RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 20983, 23 December 1931, Page 5

RACING NOTES

[By St. Clair.]

RACING. December 26.—Waipukurau Jockey Club. December 26, 28.—Dunedin Jockey Club. December 26, 28. —Taranaki Jockey Club. December 26, 28, 29. —Manawatu Racing Club. December 26, 29, January 1, 2.—Auckland Racing Club. January I.—Waikouaiti Racing Club. January I.—Wyndhnm Racing Cub. January 1, 2.—Greymouth Jockey Club. January 1, 2.—Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club. January 1, 2.—Stratford Racing Club. January 1, 2.—Marion Jockey Club. January 1, 2.—Wairarapa Racing Club. January 2.—Oamaru Jockey Club. January 2, 4.—Southland Racing Club.

FIRST ACRE’S RECORD, A veteran of the race track who retains a good dash of his old-time form —and that f too, in the face of a strenuous campaign—is First Aero, who has contested 177 races since ho came on the scene at two years old in the season of 1923-24. First Acre’s most noteworthy performance was achieved at eight years old, when he won the Victoria llacing Club’s Handicap at Flemington in November, 1930, for he created an Australian and New Zealand record of 2.56 J for a mile and threequarters. First Acre’s record is as follows; UnFirst. Second. Third; placed.

*One dead heat. Acre, sire of First Acre, is an Aus-tralian-bred horse by Linacre, while Oka, his dam, is a New Zealand-bred daughter of Stepniak, son of Nordenfeldt. THE WAIKOUAITI MEETING. The popularity of the Waikouaiti Meeting with owners is well demonstrated by the excellent list of acceptances published in to-day’s columns. The principal handicap, the Waikouaiti Cup, has attracted thirteen, while the Trial Plato has drawn twenty-four. As thirteen is the maximum number of horses that can be started from the six furlong post on the Waikouaiti Course this race will have to be run in divisions. ..The Hawkesbury Hack Handicap has also attracted more than the maximum number, and unless one of the horses engaged is scratched the public will have no less than ten races provided for them. The acceptance list .assures a great day’s sport, and fine weather is the only thing now required to make the meeting an unqualified success. A FINAL REMINDER. Owners and trainers are given a final reminder that the nominations for the Vincent Meeting close at 7 p.m., and acceptances for the Wyndham Meeting on New Year’s Hay close this evening at midnight. JOTTINGS. The rain which fell at Wingatui during the night did an immense amount of good and will make the course for Saturday’s meeting at its best. This morning is not one of the regular galloping days, so the fact that the tracks were too wet for fast work has not at all inconvenienced trainers, all of whom were delighted to have the tracks softened. E.* Ludlow will ■ have tho mount on Prince Val in the Auckland Cup, and H. N .Wiggins will be on Silvermine in the Railway Handicap. There is a possibility that King Colossus may go north after the opening day at Awapuni to fulfil his engagement in the Great Northern Derby, but his owner-trainer (G. W. New) will no doubt be governed by his showing in the Manawatu Cup. R. Reed will be at Auckland for the opening day, where he will ride Beacon Fire, Lack, Hit the Deck, Compris, Golden Wings, Gold Trail, and Antique. .He will also ride Golden Wings in the Great Northern Derby. T. Green remained in Palmerston North after the Woodville Meeting, but he will go north for the Auckland fixture, where he has been engaged to ride Seatown, High Comedy, Tea Trader, Baroscope, Juniper, and Dunraven. Convoy and Red Heckle have been scratched for all engagements at. the forthcoming meeting of the Dunedin •Jockey Club. Their absence from the meeting is to be regretted, but fortunately there are big fields in the races they were engaged in. It is announced that Mr Ken Austin, manager of the Elderslie. Stud Farm, will act as auctioneer at the national yearling sales at Trenfham next month. Mr Austin. has been associated with these sales since their inception, and is unquestionably the best blood stock auctioneer in the Southern Hemisphere. General satisfaction is expressed from ail quarters that. the Railway Department has at last realised the importance of making its services to Wingatui on race days popular by reducing the fares. This shcidd make a great difference to tl;e numbers who will travel by train to the D.J.C. Summer Meeting next Saturday and Monday. The flower beds at Wingatui look at their best just now, and are a great credit to the caretaker and his staff, who have put in long hours this summer to keep them up to the usual high standard, owing to the amount of extra work that has been necessary after the damage done by the hurricane last October. Last night’s rain will greatly help tho excellent show of roses now in bloom.

There have been forty-one contests for the Railway Handicap. The three-year-old winners of the race are Loy-

TROTTING. December 26.—Ashburton Trotting Club. December 26.—Gore Trotting Club. December 26, 28.—Westport Trotting Club. December 26, 28.—South Wairarapa Trotting Club. December 28, 30, 31.—Auckland Trotting Club. December 30.—Winton Trotting Club. December 30. —Reefton Trotting Club. January 1, 2.—Canterbury Park Trotting Club. January 4.—Westland Trotting Club. January 5, 6.—Greymouth Trotting Club. January 16. —Wellington Trotting Club. January 23.—Timaru Trotting Club. January 28, 30. —Forbury Park Trotting Club.

ally, Forma, Eton, Resells, Renown, Cruciform, Orloff, King Billy, Dawn, Kilindini, King Lupin, Downham, Hymestra (dead heat with King Lupin), Parody, Master Boon, High Pitch, Hunting Cry, and Lady Cavendish. Lady Cavendish won a division in 1925, when the race was run in two divisions.

