King's Jest at Ellerslle.

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 125, 29 May 1930, Page 7

King's Jest at Ellerslle.

Although it is against all theories ot theTgame King's Jest is expected by many to shape well in his first attempt over the Ellerslie battens. It is a big task for a maiden hurdler. Before leaving Xneenmeadows for Ellerslie King's Jest is stated to have shaped well m a schooling bout over hurdles, and his admirers appear to. be well satisfied with the wrfy he has been progressing in his preparation. As a. v. Elus who was offered the mount, will be riding at Dunedin, arrangements have been made for E. Stanway to ride pugs Jest at Ellerslie. King's Jest will probably be schooled before the end of tuc week and his effort Qver the hurdles he will have to race over will be watched ■with interest. On Marton Tracks. Until the last few days perfect weahter has prevailed for training operations on Marton tracks, and a fair number ot horses have been noticed at exercise JT. Morris has in work Brigadier Bi , Tai Baby, Portman, Leisure, and a filly by Shambles-Skydreani. Mr. F. Ehrhorn is keeping Nucleus, Manca, and Winacre in steady work. F. C. F. M'Kay has Royal . Damon looking very well, and other members of his team include Limosa, bpearform, Seneschal, and a Thurnham colt. Alex Hall is busy with Royal Routine, The Ark, and a Tonbridge—Lugano geldin" Not many wins have come the way of ° the Marton trainers lately, but their horses show promise, and may be heard of before long. A Sensible Suggestion. The Marton Jockey Club, which is . handicapped by an expensive track and appointments, is seriously considering the curtailing of privileges, and at the general committee meeting recently to ask the Wanganui District Committee to call a meeting of all clubs in the district ' to consider .the costs of administraion. Pees' of officials, complimenary tickets, luncheon tickets, and other matters will be discussed, and it is anticipated that racing clubs, in view of the lessened revenue at present, will curtail privileges m order to make their positions sound. There is no doubt that privileges are abused and the complimentary ticket list could be revised considerably. Clubs also might well be advised to cut out or reduce to a minimum, the expensive, luncheon habit which has become customary of- late years. Conference Matters. There are fewer remits this year to be discussed by the delegates to the Racing Conference, but one or two of them are highly contentious. > Probably the most controversial are those of the Auckland district clubs, who desire a revision to the old district committee scheme of granting licences and administration of affairs and consequently the abolition of the Central Licensing Committee of the Conference. This suggested- reversion to • a method where-local influences become marked can he regarded as a retrograde The executive/ committee of the confer eu'ce has 'an "important remit' giving the: stipendiary Stewards increased powers. In effect it is: a step/and a, decided one,_ towards the abolition of the honorary judicial committees, and increases the powers of stipendiary stewards The suggestion is that judicial committees be of smaller, numbers and the stipendiary stewards at irieetings be actual members of them with'voting and full powers. This is a decided step forward. Probably as encouragement to appren-. tices and a move towards improvement in race-riding, the Taranaki district clubs have a remit that the apprentice allowances be increased to 101b and 51b as against the 51b and 31b as at present. Both the Wanganui and. Taranaki remits suggest a school of instruction for apprentices. . The inevitable remit that the conference headquarters be removed to Wellington comes from Hawkes Bay. The Taranaki Club's hardy annual that appellants to the conference be represented by counsel, is again on the list, and the Canterbury Jockey Club once again seess a reversion to the old idea of racing under assumed names. The First Flight. Departures for Sydney of Dominion trainers with their teams for winter and early spring racing commences to-morrow when A. D. Webster and B. Burgess leave with ten and sis horses respectively. Webster has a mixed consignment. First Acre 'is an old-timer, and Webster's other, charges are Bay Acre, Second Thought, Borsalene, Whelk, I'm Alone, three rising two-year-olds, and a pony by Kilbroney from Password. The juveniles like Whelk and I'm Alone are owned by Mr. W. G. Stead, and are geldings by Leighton from Golden Shoe and Lord . Quex from Painted Screen, and a filly by Lord Quex from Diaphragm. , I'm Alone has shown some form, and the, two-year-olds, Whelk and Bay Acre, have raced well enough to suggest that they can be placed to decided advantage as maidens'in New South Wales. Second Thought and Borsalene should be capable of winning over hurdles- on the suburban' courses. Altogether it is a useful team which should pay its way while the juveniles are getting ready for their Breeders' Plate and Gimcrack Stakes engagements. B. Burgess is taking Atholspear, Spearmiss, Austerity; Werata, Ben .Hnr, and Lady Gen. The first four are in great order and they should be placed to decided advantage over courses that require a bit of stamina. Atholspear is just coming to his best now, and Werata is a much improved horse. It is a very solid and compact team that with any luck should have a very profitable trip. Gloaming's Total and the Contenders. Gloaming's total -of £43,100 still stands as o record in stake money in these parts, - bsi Amounis with .£40,693 is very close. Phat Lap.may prove rather a trouble to Amounis in the latter's attempt to mako up the £2500 deficiency, for the sensational three-year-old's spring programme is likely to clash with that of Amounis. Phar Lap, by his win in the Kind's Cup, brought his total up to £26,977. Where and how he will be raced next season is known by, nobody but his lessee, ' but should he carry off the Melbourne Cup that would bring his total up to about £37,000. Even if he does not start in the ;big handicap, his extraordinary galloping ability should earn him many rich plums, so that his total would soon mount ■up. While comparing all these figures it is as* well to remember that the value of the stakes . won« by Carbine' would to-day amount to a total of approximately £62,000. Old-timers contend that Phar Lap will have to reach that amount to prove himself. The Ban on Geldings. As expected, the ban placed on geldings in classic races by the A.J.C. and V.R.C. is meeting with a good deal of criticism in Australia. Owners, breeders, and trainers interviewed expressed themselves against it. Breeders, of course, will be forced to keep the majority of the male youngsters entire, whereas at present they did this practically from choice. It was left to the owner to have them operated on or otherwise. Not until there is a .jpossible flood of cheap stallions will breeders be affected unduly. Owners, and especially trainers, have a practical grievance. A trainer with a big string and possibly ten colts will ■be in a quandary for accommodation. Each colt will have to be provided with a separate exercise yard. Another view expressed is that races should go to the best horse be it p£ either sex or unsesed. The improving

