RACING FIXTURES.

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 27, 4 August 1928, Page 23

RACING FIXTURES.

August 14, 16, IS— ( intcrbury S.C. ' August 25—Hawkes Bay Hunt Club. ■ August 29—Daunevirke K.C. August 30—Daunevirke Hunt Club. Septomber I—Otagol—Otago Hunt Club.. September I—Taranaki Hunt Club. September s—Marlon J.C.. .■■ September 13, 15—Wanganui J.C. September 19—.Manawalu Hunt Club. September 22—Ashburton County K.C. Seiitomber 22—Napier Park K.C. September 22, 24—Avondale J.C. September 27, 28—Goraldlne It.C. September 29—Pakuran'gn Hunt Club. September 29—Hawkes Bay J.C. October 6—Kurow J.C. October 6, B—Auckland R.C. October 11, 13—Dunpdin J.C. October 13—Carterton R.C. October 20, 22—Wellington R.C. October 20, 22—Gore R.C. October 20, 24—Waikato R.C. October 22—Wavcrley R.C. October 22—Waikato Hunt Club. October 22—Waipawa County R.C. October 22 —North Canterbury R.C. October 25, 2T—Poverty Bay Turf Club. October 27—JIasterton. R.C. October 27—Banks Peninsula R.C. . October 31—BIrclnvood Hunt Club. Next Week. Handicaps for the minor events on the first day at Riccarton aro due on Monday next. Final payments for the two Grand Nationals and the Winter Cup, and acceptances for the minor events on the first day at Riccarton, are due on Thursday at 8 p.m. There will be no racing fixture next week, but on Saturday the Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington will open the August carnival week in Christchurch. First Acre in Australia. Some of the more sensational of Sydney's newspapers, have been suggesting that the New Zealand horses and riders are being "dealt with" in races over there. There is no suggestion' of this from the more reliable authorities, although it appears that First Acre has struck a fair amount of trouble in his races since he won the double at Canterbury Park. In his case it appears that he is receiving weight right up to his best form, and the interference to which he is being subjected may not be really anything more than the luck of.the race, for he is racing on small courses. Until some of the recognised and experienced critics in Sydney draw attention^ to this matter, it is as well to suspend judgment of any kind. Denage's Sister. With the sale of Roi de Val Mr. Ebb. Simpson is left without a horse in training. He has, however, a yearling sister to Degage from which he expects a great deal, and' the filly is said to look like developing into a really good racehorse. Degage to all intents and purposes is sound, but probably she will not be trained again, and her first mate may be Diacquenod. Miss, de Val, the dam of Degage and Co., is in v foal to Lackham, and is also booked for the Diadumenbs horse. Two other mares under Mr. Simpson's charge in Swannee River and Capping Day may also go to the same stallion this year: Swannee River-is in foal to Lackham. Kiosk. Advices from Wanganui are to the, effect that Kiosk is going on well in his work. Those who remember the way he defeated Reremoana and Prince Humphrey in the Jackson Stakes at Wanganui last February will look forward to seeing him in action again. The Eclipse Stakes in September might well be within his compass. Just So, his half-sister, has recovered from the lameness which affected her prior to the , recent Wellington Meeting, and she may make .her next appearance at Marton. Sprinters and Staying. AVheu writing of sprinters being made to stay I always think of what J. M. Cameron once said about that grand old battler The Hawk, writes "Cardigan." Jack Cameron is a bluff old character, and one day, meeting him in a Turkish bath in Sydney, he said, "Well, I've just backed The Hawk to win. me £10,000 for the Caulfield Cup. The odds were so tempting that I simply ' had to do it." I did not say anything, but in my own mind I was thinking "The Hawk over a mile and a half with 9st; not for me." He must have seen the workings of my mind, for he added quickly, "Oh, I know he has never won over a distance, and you need not think for a moment I am going to train him to run a mile and a half, but if he should happen to win a few handicaps over a mile in Sydney before the Cup he is going to be at a much shorter price, and might be so fit that he will run the distance. He is not going to be trained for it," he added again, "as I know that l^e is a great sprinter, and I am not going to ruin his sprinting powers by trying to make a stayer of him. When you have a horse and you know that he can sprint, keep him at sprinting. Never desert the substance for the shadow." It's good.advice, and it's a pity that some trainers do not follow it. Dr. Stewart M'Kay, one of our greatest authorities, is emphatic that a sprinter cannot be trained to run a distance. He avers that it is against the laws of Nature. Auckland' Notes. Like her relatives Tactful and Exactly, the three-year-old filly Lido is not. very big, but she shows a good deal of quality. 11l the sprinting ta^ks that have been allotted her she has always hit out freely and given promise of being useful. Lido and her atablemate, Sir Russell, are well forward in condition, and M. Ryan should have them in capital order for the spring campaign. , Sir Archie, who has been pottering about for some weeks, will resume work on the tracks this month. Since his enforced rest after winning the' Franklin Cup in March Sir Archie has failed to strike form and was well beaten in his engagements at, the Winter Meeting under conditions that were entirely to his liking. Perhaps he will come on again in the spring. Hyde Park is expected by Ellerslip track-watchers to be in good order for early spring engagements. Golden Wedding, whose name appears on the schooling list, is being sent over hurdles at Ellcrslic. Naming Horses. The naming competition inaugurated recently by a Perth newspaper resulted in over 3000 names being submitted for the three two-year-olds, two of whom are New Zealand bred. First prize was awarded to Bonny Money as the name for the Paper Money—Bonny Helen colt. Ozonia for a Sea Crest—Barinia colt secured second prize, and third prize went to the name Pure Blend for the Tea Tray —Takahau filly. Commenting on the competition the judge remarked:—Coupons were gummed on, sewn on, pinned on with small and large pins, safety pins, gramophone needles, sewing needles, and machine needles, and one reader informed me that a certain brand of condensed milk was excellent for attaching coupons to paper. There were numerous wags among the competitors, whose contributions made good reading. One contributor, "Hollywood Bill," broke into verse. A Ripe Old Age. Here are some extraordinary instances of longevity in horses, given by a writer in the Sydney "Mail":—On a station in Queensland I once knew o^f a horse 44 years of age, and iv New South Wales I have seen one hale and hearty at 29. The Matter belonged—or still may belong, if Tit aliv*—to' Mr.' Harry Taylor, of the itacquarie Stud, Wellington. He was a trotter, and was the foundation of Mr. Taylor's fortune, for the old fellow won numerous trotting races when the Maequarie studmnstcr indulged in that form of racing. AVheu I saw him two years ago he was used as a hack on the stud, and was Jack Moriarty's mount when rounding up the stock. Ilis great age could be seen by the length of his canines, which were almost as large as a boar's tusks. The following, from the "Bloodstock Breeders' Review" puts the two Australian instances completely in the shade: — "A letter from Kenya Colony to a reader

