RACING

Evening Star, Issue 25994, 8 January 1947, Page 3

RACING

NEWS AND VIEWS [By Observer.] Wellington Scratching. Malanui was scratched at 9.25 a.m. yesterday for the Muratai Hack Handicap at the Wellington Racing Club’s summer meeting. Good-class Field. The sprint field at the Vincent meeting does not boast of many in numbers, but the class is not far short of that which has been racing on the main courses. With so many proved speedsters the race should be one of the best of the meeting. Starting in Wellington Cup. Signal Officer, who failed to reproduce winning form at the Auckland Cup meeting, has been lelft in the North Island to compete at the Wellington meeting. He was allowed to drop out of his engagement on the first day, but will be on hand for the Cup on Saturday week. R. E. McLellan has gone north to finish off the Salmagundi gelding’s preparation. Racing Well. Great Coon raced well over the holiday meetings, and if he remains sound he should soon return to the winning list. He has shown form up to a mile and a-quarter, but the Nigger Minstrel

gelding has run most of his best races seven furlongs and a mile. At his present position in the handicaps success will not be easy, but lie is most consistent once he strikes form and is never very far away at the business end of a race. • Horses for Courses. John Gay, who showed his first glimpse of form for several months when he finished fourth in the Flying Handicap on the second' day of the Dunedin Christmas meeting, after being, the early leader, will probably be taken to Wellington to race on the concluding days of the meeting. His age is against him, hut it will be recalled that on previous visits to Trentliam he lias always raced well. He is now well down in the weights for a horse of his class, and on his favourite course he may be capable of causing an upset. Unlucky to Miss a Win. Night Fighter appeared unlucky to miss a win, at tlie Waikouaiti and Oamaru meetings where lie finished second and third respectively. On New Year’s Day he lost several lengths at the barrier when the field was despatched, and was only beaten by a neck by Fort Silver. At the Oamaru fixture he again received the worst of the start, and had lie received a clear run over the final three furlongs Night Fighter would have finished much closer to the winner. He is engaged at the Vincent meeting-this week.-and if he is not so fractious at the barrier he will go close to collecting a stake.

Betting Tax in Britain. A flat rate percentage tax on the total of bets laid through the totalisator and with football pool organisations is reported to be under careful consideration iu regard to Britain’s next Budget, which is due on April 1. If adopted, it is suggested that the tax would be paid direct by both agencies on the ascertained totals of the wagers laid through them. Wagers

on the totalisator last year totalled nearly £15,000,000. Is is estimated that the sum handled by pools is about £29,000,000 each year. llow to tax between 15,000 and 18,000 bookmakers is another problem. * Races Well on Country Courses.

Since being recommissioned after spelling during the winter months, Siegform has failed to strike form and his best effort was in the high-weight at the Kurow meeting when he finished fourth. He races well on country courses and his prospects of lifting a stake at the Vincent meeting appear bright. He will probably be ridden by one of the stable apprentices, in which case his weight will be reduced to 7.5. Strongest opposition will come from Black Light, who, as well as running good races over sprint journeys during the holidays, finished third in the Wyndham Cup over a mile and aquarter, which is the distance of the big race at Omakau. Nearing His Best Again.

By finishing strongly into fourth place in the Dunedin Jockey Club Handicap on the second day of the Christmas meeting, Bruce showed that he is not far from his. best and he will add interest to the big races at the Wellington' meeting. Last season he was the best staying three-year-old in the Dominion,, his effort in winning the Great Autumn Handicap beinw an outstanding one. The , Royal Chief gelding is engaged in two races on the first day of the Trentham * meeting, the Dominion Handicap, of a mile and three furlongs, and the York Handicap, of seven furlongs. Al-_ though no definite plans have been made for him, his trainer, L. J. Ellis, is inclined to favour the longer race. Record-breaking Hurdlers. One of Battle Chief’s most formidable opponents in the Linden Hurdles at Trentham on Saturday will be Skyhawk, who raced well at Ellerslie over the holidays. When he won the Ponsonby, Hurdles on the second day of the meeting he equalled the course record of 3.8 for a mile and three-quarters. Like Battle Chief, Skyhawk was a disappointment on the flat, but he promises to make amends over hurdles. When Battle Chief won on the second day of the Dunedin meeting he put up a track record by covering the mile and three-quarters in 3.11, but Wingatui is a much slower track than Ellerslie. The mile record established by Sleepy Fox on the northern course is 3 l-ssec faster than the record figures for the same distance at Wingatui. Fast Miles. An interesting factor in connection with the King’s Plate, which is a weight-for-age race run at Ellerslie, is that the New Zealand mile record has frequently been broken in this event. In one of the greatest contests, in 1921, Thespian beat Gloaming to establish a record of 1.36 3-5, time which was equalled by Karapoti in 1930. Seven years later Courtcraft established fresh figures of 1.36, and the following year Smoke Screen lowered the record to 1.35| when he beat Stretto by half a head. This time was later equalled by Kindergarten and Sir Beau in other races on the 6ame track, and it stood until the recent Ellerslie meeting, when Sleepy Fox won the King’s Plate from Exeter and Majesty in the smart time of .1.35 1-5. The Ellerslie mile has been the fastest in the Dominion for many years, and Sleepy Fox’s record compares favourably with Shannon’s Australian record of 1.34 L established at ißandwick last October.