THE TURF.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1910, Page 4

THE TURF.

o ■ NOTES AND COMMENTS. (By Sir Bedivere.) Big load though 9.11 is, Crucinella may still bs regarded as well in the Conijolly Handicap, and personally, if sure of her being in good fig, I should not care to name any one of her opponents to beat her. Of course, if Penates can get a mile and a quarter, he must have v chance, but &ome of the others appear to be altogether too close up to the topweights. Lady Medallist, for instance, seems very unfavourably placed, and Mr. Morse, who was unfortunately not able to be present, has, I am afraid, been unduly influenced by the form, sha showed at Blenheim. Anyway, as she is not to start, her prospects need not be further discussed. In the Hawkes Bay Cup, Bridge, who won, carried 7.10, whilst Kopu, who ran second, and should, in the opinion of many keen critics, have beaten the winner, was loaded with 7.2. There was thtis 81b between them. Bridge now has to concede 151b, and Kopu's propects are therefore to be considerably, preferred. On their form in the Burke Memorial Stakes, Sir Tristram should again finish in front of Sir Antrim and Maori King, but as the condition of each of the two last-named then appeared susceptible of improvement, the trio are probably equitably placed. Outlander might, according to his showing at Riccarton, be better suited by a longer course, but he may require to be leckoned with all the same. Of the others, Kopu, who has already been alluded to, and Merrivonia, seem to have the best of the weights. The last time Merrivonia and Lady Medallist met. viz.. in the Wellington Cup, the latter was in receipt of 51b, whereas now she is asked to concede 181b. In the interim, of course, Merrivonia has performed disappointingly, whilst Lady Medallist has been winning, but let Merrivonig. strip as well as she was on Manawatu Cup day, and it would be big odds against the Australian-bred filly being able to present her with so much weight. Merrivonia then gave F^oran 91b°and a beating, whereas she has now only to allow him 21b. [Since the above waa in type, I learn on good authority that Lady Medallist will be a starter at Wanganui, Prosser having changed his mind.] As compared with Hydrant, Gold Bird is wonderfully favourably handicapped in the Century Hurdles at WanganTu. At Trentham last month Gold Bird, who was in receipt of lib. beat the chestnut gelding easily by half a length. Tho pair are set to meet in the Wanganui event on only 3!b different terms. Considerable comment has recently been, made with respect to the high prices obtained for yearlings at the Randwick sales. The same hoary commonplaces, invariably heard at the conclusion of an important distribution of young thoroughbreds, have served their purpose once more, and the wiseacres have shaken their heads in consideration of the poor records of high-priced yearlings in the past. The usual statistics have been published, showing the • cost of the youngsters, their subsequent winnings, and the enormous deficit so disclosed. But what nonsense it all is. Such people will persist in confusing sport with business. They oannot leave the counter behind and take to tho fields, and thus do they fail to perceive how it is that a racing man can be quite content to purchase even ten high-priced yearlings in the hope that one of them — just one, mark you — will prove to be a trump. To men of means the first cost is a mere bagatelle beside the unique pleasure to be derived from the ownership of the crack colt of the season. With this object in view, catalogues are carefully scanned, and such of the lots whose breeding, as described therein, appeals to the intending purchaser, are carefully ticked off as worthy of inspection. Probably half a dozen or more men thus, unknowingly to each other, arrive at similar conclusions, and if the young stock, whose blood is appreciated, also fill the eye, competition becomes keen. Hence the big prices. Buying yearlings is, we a'l know, a fearful lottery, but that is half the fun of the thing. What, then, would the moralists have people do? Men cannot be expected to bid for that which they do not fancy, and if two or more buyers are intent upon owning the same lot, well, somebody has got to pay for it. Only the uninitiated expect to make money through "acing horses, for the experienced man is well aware that, although such a thing is possible, the odds are too long against ifs realisation. There is, however, annually the chance that on dipping into the yearling lucky-bag one may pull out a prize, and the prospect will always be siifficient to cause men to pay for the dip. _ The average price realised at a yearling sale may depend upon many things. One of these is the state of the money market, and in a land of periodical droughts the season, even if in an indirect way, largely determines the position. During the past year or two the great pastoral industries of Australia have escaped severe visitations. Money has thus oecome plentiful, and there is therefore no reason for surprise at record prices having been obtained. But there has been another factor at work. The big clubs have gradually been increasing the values of the stakes, and in framing the programmes for next season, both the A.J.O. and the V.R.C. launched out considerably. With the enhanced earning powers thus granted to the Australian racehorse, his value has naturally increased proportionately. At the three principal racecourses alone — Flemington, Randwick, and Caultield — present yearlings will havo an opportunity of amassing £8750 in. weight-for-ago or special weight events, next season, quite apart from what they may earn in handicaps, and the following season the value of the Derbye, St. Legers, Oaks, and Guineas at their disposal on the three courses above-named will run to considerably more than £10,000. Tn view of the '-ecent cases of alleged trespass on Trentham, tho following comments on R. E. Davies's. action against the Calcutta Turf Club may prove interesting. A writer in the Winning Post says: — "The question of the right of ejecting one of the public from any enclosure after he has paid for admission thereto, and created no disturbance, or committed no irregularity subsequent to his being admitted, is a point which has never been settled m England. In connection with 'warning off' in regard to bets, it cannot be said that the modus operandi of dealing with wagering, and subsequently with defaulters, is quite satisfactory. In the first place, TattersaLTs committee is the one and only tribunal recognised by the stewards of the Jockey Club to decide disputes, and the judgment of this body is final, without the remotest chance of appeal. This is pronouncing the derisions given by this committee, no mailer how intricate the cas-e may bo, as immaculate. In brief, a self-selected body of men is franked as infallible. Moreover, the steward* of the Jockey Club, -who profess to take no cognisance of betting, or disputes arising therefrom, in their very rules lay down that they warn off any individual reported as a defaulter by Tatteraall's committee. As pointI ed ouv, ijo appeal can be made .to them

