NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 14, 17 July 1923, Page 11

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(BI " «» LANCELei.")

The. mucbr<iis=u9sed; Kilbroney jelding, Longhrea, said by some of his admirers to-be a. bettet horse, than Ea'pine, heads- the- list- in the, Winter: Cup, on the same mark as Surveyor. Longhrea was recently sold- to an Australian buyer for 2500 guineas, and the Southern kcrib.es; reckoned he was a good bargain. 3Che deal was not-completed, and LougKrea, \yho. was at Trentham with Palenoia, has returned South. H» may /be good enough to win the 'Winter Cup with _10.13,>.a bigger inrpost than has ever been carried to'victory in Hie. Eicearton mile race, but the writer prefers some of -the resruits from the hack class in Kaa Xane. audSaotouio..

P. Reardon returned to Blenheim yesterday with AsWoim and The- Bolter. ,

ijillerslie trainer 0. Coteaian veturnad home to-day . with Tactful. Oakleijh, Peter Anians, anil Poanui were left • at Treutham in. change, of J. Boach. and are-, to fulfil their. Riccarton engager xnents. ■ . .■ .. H. Pritchard. took Pink Rose home to Blenheim yesterday • Dicjk was left at Trentham in charge of C. Pritchavd. He was, lame after, contesting tha.Wellington" Steeplechase,, and has only been -I •worjked once since. If he. gets all right during the next few weeks Tie will take ' pairt in the. Grand National Steeplechase. He must be regarded as kindly treated with 9.11. He won. at Randwick, ran second in. the Great. Northern, also the Wellington Ste«pleohase-with 9.7 to Oakleigh H. 2, and at Riccarton meets the . Aucklander on 81b better terms.

r F. Tilley went home, yesterday . with Tame Fox and Demand, and will not hiye anything racing a.t the Grand National Meeting. ' Tukio, Tamate.te, and other members, of : the. Fbrdell team, which, have, been resting, will be taken up. again'this w-aekv '. : , . ,Mr.' Charles 3oyle.'s: pair-, : Blue. Socks aud Carawock,. will probably fulfil their erigageraents. at the Christchurch. Hunt Club s Meeting on 4th August. ■The writer wa s selecting Oakleigh and Surveyor, as liicel\ to show up in the Grand National. Steeplechase and .'Winter., Cup-i_f-they, did not reproduce their beEt form, at Trentham. Oakleigh won on;- hisi only appearance, and- went from 11.2 to 110. He carded the latter'im. post on his "last appearance at-Riccar-,ton, and many stiU think; that ho beat Omahu. The latter must be regarded, as. well : in, as he. meets Oakleigh 'on exactly, the same- terms as. in the. \Yinter Steeplechase at Ellerslie, which Omahu won, while Oakleigh failed to get in the money.,. The latter is a good horse at Riccarton. On hia. fii-^t appearance there lie ran third in the" Grand National to -Coalition,-} and ■ won the Beaufort Steeplechase. . TigQrlaniJ . als? appears a "better horse at Riccarton than anywhere else, in the big race he meets Oakleigh on 9lb better terms than aft Trentham. ■. Two years, .ago he won the Hunt Cap with 12.1, and the. Aylesbury Steeplechase with 12.7. ' .-Surveyor.finished vest to the-- placed division on ,ths first t\7 o days', and the fact that he- beat everything but lady Ben on the concluding day with 10 9 eritltled him'to Hhe rise of' ilb in the Winter Cup a run over the. S3me distance 1 • asp the Winter Oats. Surveyor proved to- ,be- a brilliant mile?- by his- performances in Victoria.^s-a 'three-year-old; He was railed ./home -to Auckland yesterday in: company with Young Thurnham, so that the- writer ■ .cannot-... say whether-he will'be at'Riccarton next month.

;Xord XJsk, who .is'about the only'representative, oi Dlankaey II.: (son of Flying Fox) racing in the Dominion, did not return to Blenheim. Mr. .'John Corrv. presented him to Mr. H. H. Hassell, o"f Hawkes Bay. . . ; Th c stipendiary, .stewards, took, exception to the running, of Tha Shag in the first division of the Novice Handicap at-Victoria Park recently, and, after hearing.evidence, disciualified W. Bl'Gee (owner-and trainer) and ■ the • bay- gelding The .Shag, for twelve ' months. C. WhalanXridei-) was suspended for a similar period, '. The . Shag was br.ed in X\ew Zbalaiid in .'1919, and 1 is.ia gelded son of Paumure, (imp.) and t Cormorant. He raced in the Dominion ta". a two-year-old and was subsequently brought to Sydney., where he won a Three-year-old Maide.n Handicap ■at Canterbury Park ..on 21st October last. ; He-was afterwards-soldj for the. pony' meetings, and had started only once, prior to his. disqualification.-- . ■ >-

