NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 110, 12 May 1919, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By "Sir Lancelot.")

The Marlborough Racing dnb's Annual Meeting opens to-morrow and will be continued on Wednesday and Friday. The field engaged in tho Chaytor Trial Hack Race, six furlongs, includes Glengyle; Bold Boy, and Guinea Gold. The Trcntham-fcramecl horses Eienzi and Espcranco are down to compets in the Opawa.Welter, seven furlongs. The latter won over the course afc Nelson, and aho may ba better than her stable nutted

Master Moutoa has z'aced consistently at several meetings recently, and he may show up prominently in the Cup. The connections of Henry Clay, last year's winner of the race, are confident he will again run well.

Beloved, who will be No. 1 in the 'Hillensden Dash Hack Handicap, five 'furlongs, put up a smart performance when she won over the distance at Gisborne. Pervolo was well supported in his two starts at Tauherenikau,, but did not get placed. 1 There are several smart sprinters, engaged in the Brandon Handicap, five furiongs, includjng Rawakore, Trentham Rose, and Merrie Poto.

If reserved for the Ward Handicap,six furlongs, Imaribbon may do better than at Auckland and Wellington. Most of those down to run aro engaged earlier in the day. The winter programme offered to owners by the Wellington Racing Club is the most attractive that lias yet been issued in connection with a Trentham Steeplechase Meeting. During the two days there- is no event of less value than 200 soys. Another concession.to owners is that the acceptance fee has been, reduced to one soy, so that it only costs two soys to start. The Wellington Steeplechase remains at 1000 soys, but the Winter Hurdles has been raised to 650 soys. On the concluding day, the value of the July Steeplechase has been increased to 650 soys, the Winter Oats Handicap .to 300 soys,,- and the Final Hurdle Handicap to 400 soys.

The top weights in the three principal events at the Auckland Winter Meeting were all engaged twelve months ago, when Waimai scored in the Great Northern Steeplechase, and Parisian Diamond failed in the Cornwall. Waimai has gone up 71b and Parisian Diamond lib. Kauri King, who is now -conceding weight to two Grand National Hurdle Race winners in Art a-jid Sleight-of-Hand, was in laHt year with 81b above the minimum, and in receipt of 271b from Sleight-of-Hand. The latter next month meets the Soult • gelding on 361b better terms. A mistake was made last year in letting Kauri King drop out of the Ellerslie race. The'two races he had at Wanganui and one at Gisborne gave him the necessary confidence He scored* on the concluding day of the East Coast fixture. He was also successful on the concluding day at Napier Park. At Riccarton in August he won both the Grand .National and: Sydenham Hurdles.'. The form in the last-named event made him out to be better than Art; a difficult horse to 'beat on. the Riccai'ton course. The recent winners, Sleight-of-Hand and Master Lupin, are both well in, and may have the opportunity of getting another race at Wanganui before they are -required, to race at'Ellerslie. Both horses have also been paid up for in the Steeplechase, in which the owners have.;. useful second strings inJPankee Jack and Yellow and Black. The: latter won three.races in succession last winter, and ran second in the Beaufort at Riccarton, won by Coalition. Although Seadown did not run well enough at Avvapuni to cause his. engagement to be continued at Ellerslie, it was thought his stablemate would make another attempt to win the Great Northern, in which he ran second to Waimai last June, but the acceptance was missed. Another notable defection from the Ellerslie race was Master Strowan, who met Waimai on exactly the same- terms as last June, when he was accepted for, but did not make tho final payment. On the opening day of; the Wellington Steeplechase Meeting the Winter Hurdles reverses positions with the Parliamentary Handicap. This is so that the jumping event will be run in daylight.

Mr. A. W. Cox, whoso death in Eing-land-~was recently announced by cable, was a successful speculator in Broken Hill mining property. During tho past ten years ho raced in England, adopting the norn de course of "Mr. Fairie." H« headed the list of owners in 1917, during : which season his horses won 11,751-soys. His principal successes on the English turf were : The Two Thousand Guineas, New Derby, and September Stakes, with Gay Crusader (by Bayardo), and1 Derby, with Lemberg (by Cyllene). Tho Blenheim Maiden candidates include Glengyle (Multifid— Gladsmuir); who was- placed at the Gisborne and Poverty Bay Meetings. Tho Selling Race on'the middle day of the Wellington Racing Club's Winter Meeting is worth 200 soys to the winner. The owners of the second and third horses will benefit to the extent of dividing any surplus over selling price. Such, a liberal stake should attract a good class of competitor, who may claim art engagement on tho concluding day. In England the Selling Race is. one of the features of the programme. Glaiicing through Buff's Guide the writer came across the Two Thousand Guineas Trial Selling Plate. Tho race was worth 195 soys, and the winner, Polydamon, who brought 250 guineas, camo to the Dominion. He won at Ellerslie last season,; and has since done stud duty in tlwj Poverty Bay district. j . Moutoa Boy, a member of the_ weltknown Moutoa family, is engaged! in the maiden events at Blenheim and Otaki'.