when once a person has been branded by the Betting Tribunal, as they refuse to take cognisance of betting except to carry out a kind of automatic sentence, the severest the T\irf can pronounce. Unless this procedure is amended in some way, sooner or later an action is certain to be brought against the English authorities on similar lines upon which Mr .Davies's complaint is founded in India. If so, there is not a barrister who would not advise that an action for libel, and possibly assault, would lie." So far as the New Zealand Turf is concerned, the chief changes that are likely to be recorded consequent upon the King's death will be in the matter of dates. Both the King's Birthdny ' and the heir-apparenfs birthday will now fall m the month of June — the latter on the 23rd — and it will be for the new Dates and Permits Committee to decide what alteration with respect to winter fixtures may be necessary. Coulthwaite, trainer of the Liverpool Grand National winner, Jenkinstown. has had a fcomewhat romantic career. An English writer familiarly acquainted with him writes: "There is a common fallacy that unless a man graduates in a training stable and climbs the various rungs of the ladder in the orthodox way, he cannot become a trainer of thoroughbreds. Coulthwaite has exploded the theory entirely. His 'education' -was only acquired through his own acumen and an innate quickness to giasp the precepts of training men and applying them to racehorses. Many years ago he was an athlete of considerable renown in the Manchester district. He won numerous prizes in walking and running contests, and as a Rugby football player was facile princeps, several times appearing in the Lancashire County fifteen. It was, I think, the late Mr. George Bland (a well-known North Country sportsman) who gavo him a few jumpers to look after. At that time Coulthwaite's knowledge must have been of a purely superficial character, but that the business of preparing thoroughbreds is not such a subtle 'art' after all, he demonstrated by fioon winning a few races. With almost instant success came an increased string, and by degrees the ex-football player developed into one of the most orilliantly successful trainers of steeplechasers in England. It" was an overwhelming triumph for him. when he landed the Grand National with Eremon. Coulthwaite is a man of fine physique, and has been a life-long teetotaller and nonsmoker. He would be a very tough customer in a rough-and-tumble. The career of W. E. Elsey, the Baiimer trainer, has been no less remarkable in a way He commenced training without any practical knowledge, but in a few years had nearly a hundred horses under his charge. Most of these were purchased for small sums and practicably trained themselves on the racecourse. Upon occasions he had as many as twenty, horses running on the same day at different meetings. It is said, though 1 cannot vouch for the accuracy of the statement, that be used to back the lot of them. I am afraid that the profits, if there were any^at'the end ot the day, must have been of a somewhat microscopic character." Nominations for the Otaid Maori 'Racing Club's winter meeting close at 8.30 p.m. on Friday, A reminder is given that acceptances and general entries for the Auckland Steeplechase Meeting close on Friday evening.