RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 24424, 9 February 1943, Page 5

RACING NOTES

LBy St. Clair.]

A Good Balboa Gelding. Spanish Lad was having his seventyseventh race when he contested the Winton Cup on Saturday, and he scored his fourteenth win (including a dead heat). Commencing racing as a three-year-old, ho carried his breeder's colours for four seasons, and was then sold by Mr N. J. Riddle to Mr H. G. Mason, of Invercargill. for whom he has won £1,395 in stakes during the past two seasons. Until Mr Mason acquired him, Spanish Lad was trained by the late R. McNay, who was also successful with his halt-brother, Nigger Boy; but F. W. Ellis has had charge of him sence. Spanish Lad's stakes record now stands: At three years, £120; four years. £780; five years, £1,170; six years, £135; seven vears, £655; eight years, £740; total, £3,600, for 14 firsts. *l2 seconds, and 11 thirds.

Jottings. D. I*'. Wilson has True Mate and Tring engaged at the Kuinara meeting, to be held next Saturday. Kakauui. who cost his owner oOOgs as a yearling, has now contested 42 races for 11 wins, 14 seconds, and four thirds, worth £5,040 in stakes. Mr E. N. Fitzgerald, owner of Kindergarten, was represented by two winners at the recent meeting at Wairoa. They were Daily Mail and St. (Bill, both by Kincardine, and trained by J. Phillips at Gisborne. King Herod, who has three seconds out of four starts to his credit this season, has been enjoying a spell since contesting the New Zealand Derby, but is now hack again in R. King's stable at Ricearton. Despite the rain which fell last week, the tracks at Wingatui are very hard, and last night's rain will be welcomed by trainers, especially those with jumpers, who are anxious to commence schooling work. J. Sellars, who completed his apprenticeship to A. E. Didham at the end of last month, rode Ngamatea when she paid the big dividend in the concluding event at the Pahiatua meeting on the day before his apprenticeship expired. Though Enrich has won four races this, season, their total value has been only £6OO. With the big totalisator turnovers experienced this season, many of the racing clubs have been very conservative in the stakes they have given. Shadow Maid's two seconds at l<orbury Park made her record this season four wins and seven placings out of 13 starts, her stake winnings, £2,150, placing her at the head of the list, with Haughty, one win, three placings out of five stars, and £I,BOO in stakes, second.

Among many letters and telegrams received to-day by Mr G. H. Romans congratulating him on having attained his 100th birthday .was one from the committee of the Dunedin Jockey Club enclosing a handsome donation to the presentation fund. A northern writer says that it is likely that the Jockeys' Association will approach the committee of the Auckland Racing Club with a view to getting the club to consider reverting back to the shorter period from leaving the birdcage to starting time. Joan Conquest is reported to have started a good odds-ou • favourite each way in the Dominion Handicap at Trentham on Saturday, but at the ■finish she had only a head to spare from Battle Colours, and only able to better assessment by three-fifths of a second. Strip has taken to the big fences well and is likely to make h good steeplechaser this season. He jumps both cleanly and quickly, and with his pace on the flat will have a big pull over most of the other maiden cross-country candidates likely to be seen out this winter. The injury to Sal which prevented her from fulfilling her engagements at the Wellington meeting last month was caused by striking herself in a gallop just previous to the fixture. She is reported to be quite_ all right again now, and may be racing at Gore, next month. K A four-year-old gelding by The Greek, who was bred .in Australia and by Thracian from an All Black (imp.) mare, from Aurora Borealis, winner of the 1930 Grand National Steeplechase, has joined R. Wilson's stable at Ricearton. This gelding, who will carry Mr J. Grigg's colours, has the reputation of being a clever natural jumper.

The restrictions on petrol have caused a great deal of race traffic to be transferred to the railways, and, generally speaking, the Railway Department has met the clubs and race-going public's requirements well. So that other traffic will not be interfered with by special trains returning from meetings, it is essential that clubs should run their programmes iip to time, so that these trains may run on their scheduled timetables.