THE TURF

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 109, 9 May 1923, Page 12

THE TURF

NOTES AND COMMENTS

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Judging by the fields at Wangamri, the Hack Hurdle events at Otaki should fill well. The open events are the Raukawa.Cup, of 600 soys, one mile and a quarter; Taipua Handicap, of 250 soys, one mile and 55 yards; and Ramui Handicap, of 200 eovs, six furlongs, on the concluding day. There are six flat handicaps ; also Maiden and Scurry for nonwinners. Owners should note that nominations for all events dose on Friday, at 8 p.m.

'The South Australian Jockey Club's Meeting will be concluded this afternoon, when the Adelaide Cop, of 2000 soys, one mile and three furlong?, comes up for decision. The Melbourne Cup winner. King Ingoda, 9.7, is top-weight. Scobie has a second string in the race in Skysail, who raced successfully in South Australia as a three-year-old. Killashandra was handicapped at 9.3 in the Fourteen-Two Handicap, to be run at Ascot on 28th April. The only horse placed above him was Science, who was top-weight with 9.5. Gaby Deslys, winner of sixteen rapes at the pony meetings, was nezt with 9.1. The minimum weight was 7.5. Twenty-two of the 34 ponies engaged were within a pound of the minimum.

Mr. W. R. Kemball was on a business visit to Wellington yeßterday. He informed the writer that the paragraph going.round that he was sending another team to Australia was not correct.

The Auckland writer "Whalebone" points out that Great Fun meets some of his opponents at Egmont on as much as 111b worse terms in the Century Hurdles at Wanganui. The distance at Wanganui is half a. mile further. Great Fun won over three miles in the Old Country,. and the longer journey at Wanganui would be more to his liking than the shorter one at Egmont. Among, the passengers on board the R.M.S. Naldera, which reached Melbourne recently, -were a number of Australian jockeys returning from India. The party included J. E. Dobie, of Sydney, who was the leading jockey at Calcutta in the season which has just ended. He rode 28 winners. With Dobie are W. Murrell, A. G. Pearce, A. Sleigh, F. Northmore, _H. Walker, and W. Kenny. In an interview, Dobie said that, though Australian jockeys were an easy first with owners and the public there, too many of them had gone to India, with the consequence that a number of them were out of work. Of the 54 jockeys who rode. at $ the Calcutta Meetings, .40 were Australians. Dobie also mentioned that 'George Lambert, the well-known Victorian rider, had been having a successful time in India.

Hector Gray scored his first win this season on Precious > (The Tetrarch—-Zo-ara), owned by Lady Ounliffe Owen, in the Batthyany Plate at Lincoln on 20th March. Later in the afternoon he rode the same owner's Castle into third place in the Chaplin Plate. "The Sportsman" makes the following reference to the win of Precious :—"The attempt^ of Surcoat to carry off the Batthyany Plate for the third year in succession created much interest, but Lord Durham's horse began slowly_ from a rather indifferent start, and just miss.cd a place. An unexpected competitor was the Lincolnshire Handicap candidate Precious, who not oifly started fevourite, but won very comfortably from Wild Mint and Nabob, who was very troublesome at the post. Idumea was first away, but she was in vjady mood and quickly curled up when tackled by Precious. As there are no penalties for the Lincolnshire Handicap, Lady Cunliffe Owen's horse will doubtless attract a big following. He was, by the way, objected to for crossing the second, but the complaint was promptly overruled and the deposit money forfeited."

George Parfrement, the famous French cross-country jockey, who was killed recently in a fall in a Paris steeplechase, was a great friend of the Australian rider, Frank Bullock. Bullock has ridden a great deal on the Continent, and he came into contact in this way with ■Parfrement. A Melbourne racing man who knew Parfrement describes him as an intrepid rider. The Frenchman, he says, was the first rider to "Sloan" over Aintree. Parfrement rode in that style ■when he won the Liverpool Grand National on Lutteur 11.

Volhynia (Kilbroney—Ukraine), the two-year-old half-brother to Sasanof, was engaged in the Hollymount Handicap, four_ furlongs^ at Moonea Valley, on 23rd April, but did not take part. He is owned by his breeder (Mr. T. M. Wilford) and Mr. F. J. Nathan, of Palmerston North. The race was won by Warrego (St. Anton—White Lady), carrying 9.6. He is owned by Mr. M. P. Banld, handicapper for several Victorian meetings. It is rather an unusual thing for a handicapper to race horses. Appended is the remarkable record of .Manifesto in the Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase, which the son of Man-of-War first contested at seven years of age:—Fourth, unplaced, first, did not compete, first, third, did not compete, second, third, unplaced when sixteen years old.

_ General entries for. the Auckland Racing Club's Winter Meeting, to'be held on 2nd, 4th, and 6th June, close on Friday at 5 o'clock, with Mr. W. S. Spence {secretary), Auckland. The Trentham contingent for Waneanui viz., Quest. Tigwland, En Route, Mihtaire, and The Emperor, were given useful work at headquarters yesterday morning. They will be railed through oil Monday next.