NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 32, 6 August 1921, Page 12

NOTES AND COMMENTS

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; The stakes.,.at the Wanganui Spring. Meeting have been increased by 1600 eovSj which will be greatly appreciated ■by owners. The two open sprint events will be worth £400 each, and all events "under hack conditions have been increased to 250 soys. The Eclipse Stakes, •the weight-for-age race, run on the «econd_ day of the Spring Meeting, has ?been,increased jn value,from 500 to 600 'Jsovs. .^Waatgapui hap always been, a jpopular fixture since Mr. Freeman Jackson's time. Increasing the stakes Trill "attract the best cfews of competitors and make tie racing worth witnessing. 7 The Auckland Racing Club will distribute £73,100 in stakes this season, compared with £61,450 last season, and £19,550 in 1919-20. ' Tlie first race each day at both th« : .Metropolitan Trots and C.J.C Meeting |will start at 11 o'clock. ,' Mr. Samuel Bolton, president of the •iWoodjvilte District Jockey Club,, was >en a. business visit to Wellington this .■week, and retained home yeatordiay. Mr. Bolton informed me that the accommodation to be provided for the outside- public would be gon« on with as soon as possible, and he hoped would be completed in time for the club's Summer Meeting in December. .''. There will be no race worth lew than £500 at meetings of the Auckland Racing Club this season. .* Pamplona, who is engaged in the hunters' races at Ricearton, is a halfby PaUas, to Lochella, and is if ownecFbyMr. li. 'C. Hailitt." The writer has been given two "cer--2 tainties" for the Grand National SteepleA chase. One is "Coalition and the other J, Coroglen:: Of:the. two most; people fay- *; our the chances of the top-weight, be- - cause he has been over the country ', fcefore and seldom makes mistakes. The I pair have only met once—in the Great ! Northern Steeplechase, in which Coro--1 glen got third after paiting company * with his rider when he looked all over a winner In tiha Grand National Coroglen meets Coalition ■jon a stone worse terms. The latter has ;. since won the Wellington Steeplechase in ifche easiest manner, and will have less ; weight to carry at Riccarton, and his t owner and trainer consider Coalition ■is a stone the better horse than when '. fee won here, and, If so, it will not be surprising to see him score for the y iecond time. ■ A scheme for enlarging the birdcage i.ftt Ellerslie has been planned, and will come before the committee of the Auckland Racing Club at its first meeting in .the new season. If the work is gone i on with, .both the inside and outside i patrons of the club will be enabled to 'i get a much better view of the horses as ;:' they parade in the enclosure. Mr. Ebb Simpson is trying to matte •.; arrangement* to send one or two of his maxes to Auckland on a visit to Lucnllns, ' «ire of Dainty Step, Miss Muriel, and other successful performers. Strange to say, Mr. Wilfred Stead did not nominate, anything for this season's Wanganui Guineas. Mr. Gerald Stead ■ has Royal Box in, while others engaged are Rational, Tamatete, The Hawk, Grotesque, and Winning Hit, so that the contest should be an interesting one. '■ The rules of the Auckland Racing Club j limit the club's membership to 300, but -it is-thought that there will be a pro■.'rjosnl for an"extensjon. The., list, has ..been full for a long time, and the 88 ; names at present on the board are ■\ headed by a gentleman who ha# been - waiting since 1919 for a vacancy on the ! membership roll. At Riccarton, on Wednesday morning i Tnrnulfin went nnce round the steeplechase fences. He went at a. solid pace all the way, and gave a high-class exhi- ■ bition of lumping, which gained him T many admirers. 'i The list of winning owners in the Do- .) ir.inion last season was headed by the * Douglas Estate, whose horses won I £11,465. Maioha was the largest con- " tributor with £5480, the others being * The Hawk £2640, Early Dawn £1840, I Toa Tana £815,. Taupairu £440, and ■j- Kohu £250.. ; ' Taranaki district will be represented * »t the Grand National Meeting by Mr. " L. B.:Webstßr (a member of the Tara- ; naki Jockey Club's committee), Mr. E. \ Whittle, and->a party of West Coast -/sports. They are doing the trip overland '-from Nelson - and —Blenheim. "Pat " "-(Webster is an ex-Australasian amateur :*■- champion runner,. and.. would, have liked ;T tqjnaeet Mr... Richard Coombes (who was •£ present at the Auckland Domain the day i. lie won) during the latter's present trip 'p to the Dominion. . ' !;• : Mr. Cr. L. Stead is having a private * track laid, down Con..his -farm at Cam- !,'• bridge. \ ;,: ' Tha Differ has been disposed of to I,; Mr. Gordon Fulton, the Canterbury i=s owner,'" arid' joins S. Trilford's Riccarton J;,', Joam this' week," ""'■ "•■ ' ' ■ • '^ * There has been an 'all-r<jund increase ':« in the big.events. at Ellerslie... The chief *.'i event at the Spring Meeting, Mitchelson $ Cup, has been raised from £1400 to t'-i '£2000, and,-the distance increased from '.?3 mile and; a-quarter to a mile and a- ;:■.• half. With-the sum of £30,750 allotted '• in prize money to, the Summer Meeting, "■ it may be inferred that mnny large in- ,'; creases have been made, Compared with last year, tho value I'of the Auckland «Cup has been raised from £3000 to ::% '£3500, the Railway Handicap from £1400. ;;; to £2000. .the. Summer. Cup from £1000 -•■■ to £1400, the Midsummer Handicap ;•' from £500 to £750, and the Grandstand Handicap from £1000 to £1200. The ' autumn programme is also responsibleI-, for some noteworthy increases, the value •V- of the Easter Handicap being raised from 'Jl £1400 to £2000, and the Huia Handicap

