TROTTING CUP LIMIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 57, 4 September 1937, Page 22

TROTTING CUP LIMIT

GENERAL DISAPPROVAL

(Special from "Irvlngton.")

CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 3,

Although it was to be expected that • the New Zealand Metropolitan Trot- ■ ting Club's failure to shorten the " limit lor the New Zealand Cup would meet with the. approval of certain owners, there is not the slightest doubt that.the club's decision not to tighten , the' class to 4min 2Ssec has proved 1 most unpopular, . With the unusual number'of brilliant 1 horses assessed on 4min 25sec or better over two miles,- it was generally expected that the club would seize the opportunity to make a progressive 1 move by advancing to the highest ■ point circumstances allow—a move 1 that would have marked a new record > being set in tight Classes and, at the ; same time, a move that would haye met with the requirements of the ■ present position. The club's failure to take advantage of the times has met with widespread disapproval, and the conditions which 1 have been attached to the Cup have , been severely criticised m most . quarters. The club's proposal that it will retain the right to refuse the acceptance of horses who 'are past their best or otherwise unsuitable to compete cannot be considered as a serious effort to keep the field within reasonable bounds. That condition cannot be practicable in operation, and if •it is carried out it must result in un- , justness, both fancied and real, to those owners whom it affects. NO SECOND-RATERS. Horses work their way to !4min 26sec or better on sheer merit under the handicapping system. Entry to that class is not gained by two or three fortunate wins on fast tracks, but by a succession of wins, against stronger opposition on each occasion, and no horse of second-rate calibre can make the grade. If merit and ability, then, are the necessary attributes to ensure a horse reaching 4min 26sec or better over two miles, it would appear impossible for the club to brand him as unsuitable to start in. a 4min 26sec class. It is not an honour won by "pulling the strings" or by outside influence, A horse on a mark qualifying him to parade in the New Zealand Gup is. there because he possesses the qualifications to reach that company, and, having "shown his outstanding qualifications, he should "be eligible to start in a class that performances alone 'have placed him in. The folly of branding a horse as . being past his best has been illustrated too often to give the club safe ground to work on. In any case, it is hard to see on what grounds the club proposes to classify its Cup contenders. In November it will be twelve months since Indianapolis won a race, and longer since De Soto and Gamble were successful over two miles. On the other hand, horses such as Blue Mountain, Bed Shadow, Koi lOr, and RoUo, pacers who cannot be considered as improvers, have won races at a comparatively recent date. It does not seem possible that recent winners can be classed as being past their past. However, if horses such as Rollo and Roi I'Or cannot be placed in, mat category, it is equally impossible that Indianapolis, De Soto, and Gamble, probably all.of whom are open to fur- , ther improvement, can be placed In ; that list. This in spite of form over the preceding twelve months. Whichever way the present position : is viewed, if justice is done to all con- ' ceraed the prospects of a field of a desirable size parading in the next New Zealand Cup appear most remote. INCREASED PENALTIES. There is yet another side to the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Clubs failure to tighten the Cup limit. It will be remembered that about eighteen : months ago there was an agitation to have the penalties increased. The contentions were that the maximum penalties then, in force were too lenient and ' allowed too much latitude to good performers, with the result that horses 1 did not qualify as quickly as desired for the principal events. With the 1 local body as the leading and strong- ' est advocate, these reforms were made , and came into force at the beginning ; of last season. . The results are apparent today. Apart altogether from their outstand- ' ing qualifications and natural ability, horses such as Bonny Azure, Cloudy Range, Grand Mogul, Indiapapolis, and Rey Spec, and even Rollo, owe their present hard marks to those who ■ brought about the change in the handicapping penalties. It is not suggested that they would not be . occupying marks so far back in the handicaps if , the change had not been made. But it cannot be denied that those increased penalties robbed them of a ■ certain number of wins and curtailed their earning power as compared with i the former penalties in operation. THE 4MIN 26SEC DIVISION. In the other direction it will be ', found that, horses such as Blngen Palm, Lucky Jack, and Reporter, at present assessed on 4min 26sec, would : not, on their performances to date, have been on that mark under the ' old regime. In other words, with a list of performances behind them no better than they claim today, two seasons ago they would not have been , regarded as fully qualified New Zea- ■ land Cup contenders. Actually, compared with the standard of former ■ years the limit for the New Zealand Cup is virtually no stronger than a I 4min 27sec class of yester-years. • Hunting Cry and Golden Blonde ars reported to be in hard training at Gisborne. The former made his reappearance at the end of last season after. a long retirement, but the mare was in winning form at her last meeting a m An Australian writer states that if Talking and Mala remain sound throughout the spring meetings it,is probable that Mr. A. E. Cooper will take them to America in November for the Santa Anita Handicap, of 100,000 dollars, to be run' at Los. Angeles In March,