MALA’S PRICE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 303, 18 September 1936, Page 13

MALA’S PRICE

Tarleton Offer Recalled NOTES AND COMMENTS Kinnoull May Return

(By

The Watcher.)

The A.J.C. Derby has a stake of £5OOO added, out of which second horse gets £BOO and the third £4OO. Forfeits and payments add considerably to the prize, but it will not be substantially more than the £4OOO offer that the owner of Mala is reported to have received. It is a good horse that is worth £4OOO, and it is to be hoped that Mala turns out good enough to justify that price refusal. Instances have occurred in the past where substantial offers for New Zealand horses have been turned down, to the subsequent regret of their owners. The outstanding example is possibly Tarleton. Prior to the A.J.C. Derby Mr. G. L. Stead refused £6OOO. In those days the A.J.C Derby prize was getting on toward five figures, but even so it was a great offer. A few weeks later Mr. Stead could not have got as many hundreds for him. Kinnoull. Timaru reports indicate that Kinnoull may be returned home after the A.J.C. meeting if his muscle soreness does not improve. To Run in Cup. It has been decided that Lord Vai is to run in the Avondale Cup on Saturday instead of the Kingsland Hurdles, for which he is also an acceptor. Lord Vai should strip one of the fittest horses in the field. Hunting Jay. J. Olsen has returned Hunting Jay to his owner. It is a pity this good galloper has such bad manners, as the is capable of winning over fences. Fakanui. Pakanui was responsible for a smart half-mile gallop at Hastings on Tuesday morning. Red Rufus. , , Red Rufus, who is one of the hurdlers competing at Foxton to-morrow, is a novice at the game, but his flat form is good enough to make him a prospect. Red Rufus was surprisingly well backed for the Highweights here in July, dividing favouritism with Silk Sox, but he was beaten out of a place after leading for a long way. Club Benefited. The Foxton Racing dub’s decision to replace the two-year-old race by a steeplechase on this year’s spring programme has proved a successful change. There are ten acceptors in the steeplechase tomorrow, and although the ’ class is moderate, it looks like being a spectacular and keenly-contested race. Draw Has an Influence. The start of the Avondale Stakes, of five furlongs, is sufficiently near the turn to favour very substantially those horses drawn near the rails. Hest to Retire. Hest, whose form has been consistently disappointing, though she has been doing great track work, is to be retired to the stud, and will be mated with The Curragh stud stallion Leighon Tor. Speedy, But Did Not Stay. Bazaine; shows great jumping ability in his trials at Awapuni, but he was a rank non-stayer on the flat. Such horses often run on surprisingly well in jumping races, and he should make the hurdle race at . Foxton interesting for the other form horses to-morrow.

Bred at Okawa. Mr. T. H. Lowry has two youngsters in the Avondale Stakes. Crooner is a colt by Nigger Minstrel —Symballo, and therefore a half-brother to Symcony, and Bluffer is a filly, also by Nigger Minstrel from Bravado, by Psychology from War Scare, by Martian —Gossip. They were both offered at the last Trentham sales, Crooner being passed in at 170gns., and Bluffer at 40gns.

Riders. The following riding engagements have been made for Ashburton: —A E. Messervy, Calotte, Pelmet, Cleaner, Honour’s Lass, and Fairlight; G. H. Humphries, Trench Fight and Card Player; R. Beale, Vitaphone; C. Hughes, Redolent; G. Ridgway, Brevity; W- H. Jones, Rona Bay; W. Cotton, Davolo.

Only One to Run. Although Redolent and Vitaphone, both from S. Barr’s stable, are acceptors for the hurdle race at Ashburton, it is possible that only one of them will be started.

Spell for Fair Weather. Fair Weather, a useful sprinter under winter conditions and the winner of £689 10/- in stakes last season, will be spelled until the beginning of next year. Fair Weather races best when the tracks are on the soft side, and as it is not likely that many tracks would suit him before the autumn and he has had to be let-up in his work on several occasions owing to sdreness, F. Christmas has decided to give him a good spelL

A Winning Family. Cyrillian, a winner at the Rosebery meeting on Wednesday, is a member of F. D. Jones’s team; She is a thiee-year-old bay filly by Iliad from Cymene, the dam of Cylinder and Cypress, and is owned by Mr. H. D. Greenwood.

Foxton Fields. An excellent acceptance list was received by the Foxton Racing Club for its spring meeting to-morrow, the fields in all events giving promise of good racing. The smallest field of the day is seven in the Carnarvon Gold Cup, but with Dungarvan, West Tor and Fersen engaged there is material for a keen struggle. There is also a good field in the Robinson Handicap in -which Hazoor and Gav Boy have paid up, and in all the other events there ie sufficient material to. provide plenty of interest. The track is in excellent order.

Showed Pace at Riccarton. Mr. G. J. Barton’s Autumn Wind showed a lot of pace at the recent Grand Nation meeting, and should be able to put up a good performance in the Noviee Stakes at Ashburton . to-morrow.

Mandamus. Mandamus is being discussed for hi® Avondale engagements, including the Guineas, as the result of his form at Wanganui. It may be as well to remember that Mandamus is not much account on a soft track. He likes it firm.

Out of Merry Roe. The Soult mare Merry Roe, dam of several winners, including Merry Mint Merry Damon and Merry Peel, is represented by Carrington Hall in the Avondale Stakes to-morrow. Carridgton Hail who is by Hunting Song, is a brother tt Merry Peel. Carrington Hall has been left in the A.J.C. Breeders’ Plate, though no doubt this is an oversight.

Sister to Paper Slipper. Card Player, one of Sir Charles Clifford’s representatives in the John Grigg Stakes at Ashburton to-morrow, is a sister to Paper Slipper, who did so well for the stable last season. It was in this race last September that Wild Chase made his successful debut.

Late Mr. Crossan. The late Dunedin sportsman, Mr. W. Crossan first came into prominence as an owner of trotters, and in the early nineties was quite a power in the sporting world when acting in conjunction with his

brothers, R. Crossan and J. Crossan. He owned Wanderoo, who, when ridden by R. Crossan, was the first horse to trot three miles in eight minutes. This she did at Forbury Park on March 31, 1891. The Turf Register shows that Wanderoo was a sensational mare in that season in more ways than one, as she not only established a time record for New Zealand and Australia, but she also paid some great dividends. Wanderoo won at the Taieri Amateur J?urf Club’s meeting and paid a dividend of £94/19/-, and when she put up her record paid dividends of £35/9/- on the inside totalisator and tou 14/- on the outside machine. At' a meeting held at St. Clair Park in 1893 Mr Crossan won the St. Clair Handicap, of 70sovs., with Susan, and she followed on bv winning two more races during tne same afternoon. Tn her third race Susan was “barred” on the totalisator. probably one of the first occasions when such a thing happened in connection wiJi racin'- At one time Mr. Crossan took some trotters to Melbourne, and while there met with an accident while driving a horse which left him with a badly-set leg and handicapped him for the res. of his life. The mishap did not. however. dim his enthusiasm for racing and trotting, and he carried on with varying fortunes right on to the end. as some of his horses are still in training. In addition, there are several mares at the stud. Auckland Spring Meeting.

General entries for the spr’ng ing of the Auckland Racing Club and firs’forfeits for the G.N. Guineas and Welcome Stakes close at 5 p,m. to-day.