o£ 'Horse and Hound' mentioned that 'we have just shot our Ara& stallion, aged 35, and we were showing ,a yearling colt by him last week out of a mare that must be over 24. The old Arab was the finest specimen of the breed I have ever seen.' On reading the foregoing'particulars Mr. J. Fairfax-Blakeborough wrote to 'Horse and Hound,' stating that he had a record o£ a grey polo pony, Old Peter by name, who went from England to the Argentine, died there ,in 1915, aged 17, and was reported to have sired 17 foals the year he died. Allans teeth had gone, so ho had to be fed on mashes. So far as longevity is concerned, Old Peter was easily beaten by Old Bill, the property of the late Mr. Petrie, of Edinburgh. , The horse lived to be 60, his age being vouched for by Professor Owen Williams, whose father attended the horse. Mr. FairfaxBlakeborough also stated that, until recently, there was on a wall at Norton Conyers, near Ripon, a painting of a coach horse named Jolly, beneath which was the inscription: 'Born 1760, died 1822.' A century ago the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company presented ,to the Manchester Natural History Society the head of Old Billy, who lived for 62 years. At Richmond, Yorkshire, in 1836, there was a trotting match . between two horses aged 30 and 20. The Tartar mare (by Tartar, dam of Mogul) is stated by Pick to have gone on breeding till she was 34 years old." Apprentice Allowances and Their Effect. From now on apprentice allowances according to experience can be claimed in West Australia in races in which the stake does not exceed £400. A pressman, in commenting on the general effect of this change, adds the following rather direct statement:—"However, under the new arrangement, jockeys \ who have been sailing close to the wind —I often think that there is collusion or an arrangement between some of them—will probably take a .pull (of a different variety for a change) and that racing will be cleaner. Competition is the life of trade, and it will probably pay jockeys who have not been all that they should be to run straight in order tp secure mounts in opposition to lads high in the winning list;, who have an advantage by reason of the allowances." '