RACING

Evening Star, Issue 25168, 6 May 1944, Page 8

RACING

fßy St. Claik.] Answer to Correspondent. " (Xd Timer." —War Buoy was bred by Mr J. Manger, of Methven, in 1930, and was by Man o' War from Little Kewpie, by Diadem. He commenced racing as a two-year-old, and raced through nine seasons for a record of 77 starts, 19 wins, 10 seconds, and six thirds. He won the first 11 races he started in, and his last race when seven years old War Buoy won the New Zealand .Trotting Derby in 1933, but never won t'he New Zealand Trotting Cup or a Free-for-all race at Addington. News and Views.

Handicaps for the Great Northern Hurdles and Steeplechase are due next Wednesday. Nominations for the Dunedin winter and patriotic meetings will close on Monday week.

Nominations for the patriotic trotting meeting, to be held at Uore on May 20, close next Tuesday at 5 p.ni. Cruden Bay, who since the Vincent meeting has been trained by W. Bryce at Riocarton, is to be prepared by P. Spratt at Trentham in future.

Twenty-two horses have won over £I,OOO in stakes this season in the light harness branch of the sport, the list being headed by Haughty (£3,675) and Countless (£2,740). Macedoine is now in W. Bryce's care, and will be kept in work by him at Trentham until an opportunity to ship her to India occurs.

Safe Light, who has not raced since he fell at the National Meeting last August, is in work again with the hack steeplechasers at Wingatui next month in view. For its patriotic meeting to be held next Saturday the Winton Trotting Club will give £1,210 in stakes. Nominations closed last evening, and acceptances are due on Tuesday, at 8 p.m. A rising three year-old by Irish Lancer from Knocklong has been taken in hand by G. A. McKay. Knocklong, by Hunting Bong, was a fair performer, winning quite a number of races,' mostly on the West Coast. Since Palfrey was purchased by Mrs Manaton and Mr J. P. Cuneen he has won them £1,855 in stakes and a gold cup valued at £IOO. He has had a fairly strenuous season, having started 16 times, and is now enjoying a spell. Valantua did not accompany Dividend and Edward when they left early this week for the North Island", having met with an accident. His trainer does not think the injury serious, and he may yet make thf> trip. Happy King, winner of the concluding event at Invercargill last Saturday, has been racing through eight seasons, and has contested 57 races for three firsts, six seconds, and six thuds. There were intervals of four and three years between his successes. Huirangi Sun, who at the beginning of this season gave promise of developing into a high-class cross-country performer, broke a leg on the flat while contesting thp Churchill Steeplechase at the Taranaki meeting last Saturday and was destroyed. The death is reported of Contempt, dam of that brilliant mare Silver Scorn. It is worthy of note that Contempt was one of three sisters, all of which produced good winners. The others were Reproachful, dam of Chide, and Disdainful, dam of Haughty Winner.

N. J- Dwyer is .shortly to receive an interesting addition to his team in the filly by Foxbridge from Thermidor. The latter was a good winnei up to a mile and aquarter, and is by Robespierre -from -the Martian mare, .Lady Minerva, a daughter of Lady Lillian. Despite the war and transport restrictions owners are still anixous •to continue racing. During the past month ho fewer than 38 sets of colours have been registered with the Racing Conference, and since , August 1 last more than 700 horses have been registered Including the Winton Jockey Club's meeting on March 4, there have been eight days' racing and trotting in Southland, awl £255,071 has passed through the totalisators. The Government's share of direct taxation on this amount exceeded £25,000. The secretaries of both the Winton and Gore Trotting Clubs are to be congratulated on the promptness with which they got the I patriotic meetings to be held this month ; under way. Within 48 hours of receiving I intimation that these special permits had | been granted their clubs they had the pro- ' grammes, duly approved of by the Trotting i Association, in circulation.

Round about 40 years ago mares by Bellman, by Berlin (imported), won many straight-out trotters' races in. both Oiago and Southland, and it is interesting to not* that the grand-dam of Blue Horizon was a Bellman mare. Regina Belle was probably the best of Bellman's mares on the race track, and she has established a good family. Native Chief (2.4 1-5) was a grandson of Regina Belle Safety Pin, winner of a double at the recent Wellington meeting, is a five-year-old full sister to Gaillard and Captain Morant, and half-sister to Bayard, Coquette, and Bonny Bridge Her success in the Armstrong Memorial Handicap was her first over two mi!es. In her second start on the second day she beat 14 others over 3 mile and a-quarter in 2.46 25. Trained by F. G. Holmes, this mare promises to improvfe with age, and has already won four races this season.

The Taxntion Department in Sydney is investigating every purchase made at the recent Easter sale of yearlings in that city, and the auctioneers have undertaken to supply to that department complete returns. This department will check whether taxation returns disclose, the true state of both the buyers' and sellers' finances. An official of the Taxation Department stated: " We are not interested in the sale or purchase, but in tie financial position of the parties" :