville. The-local horseman, Ashley Reed, has been freely engaged for the Eilerslie meeting. Ho will be up on Cliakwana, Menelaus, Bertrada, and. a couple of hacks from Hastings. Final payments for the Manawatu Racing Club's Tentli Palmerston North Stakes must be made on Tuesday. J. W. Lowe leaves for Eilerslie on Friday next, and J. H. Prosser will leave on the following Monday with a team of six. Miss Pau, who is one cf the very few of Saxifrage's stock that have raced, was a runner in the Maiden Plato at Woodville, but she played up at tho barrier, and was put on the outside each day. Miss Pau is trained by T. Pritchard at Opaki. _ It is a common practice now at Newmarket, England, when ono is backing a horse to put an sovereign on, and if a win is recorded the odds to the extra pound go to the Wounded Soldiers Fund. Could not New Zealand backers put a littlo on for our wounded soldiers? Tho White Knight, who was sold recently in England to the Hon. Mrs. Yorke for 4100 guineas, was valued at ten times that sum by the late Captain Wyndham, who actually refused an offer of 40,000 guineas for him. Tho offer was ! turned down because, had it been accept- 1 ed, Tho White Knight would havo gone to .a foreign country.

At Sundown Park (Victoria), on Novem- ' ber 27, the ex-New Zealander, NorthEast, was left 20 lengths in a tivo-mile hurdle race, and was only beaten by three-quarters of a length for first honours. Ronald Cameron rode North-East. High Jinks, winner of the Scurry at Woodville, is engaged in hack events at the Auckland Racing Club's Summer Meeting. The Australian-bred filly is very light in condition at the present time, but travelling and racing will improvo her. The Wanganui-owned Tyson had a big break on the field on both days at Woodville, but he stopped to nothing in the straight. It is reported that during the currency of the recent Takapuna Meeting 600 guineas was offered aud refused for him,