THE RACING WORLD

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 191, 15 May 1928, Page 14

THE RACING WORLD

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By

“The Watcher.”)

The winter meeting of the Wanganui Jockey Club will be held on Thursday and Saturday. An excellent list of acceptances has been received for the opening day’s racing, and the meeting promises to be-very successful.

Limited established remarkably good time in a training gallop at Wanganui on Saturday morning. j f. . Maunga, who won the Wanganui Steeplechase last year in a style which augured well for his future over big fences, is on the scene for this week’s race. Since last seen Maunga has thickened out and looks very .solid and bright. On Sunday morning at tlie track he seemed as if he was favouring his on-hind leg a bit.

Aberfeldy has reached Wanganui on the first stage of his journey from Riccarton to Ellerslie. Last jumping season Aberfeldy created a very favourable impression over hurdles, and many good judges predicted a bright future- for him in that direction. Seen on the tracks at Wanganui on Sunday morning, Aberfeldy looked in perfect condition, and at least one good judge was' hedrd to remark that the Riccarton representative looked the fittest horse on the tracks. There is not much doubt that all going well Aberfeldy will have to be seriously reckoned with during his North Island tour.

Perle* de Leon has reached Wanganui for engagements this week, and as a result of his tlat racing he is in good hard condition to commence the winter jumping campaign. ’ Perle de Leon has been schooled over steeplechase country with a view to the Great Northern Steeplechase, and according to reliable reports he has shaped very well indeed —so well, in fact, that his connections anticipate that he will run an even better race in the Great Northern Steeplechase than in the hurdles.

Ngata has run his last rate, and Mr. J. Bull has decided to pension him off. This decision was reached after Ngata’s poor showing in the Tongahoa Hurdles on the first day .at Egmont last week. Ngata was' well beaten a long .way from home, and as he did not break down it is plain he has reached the stage where further perseverance is ill-advised. Ngata, although unable to gain admission to the the Stud ■ Book looked, and was a great horse. It was the unkindest fate that caused him to miss a Grand National when he Iffid it won, and some of his performances during a long and useful career on the turf, notably the Wanganui Cup and two jumpers’ flat races at Riccarton under crushing burdens, were high class. Ngata has-been scratched for all engagements at Wanganui and Ellerslie.

The backers of Bonogne, who won the Flying Handicap on the opening day -of the Egmont winter meeting at Hayvexa on Thursday, are" probably unaware that they were within an ace of losing their money. The circumstances surround one of the most peculiar incidents that have occurred for some time, and involve a very nice point of racing law. Bonogne was handicapped to carry 7.3, but as the apprentice P. Jlclnally was put up the allowance was claimed and he weighed out at 7.0, which is the minimum allowed in ’handicap events. Bonogne went out and after a close finish won-by a head from Partaga. When Mclnally got on the scales after unsaddling it was touch and go to get him to show 6.13. In fact, five minutes passed before the officials iwere. absolutely satisfied that he could draw 6.13. Now this is a nice point, as in conformity with Act of Parliament, Part XVIII, para. 1, of the Rules of Racing, reads:—. . the minimum weight to" be alTbTte<! to ‘ fl ny horse in any handicap shall be 7, stone. . . . .” Part XXIII, para. 10, reads :—“ . ; . . If the jockey cannot draw the proper or declared weight the clerk of the scales shall allow him lib.” It will be seen that both rules are-.mandatoryand at first sight.iwould appear to be in conflict. The 7-stone minimum, however, applies to weighing-out, which was done correctly in Bonogne’s case, and the lib. allowance to weighingin, and as this also was in order, though only just so, the Egmont stewards appear- to have been -justified in giving the order to . pay, out. _. “

In addition to the active team at Fordell, F. Tilley is ’ working on the two rising two-year-olds purchased at the last January sales. They are Glenartney, a chestnut: gelding by Hunting Song from Melodise, dam of Agitator and Vivo, and a brown gelding, Trench Raid, by Night Raid from Petal Dust. Petal Dust is sister to Martarma (Martian —Per . Arma) and was the first foal of the imported English mare.

