RACING FIXTURES.

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 51, 28 August 1926, Page 23

RACING FIXTURES.

September 1, 2—Marton J.C. September 4—Otago Hunt Club. September *— Manawatu Hunt Club. September 9, 11—Wauganul J.C. September 15—Dannevirke R.C. September 10—Dannevirke Hunt Club. September 24, 25—Ashburton County EX. September 24. 25—Napier Park E.G. September 25. 27—Avondale J.C. September 30, October I—Gernldlne E.C. October 2—Hawkes Bay J.C. October 7—Kurow J.C. October 7. 9—Whangarei E.C.

The Marton Meeting will be held at Feilding on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. On Saturday the Manawatu and Otago Hunts hold their annual meetings at Awapuni and Wingatui respectively. In Australia the first important meeting of the spring campaign takes place next Saturday, the A.J.C.'s Warwick Farm fixture, at which the Warwick Stakes (weight-for-age with allowances, one mile), the .Hobartville Stakes (for three-year-olds,-' seven furlongs), the Campbelltown Handicap (six furlongs), and the Warwick Farm Spring Handicap (eleven furlongs) will be decided. ' Reremoana. looks better this season than he has ever done in his career. Previously he has had a rather dry coat, but this year he has a bright and blooming appearance and ia not far short now of being at his best. It looks as it the Eclipse Stakes at Wanganui, is more or less at his mercy, unless Nigger Minstrel is produced right buck to his best. Lady Desmond has gone on the right way for O. Cox at Hawera. She shows little or nothing of her excitable habits on the training tracks, and apparently keeps them for race day. The remainder of Cox'b horses are in excellent order. No fewer than seventy horses are trained at Hawera, according to an official of the Egmont Club. The course and tracks are good, and there is no doubt that there is a big interest in racing in the district. Just whether, the Hawera trainers appreciate the matter or not, the fact remains that the doings of their horses receive little or no publicity at .any time. Cer-; tainly they cannot blame the pressmen if their horses do not pay big prices. It is understood that Eafa has been given away to the hero who has been hunting him. One wonders what the previous owner of Rafa had against the recipient of the gift. The Egmont Racing Club intends to go eteadily ahead with, improvements to its course. The totalisator is to have the first attention, and a new stewards' stand will follow. The Antarctic breeze on Wednesday wafted in to the exposed end of the stewards' stand set apart for the pressmen revived the hope that the new stand has at least , closed-in ends. At present one views a race at Hawera through a mist of unhidden tears.

The new- seven-furlong barrier at Waiiganui was inspected on Thursday morning. The horses have a run of about 150 yards before they turn into the back straight, and unless fields are very big the new distance should be a success. The distance is rather over the seven furlongs—so that the horses can be given as long a straight run as possible. From the layout of the ground and taking into consideration that there is a slight fall from the outside to the inside, a good beginner drawn from the centre to the outside should have an advantage over the inside brigade. A slow beginner drawn near the rails at this barrier will be decidedly handicapped. It is hoped to make another "alley" in the opposite corner of the course so that horses can be given a run directly down the straight from the start of-mile and a quarter races. It has been reported that Mr. W. P. Russell, of Wellington, has been appointed handicapper to the Thames Jockey Club. Mr. Russell had previously been appointed judge for the Masterton Meeting, to be held at the same time as that at Thames.

A bulky volume is to hand containing the A.J.C. nominations for classic races. iGeneral entry day for the Spring Meeting is on Monday, 6th September, when; first forfeits are due for the A.J.C. Derby, for which there were S9l nominations. The tally of nominations for the Sires' Produce Stakes, decided at the Autumn Meeting, is 513, and 549 three-year-olds were entered for the St. Leger. It' is improbable that a field of runners of double figure dimensions, will contest any one of these three races. Amongst the horses from Victoria to arrive recently in Sydney is the recordpriced colt by Absurd from Leta, pur-

chased at Mr. G. M. Curries sale last, autumn for 2250 guineas for Mr. L. K. S. Mackinnon. He has been named Farrago. According to "Poseidon" he is perhaps one of the best-grown and finest-looking colts at Randwick, but the writer named considers that judging by his appearance and movement he may require time to develop the ..necessary pace for two-year-old races. Farrago, who is a brother to Thespian, is trained by A. C. Foulsliam. One of the most interesting lines in last season's list of winning Btallions was "Greenstead. five winners of 17 races, worth in stakes £5831." This does not suffer in comparison with the first year's figuros of his site, The Welkin, who had three winners of 15 races worth £5934. Greenstead was, next to Gloaming, the best of The Welkin's sons, and his progeny have shown the early remarkable pace which was characteristic of most Tho Welkin's youngsters, though. Greenstead was an exception, as he only came to his best with age. ' N, Boaster, the Epsom Handicap favourite, was causing his trainer a good deal of anxiety up to the time the last mail left. He had trouble in a fetlock joint which was still' very hot and swollen and prevented the horse being given anything more than walking or trotting exercise. At the next Sydney Cup Meeting one very familiar figure will be missing, as Mr. C. W. Cropper, secretary of the A.J.C., will be an absentee. It is 16 years since he succeeded the late Mr. T. S. Clibborn as the principal officer of the principal racing club in Australia. Mr. Cropper has been an outstanding success, ; and members at the annual meeting of the club evinced pleasure at the news that he was to have a well-earned spell. Mr. Cropper will leave Sydney in January, and will be back in time for the 1927 Derby. Italian racing form is evidently rated highly. Apelle, the star performer this season in Italy, where he won the Koyal Derby and the Grand Prix de Milan, has been sold for £15,000 to Mr. Richard M'Creery, and will race in France in future. Just before his sale Apelle finished fifth in the Grand Prix de Paris. One of the most striking features of the Australian jumping season has been the success of J. H. Trenoweth at this branch of the game. During the year he bought two horses cheaply that had been disappointing, Pericles and Minterne, and they picked two of the season's plumpest plums for him. The former, who. had been a failure over hurdles, he put to steeplechasing, and won four races with Aim, with the A.J.C. Steeplechase, worth £1350 to the owner, as a climax. Then he purchased Minterne, who had cost Mr. E. K. White 3000 guineas, only to fail so sensationally the next day, and on other days, too. But Trenoweth's alchemy turned the Spearhead gelding into gold, as he won the Australian Steeplechase, which carried with it £ 1500, besides some substantial bets. As Minterne is _only just seven years old and Pericles eight, they ought to win more money for their ownertrainer.

America is not behind Australia in the number of its Derbies. The Fairmount Derby was run at Collinsville (Illinois) on 19th June, and J. E. Widener's Haste (Maintenant —Miss Malaprop) won by little more than a nose from Bagenbaggage, whose stable companion, Boot to Boot, was third. The winner cut but the .mile and a quarter in 2min 3sec, and his owner received £4945. The second horse's Bhare was £600, while £300 went to the third, and £150 to the, fourth. The crack jockey, Sande, rode Haste, and his horsemanship had a deal to do with that colt's success. According to a Southern writer Ee.i Cent has been resold by Mr. W. Rutherford, and will come back to the North Island.