BALLOTS LIKELY

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 232, 28 June 1945, Page 9

BALLOTS LIKELY

First Day Fields For Trentham

(By

St. Simon.)

Acceptances for the first day of the el-, lington Racing Club’s winter meeting close at 5 d.iu. today, and the club will be fortunate if it avoids having to use the elimination ballot in some of the races. There were 57 entries for the Woburn Hack Handicap, seven furlongs, for which the safety number is 30, and 53 entries for the Whyte Handicap, one mile, and 47 for the Te Aro Hack Handicap, one mile, at which post the safety number is also 30. Big fields were expected for this meeting. The stakes offered naturally attracted plenty of entries, and as it is getting near the end of the season train* ers with winter horses in commission are not likely to miss any opportunity of running for a good prize. Trentham has grown in importance as a racing centre. An era of prosperity has enabled the club to,offer large stakes, and the central situation means that meetings at this course draw a wider interprovincial representation than anv other course in the Dominion. This all adds to the problem of excess fields, and the suggestion that the club should bar maiden horses from entry, excepting for two-year-old and classic racing, is one which might well be given consideration. This would assist in keeping hack fields down to reasonable limits. We have seen in the past good horses eliminated from. races by ballot, while a number of maidens with little chance of success remained in. borne were scratched on the day and a add below the safety number went to the post. The system of reserve acceptors used by some Australian clubs would overcome tins anomaly, but the barring of maidens from entry in hack races probably would overcome the necessity of the ballot. Sale of Christopher Kobin. Aft. A. Chisholm, Otautau, has purchased from Mr. I. A. Duncan the English-bred sire Christopher Kobin, who will be transferred to Southland next week. Like Salmagundi. whose place he will take at tnc stud, Christopher Robin is b.v Phalaris and is from Dutch Mary by William the Third from Pretty Polly. I’ oxbridge, champion sire in New Zealand, and Tehran, winner of the 3914 St. Leger in England, are members of this family. Christopher Robin won the St. .Tames s I alac» Stakes and the Newbury Greenham Hand! cap in England. He sired winners in England and Australia before coming to New Zealand, where his oldest progeny are two-year-olds, and include the Klccarton winner Essay.

First Arrivals. _ First visitor to arrive tor the Wellington winter meeting is J. Edmunds, of Ellerslie, who brought Hunting Mac. Gay Chat and Kronos on after racing at Manawatu.

Visiting Jockeys. The Riccarton jockeys C. H. Mackie and K. Nuttall, who were riding at Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay, have arrived at Trentham, and will be available to ride work till the winter meeting.

Typhoon’s Progress. . Typhoon, who threw up an extensive skin rash after his return home from the Canterbury Easter meeting, where his failure in the Great Easter Handicap was the cause of much publicity, is in good health again, and is being ridden daily at Ins owner’s stud at Levin. He is to return to work about the end of July to be prepared for spring racing. Recently Mr. Preston declined to entertain two substantial offers for the purchase of Typhoon, one of them for LOOOgns. Steeples Favourite. Foxiana, winner of the Manawatu Steeplechase, is the ruling favourite for the Wellington Steeplechase, in which he is top weight with the maximum weight, 12.0. He has raced only seven times since he won the Wellington Steeplechase in 1042. He went on to win tile July Steeplechase on the second day, and the Grand National Steeplechase at Riccarton, following which he was runner-up in the Grand National Hurdles. Several months later he was unplaced in a flat race, and he did not appear again till this season, when he was second in the Egmont Steeplechase and second in the Wanganui Century Hurdles, before winning the Manawatu Steeplechase. Foxiana has compiled a splendid record since he commenced racing as a four-year-old in the winter of 1940. He has raced 29 times for 11 wins, nine seconds and nine times unplaced, in two of which he linished fourth. In Trouble Again. Zahra, the half-brother to Wotan, Game Carrington and Peter Jackson, was expected to be on hand for the hack races at Trentham, but met with an accident recently which will keep him off the tracks for some time. Zahra is a galloper a good deal above the average, but has been an unlucky horse throughout his career and has raced very little. Death of Full Chase. The death is reported from Ellerslie of the four-year-old Ft«ll Chase, by Wild Chase from Rival Siiot. Full Chase was raced, early by the Chokebore stable and was sold last season to Mr. J. D. Simpson, of Auckland, for whom he had seven races In the Auckland district without earning any money. Favours Trentham. Foxhavgn has not had a race since Easter, but has got through a good deal of solid work in preparation for his trip to Trentham, where he has raced consistently without yet -being able to record a win on the course. He ran second to Royal Flight in last year's Whyte Handicap, and second to Flahuluk in the Parliamentary Handicap, and he is booked to contest the same races at the coming meeting. Foxhaven also had another important placing at Trentham when he acted as runner-up to Lambourn in the Wellington Cup last January. With the usual heavy track Foxhaven can be depended upon again to be In evidence, especially in his second day’s engagement over the longer distance.

