TROTTING FIXTURES.

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 119, 22 May 1930, Page 6

TROTTING FIXTURES.

' lUy 81, Juno B:—Canterbury l'ark'T.C. ". Jims 7.—Ashburton "S.C

Reminders. • \ceeptances tor tho two (Jicai Xorth- ' eras aud first iluy eveuts at the Auckland ; Winter Meeting close cm Friday at 5 p.m. - Acceptances J'or tlie Otaki-Maori.'Winter : Meeting close on Monday at 8 p.m. Poor Class. The class at the Taumarunui Meeting to ke held on Saturday is poor, and it is not Jkely to throw mncli light on the Great 'Jforthern Meeting.. One of two horses engaged in the open events may give some indication to their prospects at Ellerslie, but it should not bo a. very .illuminating, fixture. Maori Boy and Prince Val nro the really useful horses in tho Presidents 1 Handicap, while Flying Prince on a muddy ':■ track is not a negligible quantity. lhe ■ Great Northern candidate, Jilysianor, is in v seven furlongs and a mile hack handicap with 0.0 or within lib of Valstrect in each instance. He may be one interesting candidate. Town Bird has a poor lot to beat -, in the Maruniii Hack Hurdles, and may ; open his winning account as a, hurdler., ' Big Stud Dispersal. ;It is learned on good authority that Mr. John Donald, of tho Westmere Stud, 'is 'withdrawing from the business lor health: - reasons, and his big establishment will come up for auction. Mr. Donald has had a great year with the stock of Chiet ■; Euler, and Diacrmenod has also brought Westmere into prominence. He also has the imported sires Grand Knight and Captain Bunsby as well as a good collection ot brood mares. If Mr. Donald persists m his present intention, the fialc Hhould attract, widespread attention^. ........ i ; British totaiisators.; '/>;;; v ,:;•■ • : Keports ,from England suggest that the officials of the Racecourse Betting Control Board have decided on some extravagantly ..mechanical totalisators.'•'.' That at Newmarket was tried out severely;^before the Craven Meeting at .four times' its natural capacity, and operations were carried on" at every building on the course. There .was-not a hitch. Sir Clement Hindley, chairman of the R.8.C.8., said.t "All the ■trials have been satisfactorily! carried out. "We are getting to the end {of the long business of experimenting, and the staff has undergone intensive training. : "The machine has been put to the most exacting tests possible, and everything that 'human foresight can conceive has' been brought to bear.on the subject. . We'are extremely hopeful therefore 'that all will be ready for the opening of,the season.". The totalisator was .manufactured by tlie British Thomson-Houston Company, of Willesden, and the Automatic j Telephone Manufacturing Company, of - -Liverpool. Two hundred and fifty thousand miles of parth wires have been used, and 35,000 lamps are employed on tho indicator board. ■ Each adding machine for each horse can deal with 240,000 bets per minute., In the control room of the totalisator are a miniature indicator board and dividend board. The operator here has supreme control, and satisfies himself that | the figures are accurate before they are. signalled on the large board outside. The machinery throughout. the building is of a highly intricate character, and the public who watch the twinkling of the indicator-., board's figures will, not ..have the .faintest conception of the mass of delicate material behind the scenes. Starting Methods. '■ In the main standing starts are insisted 'on in New Zealand, the exception being iv very small fields. According to an Australian writer this is to be the rule in Victoria. At a recent .Melbourne suburban meeting it was explained to jockeys that this method instead of the walk-up start . would be practised in futiujo. A few weeks ago the Victorian