RACING NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 108, 7 May 1926, Page 5

RACING NEWS

RACING FIXTURES. May B—Amberley R.C. Annual. May 13, 15—Egmont B.C. Winter. May 15—North Canterbury R.C. Autumn. May 20, 22—Wanganui J.C. Winter. June 1, 3, s—Dunedin J.C. Winter. June 3, 5, 7—Auckland R.C. Winter. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Sport," Carringtqn 6treet.—Kapine has won £16,315, including trophies, so far as tne records show. Weights for the principal events at the Wanganui and Great Northern Meetings ■will give enthusiasts something to study during the nest few weeks. In the Great Northerns Mr. F. J. M'Menamin has not been unduly hard on the best horses, and Nukumai, 11.12, and Sir Rosekerry, 12.0, appear to be entitled to every pound on past form. There are so' many improving horses further down the list in each race, however, that look like being really good that the top-weights will have to be right at their best to have a chance. At Wanganui many of ;the same horses are engaged, and that fixture should throw some light on the Great Northerns. Without pretending to have thoroughly analysed the figures, a likely half-dozen 'chasers who are well forward in condition may be Landbirt?, Peter Maxwell, Tuki, Master Peter, Sir Roseberry, and Llewellyn, while a similar number engaged in the hurdle events are Peter Maxwell, San Fera, Dubious, Gomedy Prince, Ngata, and Peter Rosa. W. H. Dwyer leaves for Sydney to-day with the two-year-old Kiosk. Judging }^ the number of New Zealanders booked for Sydney this winter and spring, there should be a real -Dominion . colony at Bandwick. • Merry Damon' did very -well at le Rapa, considering only a week or so previflus he had had to be stopped in his work. If he goes on the right way he should win a race at Ellerslie next month. The special excursion trip of the Tamaliine to-morrow in order that racing enthusiasts may attend the second day of the Marlborough Meeting should be well patronised. It is not often that Wellingtonians are offered the prospect of such an enjoyable day. In reality the journey to the Blenheim Meeting can be undertaken with much less inconvenience than that to many of the country meetings in the Wellington province. The very useful acceptances received for the Amberley Meeting to-morrow are due in doubt to the transference of that fixture to Riccarton. Nearly all the horses engaged are trained at the Canterbury headquarters, and so are right on the spot. The track should be in very good order for to-morrow. The half-dozen left in the Amberley Cup include Fresco and Deucalion, winner and jrunner-up in the Timaru Cup last week. Fresco meets Deucalion B%lb worse terms than at Timaru, which on ordinary reckoning should be sulucient to turn the tables. Fresco, however, is an improving horse' and should again beat Deucalion. Of the others Tarleton may do best. The West Coaster, Booster, appears nicely placed in the Seadown Handicap, taking a line through Centrepiece on the second day at Timaru. Of the others, the useful Carnot may be the hardest to beat. In the minor races horses who appear likely are Gay Life, Gay Queen, Rapier, Corinthic, Oriflamb, and Precious. A jockey connected with an Auckland stable and whose activities are confined in the main to the Northern province is at the present time a menace to the safety of all other riders. His exploits in the saddle, many of which can be seen from the stands,-arc sufficient to cause the onlooker to hold his breath. That he has many of the other riders decidedly apprehensive is an open secret. _ The authorities should take immediate action in regard to this individual before there are serious consequences. There is some misapprehension as to the safety number in various races at Ellerslie, so that while in Auckland recently the correct figures were procured from Mr. W. S. Spence, secretary of the Auckland Racing Club. They are as follow:—Five and six furlongs, 26; seven furlongs, 30; eight furlongs, 30; ten furlongs, 24; and twelve furlongs, 27. . A candidate for jumping honours this season whose initial performance will be awaited with interest is Tall Timber. His dam Red Pine, is closely related to Kauri King, who -was a Grand National winner. In appearance, Tall Timber is an ideal cut for a hurdler, and hiß performances on the flat have been sufficiently good to encourage the hope that he will develop into something above the ordinary over the battens. Tall Timber is engaged