RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 21836, 27 September 1934, Page 5

RACING NOTES

[By St. Clair.]

RACING. September 29.—Napier Park Racing Club. September 29, October I.—Taumarunui Racing Club. September 29.—Oamaru Jockey Club. October 4. 6.—D.J.C. October 22, 23.—Gore Racing Club. October 22.—Waverley Racing Club. October 22.—Waikato Hunt Club. October 22.—Waipawa C. Racing Club, October 22.—N. Canterbury Racing Club. October 25, 27.—Poverty Bay Turf Club. October 27.—Banks Peninsula Racing Club. October 27. —Rangitikei Racing Club. November $ s.—Avondale Jockey Club.

RETAINING FEES FOR JOCKEYS. Tiie announcement that Gordon Richards, the champion jockey in England, is to receive from the Aga Khan a retaining fee of £7,000 a year, plus 10 per cent, of the stakes won, in a contract for three years for first call on his services, furnishes a striking illustration of how very different the remuneration of leading present-day jockeys is compared with, that paid fifty years ago. It is related that the largest sum the renowned Fred. Archer received as a retainer from Lord Falmouth was £I,OOO a year. Going a hit further back, it is on record that £IOO a year was all that Sir Joseph Hawley paid T. Wells as a retainer for first call.

A few years ago it was stated that Stephen Donoghue _ received £5,000 from Mr James White for two years, and Lord Rosebery paid the American jockey, D. Maher, £4,000 a year for several years, while the sportsman who raced under the assumed name of “Mr Fairie ” paid Maher £3,000 a year for second call. It is not in retaining fees alone that matters have changed to the marked advantage of jockeys, Harry Custance, a rider of note, stated that the only present Mr James Merry gave him during the three years he rode for the wealthy Scotsman was £IOO after winning the Derby of 1860 on Thormanby. John Day, who steered the Duke of Grafton’s pair, Dervise and Problem, to victory in the Two Thousand Guineas and One Thousand Guineas respectively in 1826, was given a present of £2O. Truly times nave changed, and the jockey of the present day is certainly not left out in the cold, JOTTINGS. Acceptances for the first day of the Dunedin Jockey Club’s Spring Meeting are due to-morrow. Friday, at 5 p.m., and at the same hour final payments for the M'Lean Stakes and Dunedin Guineas are also due. Davolo, says a Christchurch writer, is likely to be one of the early favourites for the New Zealand Cup, but he doubts his ability to stay. The names of A 1 Jolson and Guillotine should not have been included in the list of acceptances for the Flying Handicap at Oamaru. For the second season in succession the Balboa mare Laughing Eyes has slipped twin foals to British Empire. Mobile is a very profitable sprinter. A young five-year-old, he has now won eleven races, and, including his minor placings, has earned £1,399 in prize money. Punchestown is being kept going at Riccarton with a view to competing in the two valuable steeplechases to_ be run at the Auckland Summer Meeting, Davolo commenced his racing career at the end of the 1932-33 season, starting once as a two-year-old. As a three-year-old he started twenty-eight times, and this season he has had six starts. So far Gustavo has to be credited with four colts and one filly at the Salisbury Stud. Compression, Bonny Lake, Real Glad, and Traction have produced fillies to him, and Traction a colt foal. Sweet Agnes is reported to he one of the most forward of the Riccarton contingent engaged in the New Zealand Cup. So far she has not done much fast work since racing at the Grand National Meeting. The Southland * News' says the British Empire—Sparkling Eyes filly in A. M‘Kay f s stable at Riverton will not fulfil her M'Lean Stakes engagement. The two-year-old is shaping well on the tracks, but it has been decided not to race her until later on in the season. A Christchurch writer commenting on Polydora’s condition, says the mare will have to do some racing during the next six weeks to bo ready to contest the New Zealand Cup. He suggests that the Auckland Cup at Christmas time may be her real mission. Five horses have been handicapped for this New Zealand Cup that met in the Dunedin Cup last February, and the following is the comparison in handicaps.— Dunedin. N.Z. st. lb. st. lb. Vintage. (1) ... ... 710 8 2 Ventrac (2) 8 2 7 9 The Smuggler (4) ... 8 6 8 0 Some Shamble ...7 2 7 3 Red Racer 7 2 7 0