Owners, Trainers, and Breeders' Association brought tho matter of what is regarded as ''Hying starts"under the notice of the V.R.C., and it is probably on this account that the alteration at Sandown Park was brought about. Recovers Well. : Some idea of-tho natural' aud''artificial ■ drainage of the Rand wick racecourse can ,be gained by the report of the recent meeting, of City Taitersall's Club held there. From the Thursday to daylight on the Saturday of. the meeting 5 inches of rain were recorded on the course,.and'there were intermittent showers during racing The A.J.C. paid tho course was fit for racing, and on looking at the results it is noticed ■that;tho six-furlong events averaged just over lmin luscc to run,: and mile events lmiu 43sec. It is unnecessary to add that these figures speak for themselves. Australian Derby Prospects. The best of the two-year-olds iv Australia this season have been Green Wave, Kaftan, Thurlstone, The Doctor's Orders, Veilmond, Delwood, and Chemosh. Green Wave was the best of the Victorians in the spring, but he injured his shoulder iv his only race during the autumn-meeting. ■Whether he has maintained his spring superiority is.still in doubt. As the winner of the Sires' Produce Stakes and Ascotvale Stakes, Thurlstono, who was' inferior to Green Wave, became the: leading Victorian two-year-old performer ■in the autumn. Possibly he will stay better than .Cfreen Wave, but the fact that both have been sired by sons of Tho Welkin encourages_ the view that sprinting rather than staying the Derby course will. be their . forte. Thurlstone, however, is stoutly bred on his dam's side. Thurlstone was definitely superior to The Doctor's Orders in Melbourne, and The Doctor's Orders decisively defeated the Sydney two-year-olds in the Sires'. Produce Stakes. ;Ho outstayed. Vejlmonrt, as well as beating him for •speed... Veilmond-will' improve, 'rind' he .seems to be the best Derby proposition in . fcydney. Of the Sydney two-year-olds one oi the most outstanding si« a Derby candidateis Bnlloon Kins, who'gives promise of staying, and ho looks the part of a Derby colt. Chem'osh and Delwood appear to bo purely sprinter*. Tom Pinch won two races m imprwmve style, niid showed both .speed and stamina.- ."Flo will improve with ..age, .and illicit make- a fhxt-nlass three-year-old'. ..'.■.-■•■ Limerick. amJDunraven, / Limerick is striding along.'freely in His tasks, at Pucearion, and, though he has .done nothing of a serious nature yet, at is Satisfactory to find that lie shows no .evidence' of a return of the itunoundness which caused his "retirement during his last trip to Australia. F. D. Jones is well pleased with the progress his* championis making;, and he is hopeful that Lini. ,crick will- come back in 'the spring. as good as.ever. If this view turns ont cor* reet t : great interest will be added to the weijj/it-for-age coritoste at the spring meetings in. Australia. ...Dunraven, the three-year-old . brother to Limerick, looks iv good health after his short spell.. He 'is hitting out freely in short- sprinting tasks, and. it is evident that his trainer intends to have him in forward condition early, in case he should- be required for wpi'ing engagements in Australia. Riecarton Items. P.. V, Mason has the two-year-old lilly I'raise striding nloug in useful tasks. She looks in good order, and she should lie well forward for her early spring engagementti, provided nothing occur.* to cheek her preparation. Lancer i,s doing- -plenty of useful work at Kiccarton. and il is expected ho. will be a better hor.se aC '.liiccarton in August than when he finished third in Ihc Grand National Hurdles lant year. The Raider'is to have his first, test against South Island sprinters at Ashburto«, pu Saturday. , '^Toxmf-iin'eon4 oft-« lot lately, imi'

