THE TURF.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 110, 11 May 1909, Page 2

THE TURF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Racing at Hawera and AshburtoH to-morrow and Thuisday. At both places punters are called upon to deal with horses of moderate class, and experience shows that these are' the hardest to separate. Nothing like a bit of class if you want to keep j ahead of the fielder. Tho latter, I notice, has determined to cater for cabh customers, arid one of tha principal layers will in future- only pay a 3| limit for credit bets. This action will, in the long run, benefit the punter, for c-u-elcgs "nodding," like constant dropping ot water, wears away tho stoutest financial membrane. A. iM'Connan has been engaged to ride Auratus in the Tongahoe Hurdles at Hawera. The old 'Gold Reef gelding has been rusticating so long that it is diffl» cult to say how he will shape whefl once more put into active service. C. Cochrane, who does a Jot of schooling, no less than four of the hurdlers in to-morrow's race having been educated by the Hawera horseman, has elected to vide Mahai-anui. This powerfully, framed Sylvia Park geldmg has got plenty of pace, and the obstacles should .not trouble- him. Rangihaeta meets Somali on 71b worse terms than at Manawatu. This allowance would hardly bring the pair together on paper, but Somali jumped badly on that occasion. Rangihaeta at present is wonderfully fit. Dr. Shimose, the colt by Advance from the Hotchkiss mare Impati, who has not besn seen under silk since ho beat Vasa and North Pole at the Trentham meeting last July, may make his reappearance m the 'Railway Handicap at (Hawera. Wilson hns Toanga pretty welL In the Cup, Mallet 8.9, appears to have received a few pounds more than his performances have entitled him to. It is a long time Pirice the Malatua gelding has won a race, and as he has always been spun out, his certainly does appear to bo a caee calling for a little consideration. It will be rather strange if Mallet wins atter this bit of special pleading, but horses ai& kittle cattle. AJendip favourably impressed me by his. two game races at Awapuni last month, and this St. Paul gelding should be fairly forward by now. 'I do not think the well-bred Lady Lucy has run eince her brace of efforts at Riccarton in the spring. .By Seaton. Delaval— Hilda, Lady Lucy lacks nothing on the score of breeding, and one gallop she did at Riccarton on the morning before she competed in the Avon Welter, demonstrated that this half-sister to Heorthen can go very fast when in the mood. North East is an ideal welter horse. Like most of the defunct Euroclydon's stock, he is taking timo to mature. Still, ho has been in work now quite long enough to show what he is capable of! Overtime is a grand big gelding by Musketry from the nicely-bred Leonessa. At Wanganui in March he ran very promisingly behind .Mulga Bill and 'Shannon Lass, and as he was capable of a lot of improvement, he may do Mr. Faber good service now the back end of the season i& reached. Tngoda, the sister to Paione, ran a good fourth at Trentham in the Plunket Nursery; and as Xylophone; Nautiform, and Kilwmning, who filled the places, represent good form, Mr. Rutherford's filly has only to be properly placed to break it for a win. Sho may be given 1 3. run at Ashburton. Sheehan has got •Passiort -very forward, and she looks like proving better than her half-brother All .Guns. At the beginning of the season, Sheehan refused 400 guineas for Passion, who, bred as she is — Pilgrim's Progress frpm Greek Maid — may turn out a stayer 'iij. a_ four-year-old. Her performance in beating Miss 'Mischief at a concession of 4lb> was distinctly good. Subject to passing the usual examination, Longnor has oeen bought by Mr. C. B. Pharazyn from Mr. C. A. W. Monckton and the brown gelding will join Lowe's stable. By the way, I notice that Longnor always appears in the race books as Longner. Mr. Monckton tells me that the horse was named after Longnor Hall, the ancestral home of the, Burton family, one of whom, Sir Richard Burton, was the great Arabic scholar, traveller, and linguist. In Stisted's life of Burton, the' name is Longnor, and this is, I should imagine, the correct way. The friendly emulation between the metropolitan racing clubs is a good thing for owners. ''For instance,- the Auckland R.C. has just decided to make the stake attached to the Cup, 2000 f.ovs, &o> the big Ellerslie long distance event will be of equal \ahie \vi'h Uie Xew Zealand .Cup. The A.E.C. has ako increased the stakes of its two principal wintei events. The Great Northern Steeple, like the C.J.C. Grand National, will bo worth 1000 soys, but the Hurdles will be 250 sovo less than the similar event at Riccarton. That keen sportswoman, Madam Melba, did not fail to utilise the opportunity, presented by the Hastings meeting, of seeing eomc of our best horses in training. The great singer does not believe in half measures. Racing loses most of its- charm unless accompanied by a little flutter. Accordingly the expert assistance of Sir. W. Ruesell's trainer, V. Collelo. was enlisted. If one must tilt at the ring nothing like being fortified by your genuine expert, as distinguished from the genus guefser or whisperer. Nor was Collelo found wanting. "King's Prize," he murmured into madam's ear, "is the straight griffin — I mean tip — in the hack race," and an the records show, King's Prize pioved worthy of the trust reposed in him THE BLADE.