NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 105, 31 October 1923, Page 19

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(BI "SIR LANCM.OI.">

It does not often happen that there are more acceptors for a two miles race than for one run over a sprint distance, but; the horses left in'the New Zealand Gup beat the number in the Stewards by one. Of the horses oyiginally handicapped the top weight (Scion); a proved Jsiayer, has held his ground, "but such' well-known performers as. Bonnie Winkie, Cupidon, Silver Peak, and Many Kittle are among the missing. -The last-named has been paid up,for in the Stewards' Handicap, and is evidently not the horse he was a year ago, .when he won the Stead• Gold Cup, beating, among others, Gasbag, Winning Hit;, and The. Hawk; ...'. . ' So far Scion has failed to reproduce, his best formj but'the writer expects him to do better at Riccarton •■ than he did at Maaterton and Trentham., - The three races _;he "has had are just sufficient to get hiriij in good form. He is-to be ridden by A. Oliver, who has a' better record hi. connection with the sprint event than the' two-mile race. The -writer is informed that Roseday will'be favourite. He is probably 1 a better horse than "he was last year, and he would need to be with 8.9,j which is the highest, weight evor carried to victory in the race. The; Dunedin horse may be" good enough, but the writer would p-efer his chance better with a more experienced horseman than A.: H. Wilson. Royal Star was an aged horse when he won the race two years ago, and cannot be expected to compete: with younger competitors. The same remark applies to Vagabond, who won the race four years ago. Both are hy Martian, the sire of Cup winners: He is_ ailso a-epresentsd by Qu«st, Little River, and Kukume, who has been moving unsteadily in the market. Recent form points to Palestrina, Muraahi, and Pilliewinkio.

The withdrawal of Thespian from the Stewards' Handicap will "leave Glentruin to carry No. 1 saddle-cloth. Rational, who will be making 'his third attempt to win the race, ..may be favourite on the day. _ He is probably as well as ever lie was in his career, ami it is just a matter .whether he is good enough to concede some of'the light-weight division the weight asked. Arrowsmith won with 9.13 and Solfanello with 9.3.. and Rational may be good enough to score \yith 9.2. Three-year:olds are well represented in the race. They were formerly pretty successful in the event, but one of the age has not scored since Warstep got home ten years ago. Murihaupo, Hazzle Dazzle; Tukia, Gazeworthy, and Lady Fingers can all go fast. Carrying 9.11, and in receipt of 61b from the top weight; Little Marg, Killaehandrii made his second appearance in Sydney at Ascot on the 24th inst. He was sent out a good favourite, and won in good. style from Little Doubt (8.6) and Science (9.6). 'Killashandfa is .'probably the best fourleen-two pony ever sent from the Dominion to Australia. 'He is good enough to win at the horse meetings. ■ ' ...

'Che Welcome Stakes promises to bring together all the beat two-year-olds outside Auckland except Motley. The winners engaged are Kouex, Inferno, Killocva. Lava, and . Count Ca'vour. Several of the other youngsters have started, but Haze, Stalinist, Gamebag, and Treshamare unknown quantities so far as public performances are concerned. Haze and Tresham were bred in New South ■Wales. '