H. Burt tried hard to get the mount o'n Comical in the Adamson Steeplechase ’at . HawerU.'on Saturday. In the light of events it Is perhaps as well that he did not get his wish, though it is likely that Comical would have gone better for Burt than for Taggart, who, despite his gameness, has not had the same experience. Whether Comical goes to Auckland next month depends largely upon how he shapes at Wanganui, and in the meantime, although he Is better than ho was last year, he still risks his fences and does not look a good prospect for a big steeplechase.

Partaga' Is 'one of the most consistent horses racing. While not up to the best class, he can hold his own in a bit lower grade, and his last six starts have seen three wins, and three seconds.

Melissa should have won the sprint event at Hawera on Saturday, and Benzora should have won the distance handicap. The first missed through bad judgment and the second through bad luck.

Olympic has come down from Wanganui to Levin and goes into E. T. Yuille’s stables. Yullle also has charge of the -half-brother by Cynic to Chortle for tha Messrs. McLennan.

E. Keesing left Auckland for Sydney last week, and will spend the winter in Australia, following his profession. Another Auckland horseman, W. H. Jones, intends to settle permanently in Australia, probably Melbourne, where with the 6.7 minimum, he should get plenty of riding.

Limerick is' a regular viistor to the Riccarton track, but he is doing only light exercise. He is in the best of health. His two-year-old half-brother, Roscrea, by the successful Australian sire Rossendale, is doing exceptionally well, and as he appears to be quite sound, there is room for bright hopes concerning his future prospects. If he continues to go all right, he may be in the spring team for Australia. Ariklwai is. another who may take on the Sydney trip. So far his tasks, have not been strenuous, but he is in nice order to commence'a serious preparation. Toawai, the two-yeqr-old brother to Ariklwai, by Paladin from Waterspray, has joined Jones’s active brigade. After being broken in he was given a long spell, and ho should be all. the better for this patient policy.

Tommy Dodd was advertised for sale by auction in Melbourne on April 30, and he was bought back by his former owner, Mr. IV. Broad, of Invercargill. Tommy Dodd arrived back last : week and is now being prepared for another racing campaign in New Zealand, under his old colours.

■ Martarma, who lias , been a regular attendant at the Riccarton track lately, has been started on a preparation. In the meantime he is doing only easy pace work, but he' is in a healthy condition.

P. V. Mason has a yearling colt by Arrowsmith from Sungleam among his team at present. The youngster is a half-bro-ther to Golden Armour. His dam is by Sutala from Sunglow, a sister to Boniform, by Multiform from ' Otterden, the dam of Martian.

In the past when an apprentice has been doing a trial at Randwick for a permit it has,been merely,necessary for him to gallop a horse a few furlongs in the presence of a, stipendiary steward. At a recent ■meeting of the Australian Jockey Club’s committee it was decided that in future the bdys should be set a. stiffer task, and one that would give a better idea as to whether they wore fit to ' ride in races. They will have to ride at least two tests from barrier starts, with not less than "six horses competing. This will, at least, give an idea, whether a lad can handle a horse at the starting post, and the six runners will make a field sufficiently large to test whether he knows what be is doing in running. Hitherto a boy who has been certified by a stipendiary steward as capable of riding in a race has stood a chance of losing his permit after his first mount on the score of Incompetency. There should be little likelihood of anything of the kind happening in future.

The Australian Jockey Club, although loth to take that step, has reduced the added money for its winter meeting by £950, as compared with last year. Decreased revenue, consequent on unfavourable days during the past year, has forced the club to retrench. The fact of the matter is,, writes “Pilot,” that the club has reached such a high standard in prize-money that it needs everything in |favo.Lx to make a • fair profit; •pn * its_

meetings. It is necessary it should do so in order to cover expenditure on improvements. and the general upkeep. Unfortunately, circumstances have repeatedly been against the club during the past vear. Bad weather has tended to smaller attendances and decreased totalisator revenue, and, unless there is all-round improvement, the winter meeting may not be the onlv one at which prize-money will have to" be cut down. With receipts decreasing, the burden of taxation is falling heavilv on the club. Flair of its bookmakers’ fees go .to the Government, and I) per cent, of the totalisator turnover. Of the admission fee ot 14 s. Id. to the saddling paddock. 4s. is deducted by the State and Federal Governments in admission and entertainment taxes, and Is. Id. of- the 3s. Id. paid for admission to the leger.

The Trenthani trainer, 11. Telford, left for Wanganui yesterday in order to seek quarters for his team which he will winter and train there for the spring racing.