the breed of horses .shibboleth went out of date years ago, and although it is beniK trotted out again on this occasion, it raises only a smile. Prominent byemey trainers agree that geldings race more honestly, are easier to train and handle in the ■ stable, and easier to spell. On the contrary, jockeys like Pike and Munro state that stallions fight on more gamely on the average than geldings and are stouter stayers. The Pruning Knife. A few weeks ago it -was suggested that the Australian Jockey Club would bo compelled to curtail stake money, but it was understood minor- handicaps would be decreased in value. The A.J.C. Committee sprang a surprise last week by announcing that the two two-year-old classics at the Spring Meeting, the Breeders' Plate and Gimcrack Stakes, would be reduced in value from £?000 to £1500. Possibly the idea behind this step is to discourage to a degree the forcing of youngsters for early two-ycar ; old racing, for the club gives two big prizes in tin? autumn of £0000 and £3000 for the Sires Produce Stakes and Champagne Stakes. There is no suggestion at present that these amounts will be reduced. Hyde Park's Australian Debut. New Zealand racehorses have done so well in Australia that the public are inclined to look upon every one that appears now as rather better than the average Australian horse. Hyde Park, by Marble Arch—Sawdust, bought recently in the Dominion by Mi-. H. L. Spry, came under notice at Moo. se Valley ten days ago, states a Melbourne writer. "Just a useful horse, who should win races here," was how his trainer, V. O'Neill, described him after the gelding had finished third in the Nonga Handicap. The stable supported him a little; it-was not over-confident. O'Neill expressed the opinion ' that Hyde Park might develop into a good hurdle racer. "He looks like a jumper," he observed, and he uitends to school Hyde Park. At Moonee Valley he managed to hold his position in third place throughout the nine and a half furlongs, which was satisfactory in view of the fact that he bad not raced for a couple of months, and all that prepared him for the engagement was a couple of track gallops. Chester Cup Won by Outsider. Last season practically the whole of the big handicaps in England were won by v horses which started at long prices. The first of the series this year, the Lincolnshire, was won by the French horse Leonidas 11., starting at long odds; and a fortnight ago the second big handicap (the Chester Cup) was won by another outsider in Mountain Lad. There were 18 starters, and Mountain Lad won by a length and a half. The race is run over two miles and a quarter. The winner is a six-year-old horse owned by Mr. H. C. Sutton. He is by Alan Breck from Maid of the Mountains by Araadis from Porridge by Brentworth. Amadis is by Love Wisely (II.) out of Galeta by, the Derby winner, Ladas. Alan Breck was fourth in the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby. He was bred by Lord Woolavington and is by Sunstar from Joi de Vivre by Galliniile from Melinda by the Derby winner, Melton (8). More About Victorian Betting., At present the Victorian Government collects about £116,000 annually _ from stamp taxes, but it is felt that if the system of taxing bookmakers were to be made elastic and on a sliding scale, so that the amount of tax paid tfould vary with the amount invested, that nearly £300,000 could be collected in tax. It will take the clubs some time to decide what form of totalisator will be used, and to that end Mr. A. V. Kewney, secretary of the Victorian Racing Club, will go to England and'the Continent at the end of this "month to look over the types of machine available. Betting on the Pictures. This story is told in the "Athletic News": During the filming last week oi this year's sensational Grand National at a' local cinema, an excited bookmaker near me shouted, as Melleray's Belle and Sir Lindsay approached the last fence leading Shaun Gollin by , a length: "Six to one against any horse bar the two in front! Quick as thought I retorted: "I'll have that-to a pound on the one just behind. Even.as I spoke, the caption "Shaun Gollin AWins" was flashed across the screen. I turned to the "bookie," but before I could speak he-drew six one pound notes from his pocket and,, patting me on the shoulder, said: "Here you are, old man, your horse earned every penny of it in that finish." '