from £650 to £1000. The Winter Meeting has been cast on very attractive lines. The value of the Great Northern Hurdle Race and Great Northern Steeplechase has respectively been increased from £2000 to £2500. ■ Some future classic events have also been increased in value. In the season of 1922-23 the Great Northern Champagne Stakes will carry £1500, and in 1923-24 the 50th Great Northern Derby will carry a stake of £3000, and the Royal Stakes will go up to £1400. ' , On Tuesday we published a list of horses that won over £1500 in stakes last season. Appended is a list of those performers that have won between the amount named and £1000:—Kilkee £1487, Tamatete £1480, Warplane £1480 Coroglen £1470, Molyneux £1455, Isabel £1430, Ngata £1413, Paonui £1400, Sasanof £1390, Warlove £1390, Glenisla £1385, Income £1375, Crucelle £1345, Tigritiya £1340, Flight Commander £1300, Absurdum £1295, Cleft £1295, Chrysostom £1290, Asterina £1287 10s, Rude £1270, Alteration £1270, Client £1260, Geoffrey £1250, Crosswords £1250, Simon £1248, Tari £1243 10s, Will Oakland £1235, Astinome £1230, Gamecock £1215, Pyjama £1210, Arrowsmith £1200, Amythas £1195, Humbug £1190, Bang £1180, Rorke's Drift £1180, Rose Wreath £1160, Peuona £1160, v Capsal £1155, Barleycorn £1140, Luperino £1135, Railand £1135, Bonetter £1130, Inah £1125, Jack Symons £1121, General Raven £1115, Tenacious £1090, Edckfield £1090, Canyon £1080, Twinkle £1072 10s, Oranga £1070, Red Ribbon £1070, Hard Hit £1065, Punka £1060, Hylans £1050, Khartoum £1045, Gazique £1040, Mazama £1032 10s, Canowindra £1030, Shellshock £1030, Idle Talk £1030, Glen Canny £1030, Prince Charleroi £1000, Omahu £1000, Maunu £1000.

A great deal of criticism has teen passed on. the attitude adopted by some of the clubs that have been affected by the report of the Baaing Commission in pestenng the Minister of Internal Affairs, in order to, upset the result of the exhaustive labours of the Commission. It must be patent to anyone that, whatever the report, someone had to suffer. The question of the redistribution of permits was overdue for consideration!; tho Government wisely decided that it was a question for experts to decide, and they appointed 1 men.. whose names are household words for all that is best in oui sporting world. It was known that somebody woulid have to be sacrificed for the good of the many. The duty of the Minister is plain. This is a matter for experts, and he has got expert opinion at great cost,'and if there is any backing and filling to placate a few disgruntled people, or local politicians, it will not be what one looks for from the Government. If any attempt is made to tinker with the report of the Commission, end. less trouble will ensue, and the Government will be pestered by all and sundry seeking favours for years to come. The report should be adopted as it stands. It would be safe to assert that the report is viewed favourably by 90 per cent, of the racing public of the Dominion.

An indignation meeting is to be held in the People's Theatre, Levia, on Wednesday evening next, for the purpose of considering the Racing Commission's recommendation against renewal of the Horowhenua Racing Club's license. The balance-sheet of the Wellington Trotting Club for the year ended 31st July shows a credit of £1800 Is 2d. Thg principal items on the receipts side were: Totalisator, £2859;8s 6d; nominations and acceptances, £378 10s; gates, £337 19s. On the expenditure side the main items were: Rates, £1500; Government tax, £1093 10s 6d; totalisator expenses, £231 8s lOd; -salaries, wages, £178 10s; the balance of assets over liabilities was £2764 5s 2d. Mr. J. R. L.i Stanford will assist as judge at the North Taranaki Hunt Club's Meeting. Mr. Stanford was recently offered the position of judge to a leading North Island metropolitan club, but declined to accept the position. The following is a list of the leading sires in the . Dominion, for last racing season :— Martian "£30,784, Demosthenes £24,703, Absurd £21,105, \Kilbroney £12,689 10s, Bezonian £12,440, Marble Arch £11,355, Hallowmas £11,260, Maniapoto £9658, Solferino £8996 10s, Boniform £8904, All Black £8175, King Mark £8098, Quinn Abbey £7324, Hy^ mettus £7047 10s, All Red £6833, Elysian £6751, Nassau £6672 10s, Merry Moments £6606, Finland £6538, Autumus £5885, The Welkin £5880, Sunny Lake £5849 10s, Gazeley £5807 10s, Advance £5669, B'rkenhead £5529 10s. Lucullus £5467 10s, Kenilworth £4656| Elevation £4558, Glenalbyii £4522 ss, Multifid £4879 10s, Achilles £4274 30s, Patronus £4249, Guianforte £4036, Pallas £3989 10s, Penury £3986, Heather Mixture £3700, San Francisco £3654, Husbandman £3559, Mystification £3543 10s, Calibre £3530, St. AmSTns £3427 10s, Sarto £3383 10s, Rokeby £3340 10s, General , Latour £3287, Antagonist £3275, Wolawa- £3205, Sweet Simon £2638, Seaton Delaval £2630, Cam'pfire £2579, Coronet £2526 10s, Sylvia Park £2520, Blackstone £2512, California £2413, Sanquhar £2365, Gluten £2299, Varco £2271 10s, Monoform £2238, Danube £2170, Spalpeen £2168, Charlemagne 11. £2055 10s.