THE TURF.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 122, 19 November 1912, Page 2

THE TURF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS (By Sir Bedivero.) Quite a number of local sportsmen are leaving for Picton this afternoon in view of the Marlborough Spring Meeting which commences At Blenheim tomorrow. Though the fields will be small an enjoyable outing is promised, and winners may not be so easy to find as is gener* ally anticipated. R. Hatch will have the mount on St. Bees in the Welter Hack Handicap. Daunton will no dtmbt be fancied for the Spring Hack Handicap, in which, however, he will meet a speedy opponent in Portland Lady, who ran five furlongs at Nelson last season in lrnin lsec. Despite her big weight Sinapia, who will have Deeley's services, will probably be made favourite for the Blenheim Handicap. Bracken, who is to contest the Flying .Handicap, shaped fairly well at Riccarton this month. ( Portland Lady claims an engagement in the Electric Hack Handicap, which is to be decided over her pet distance. , Good sport is promised at Tiinaru to* morrow where Mr. Whitney will be represented by Mt. Victoria, Rema, and Naumai. If a capable horseman is given the leg up on My Lawyer he will be well fancied for the' principal event, in which The Cornet, who ran well but unluckily at Riccarton, is engaged. Mercedo, who fell at the last hurdle whilst contesting the .Port . Cooper Hurdle Race at Biccarton, will be seen out in the Otaio Hurdles. Abo, who won, three events in decisive style at Wintori on the 6th and 7th of this month, is en> gaged in both the Flying and the .Shorts Handicap. It seems that Mr. W. E. White, is still experiencing bad luck in connection with his expensive purchase, Golden Slipper. The New Zealand-bred mars recently foaled a filly to Wallace,, and one of the youngster's legs is so malformed that it is improbable he will ever be of any use for other than stud purposes. Royal Scotch, who has arrived in Sy<i« hey from Melbourne, will in future be trained at Randwick by I. Foulsham. The grey filly Tagalie, who was a, failure in all her races subsequent to winning this season's Knglish Derby, has finished her Turf career, and goes to th* stud during the coming season. Lady Medallist, who appeared to be unable to use her hindquarters property, and was pulled up after travelling a short distance in the Melbourne Cup, is believed to have run her last race. Uncle Sam met • with interference in the C. B. Fisher Plate, and at the request of Mr. W. Reid, owner of that horse, an enquiry was held into the riding in the race. The outcome was that A. "Shanahan, rider of Piastre, was adjudged guilty of interfering with Undo Sam, and he was suspended for a month, ; As _ the trouble occurred right under their eyes, the wonder is (says " Pilot ") that the stewards did not act on their own initiative, and not wait for Uncle j Sam's owner to ask them to do so. Possibly they may have intended to, but j as at least one cause of alleged unfair j riding at the meeting was overlooked, Mr. Reid evidently thought it advisable to force matters. When the stipendiary stewards take control of racing at Flem- j ington there should be no necessity for i owners to ask for enquiries in cages similar to 'that of Uncle Sam. ■ 1 Had' the generality of racegoers been thoroughly conversant with the rec6l'ds of the Eicrtrie Plate, it is certain that . Venfcura would never liave been made tlie pronounced favourite she was*/ Since and including 1901 deyen two-year-olde have been successful in this event,' as against two three-year-olds, one four-year-old, and two aged horses. During four of the five years when other than a two-year-old scored ho two-year-old competed, 'and in the re-thaihing year, when Machine Gun and Achilles ran first and second respectively, King Billy was the only juvenile saddled up, NoW King Billy, though a fairly smart colt, was not •by any means the best two-year-old of his year, and it Lb thus to be noted that whenever during the period referred to & renlly good two-year-old has contested this ©vent it lia«, without exception, got home first. This is worth bearing in mind in vi^w of future- Electric Plates, and substantially backe up the contention that, in respect to short-distance events decided in the spring, tHe weight-for-ago scale ia faulty. Achilles won the race twice, tut on neither occasion did he meet a two-year-old. Naumai, it may be mentioned, haa started in this event , during each of the past' six years. 'Last year he finished third to Autumnu* and Equita*, and during the three previous yeare he ran eecond to Broadsword. Kohinoor, and Culprit. Hie record will probably stand unique for all time. It is often alleged that in the early part of the season the w.f.a. scale favours three-year-olds, in comparison with older horses, as strongly as it does two-year-olds. The records, however, scarcely, bear this out. During thd past "thirty years the Canterbury Cup has fallen to sixteen three-year-olds, and as on more than one occasion no horse of this age has competed, the younger division has done well. Some of their successes, on the other hand, have been gained when there has been no realty good horse of a greater age to' oppose them. Since 1901, when Menscnikoff put down a solitary opponent in San Remo, the battle- has been waged very evenly. Cruciform (four years) beat a capable colt in Welbeck, who had run second in the New Zealand Cup under 7.4 in 1902, but the following year a three-year-old in Treadmill put down a high-class four-year-old in Wairiki. Martian had only a very inferior three-year-old in Malakoff to beat ip 1904, but tn 1905 Multifid and Armistice both accounted for the Derby winner Zimmerman. Another Derby winner in Husbandman was behind Sigttor in 1908, but in 1909 a three-yearold in Elyeian defeated a good performer in All Rod. The next year Diavolo finished in front of a moderate three-year-old in Birkdale, and twelve months ago Vice-Admiral accounted for the disappointing and lucky Derby winner Masterpiece. Probably three-year-olds have a bit the beet of it, but the records, as will be seen, are far from conclusive on the point. Nor do the results of the Stead Memorial Cup help us. This event 'has only been run under true w.f.a. conditions for five yearn past. This year, of course, the younger division had matters all their own way, but the conditions were probably in their favour. On the other hand, Los Angelos beat Madam Madcap (three years) in 1900, and Bobri. koff accounted for Artillerie (three years) and Ingoda (three- years) in 1908 and 1909 respectively. Mr. J. E. O'Brien is reported to have been offered an equivalent of £10,000 for his champion two-year-old Beragoon. He decided not to part with the colt. John scored his first success in Australia at Williamstovrn last week, when he won the Jumpers' Flate Raco, for which he had been made favourite. It seems thai, despite the lack of any official notification on the point from the conference, Mi 1 . John M'Mahon. laic to t}ie pltti-enco River

Jockey Club and stipendiary steward to the Australian Jockey Club, has beon appointed to act as stipendiary steward in this country. Last week, says the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Mr. M'Mahon was presented with an illuminated address.