THE TURF

Evening Star, Issue 19003, 27 July 1925, Page 10

THE TURF

JGossip by Old Identity.] T think tho Dunedin Jockey Club members made a mistake at the animal meeting in negativing Mr A. H. Fisher’s proposal to increase the subscription to four guineas. Arc there **y who can afford the three and cannot afford the four? I doubt it. Two and threepence .per day for the nine days’ racing. About tho_ equivalent of a plate of oysters—that is all it would mean. I don’t like, the idea of thus advertising that this is a hard-up community, more especially when such is not the fact. Dunedin is drawing the interest on millions of money lent to other provincial towns in which a higher fee than four guineas is charged. Then there is the other side of the argument. A guinea per head is a trifle per day. ’ Collectively it means over IMOn, and, in Spite ot what was said per contra at the meeting, £4OO per year would pay the interest on a loan sufficiently large to pay for such improvements as are really urgent. I liked the way that Sir Hanlon (the president) summed up the argument before putting the proposal to the vote. He spoke judicially, as a chairman should, but there was a real examination of the position, and something in the way of a rebuke, in the way ho put the case. This is my own note of what be said: “.There is accommodation for 400 members in the stand that vou say should be altered. When the membership was small the members asked the committee to extend the privileges by giving each member a lady’s ticket for the stand. There was at the time plenty of room in the stand, and we gave each member the right to take a lady there. Even then the stand was nob full, and at.the further request of members wo' gave each two ladies’ tickets. Then it was found that the ladies were crowding the stand, and members asked for what was known as the smokers’ pen. Now they turn round and say the accommodation is insufficient, alter being the moans of making it insufficient, and they ask the committee to spend enough money to give three, persons morn on one subscription of three guineas. They are asking a great deal, especially in view ol the lact that they are already getting more from this club than any other club in the dominion gives.” I fancy that if those words had been spoken earlier in the evening, so that mem hors would have had time to ponder them, there would have been a bigger weight of “ayes” behind Mr. Fisher. . ~ The defeat of Mr R. S. Myers in the votnm for members of committee was feolimdy but discreetly spoken about by the president. He felt the personal . break, as all others did, but wisely Iclt I it at that after hearing witness to the very useful services Mr Myers iuid ion- , dered to this and all classes of sport. The t.ruth of the matter is that Mr • Myers took a risk in contesting the | election against younger men. in his dav ho. has perhaps voted for the re.imger men himsell. ft is natural to do so. No man can go on lor ever in office. J am more than ever confirmed in the opinion expressed months ago in this column, to the efteefc that committeemen ought to automatically ictiro neon reaching a given age, nr upon the completion of so many years service. No wrench would he iclt under such a system. The vexation of a defeat would ho avoided. But I don t think that Mr Myers is really vexed He is too mood a sportsman to resent a clcfcat.r He, knows that in his ivtircmcnt lie has not onlv the good-will but the sincere respect ’of racing .men c.t every type, and, if he thinks of it, some proof of that respect is that none but his vorv closest friends venture on the familiarity of addressing him as “Sep.” I don’t do it myself, and 1 have known him for about forty years He is “Mr Myers ” to all ol us, and never a word behind Ins hack as to liti'o neccadilfoos ii: bis clionc'va ( * oll “ rcetion with racing as owner and steward, for there are no lapses to bring up. A real English gentleman Nothing of great consequence dropped out of the New Zealand Grand National on acceptance night. _ Sir Kosp.ien would he the most fancied d the sinful and shocking practice of betting were still indulged in; but- T take the iisk oi smerosting that Tigerland is quite as iikefv, and next to that pair Kipling and 'Eerie scorn to be worth thinking about. ~ . . ~ Three of the upper weights in the National Hurdles have gone out—T.nehson, Comical, and Louglirea and Omalni and Peter Amans are also important defections. I like Sir Rosebery for this event, also Nukumai, Lucullont, and Vagabond. Comical s nonacceptance is a surprise. Ho was landed. Longhren’s name was not expected to continue in the Mist.. 4 o handicap him, a novice, within lib or the top weh’ht was much too high a compliment’’ Why the lib? Might a,s well have had the. full 11.9 while he; was about it 1 could understand it if Air 14enr,vs bad in efleet said; “Loughrea, is such a great horse that I’m going, to dve him no allowance at all for being a pure novice.” The lib heats me. As Loughrea is now out, and A. EEllis did so well on Penury Rose at Wellington, it seems possible that Mis will have the mount on Penury Rose if ho starts in the National Hurdles. Killoelira, White Comet, Sunny Lodi, 'Beaumont, Anticipate, and Rchntai arp talked about in connection with the Winter Cup. I h avo hoard a whisper, too, about Lucius. At the latter end of March _ the owners of the Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase winners, Shaun Spadali (1031), Music Hal! (1922), and Sergeant Murphy (1923), arranged a private sweepstakes of £IOO each, £SO furled, for a. match over the Sandowu Park steeplechase course, 3m lOO.vds, to he decided on April 25. Sergeant Murphy dropped out of the contest, and the other two fought it out, Shaun Spadali being favorite' Eadi in turn led until three fences from homo, when Shmin Spadali drew away and won by ten lengths. The winner, who was ridden bv the crack horseman, F. B. Rees, is fourteen years old, and his rival, steered by* J. R. Anthony, two years younger. ' Sliaim Spadali had been out of racing for a, long time and took some time to get warmed up; but towards the finish ho had the measure of his opponent and won easily. There is nothing like a good name, especially for a racehorse. This is probably why the name of Carbine has boon used 'so' frequently on the Australian turf. Besides a number of lesser lights, three different Carbines are enrolled as winners of really big races. The greatest of these was, of course, the incomparable son of Musket, who won the 4890 Melbourne Cup under ]0.5 for Donald Wallace. Years before the great Carbine was thought of, Queensland boasted a top-notch horse of tlio same name. In 1875 this Carbine won the Brisbane Cup, starting favorite, and scoring very easily. Ho was a bay gelding by Tamelano. The third Carbine raced in West Australia in the early nineties, and as a tlirce-year-old ho won the West Australian Derby, tlio Railway Btakes, and other good races. Nowadays racehorses’ names are registered by a Federal registrar, and the names of winners of the big races on the turf, are not allowed to he used again. Registration of horses’ names ciimo into operation in 1900. ’ Dundalk is the first South Australianowne.d horse to win the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase. He is by Pistol, of the Sxiisket family. He, started favorite. The_ leaders in turn were Palbi, Repatriation, and Haoma. When Haoma fell Palbi was left with a clear lead from Dundalk and Mailman. Palbi was quickly tackled by Dundalk, who had charge at the last fence, and, getting over safely, had the race in his keeping. Palbi mas second turning lothome, but Mailman, plugging on, beat him for second money. Dundalk won the Adelaide National LwsJbKnar