Th* now; rule passed at ■.the-recent Conference making amateur officials liable to a fine, of ,£SO, the same, as paid officials, for,betting at meetings-.,at'which they are officiating,:- was, brought nndei the writer's notice .-recently. The writer's, opinion is that .the"amateur officials will-hot", trouble tp. read ta'er; rule, and will bet if they Want to,, and no one can stop themv ■'■'••:' " Referring to the late Mr.: Alfred Drake, the Sydney'"Sportsman" states that it was while working in Victoria on the wharves that he was struck by a ship's slings in the- heck, and he-was for many months- in hospital through- the- accident. On three different occasions the screens were placed round his 'beef,' as it was feared each time that he'was succumb-' in? to his injuries; but. he managed to pull through and came out of hospital with his head on one side of'his broad shoulders as a reminder'of the ship's • shiig3. Many stories have been told as to how Drake got that kink fn his neck, but the above is the correct one. : The writer, congratulates the delegates to the Conference on its decision not to allow races under five furlongs. There is. no. doubt that many horses, have been ruined trying to get them .ready for early two-year-old races. That is the strongest argument- the writer can use against the proposal^ }'• w S'?^ e Eonpghue, :who won his fifth English Derby on. Papyrus, is hailed as the greatest rider, in the world. He has now won- three successive Derbies. He has put up a remarkable list of successes in England an<* France. He frequently visits France to ride, making the trip across the Channel by aeroplaiie. j Donoghue did not have much lack.■early.this Season. In fact, he had a run .of. thirtyieight -unsuccessful rides, whichxculminated in a victory on Perhaps' So in April. He has a large' army of followers., and, they must have been badly out of pocket over that run of illluck. Dpnoghue was born in England and like many other noted riders, he had many setbacks. early in his. career. But he persevered, and even if he is not the best rider in the world, ho is the highest paid. His retainers alone for the pre■etit\ season amount to fttOOOO - The objection, to- the Wiiipukurau Jockey Club, racing. on Boxing Day was' very properly thrown out by the Dates Committee of theßacing Conference. The Waipukuraa Club hfts been racifag since lol^-over 50 years—and therefore has a pwor right W the date. Secretary W. <j., Nightingale, who conveyed the information., to-the writer, hopes the i^Tf\- -a ..il?P r°ye'nen.ts will be finJshed by. Boxing Day. There would "^^yp'-ed-m. stand for' the outsido a.' B tewkrd: 'of the Pahi|tns . Ha s in ? " Club, and one of the deputation to .the Minister: ..of Intfi'mal Affairs a few weeks back for the- restoration <rt 'the lest; day,- was in town rece^fjy, and to the writer expressed his

satisfaction at the day formerly used by tha. Woodlands Hunt Gluh, \vl\fch ; was allowed to lapse, being granted to the. Pshiatua Qlub. The. recouimendatioa of j the Pitas Committee, would-, no doubt,! meet with the approval of every mem-' | bei- of.the:iConference. . The, writer... wag, going to.:suggest .to. the P.9hiatua eiecu.tive that it should try and get. bask to its old dates, the .week after the Wellington Cup Meeting, but as the Woqdville Meeting,, to avoid clashing ' with some, other fixture, has come in on 'Ist and 2nd February, there will be some difficulty in the matter. The Pahiatua Meeting is one of the "most popular meetings in the North leland. ■ ■■•- •-, St. Petersburg, sire of" Master Peter, winner of the Second Hack and Huntere' Steeplechase at Trentham," is ■by Kilch«ran—Ne-»», by Stepniak-^Whirlpool. He. is therefore half-brother;; to. Bunyan* Vioner of the. W;Higßnuj : Guineas, who sir-ed winners in the North Auckland district, Danu.bß. (by Martian),, a great performer,' wh"o, strange to say,' was' a stud failure, , also ' Winterbburhe, full brother to. Danube-.- Th« latter is sire. of Mahia, winner of a hack steeplechase at Hankes Bay reqently. Mr. William. Jewell;, wbft was last week elected president of the Country Racing Clubs' Association,' is a prominent official- of the- Foxtou Racing- Club, art* aoie on the Judicial Convnittte. Mr. Jewell bred Nobleman, the Wellington Cup winner, and raced his. dam (Lady. Stack-' well), Sir Geraint, and other horses. Ha has on several, occasions, acted, as dep-' uty stipendiary steward ior the Racing Conference^. ' . ;■■'