NOTES AND COMMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 85, 9 April 1924, Page 12

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(BI " SIR LANCELOT.")

■The Waverley Racing Club's extra meeting will be held on Saturday next. The fields engaged are satisfactory, and Marquetenr has been paid up for in the principal event. Mr. J. Hennah, of Hastings, who owned Captain Jingle when he won the Grand National Steeplechase, has been on. a short' holiday visit to the city. He returns home to-morrow. Boadicea and Kilfane have been left in both the Great Easter and Great Autumn Handicaps. Formerly the races were run on different days, and were sometimes won by the same horse, but i.ow that both events are decided on the same day there is less chance of one horse winning the double. W. Galbraith's useful team. Bitters. Prince Hal, and Debate, are hitting out wel) at Tauherenikau, and should get some of the stake money at the forthcoming meeting. In announcing the death of the wellknown English sportsman, Mr. Edward Lawson, during February, a writer in the " Sporting Chronicle " mentions Old Joe, the Liverpool Grand National winner of 1886. Ho says: " Old Joe was sold as a yearling for £35, but under Mr. Lawson's tutelage blossomed into ■ a fencer of unusual merit, winning seven events out of nine. Once Mr. Lawson rode him, seven miles straight across country without touching a road except when crossing it. Mr. Johnston Douglas gave £300 for the horse, and was said to have lifted £14,000 by his Grand National success." In assessing the handicaps for the Easter Handicap at Ellerslie, the Auckland official rightly proclaimed Ballymena as the best of the three-year-olds. Uallyinena lias been asked to concede liazzle Dazzle and Parody 101b, Maurihaupo 12H>, and Suggestion 131b. In connection with the National Stud, Tnlly, Kildare, it is mentioned in an English journal that there was an accumulated trading profit up to • 31st December, 1922, of £33,550. There is no reason to think that the trading account for last year will not also show a profit. J. J. Gravestock is keeping Little Rivr.r ; Peneus, and Chimera going with a view to racing at Tauherenikau. The last-named horse will probably be retired ,'t the end of the present season. Her first mate will probably be Arrowsmith, ■vh.i is leaving good-looking stock. Most of the jockeys who went from England for the racing season in India liave now returned. TJp to a few days before their departure S. Donoghue was only successful in three races.. 11. Wragg registered the greatest number of wins, with nine to his credit, being I'losciy followed by G. Smith with eight. lii A. Jones passed the post a winner on six occnno;:s. The connections of Inferno are not downhearted by the colt's defeat by Motley in the Sires' Produce Stakes atAwapuni. Inferno certainly ' looked as if :•- I'ucn would improve him, and there will not bo much in it one way or the oilier between the pair in the Great Northern Champagne Stakes. Three-year-olds have had a successful run in the Great Autumn Handicap in recent years. The only horse of that age engaged this year is The Polymnian, who is nicely in with 7.3. He was only beaten a length in the Derby, carrying a stone and a half more, in 2min 35 4-ssec. Tho best performance by a three-year-old was in 1890, when Merrie England carried 9.1 to victory. Helmsman (Navigator—Charity), also a three-; year-old, won the Great Easter that year with 6.0, and was in the Jong distance race with the same weight, but could only get third. ( The latest addition to A. D. Webster's Otaki team is a yearling colt by Arrowsmith—Derelict (dam of Bonideer). Opaki Owner-trainer T. Higgins recently had the bad luck to lose a colt by Arrowsmith from Lady General. The youngster broke its leg. Colonel Matt. J. Winn, general, manager of the Kentucky Jockey Club, has announced (says an exchange) that the Jockey Club would offer 50,000 dollars as a capital prize and a gold cup valued at approximately 6OCO dollars to the winner of tho race between the French colt . Epinard and America's best three-year-olds and over, to be run I over the Latonia track next October. Ihe international event will be a weight-for-age race at a mile and a quarter. The proposal to hold a day's racin" during tho visit of the Fleet is likely to meet with considerable approval. While the visitors were at Melbourne a special meeting was got up for their entortainment. It is an honour to distinguished visitors, and the programme would hardly be complete without it. Many years ago, when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Dominion, race meetings were he^d at Nelson, Dunedin, and elsewhere More recently when the Prince of Wales visited New Zealand gatherings were held at Riccarton and Ellerslie. ' Solfanello, Ares, Vindictive, and Bright Eyes will probably race at EHersl', c; at f E'jster lime. Solfanello is within .Jib of Alforfc in the Easter Handicap and his stablemate (Ares) would probably have a better chance ivith 71b less In the Eden Handicap, seven furlongs' bolfanello has 8.8, which is 31b more than when he finished out of a place in a. six-furlongs event at Trentham on his last appearance. A'indictive is in the I resident's Handicap with the lightest weight. He is within a stone of a useful, performer like Boomerday. .If the proposed Fleet Meeting at Trentham eventuates it will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, 26th inst. Tho programme will probably include open handicap and sprint races, three hack handicaps, open and hack hurdle races, and a steeplechase. It was intended that Piquant was to accompany her stable mates to Riccarton, but since the appearance of the Auckland weights she has been working the reverse way, and may be sent to Auckland. She is considered well treated in the Mangere Handicap, a six-furlongs' race, with 12lb above the minimum. In a seven-furlongs race on the concluding day at Manawatu, she was asked to sjivo away 391b. Gletifcruin, who is engaged in (ha All Aged Stakes at Avoi'idiile, arrive\l from the South yesl-erdav in charge of Trainer F. D. Jones. She'was railed through to Awapuni, where she wilt join her stable mates on the trip to Auckland. Tho Ulimaroa put up a good run on the tnp acrosn to Sydney, Baphis and L the .WftUtaaag xearlhjgg were lauded sa/e-

ly. Rapine will have a clear fortnight in Sydney before he is asked to race. E. Lowe rode Sunny Loch in the Thompson Handicap, but it is reported from South that V. E. Jones will have the mount in the Great Easter Handicap.. In view of the near approach of the jumping season several horses are beinoschooled at Trentham. They include Parorangi, who jumped three .hurdles well with H. M'Sweeney in the saddle; Oarawock, who jumped "two of the big fences; Dick, and a Sylvia Park mare in C. Pritchard's staWe. Lake Uru is in the Onslow Stakes at JMlershe with the hany weight of 7 5 and as she has been working the reverse way at headquarters it appears as if she will go North instead of to'Riccarton, where she still claims an engagement in the Champagne Stakes.