RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 19763, 13 January 1928, Page 9

RACING NOTES

RACING FIXTURES. January 14,-rDargaville E.C. January 14.—Ashburton County R.C, January 14.—Wairio J.C. January 16.—Waipapakauri R.C. January 17, 19.—Wairoa R.C. January 21.—Bay of Islands R.C. January 21, 23. —Foxton R.C. January 21, 23, 25.—Wellington R.C. January 28, 50.—Takapuna J.C. February I.—Tokanui R.C. February 1, 2.—Pahiatua R.C. February 2, 4 Bgmont R.C. February 2, 4.—Gisborno R.C. February 4.—Matamata R.C. February 9, 11.—Dunedin J.C.

THE VINCENT MEETING The Vincent Jockey Club’s Meeting last week-end was easily the best this up-country club has ever held, and will place it in a strong financial position. The origin of the Vincent Jockey Club was the amalgamation of two clubs formed in the early gold-mining days in the Matakanui district, each of which found it impossible to carry on after the miners had disappeared. I 1 or a number of years the present club also found it difficult to make ends meet, and it was only through the generosity of several true sportsmen in the district, and a good subscription list that it was able to exist. During the past four or five years, however, the meeting has attracted just sufficient outside horses to make the meetings sufficiently interesting to attract fair attendances, and since then both gate and totalisator receipts have increased sufficiently to make the meetings both enjoyable to those who make the trip to the Central an annual one, and profitable to the club. This year the fields were larger than usual, and thei’e was a record number of two dividend races. The meeting was quite well managed for a fixture of its kind, but there were one or two little matters that could, and should, be improved. Mr Keddell, the club’s honorary starter, is quit© a capable official, but bo was far too lenient with some of the riders, and _ listened to their tales about not being able to manage the “ bad ” horses they were on. On the first day these riders simply did what they liked, and delayed the conclusion of the programme by nearly an hour. On the second day he showed much more firmness, and his starting was quite good, a very marked contrast to the first day. Ho was at a great disadvantage in not having a proper barrier, but even with the most up-to-date starting appliances his work would not have been any better on the opening day without more firmness. A race book is only used on the day by ninety-nine person out of every hundred that buy them, but, oven so, they are entitled to get all the information, and I have no Hesitation in saying that the race books issued in connection with this meeting were the worst productions ever sold for a shilling on a racecourse in the dominion. 1 do not know whether the printer was supplied with all the particulars by the secretary or not, but that is a matter for the executive to inquire into. The public is also entitled to have the information regarding riders, weights carried, and draw for places posted for them, and this was indifferently done. At this meeting these particulars wore all the more necessary on account of the errors and omissions in the race card. I have pointed out these little matters because they can bo so easily remedied il taken in hand by the enthusiastic committee in charge of the drib’s affairs, and would add "greatly to the enjoyment of the meeting. Since last year the hitherto dirt track has been sown down in grass, with a view to providing better going and doing away with the dust nuisance. Unfortunately a very dry season has been experienced in the Central ibis year, and the grass, not only on the course, but everywhere else, is very burned up, and the track was both hard and dusty. This was no fault of the executive, and I understand that it will be remedied in the future by watering. The club has every reason to be well satisfied with the result of the meeting, and several proposed improvements (o the appointments and a slight increase in stakes for next year’s meeting will, if carried out, still further add to the popularity of the fixure. A PECULIAR CASE Whou the riders of the five horses engaged in the Lochella Cup at the Vincent Meeting went to the post on the opening heat was excessive e\en for Central Otago, and most of *ho horses were in a lather of sweat a long time before they went to the_ post. Tho scales on which the weighing was done wore tho ordinary platform scales generally found in a country store, and were placed on a' rather uneven earth Hoor. The start was delayed nearly a quarter of an hour owing to the vagaries of one of tho horses, whose rider appeared very anxious to get an advantage, and after a. splendid finish between the iiuliifercntly ridden Quickform, who should have won, and Kilbirnic, the latter secured a head verdict. On returning to the scales the rider of the winner was found to be l J ,lb short_ weigh*., and when tho other riders weighed in they, too, were each lighter than when they weighed out, the sweltering heat, having caused them to lose weight. A meeting of the Judicial was at once called, and acting on the advice of Stipendiary Steward Om-y, the winner was disqualified. He apparently relied on rule 10, part ‘.VS, .Hides of Racing, which says: “If die jockey cannot draw tho proper or declared weight the clerk of the scales shall allow him 11b.” A preceding paragraph in the same rule says: “If a horse,carry more than 21b overweight in a flat race . . . which has not

been duly declared, it shall he disqualified for tho race unless the stewards

[By Si. Claie.]

