THE TURF

Evening Star, Issue 18729, 3 September 1924, Page 9

THE TURF

Gossip be Old Iramin. Tho announcement that Mr W. F. Dunno has been appointed to handicap for the Southland Summer Meeting is of more than passing interest, in view of the fact that ins handicapping there last season stood the test and routed the critics.

The attendance at the Otago Hunt Club races on Saturday was not as large as might have been expected. The football was too strong an attraction. Nevertheless the racing comes out on the right side financially, which is as it should bo, (or no meeting could have been better managed. Congratulations to my old friend Mr “ Dick ” M‘Donald on his double win with King Sol. Ho has of late not met with as much luck as he deserves, and It must have been a pleasant experience to top the list of winning owners for once in a way. King Sol was bred by Mr J. A. Amour, the Dunedin Jockey Club’s new treasurer

All sections of the sporesmen present will join me in also congratulating Mr L. 0. Hasslett on his double win. Something bigger than a £IOO stake was hoped for when Fabia was mated with Solferino, but Mr Hazlett races for lovo of the sport, and was no doubt quite pleased to see Fabriano get homo twice at a meeting that is exclusively of the sporting as distinguished from the money-making character. It was nice, too, to see Mr “ Jock ” Hammerly win a race with Raconteur. This horse has been a disappointment so far. Perhaps ho will now go on to win a bit more. Ho is well enough bred for a Canterbury Cup. Parable, his dam, is the rnaro that Johnny M‘Combo won the Dunedin Cup with for Mr William Crossan, the rider laughing at the others towards the finish.

Mcnembor, winner of the Wingatni Trot Handicap, is an aged gelding by Logan Pointer from Clarewood, dam of Lady Elwood. The only Auckland-owned horse nominated for the New Zealand Cup is Musketoon.

There is no doubt, says a Sydney writer, that Gloaming now constitutes a serious menace to Eurythmic’s position at the head of the list of Australian stakeearners. The chestnut son of Eudorus can boast of great figures. He started in forty-seven races, for thirty and a-ha)f wins, six seconds, and four thirds, while he was six times unplaced. His earnings % mount to £36,891. Now Gloaming’s carnal ,gs reach the total of £35,189 —which represents £1,702 less than Eurylhmic’s. There seems to be. as much merit about

Gloaming’s record as there is about Enrythmic’s, for the reason that, while tlaj latter won thirty and a-half races out dr forty-seven starts, Gloaming has befc first past the post forty-eight times out of fiftysix attempts. The Caulfield Cup and Sydney Cup ; which netted £10,369, represent a big slice in Eurythmic’s earnings, and gave him a decided advantage over Gleam ing, who has not won such valuable races. The prospects of Gloamiug dethroning Eurythmic from the premiership depend upon his ability to win one of the important weight-for-ago races at the spring meet-

ing. It is reported from Auckland that the jockeys E. and L. Manson, whose _ names ware missing from the list of licensed jockeys, issued at the beginning of the season, have had their licenses granted. Last year’s Derby winner Papyrus has foiled to reproduce his threc-ycar-old form this year. There seems every justification for the summing up of a. trackwatcher at Newmarket: “ Not half the horse he was.”

Owing to tho hardness of the ground at Newmarket when tho last man left, Sansovino’s work in preparation for the St. Leger had been somewhat restricted. Reports agreed, hovievcrr, that Lord Derby’s colt , was in excellent health. Dioplion, who carried the Aga Khan’s colors to victorv in tho Two Thousand Guineas, suffered a severe defeat in tho Ribblosdalo Stakes at Ascot, when odds were laid on his ability to win. Tho one to make Diophon look like a moderate at Ascot was Live Wire, a son of Volta from Entanglement. Live Wire and Dinphon, it is interesting to relate, went up to auction as yearlings at Doncaster in Urn autumn of 1922. Live Wire was bought on account of Lord Wolverton for 620 gs, while Diophon cost the Aga Khan 4,000g5. Pillic.winkie, Tarleion, Barn Owl, and Winning Hit are doing well in their work ai Riccarton.

Mr j, A. Aingo’s two-vcnr-old by Paper Money-All Pink showed up well in tho flutter at Wingatui last Saturday^ Early this mouth, at tho Victoria Amateur Turf Club’s Meeting, there was a dead heat in the Chatsworth Plato, for thrco-year-olds, between Three Kings and Vinstra. The owner of tho latter, who was backward, vet-hed to divide, but this was objected to by the connexions of Ti ree Kings, whose cond'fhm was much better and who had been heavily bucked. In tho run-off, _ as was to bo expected, Three won. The case has given rise to a lot oi discussion, much of the criticism being antagonistic to the present rule requiring a run-off in the case of a dead heat. A writer in the ‘ Australasian ’ used the incident as tho text for an attack on the rule as follows: —When tho owner considers only his horse and does not wish to run off, but tho other owner, urged by betting considerations, demands a run-off, the first-mentioned, though obviously having as much moral right to have bis view carried out, has really mo say in the matter at all. To use a word which Mr William Allison not infrequently falls back on, such inequity is absolutely “ rotten.” Almost without exception dead beats are run off solely for tho sake of betting, which is the dog wagging the tail with a vengeance. As to tho Jonos-M'Caxten disqualification in Sydney, a surprise greater than tho original punishment is that the appeal was disallowed. Sports in New Zealand made “ a bird ” of it that the appeals would be upheld. Tho question now is whether the disqualifications will ho endorsed in New Zealand. It is a subject for the lawyers. Tho immediate question is as to what action tho Now Zealand Racing ConferoDco will take, All eyes are on Sir G. Clifford, to seo whether ho will call a meeting of the Conference Executive to consider tho matter.

A first lonk through the ■weights for tho New Zealand Cup is quite sufficient to give me tho belief that Mr Henrys has once more done this important job i very wisely. Ho had a lot of terribly | mixed material to work upon. My advice to students of racing who like to rush in , early is to restrain their impetuosity this ’ year and wait awhile. Opinions formed , just now may prove misleading. For I instance, one might arguo that as Rose-! day could get no nearer than third in tho last Cup with 8.9 ho does not look attractive for tho next Cup with 9.2. ; But such reasoning is fallacious, for the j simple reason that all the others in tho ; race who may seem to he mare favorably ■ handicapped have more or loss discredited themselves for a two-mile race. Tho question as to Roseday is how his chance j will read on the day, and nobody can i foretell that. The same consideration ap-1 plies to all the others. I dare not cut i out such a good horse as Roseday, My first impressions are that the. likely horses are Roseday, Gold Light, Limelight, Pilliewinkie, Scion, Duo, Snnart. Cold Steel, Deucalion, Tarleton, Arch Salute, Kilfane, Master Sandstone,, Killochra, and Tiff; but I reserve, leave to add to or take from that selection according to tho nows of the clay.

Reports from Hawke’s Bay staffs that ■Razzia Dazzle is working well, but her doubtful leg is not so good as could be wished.

Charlie Emerson is back from Sydney.