NOTES ANO COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 140, 13 June 1912, Page 2

NOTES ANO COMMENTS

(By Sir Bedivere.l

More than on© of the notices of motion to be dealt with • at the Racing Conference is of vital importance to the Turf, and will, no' doubt, during the course of the next five weeks, receive serious attention at the hands of honorary officials. During the past year or two there haa been an unmistakable call from tho plurality of racegoers for a betterment in. the conduct of racing in thi6 country, and on the principle that the man who paye the piper is privileged to call tho tune, this demand should receive due recognition. The control of racing, but tor a temporary fear to act on the part of (stewards, resultant upon two recent findings of the Court of Appeal, is not now more lax than hitherto. The public, however, have become-'tnuch enlightened during recent years, and are thuß increasingly critical. They now look for better value for their money. Tho numerous short distance events, in which luck plays an all too important pait { aro faat becoming urtpopular, and additional guarantees are required that backers will at least get a fair run for their money. In order to meet the first position, the Hawkes Bay Club is bringing forward a proposal that nothreo-yoar-olds and upwards shall compete in any handicap event to be run over a kss distance than six furlonge. This is unquestionably a 'move in the right direction, and it is to b© sincerely hoped that tha motion will bo carried. The Greymouth country club, on the other hand, will move to the effect that the programmes for single day meetings shall not include any race to bo. run over a greater distance than, a mile, and all who are looking forward lo come improvement in the character of the sport will trust that this retrograde pro • posal will duly meet with defeat. The elimination of four $nd five furlong handicap could not possibly prejudico to any noticeable extent the financial position ,of racing' clubs,- <fox the apparent reason that the majority of horftes that have been in the habit of contesting such events would merely bft required to measure strides over slightly longer courses Perhaps an odd horse or. two might be thrown out of training on account of his ' inability to compass six furlongs, but instances of this would assuredly bo rare and the assistance of a few' animals of this description can well be spared.. In regard to the control of racing the most -important motion on the order paper is, o£ course, that which, iL agreed to, will provide for the" appointment of not less than two stipendiary stewards. Thie is differently worked than hitherto and purports k> delegate to a committee of five, to, be set up amicably by the conference, full power to make all the necessary bylaws and' regulations in connection 1 with tho appointment of paid stewards, -to fix the salary of such officials and to make a levy upon all clubs in proportion to their totalisator returns of the previous season. Seeing that at the' last conference the system of ; paid stewards • was approved', the motion appears 1 likely to be carried! Another proposal that should prove acceptable is that standing ill the name of the president, Sir Georgo Clifford, 'in respect to' the ticklish subject* 6f "questions 'of fadi 1 In order to clear the air' the president proposes to delete all allusion to questions of fact and instead to lay it dbwn that an appeal cannot be mado against the finding of stewards in respect to (a) short weight, (b) a cross or jostle, (c) a start in front of the post or on a wrong course or before tho appointed time, and (d) an obvious pull. This motion is likely to give rise to considerable discussion, and it is to be hoped that as an outcome of it stewards will feel on safer ground, when dealing with any case that may call for their attention, than they have done during, the past oight or nine months. Tho Wellington Racing Club is again to tho fore with its tensible proposal that "all licenses shall be granted by a Licensing Committee of the conference, and issued by the secretary." Up to the present this hardy annual has not met with a favourable reception. It is, however, not unlikely that, in view of tho probable appointment of stipendiary stewards, part of whose duty may be to report upon the general conduct of licensed men, tho motion may be approved. W. Davies was unable, as he had hoped, to bring Khamsin home yesterday, as the filly is still too lame to travel. It ie understood that although the_ stewards at Otaki took no immediate action in connection with the accident which befel Khamsin, they have since instructed the club's secretary to write, to a prominent trainer requesting him to administer a caution to an apprentice who, it is alleged, was responsible for the incident. During the past eight or ten dayft quite a number of homes have changed hands. Multifid, the sire of Our King, has been purchased by Mr. 0. J. Parker, of Gisborne, for 250 'guineas ; Gaelic has

become the property of a PaLmeruton North sportsman ; Golden. Loop is now owned by Mr. F. Douglas, of Ha-stinjfs ; Outkndcr has been bought by Mr. Barton, and will, it is said, ,be taken to Australia in company with Kc-hinoor; Dorando, will make his next appearance in tho interests of Mr. C. Gordon, of WanganuL About a fortnight ago Dorando, was reported as sold to Mr. Furze, ihe late owner of Outlander. The deal, however, fell through, and ihe gelding has now found a new home at Wanganui, vyherc he will pvobablj bo trained by his owner. T. .Williams, , it transpires, intends settling down in Australia. He has leased the stables belonging to Mr. Langer at Canterbury Park, and- at tho outset his team will consist of Sir Artegal, Monoplane, Blue Mountain, Ruttor, Manurere. Don Quex, and tha Soult — Lady Regal filly that will eventually be taken in hand by C. Coleman. The cross-country horseman Scott, who piloted Antarctic at Riccarton lat>t August, Curran. and an apprentice left in company with Williams last Monday, and will do the riding. Since his return to Greenmcadows Paisa-no has not been set any but comparatively easy tasks.