Onkaparinga Steeplechase this season. It is understood that tho term of suspension inflicted on the jockey M. M'Oarten and the trainer F. D. Jones will expire a day or two before the Grand National date. It is strange to rend of ladies associated with a church supervising tho luncheon and a clergyman making the introductory remarks at a sale of thoroughbred horses, but this happened at the dispersal of Major August Belmont’s nursery stud near Lexington, in America, last May. There were nearly 3,500 people present, and the luncheon was under the auspices of tho ladies of tho Church of tho Good Shepherd (Episcopalian). Tho ‘Press’ reports-that a tempting offer, in the neighborhood of £3.000, was made in Australia for Pilliewinkic recently.

Ptolemy 11., the £50,000 French Derby horse, arrived at Espom (England) from France escorted by five detectives.

Hairera, tho two-year-old that won at Rosehill (N.S.W.j last Saturday, is by Heather Mixture—-Piraeus, owned by V. Casey.

Nigger Minstrel has been taken up by F. Davis, at Woodville. An Auckland writer has looked up Vagabond’s career, and finds that ho has started in 138 races. As the majority of them were over long distances, Vagabond can bo said to have earned his oats. Polyphonies, winner of the Eclipse Stakes in England this month, won the same race last year. Ho is by Polymolus—St. Josephine,