The other day when an apprentice was having his first ride, on a Sydney course, he jubilantly mentioned the fact, and. was highly pleased when one of the experienced jockeys said: “Don’t be nervous: 11l look after you.” The youngster duly rode, and after the race remarked to his employer: “You know that chap who said he’d look after me. Veil, lie did. As soon as the barrier went up he ran Ins mount under the neck of my horse, and 1 had to. almost pull up. That youngster is now certain the expression 111 look after you” can be taken more ways than one.

The extensive series of victories registered by Limerick in Australia has, of course, placed the New Zealander well in the limelight, and “The Australasian’ of a recent date devotes a leading article bearing on great geldings that have figured on the Australian turf, in which horses hailing from this Dominion figure prominently. “The Australasian” says:— “By his outstanding performance over all distances and in all conditions of the races at the last two A.J.C. autumn meetings and the intervening spring meeting at Randwick, the New Zealand-bred gelding Limerick has ensured for himself an honourable place in the ranks of great performers .In Australia. Limerick is, in our opinion, the greatest gelding that has come from the Dominion since Sasanof came across as a three-year-old in the spring -of 1010. We are not forgetting Pilllewinkie and Gloaming (who, by the way, was not New Zealand-bred), but in the case of the great son of The Welkin it will always stand against him that he never raced bevond a mile and a half and never took part in a handicap. He was trained by a great mentor, whose task it was to race. the gelding with the least possibility of defeat. Therefore Gloaming can be classed only within the ambit of the limitations placed upon him by those who knew him best. At welght-for-age. up to a mile and a half he was supreme—beyond that or in handicaps over any distance no marks can be scored in his favour. On the other hand, Limerick has emerged with honours. In each kind of first-class flat race over all distances. -and in all conditions. Wet or fine, short or long distance, handicap, weight-for-age, or pseudo weight-for-age terms, all are alike to the son of Limond. It was the same with Sasanof, who won the Melbourne Cup, which was postponed from the first Tuesday to the following Saturday in November. 1916, owing to the heavy drenching Flemington had suffered. In his later years Sasanof measured strides with the best from six furlongs to two miles, under all conditions, and added lustre to his already brilliant record. Another great New Zealand gelding in recent years is The Hawk, but only up to a middle distance. On the other hand, Limerick’s halfbrother Ballymena needed a distance to exhibit his sterling powers. With Gloaming will always be recalled his worthy rival Beauford, also a gelding. Like Gloaming, Beauford was one of the mighty up to a mile and a half—but beyond that blank enigma. Many great geldings can be called to mind, but none that we can think of could be placed before Limerick and Sasanof.”

According to a Press Association message from Sydney, Sir Samuel Hordern says that he has not purchased Satrap, the winner of the New Zealand St. Leger, as reported from Wellington. Neither has his brother, Mr. Anthony Hordern.

WELLINGTON DISTRICT DATES

The following dates submitted by racing clubs in the Wellington district for the season 1925-29 have been approved by the District Committee:—

Wellington Racing Club.—October 20 and 22, 1928: January 22, 24, 26, 1929; March 16 and 18. 1929; July 9, 11, 13, 1929. ■ . Wairarapa Racing Club.—January 1 and 2, 1929; March 30 and April 1, 1929. Masterton Racing Club. —October 27, 192 S (applying for additional day, 26th); December 26 and 27. 1928. Otaki Maori ■ Racing Club. —December 6 and 8, 1928; June 1 and 3, 1929. Levin Racing Club.—November 17, 1923 (applying' for additional day, 19th). Pahiatua Racing Club.—January 30 and 31, 1929. Carterton Racing Club.. —October 13. 1928 (applving for additional day, 12th). Marlborough Racing Club. —March 7 and 9, 1929; May 3 and 4, 1929.

INJURED JOCKEY ) ELLIS STILL IN SERIOUS CONDITION. BY TiffiEGBAPH.—PLECS ASSOCIATION ■ - Ashburton, May 14. A E. Ellis, who was injured when Star Stranger ll.fell in the Trial Plate, is suffering from injuries to his head and internally. He is now improving, but his condition is still serious. It has been decided by-the committee of the Hawke's Bay Trotting Club to run a ten shilling totalisator at its meeting on June 4. '