TURF NEWS IN BRIEF

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 104, 4 May 1937, Page 15

TURF NEWS IN BRIEF

Acceptances for the first day of the Otaki Maori Racing Club's Meeting are due at 8 o'clock on Friday evening Darecourt, who is staying on better now, is liable to win a useful middledistance prize during the early winter months. ■ __ Settlement's new owners are Messrs. H. H. and N. H. Barlow, of Christchurch, and the Night Raid' two-year-old will be trained for future racing by H. B. Lorigan at Trentham. According to a southern report, Cyrillian is at present under treatment at the Elderslie Stud, and is likely to remain there for a good while before it will be possible to send her home. Youssipof has been taken along with much patience since he injured a shoulder while schooling some months back, but on the improvement he has made in appearance lately the care may prove to have been' well worth while. The-Trentham trainer W. J. Wood, who has enjoyed good recent success with Arctic King and Myriam, is to give his other charge, the four-year-old Gay Mulla, a course of schooling and he will race the. horse over fences during the winter. Wood previously made a hurdler out of Arctic King's half-brother Arctic Star.

The Trentham trainer J. Ayres, who has been in poor health for some time past, has been absent from the tracks lately, but report at the weekend was that he was making better progress. Queen of Song was backed to show improved form at Oamaru last Saturday, but once again she disappointed. On the other hand, Davolo benefited from his race on the first day, and he finished a good third at an excellent price on the place machine. The annual report of the Birchwood Hunt states that a donation of £10 was received from the Canterbury Jockey Club, 10 guineas from the Dunedin Jockey Club, 10 guineas from the Southland Racing Club, 3 guineas from the Winton Jockey Club, and a trophy valued at 15 guineas from the Riverton Racing Club. According to the South Australian trainer C. Wheeler, who came over for the national yearling sales, racing has gone stale in Sydney. Talking of his visit to New Zealand, where he purchased several yearlings for Australian owners, Mr. Wheeler said that he noticed a difference in how the youngsters were presented for sale. They were worked into condition in the Dominion," he said.

An even class field is entered for the open six furlongs race at Pukekohe. In the past this event had drawn so poorly that it was omitted for several years and a seven furlongs race substituted, but this season the sprint has been reinstituted, with happy results. Among those in the1 event next month is Tosh, who won the previous sprint on this track and subsequently won at Avondale, while in between he was defeated among the hacks at Paeroa.

Two speedy hacks are due to appear again after a spell at Pukekohe, these being Square Acre and Philemup. The former retains his great turn of speed and he scored at the Takapuna Meeting, so that as he is at home on easy, tracks he may^have to be considered at his next few starts. In the spring Philemup revealed considerable promise, and his efforts subsequently indicated that he was going to be a good horse when thoroughly matured, His best effort was his dead heat with Quadroon in the Hack Cup at Te Rapa last November.