Tel-Asur, who won the King-Emperor Cup at Calcutta on Saturday, is an English bred four-year-old bay gelding by Allenby (son of Bayardo) from the Eminent or Selsey Bill mare Curragh Gale. He raced in England as a twoand three-year-old, winning one of his four races last season, when he carried the Colours of Captain O. J. Rolo, and was ti ained by G. Sadler at Newmarket. He was sold and exported to In-dia-early this year. , In the advertising columns to-day Messrs Wright, Stevenson, and Co. Ltd. draw attention to the national yealing sales to be held at Trentham on January 21. Catalogues are now available from the auctioneers, and a glance through the index is sufficient to impress upon the racing man that they contain particulars of the breeding of a remarkably fine lot of yearlings of exceptional quality. Thirty-seven different breeders will be represented at the sale, and a most interesting feature of the' catalogue is the statistics _ referring to past successes of yearlings purchased at the' previous sales. E. Mitchell, who is in charge of Messrs Stevenson and M'Math’s stable at Riversdale, has one of the most useful teams of pacers to be_ found throughout the country districts of Southland. Five of these in Master Roy, Rollicking Wave, Jolly Wave, Jolly Drive, and Willow Wave are in excellent fettle at present, and their condition and appearance are a credit to their trainer. _ It will he surprising if Mitchell fails to have a profitable time during the Gore and Winton trotting meetings. Mention has previously been made of two successive wins scored by the Sydney fourteen-one Kenilworth pony Osaleen, the first when carrying list 41h, and the second with 61b more on her back. Last week she topped these performances off by making light of 12st 31b in a four-furlong flutter for her height class at Victoria Park. Starting second favourite, she won as easily as ever, there being at the finish a couple of lengths between her and the runner-up, another brilliant liliputian, All Pep, to whom she was giving away 30!b i.i weight. She, moreover, ran the distance in 50sec. F. J. Smith will drive Jewel Pointer, who is trained by him, in the Auckland Gup, and C. Smith may ho given the drive behind Reremai. If present intentions are adhered to J. M'Kondrick will drive Torpedo Huon. He trained the 1923 Auckland Cup winner, Blue Mountain King, who was driven by George M'Kendrick. A. J. Julian, who stccrcvl Admiral Wood to victory in 1916, will be behind Gold Treasure, and A. Brown, who scored with Harold Junior in 1918, will drive Auto Machine. Although no driver has yet been announced for Nelson Tasker, it is probable that W. Willetts, who is working the horse for W. Brain, will be the reinsmau.

A. Melbourne writer states:—“ The trip, even if Phar Lap does not win a race, should not show a loss to his joint owners, as they are assured of an abundance of appearance money throughout America, and, in addition, all expenses are being borne by the controllers of Agua Caliente. Apparently there is some misunderstanding about the quarantine regulations embracing horses brought from America to Australia. When Phar Lap’s trip was first mooted it was stated that he would be unable to return direct from America, but it now appears that this can be done provided he enters quarantine for a month after his arrival in Sydney. This gives rise to the thought that, after all, we may again see him racing in Australia, though this is only hazarding a guess.”

As Peter Jackson is now ruling as one of the leading selection for the Auckland Cup, ft is of interest to note that he belongs to the same family as last year’s surprise victor, Motere. He is by Nigger Minstrel (Desert Gold’s full brother) from the Martian mare Left, and Motere is by Lord Quex from Left’s full sister, Lovernatch. The family to which they both belong is that branch of the No. 13 line established in the dominion by Hebrew Maid and her daughter, Lovelorn. Hebrew Maid, served by Melton, was imported from England by the late Mr J. F. Buchanan in 1906, and the foal to Melton, named Lovelorn, was born in Now Zealand shortly after her arrival. It is to Lovelorn principally that the branch off the line owes its present prominence in the dominion.

Another member of the Sunridge lino has come into the limelight in America. At the Latonia Meeting recently in the Selina Stakes, a mile event (for two-year-old fillies) worth about £5,000, the winner was Laughing Queen. Laughing Queen is by Sut Briar (imp.), sire of Sun Beau. Her dam is Cleopatra, by Corcya from imported Gallice, by Gallinulo from St. Cecilia, by St. Serf (St. Simon—Feronia) from Melody, by Tynodale. Corcya was by Polymclus from Pearmain, by Persimmon. Sun Briar is by Sunridge from imported Sweet Briar 11., by St. Frusquin from Presentation, by Orion from Dubia. Orion (13) was by Bend Or from the brilliant mare Shotovcr, by Hermit from Stray Shot. The unbeaten filly *Top Flight did not start in this race, being off-colour, but is reported to have run the distance on the training track in 2sec faster time.

Another year’s flat racing lias closed in England, and once again without a single notable triumph being recorded for a horse carrying the colours of His Majesty the King. The Royal stable was not regarded as strongly represented this year, and Ashridgc, a highly-bred son of Gainsborough and Stained Glass, the only throe-year-old nominated by the King that was considered likely to play an important part in a classic race, did not fulfil anticipations. The Royal stud is probably not as strong now as at previous periods, but that will not stand in the way of a widespread wish that it may yet pro-.

duce another horse up to the standard of Persimmon to carry the King’s colours. The victories registered by colts which carried the lloyal colours to victory in classic events constitute a very bright page in tho history of the English turf. Tn 1896 Persimmon won tho Derby and St. Leger in the nomination of the Prince of Wales, and four years later Diamond Jubilee, who was also raced by tho Prince, won “ the triple crown ” —Two Thousand Guineas, Derby, and S. Leger. Then in 1909 King Edward Vll. had Minoru to carry tho Royal colours, and that colt won the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. In 1929 Scuttle won for King George the One Thousand Guineas, which is confined to three-year-old fillies.

At 2 years 0 0 0 4 At 3 years 7 5 2 13 At 4 years 8 3 11 17 At 5 years 4 2 4 22 At 6 years 2*> 2 0 15 At 7 years 2 2 3 10 At 8 years 4 4 1 20 At 9 years 4 1 3 2 31 19 24 103