A Winning Family. Tribal Night scored his third win for the season when he w'on Jiis division of the Final Handicap at Hastings. He has been a model of consistency this season. He waa unplaced at his first start, fourth at hits next, and in nine subsequent appearances has been three times first, four times second and twice third. He is raced by iiis breeder, Mr. David Donald, Masterton, who has been a supporter of racing for many years. Tribal Night is by Nightly from Illion by Iliad from Tortrix bv Martian from Tortulla. Tortrix is a full sister to Martulia, the dam of Foxiana, Old Surrey mid Hunting Loro. Tribal should mdke a jumper in time as lie han jumping ability on both sides of his pedigree. Now at Wanganui. A northern report states that Hulabaloo is now being trained at Wanganui, being an inmate ot 11. J. Benge's stable. The Whippcr Destroyed. When The Whlpper fell at the last fence in the hack hurdle race at the Manawatu winter meeting he suffered injuries which later necessitated his being destroyed. The Whippcr wns a six-year-old gelding by Ringmaster from Burnish by Pombal from Episode by Limond from Homage by Absurd from Eulogv, and was bred by Mr. G. M. Currie at Koatanui. He won races on the lint when trained by T. R. George for Mr. J. Ctieesman, who later sold him to Mr. A. F. Creswell, Eastbourne.

Unusual Coincidence. At the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club’s meeting in April both divisions in a hack race resulted in dend-lieats, this being tile first occasion of such a happening in New Zealand. The club had another unusual experience at Saturday's meeting when the winners of both divisions of the Final Handicap were bracketed and the runnersup in both heats were also bracketed. Furthermore, two races were run in divisions on Saturday, the winner of each first division being ridden by J. McFarlane and tile winner of each second division by W. J. Broughton.

Building Programme. A building programme at the Ashburton racecourse estimated to cost about .£25.999 has been approved by the Ashburton Trotting and Ashburton County Racing Clubs, and will be carried out as soon as a permit for the construction can be obtained. The programme embraces the reconstruction of the main grandstand, which was destroyed by fire in 1942, and its extension eastward to cover Hie site of the present stewards' stand, which will be removed. Seating accommodation for about 2090 persons, which is about double the capacity' of the stand destroyed, will be provided in the new structure.

A Blank Week. There will be no racing in the Dominion this week. The next meeting is the first day of the Wellington Sleepleclineo fixture at Trentliani on Saturday weck. Foxsen Retired. The well-performed Foxsen line been retired to the stud. In seven seasons the Foxbridge mare won £4405 in stakes, her principal successes being tlie Nathan's Memorial Handicap at Ellerslie, the Franklin President's Handicap, and the President’s Handicap at Te Arolia. In winning the Claudelands Handicap at Te Rapa early last season Foxsen created a idg surprise, returning a dividend of nearly two centuries. Later she finished second to Hunto in the (treat Northern Hurdles, and tilled a similar position behind Borak in the Wellington Winter Hurdles. Lntterlv Foxsen lias proved dlfllciilt Io train owing io iniisinlar trouble. Seiinrilll. dam of l’~ixseii. was got by Whirlwind from Serita Thurnham", dam of Speed Mint, a high-class performer. Serita Tliurniinni was a half-sister to Sea He'll, winner of the Great Northern Hurdles and Great Northern Steeplechase. Other winners from Senorlta are Sen Aera, Acrematu Koiaf.to.aJuJ Faxctuwa,