RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 20510, 14 June 1930, Page 19

RACING NOTES

[By St. Clair,]

RAGING CLUBS Juno 19, 21.—South Canterbury J.C. Juno 20, 21. —Hawke’s Bay J.C. June 25. Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club. June 27. 28.—Napier Park R.C. Juno 28.—Ashburton City II.C. June 28.—Waipa R.C. July s.—Oaraaru J.C.

THE EFFECT OF DRUGS Report of a new drug used as a stimulant for racehorses _ again raises the question whether it is possible to artificially force a slow horse to win races. According to a London cable, suspicion has fallen on Pennant, a two-yqar-old colt by Phalaris from Banniero, and winner of the Chesterfield Plate, and a test of his saliva was ordered. A drug allie.. to cocaine, but easier to administer, lias been mentioned.

Possibly the drug was novocain, eucain, or porcain. The latter is a now drug discovered in London some months ago and used (as are cocaine and novocain) for local amesthesia. It is a peculiar fact that all these drugs that abolish pain locally have a powerful, stimulating effect when they enter the circulation, followed by a period of depression. Doping horses in Australia (there is very little done nowadays in New Zealand) has usually taken the form of “ stopping ’• rather than stimulating them; this is attempted with belladonna or its active constituent, atronino. These threw the horse into a kind of nervous fever and temporarily blind it. TEMPORARY BUCK-XJP.

Still, the use of cocaine has been frequently suspected. During the war period rumours were persistent that ponies in West Australia were doped with it, one well-known performer bemg riddled with marks of the needle. erth chemists were pestered with demands for the drug, which at_ that „ime was very scarce and expensive.

The effect of cocaine is to create a temporary sense of exhilaration and muscular rigour, and to abolish the sense of fatigue. Horses are very, susceptible to the stimulant effect of cocaine, and can stand ‘ largo doses better than human beings. The drawbacks to its disgraceful use is that it must be administered just before the race, ns the effect wears off so quickly. The hypodermic needle, which ensures quick effect, is obviously best for the purpose. All the cocaine derivatives dilate the pupil of the eye, causing the eye to become painful in sunlight, but the effect is not so extreme as that of belladonna. ‘

In the human being the stimulating effect of cocaine comes on in five minutes and lasts twenty minutes to half i hour. On horses the action varies—some are so susceptible that they. are thrown into a kind of fit or senes of muscular Spasms, followed by profuse sweating. Like the human addict, tho doped horse does nob last long, quickly becomes unable to race unless drugged, and soon loses its artificial vigour permanently. TAX! DRIVER JOCKEY SCORES Apropos of Grosvenor’s success in the A.J.C. Hurdle Handicap, of £2,000, at Randwick last Monday, tho following article anent the horse and his rider, written by a Sydney critic a fortnight ago, is reproduced:— - Taxi horns will blaro a welcome whe’n George Carter comes out on Grosvenor in hurdle races round Sydney way. During bis enforced absence from the saddle George has been driving a taxi, and he will change from the wheel of the flivver to the reins of tho thoroughbred. Nor should anyone be greatly surprised if George signalises bis return with a win. Grosvenor is a sluggish jumper, and itting him over the big timber fences in Melbourne lias developed his bump of caution to such an extent that he will not race a. his hurdles. His motto is safety first all the time. He would not draw to his fences for Cutler, and he jumped about as freely as a cow jumping out of boggy ground. But Garter knows the right medicine for Grosvenor. Carter yells at him when he shows signs of slowing down, and he is apt to draw the whip and hit Grosvenor with it any old time. After negotiating Sydney traffic in a taxi. Carter ought to be able to get Grosvenor through his field all right._ be only thing that might stop him would be if a traffic cop came out and hold up his hand. JOTTINGS Nominations for the Oamaru Meeting to be held on July 5 close on Monday at 8 p.m. The annual meeting of members of the Dunedin Jockey Club will_bo_ held on Wednesday, July 30, and it is reported that several new candidates will offer themselves for election to the committee. - Antrim Boy looks_ all the better for his racing at the Winter Meeting, and this morning bowled along well over nine furlongs by himself. He was not ridden out to do tho journey in 2min Hsec on a slow track.

Master Anomaly started fourth in tho order of betting on the Juvenile Handicap, six furlongs, at the Williamstown Meeting last month, and finished fifth, tho winner’s time being Imin Gieselor is at tho present time handling two full-brothers, one rising two and the other rising three years, by Last Dart from the Day Comet mare Computer. They move nicely when cantering, and the older of the two is a particularly well-grown youngster. Tractora, the sister to Haulage, continues to show nico form the tracks. On Saturday morning tins filly was sprinted over half a mile with the Some Boy ll.—Glenculloch mare gelding in T. P. Wilson’s stable, and the pair ran it in 54sec very attractively. A 1 Jolson, who, it is reported, may bo taken to Sydney this winter, and Glenrowan covered five furlongs on a dead grass track this morning _ in 67 4-ssec. The going was all against Glenrowan, who looks better than he did at the Winter Meeting last week. J. J. Cotter, private trainer to Mr A. H. Fisher, has taken up Solmar, Bachelor’s Idol, and Bold Brigand (Shambles —Matata) again. Bachelor s Idol is still on the small side, but nas filled out since she raced here Inst Eobruary. . . „ . , c The acceptances ior the first day or the Timaru Meeting, to be held next Thursday and Saturday, are fairly good, excepting in the principal races. Most of the Wingatui horses engaged have been paid up for, the most notable withdrawals being Wingatui and Ked Heather.