February 9, 11.—Taranaki J.C. February 9, 11.—Poverty Bay Turf C, February 11, 13.—Rotorua R.C. February 15.—Clifden R.C. TROTTING FIXTURES. January 27, 28.—Forbury Park T.C. January 28.—Hawkes Lay T.C. January 30. —Poverty Bay T.C. Jan. 31, Feb. I.—Nelson T.C. February 2 Takaka T.C. February 4.—Cheviot T.C. February 11.—N.Z. Metropolitan T.C. February 18, 22.—Otahuhu T.C. February 25.—Kakoura T.C.

are satisfied that such excess has been caused by the wet.” The owner of the second horse, Mr John Clare, of Omakau, who has. teen racing horses for nearly sixty years, told the Judicial Committee ho did not want the stake or the cup attached to the stake, as lie considered his mure was fairly and squarely beaten, and if the committee disqualified Kilbirnie he would return the stake awarded him to the club, and hand the cup over to the owner of Kilbirnie. Immediately the disqualification of Kilbirnie was made known to the owner of that horse ho lodged an appeal and the money was impounded. A little later in the afternoon the scales were examined and found to be very dirty underneath, and when cleaned with petrol and a brush they became much more sensitive, and upon this being reported to the president of the club lie called the Judicial Committee together again to reconsider 'he case, it was then pointed out that ns all the riders had returned light-weight it was only fair to deduct from the lijb that Kilbirnie’s rider was short the minimum _ short weight of the others engaged in the race, before the exact underweight of Kilbirnie’s rider could be accurately announced. When this was done it was found that he w-as not quite 11b short weight. Taking this fact into account, and the dirty state of the scales when tho weighing out and in for this race w'as done, the Judicial Committee very rightly reversed its original finding and allowed the judge’s placing to stand. And everyone, especially Mr Clare, was satisfied. ' If the rule referred to makes provision for overweight caused by rain, surely some provision should also be made in cases such as this one, where the stewards were quite satisfied that the short weight w-as caused by the heat. Another weakness of the rule is that ihough it provides that the clerk of the scales should allow- a jockey 11b if he returns short weight, no penalty is provided or even implied if he cannot draw the correct weight after the allowance of tho 11b. Appeals are not desirable at any time, but this case in point would have been an interesting one, and no doubt the conference when it makes its annual review of its rules next July will make some provision to meet cases similar to this one. JOTTINGS There will be racing at Wairio and Ashburton to-morrow. Gold Mine lias now fallen three times in as many weeks. It is extremely questionable whether he should be allowed to start, as be is a danger to his rider and other horses in a race. Mr 11. Mee, the handicapper to the Vincent Jockey Club, did some fairly rough handicapping ou the second day, but" he succeeded in obtaining better acceptances than tho club ever secured before. There is probably no handicapper in the dominion who has had as many first favorites winning on tho second day as Mr Mee. On Monday the public picked all the winners of the five flat races ou the card. On the first dav three of the five flat races on the card were won by very short-priced favorites.

Puff lightened up after her two races on the first clay at Omakau. She was only started once on Monday, and registered a very easy win. . Rob, after his forward running at Invercargill, was made a present of the Matakanui Handicap on the first day of the Vincent Meeting, in winch race ho was in a class by himself, it was his only appearance at the meeting. Mr A. 15. Armour was the only member of the D.J.C. Committee present at tho Vincent Meeting. Tho timing of the trotting vents was questioned once or twice at the Vincent. Meeting. Private watches in the amds of experienced men made Harrotha go much faster than the official time when she won the Vincent Trotting Stakes, and Nelson Fay slower when no won I he Poolburu Trot. Rory O’More is a very headstrong horse," and on the first day of the Vincent Meeting F. Voight was quite unable to manage him. After running away and getting rid of Voight he vas caught some distance away from the course, and gave his captor a bad rde back to bis stable, as he also ran away with him. By the way he raced on the second day his career across country did him no harm. I). P Wilson, juu., R. M Donald, S. G. Ware F. Shaw, and H. Halligan (who was representing C. Gieseler) each won races at the Vincent Meeting with horses trained by them at Wingatui. Anpian Way, Miss Trillion, Delicious, and Rory O’More were tho disappointing members of the teams from their stables. Nominations close for the Dunedin Cup Meeting this evening, at 5 o’clock. Neither Circulation nor Overdrawn made the trip for the Wairio Gold Cup, to be run to-morrow, b«t the Salisbury stable will be represented by Galway in the Steeplechase. Real Glad got galloped on just orior to the Vincent Meeting, and was 'mry soro each day. Despite this she ran two good races, and. the luck only, required to be with instead of against her owner to have won them both.

The time of closing nominations for the Tapanui Meeting has been extended until 8 p.m. to-morrow. The steeplechaser Frenchman is in work again on the Southland tracks. The Wairio Jockey Club has received splendid acceptances for to-morrow’s races, and Solrose. John Bradbury, unci Black Duke will represent Otagoffin the race for the Wairio Gold Cup.