Urgency, who is now owned in Bris-. bane, is well engaged at the Queensland 1 Meeting, which opens on Saturday next, and will be continued on the following Monday and Saturday. He is in the Brisbane Handicap, one mile, with 8.10, the Queensland' Cup, two miles, with 8.6, arid the Sandgate Handicap, one. mile and a quarter, with 8.9. The raceß named are the principal event each day. Anything trained by E. J. Mason is generally found to be nearer the top than the bottom of the handicaps at Ricearton. Goldtown, although he has only won a Trial Plate, is conceding most of his opponents a stone and a half in the Lin wood Handicap. He may find, it difficult to concede imported Sabor, .■who ran first and second in two starts last season, a stone. Axle and La Reve may be sent South for the racing on the concluding days. Bebeform (Boniform—Bebe), runner-up in the second division of the Three-year-old Maiden Handicap, run at Canterbury Park on the 20th iust., is a half-sister to Cupidon. The Victoria Racing Club's carnival opens at Flemington on Saturday, and will be.continued on the following Tuesday, when the Melbourne Cup comes up for decision. Since his poor display in -the Caulfleld Guineas, The Monk has gone out of favour for the Victoria Derby, and King Carnival, who defeated bis": opponents decisively in the Guineas, is considered the most likely j to bother Shrapnel, runner-up to Ballymena at Randwick. If Shrapnel happens tomiss the Derby he will gtill be in the Cup with 6.7. If he wins on Saturday he will have to put up 7.6 in..i the Cup. If Rapine has the good fortune to win the Cup he would have been a cheap horse at 8000 guineas, the pries asked for hiih. The imported horse Callaghari is to take up stud duty thiß season, and. among his mates will be Password (MartianSecret Link), Martial Dawn (Martian —' Torquato), and Bon Chic (Boniform— * Lady J,ean II.), the • last-named a full-- ; .sister toScion.. Callaghan raced in Eng- \_ land as a three-year-old, and after he beat a, big field in the Birmingham Handicap, a mile race," worth 830 soys to ! the winner, his ownef recaived a big offer for him, and turned it down. Cal-. laghan was sired by Fairy King, a son of Desmond (sire of Demosthenes)) who cost 1700 guineas as a yearling and won. 6400 soy's in stakes. Penny Forfeit' (dam: cf Callaghan) was a winner at Home and abroad. ■ She is full-sister to Eudorus, a Successful performer in England and v.-eight-i6r-age winner in Australia. Eudorus (by Forfarshire) best known as th-3 sire of-the Australian champion, Eurythmic, who still heads the list of Australasian winners with 33,066 soys in stakes. , King's Trumpeter, who is trained by. C. Godby. in Victoria, was one. of the fancied^ candidates for the Werribee Cup, nine furkmgs, ruii on the 24th inst., but ran last*. ■ To-night's dep&rturen for South include Gold Star, Mountain Grag, and Lady. Kotiripo, in charge of Feilding trainer J. T. Uibson. At a meeting of the stewards of tlie Wairarapa Racing Club, at Featherston, the following resolution, of the New Zealand Racing- Conference \was adopted : "After the first day of-August, 1924, no certificate of registration shall be granted to or be retained by any club which, under its constitution, sanctions the division or apporitment in any case W at any tiraa of the -whole or any

portion of its property or surplus funds among its' members, past or present." The object o£ this particular rule is that under the rules of racing no proprietary clubs can exist. "Argus," in the Christchurch "Star," has the following concerning track workers at Riccarton yesterday morning:— Limelight has beun under veterinary treatment for a qouple of days. She has. been suffering from kidney trouble, but she is now well on the road to recovery, and though she did only easy work on the plough, the easy time should not prejudice her prospects., , ; '.' .;. Baliymena was still showing. signs of soreness before he worked, but he was slightly better than on the. previous day, and he went freely enough in a working gallop over a mile. . " -

Pilliewinkie gained admirers for the New Zealand Cup by his gallop over a mile and a' quarter. He was going along comfortably behind his mates all the way •dowu the straight, but when his head was' let go he ran to the front without a-ri effort. He was carrying his full >veight, and it was quite the best performance registered during the morning by,any of the Cup candidates.

• Lady. Fingers did not please the track watchers in her gallop. The time was smart,- but she was doing her best to keep-with Glentruin, who was going very easily at' the finish.

Murjhaupo registered a smart performance over a'mile arid'a pleasing feature of his gallop was that he finished well.

Enthusiasm, wag. responsible for a good gallop over a mile, while Scotch Mixture, who went with her,' also showed to advantage. Enthusiasm has come on a lot since her arrival'at "Riccafton"; and she may soon improve on the form she has so far shown this season.

-Many Kittle hit out freely .in, his work. His two races at Trentham appear to Have 'sharpened him-.up. considerably. Tukia showed great dash in a haif mile sprint. , She was going very strongly, at the end* and>';lo'oked a? if she could have travelled "on • a bit further at! the 'saW speed.; ■ •-,- •' . --. : .-.- .--.;