July 8, 10, 12.—" Wellington R.C. July 19. —Waimato Hist. Hunt Club. July 17, 19.—Gisborne R.C. July 26. —South Canterbury Hunt Club. July 31.—Manawatu R.C. TR9TTINI CLUBS Jun* 21, 23.—An«kl*«d T.O.

C. Emerson, who has made a start as a trainer, expects to have several horses in his boxes very soon. At preent Emerson is undecided whether to give up riding at once or keep going until he has got started properly as a trainer.

J. Fielder leaves for Australia with Chirada and Stealth, who, it is_ reported, has been sold by Mr H. Divers to Mr J. Black. It is Fielder’s intention to be away only about eight weeks, and ho will bo back in timo to take part at the spring meetings. The trainers of the two Canterbury cracks Limerick and Pink Coat arc both fairly confident that they will get ,to Australia with them in the spring. They have made all arrangements for the trip, and it is to be hoped that they will survive at least long enough to show their best at Randwick. W. Feilding, who has been out of the racing business for some years, has joined R. C. Keeper’s staff at Orari. Feilding at one time was well known as a rider over fences, and won au Otago Steeplechase on Sportsman, but ho dropped out after experiencing a run of rather serious falls. The Beaumont Racing Club is losing no time in having its course put in order after the adverse report on its condition at this club’s annual meeting on Easter Monday. A sub-committee appointed to go into the matter engaged an engineer to report on what was required to make ••it safe, and his recommendations are being carried out right away. Tembroney, who has become very unreliable in Ins racing lately, has been turned out, and it is not likely that he will be taken up again until Mr Fisher’s return from England. A turn of schooling over hurdles might correct him, and he is, the right type of horse to make a good hurdler. The first half-dozen on the list of Australia’s greatest stake-winners are: Gloaming (£43,100), Amounis (£40,6931), Limerick (£38,729J), Heroic (£38,062J), Eurythmic (£36,891), and Windbag (£32,858). Carbine won £29,626, and the earnings of Phur Lap, The Hawk, and Nightmarch stand at £27.082, £26,284,- and £25,143 respectively. The racing community learned with deep regret of the death last week of Mrs Margaret Coyle, mother of the well-known handicapper Mr H. Coyle, the Awapuni trainer Mr J. P. Coyle, and Mr P. Coyle, of Wellington. Mrs Coyle was the widow of Mr John Coyle, who did his part to help the sport in its early days. The deceased lady was widely known and highly respected. Meitui, who is engaged in the Rosewill Hack Handicap at Timaru on Thursday, galloped with Caveman, who is engaged in the Electric, Stakes, this morning over five furlongs, and in the slightly holding grass track ran the distance in 68sec. The' former looks well, and gallops well on the tracks, and it will be interesting to note how she acts under the higher scale of weights. It is reported from Auckland that the veteran jockey F. C. Porter intends making his home in Auckland, and will carry out the duties of a. trainer. After his retirement Porter took up a hotel business, but racing proved irresistible and a horse under Tiis care affords him the opportunity to set up as a trainer: Porter did well during his riding career and won many notable races, including a number of classics for Mr J. S. Barrett, who raced that good horse, Count Cavour.

The old schooling fences at Wingatui have' now been removed, and a fresh lay-out of training tracks has been de cided on. On the new course a grass gallop will be laid off next to the in side fence, then a steeplechase schooling course, another grass track, and outside that a hurdle schooling course, and on the extreme outside a third grass gallop. This will mean five new tracks on the recently prepared ground, and at the last meeting of the committee of the club, a letter was received from the Otago Owners and Breeders’ A .sociation thanking the club for the increased training facilities. The yearling filly by Woodend from Glentruin has attracted much attention at Riccarton ‘ since being taken charge of by C. Emerson. She is very well grown (says the ‘Press’), and shows all the Qualities of her illustrious dam. who was rightly considered one of the best proportioned mares ever raced in New Zealand. In addition, the filly is endowed with a pronounced easy disposition, and it would be difficult at the present stage to fault her. It is appropriate that Emerson should open his career as a trainer in securing such a promising youngster, as he was associated with Glentruin in several of her successes on the turf. The most interesting gallop at Wingatui this morning was a seven furlong try-out between John Bradbury, Camisader, and Black Duke. The pace over the first three furlongs was slow, taking 46sec, but over the last half-mile the pace was on, and the fi i journey rook Imin 37sec. John Bradbur.,,who had the inside running, beating Black Duke by a good neck, and Camisader, who was on the outside, and nearly pushed off tho course at thJ turn into the straight, was less than a length away. The going and aho the slow pace over the early stage of the gallop assisted John Bradubry, and this horse is sure to run well in the Smithfield Handicap on Thursday.