To-morrow will be a busy day at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s office, for in addition to the first acceptance for the New Zealand Cup closing at 8 p.m, at the same hour nominatidns are due for the Stewards’ Handicap £SOO, Criterion Handicap £3OO, Fendalton Handicap £3OO, Canterbury Cup £4OO, Jockey Club Handicap £350, Metropolitan Handicap £6OO, and Members’ Handicap £3OO. An increase of £1,715 in prize-money, making the total stakes for the three days £7,050, compared with £5,335 last year, has been decided upon by the committee of the Auckland Trotting Club for the summer meeting, to be held on December 27, 29, and 31. In honour of the visit of the Duke of Gloucester, the principal event bears the title of the Auckland Royal Trotting Cup, and the stake has been increased by £SOO to £1,250, including a gold cup valued at £SO. The class has been tightened from 4.30 to 4.27.

For the convenience of horse owners and trainers returning from the Dunedin, Jockey Club’s races, a special fust train conveying Iwrses, also passengers for Palmerston, Oamaru, and stations north of Oamaru, will leave Dunedin at 11.38 a.m. on Sunday, October 7, and will connect at Timaru with the usual 4.50 p.m. Timaru-Christchurch Sunday passenger train. An American turf writer, in discussing the staying quality, declared that no horse could run the first halfmile in a distance race in 46sec and have anything left to finish with. Referring to this contention, “ Warriwee,” in the Sydney ‘Referee,’ says: This recalls mighty Manfred’s feat in the A.J.C. Derby of 1925. He was left at the barrier about half a furlong, ran the first half-mile, to pick up the field, in 46sec. and left the opposition at the end of twelve furlongs to win in a canter. How many horses have there been anywhere, in any age, that could have put up such a performance ns that? Fred Archer held that the greatest of stayers could be beaten by

November 3,5, 7, 10.—Canterbury Jockey Club. TROTTING. September 29.—Methven Trotting Club, October 6.—New Brighton Trotting Club, October 12, 13.—Westport Trotting Club. October 13. —Waikato Trotting Club. October 20. 22. —Auckland Trotting Club. October 20, 22. Greymouth Trotting Club October 22.—Oamaru Trotting Club. October 22.—Manawatu Trotting Club. October 27.—Wellington Trotting Club. November 6,8, 9.—New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club. November 10.—Te Aroha Trotting Club. November 22, 24.—Forbury Park Trotting Club.

hurrying them over the early part of a long race, and, -broadly speaking, this is true. To do himself justice, a stayer must be allowed to get balanced before he is asked to exert all his powers. Good stayers have commonly been _ beaten through the failure of their riders to recognise this fact. The Derby Trial has been deleted from this year’s spring programme of the Oamaru Trotting Club. There will be three race meetings— Oamaru, Napier Park, and Taumaranui —and a trotting meeting at Methven on Saturday. A freak wager at long odds was taken in Sydney last week about Silver King winning ,the A.J.C. Derby, Victoria Derby, and Melbourne Cup. The Gore Trotting Club will distribute £1,355 in stake money at its annual meeting to be held on Boxing Day. The Gore Trotting Cup will carry £3OO, and the class has been fixed at 4min 46sec.

K. Voitre intends to take a trip to Australia, on. which he will combine business with pleasure. He will sail about October 13, and expects to be absent about a month.

It is a long time since the Wingatui tracks received such a soaking as they have had this week, but with the improvement made in the drainage last winter Caretaker- Ruthven is quite optimistic about being able to provide a good racing track next Thursday. At Mr G. A. Kain’s Gladstone Park Stud last week Mr G. Hall’s Sweet Smile (dam of Polydora), by San Francisco—Winning Way, foaled a chestnut colt to Lord Warden, with whom she will again be mated this season. Mr Kain’a own mare Moiaelle, by Solferino —Mademoiselle lx®, produced a filly to Nightmarch. This is her fifth, filly in. succession.

The totalisator at Foxton on Saturday showed an increase of £1,767, as compared with last year. In reporting this fact the Wellington ‘ Post ’ remarks;—“To obtain this result the programme was allowed to lag progessively till it was 55min after schedule when the machines closed on the last race, which was run just over an hour late, five minutes after the sun had set.”