in the Tangahoe Hurdles at the Egmont Meeting, and is expected to fulfil his engagement. He was given a run on the flat at Te Rapa on Monday in the principal handicap, showing a fair amount of pace for Lady 'Ridicule has been returned to her owner, and it is possible that she will be retired from the Turf. The yearling Merry Mint (CatmintMerry Roe), who was broken in at Ellerslie by J. Buchanan, was sent to Hastings last week to join H. Hickey's team. Cocoanut, who again let her connections down very heavily at Te Rapa, probably has seen the last of the racecourse, tone certainly should be of more value at the stud. . . From what has been seen in a number of hurdle races lately the connections ol several horses have missed badly by not backing their horses seriously the first time out over hurdles after a spell. In quite a number of instances the horses have done extraordinarily well, and -with a different set of riding instructions could have won. Next time out, when serious business was contemplated, they have Tun pounds below the promise shown, and have been beaten into a minor place or beaten altogether. Bonny Helen, the dam of the promising juvenile True Blood, is a sister to Bonny Portland, ihe dam of Reremoana. Peter Maxwell is worth considering very seriously for the steeplechase events ahead, either at Wanganui or at Ellerslie. He has developed into a very fast jumper over the big fences, while he has ■undoubted pace on the flat. It would be interesting to know how much over the actual three miles he covered at Te Rapa last Monday. Scion's form at the South Canterbury Meeting was very moderate. He showed surprising dash in the early stages of the Autumn Handicap, but he was done with after going half a mile. This is a reversal of his form earlier in his career, when he was a slow beginner, who needed a long journey to give him a chance. A. M'Aulay deserves great credit for his handling of Sun Up. At one stage of this season the Sunny Lake gelding must have been a source of considerable anxiety to his trainer, as he performed like a horse with no liking for serious racing. M'Aulay now has him racing very solidly, however, and he is fit for any handicap company up to.a mile; with prospects of going even further. , -,rThe Sydney Cup winner, Murray King, ■was tried in the "bullring" recently, and gave fair promise as a hurdler. The bullring" is a paddock at the far side of tho Randwick course, railed all round, with low hurdles across. The horses are let loose and driven over the obstacles. ' C. Emerson rode and won by horsemanship at Timaru, where on the same mounts others would not have troubled the judge. He won on Gay Queen, Brightling, and Warhaven' on the first day, and on the second day won again c.i Warhaven, and put up a dead heat with Kilris. Gay Queen won easily, but it required good horsemanship to get the others into the money, writes "Sentinel." The duel between R. Reed and C. Emer- ■ son for the jockey premiership will be decidedly interesting. Reed, 65fe, now leads Emerson, 64, but it seems nearly certain that Emerson will equalise matters at the Amberley Meeting to-morrow. Affirm, who by his racent good form over a distance in Victoria can claim to be one of that State's best stayers, was originally known as Witness Box. He is New Zealand-bred, being a four-year-old half-brother to Bonetter by Nasßau from Brayton, and was sold by Mr. G. L. Stead as a yearling to C. T. Godby, who was acting for Messrs. Tye and Corteen. The youngster persisted in growing so much that it was not until late in the season that he ran as a two-year-old, and he did nothing in four starts. He was a giant at the end of that season. He had one unplaced run at three years for Messrs. Tye and iDorteen, before the Allan-

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(BY "VEDETTE.")

dale dispersal sale, at which he became the property of Mr. G. Harris, for 900 guineas. That owner decided to give Affirm plenty of time, and raced him only once that year. This season Affirm has risen from purse company. He was narrowly beaten by Batterman in the V.A. T.C. Glenhuntly Cup, on 17th April, won the Sandown Park Handicap, and scored again in the £1000 Eight Hours Handicap, one mile and a half, at Moonee Valley on Monday, 26th April. Mr. T. C. Trautwein has tired of racing Runnymede, and is sending him to Maitland for a 1 holiday. Runnymede does not take kindly to the right-handed going here, writes "Poseidon" m the Sydney "Sun."