lhe brother to Arifc'nvui may be a winner before the season is much further advanced. Ho is top-weight among the acceptors for.-the Eiffellon Hack • Handicap | at Asliburton cm Saturday. Kauri, Park Lame. After working at Kllcrslie,,,a few days ago, Kauri Park". developed lameness, and hits since been on the eus.v list. J. iiiirgess, who was engaged to ride Kauri JL'arJc, lias "been released from liis-engagement, nrid J. Lambesis stated that Kauri Park ebnlU now bo definitely ■ regarded as an unlikely starter. An attempt is to be made to get him to the post iv tho hurdle events on the second and third days of tho meeting; although his trainer is not sanguine about his prospects. Kvcr since hornet with an unfortunate mishap .in, his career Kiuiri Park has beau a difficult horse fo train, and it is only on account of the caro and patience exercised by his trainer that he has been kept going. It is extremely unfortunate for ,J. Lambess that Kauri Park should have developed lameness at this stage, for he was working in good stylo, and promised,to bo in splendid shape for his engagements next mouth. The Road to Popularity. Telegraphing to his paper on the eve of the Adelaide Cup race,.' "Khedive," of1 the Melbourne "Herald," said: "H. R. Telford, owner-trainer of Phar Lap, has almost driven to desperation those who are unfortunate enough to possess horses who may oppose Phar Lap in the Adelaide Cup- to-morrow. • Telford. has variously stated that his champion will not run, that ho will rim, and; that he has not made up his mind, in either "direction." It was also stated that the jockey, J. Pike, was as much in the dai'k as anyone'as to whether Phar Lap would run in the Cup or not. Telford scratched the horse at 1.10 p.m. on the day of the- race, and the fact was posted on several hoists about the course. . ' .. ... .' Aftei- the race "Khedive" telegraphed: "Telford claims to have left-Phar Lap in the Adelaide Cup in tho interests of the club. He made "this assertion-with - every appearance of sincerity, but the revelation came as an utter surprise to the officials of the South Australian Jockey Club. Mr. R. Hynes, the secretary, has been as curious as the next man as to what Telford proposed to .do,- and would have welcomed a disclosure, but scrupulously refrained from, trespassing. on an owner's rights. ; "When he reached Adelaide, Telford seated m. the.presence of Mr. Hynes:- 'At. present:! ; lia.ve/not the slightest intention of running Phar Lapin the Adelaide Cup. .1 brought him over specially for the King's Cup, and I do not want him to run in : any handicaps under big weights before the Melbourne Cup, for;'-which he is to:' bo specially prepared.' '■•'. ■£' That pronouncement has been fulfilled, but unfortunately tho public was given reason to believe that the original plans might be altered.- At the outset Telford,'expressed a., desire to' help '.'tire;, club in.:every';way, and. stated that; irj- any case; Phar Lai> would be broughtson to tlie^eourse; on Adelaide Cup Day. •:;: This was not done/ ; • V; n .;.-■.» Explaining His Defeat Away. ' ' . In connection with . Phar Lap's. Melbourne Cup failure, R. Lewis has come jn for a lot of hostile criticism, which, ,visv wholly undeserved, says;'.a'. Melbourne', writer. Those best acquainted with Lewis gave liim credit for having ridden to orders, but .some critics Jjlairied the : jockey for unwisely, fighting with his mount. On the authority of Lewis, I am able to answer the question of what instructions were issued to him.' . ! . , ;■ Before the Cup, Lewis held a consultation with the owner-trainer, who expressed a, desire that he; should adopt, waiting tactics. "If you are near the leaders half a mile froni. home," remarked Telford, "nothing ' can take the race away from Phar Lap.", Lewis was dubious as to the'wisdom.of this policy, and maintained that the chestnut ought to have a pacemaker, but he could not convert Telford to; his way of thinking. While in the mounting'yard Lewis expressed to one of the stipendiary .stewards a fear that no candidate, apart from Phar Lap, would be prepared to make the running, and what happened confirmed that gloomy foreboding. Trouble began at the turn out of the straight. Taisho, who was alongside Phar Lap- ran widCj and the' chestnut followed him.1 When straightened •Phar Lap started to fight for-his headj.and' Lewis, conforming to the owner's.-wishes, endeavoured to slacken'speed. • •'JHjs.icfforts were abortive, and, after ..passing ■ the1 milo and a quarter post, Lewis gave-up struggling. However,, ho is positive: that under no circumstances could Phar .Lap have won the Melbourne Cup of 1929.■'.'•.'■ ■ ■_ Lewis considers that Phar.Lap was feeling the strain of spring racing; and was nothing like the horse he was at the autumn carnivals. ! '-■ '