A loss for the year of J 8460, made up of £278 loss on the annual race meeting, £ll9 depreciation, and £63 general account debit, is shown in the report of the Thames Trotting Club. The sum of £895 was given in stakes and the Government received in taxation under all headings slightly more than that—namely, £896. There has been no mention of the Dunedin-owned Norman Conquest, trained at Rand wick by W. Stone, since he won a race at one of the Sydney suburban meetings over a month ago, but his name figures amongst the unplaced devision of a Novice Handicap at Menangle on Tuesday last. He started third favourite. The Ellerslie owner-trainer R. Rama, at present at Riccarton, who has Free Air and Horowhenua engaged at the Oamaru Meeting, has nominated this pair at the Auckland Racing Club’s Spring Meeting on October 13 and 15. He will also he at the Wellington Meeting with his team, and in all probability will return to Riccarton after Trentham to take part in the New Zealand Cup gathering. Nominations for the Mitchelson Cup, of 700sovs, one mile and a-half, at the Auckland Racing Club’s Spring Meeting are as follows:—Horowhenua, Mungatoon, Red Manfred, Desert Star, Royal Artist, Havering, Wee Pat, Prince Val, Solarium, Carfex, Headmistress, Master Norval, Spiral, Midian, Korokio, Limbohm, Baroscope, Kiltowyn, Delrain, Gay Broney, Aesoulis, Mia Stella, Master Musk, Gold Trail, First Lap, Gainsfid. Under the heading “ Ridden One Good Horse Only,” a Melbourne paper states: “Despite the fact that H. Olsen has already ridden a sufficient number of winners to cause a discontinuance of any apprenticeship allowance on his part, he avers that he has ridden but one good horse during his short, but successful, career in the saddle. That is Sir Simper, on whom he won at Williamstown.” T. H. Gillett is out in front clear of his field on the winning trainers for the new season. He has saddled up six winners. L. J. Jarvis (Marten) is second with four successes. Three wins each have been gained by J. E. Shaw (Washdyke), P. J. Wormald (Gisborne), G. W. B. Greene, J. O’Neill, L. G. Morris, E. J. Ellis, H. Rama, and R. E, Hatch. Two wins each have been gained by H. Nurse, J. Cantriok, E. Parker, C. Gieseler, G. Campbell, F. Robinson, H. Dulieu, R. Barlow, S. Barr, F. J. Hall, W. H. Dwyer, F. Trilford, R. Brough, and A. Jenkins. A week prior to the recent meeting of the Wellington Trotting Club War Buoy had two falls while being worked fast on his trainer’s track at Yaldhurst. The first mishap was caused through the gelding jumping a small pool of water. He was unhurt, but wlien set in motion again he repeated the performance, this time turning completely over and landing on his head. Both his knees were badly cut and he will bear the scars for the rest of his days. Both his front legs swelled and the Wellington trip was nearly cancelled. The swelling quickly disappeared, and, although considered to be short of work, War Buoy easily disposed of his field in the Bollard Memorial Handicap. Eight New Zealand Cup horses raced at Foxton on Saturday—Red Manfred, Walton Park, Hazoor, Gold Trail, Arikira, Catalogue, Princess Doreen, and Copper King. Hazoor’s third in the principal handicap was possibly the best performance, but Gold Trail ran well for a fresh horse, while good races also came from Walton Park and Arikira, who wore staying on well at the end. Red Manfred and Catalogue failed to impress, though it is too early to dismiss any horse, and Princess Doreen struck trouble at a critical stage. Copper King was running well inside his best distance, so his effort can be dismissed as a Cup trial. Similarly Walton Park, who also, competed in the seven-furlong event, was not suited by the distance. The win and place question was keenly debated at the Geraldine Meeting, many supporters of the dual system contending that the totalisator investments would have been larger if it had been in operation (says the Tiniaru ‘ Herald ’). It was claimed that there was a slump

at the Ashburton Winter Meeting with one pool, and a revival at the spring fixture, when win and place was reinstated. It was overlooked that at one meeting there were seven races and at the other eight, the averages being £BBO and £970 respectively, and that the increase of £9O per race was not surprising in view of the greatly increased attendance in the spring. On the other hand, it might reasonably be argued that last year small fields in the principal races at Geraldine placed the win and place system at a disadvantage, and that results would have been more satisfactory this year. The difficulty with the whole business is that advocates of each system are able to prove to their own satisfaction just what they wish to prove. One fact stands out very clearly, however. That is that with existing facilities win and place betting on big fields cannot be operated successfully on country courses. At Ashburton £7,743 10s was put through, but money was shut out on every race, and the meeting concluded forty-five minutes late. At Orari on Saturday £8,194 was invested, and the last race was over only a few minutes behind schedule time.