SPORTING

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 July 1920, Page 3

SPORTING

RACING FIXTURES. July 31—Brackenfield Hunt Club. August' 10, 12, 14.—C.J.C. Grand National Meeting. RACING NEWS AND NOTES. (By "Arlington.") Waimai (12.5) was omitted from the telegraphed list of acceptance in the Grand National Steeplechase on Saturday, the same remark applying to Jock (9.8) and Will Oakland (9.0) in the Winter Cup. War Tax and Tip Up figure among the nominations for the Trial Hurdles on the opening day Grand National Meeting. Should the embargo on shipping horses from one Island to the other not be lifted before the National Meeting comes up for decision, there will be only six starters at most ' for the Grand National Steeplechase, v'z. , Master Strowan, Waimai, Coalition, Crib;- Moreambe and San Sebastian. Under similar conditions, the Grand National Hurdle field will comprise Hylans, Pa-raoa, Gay light, Kohu Waimai, Loyal Arch. All Talk, Jack Symons, Acliilleus, Wild Pilgrim, Calrna, S.uniel and Warform. Checkmate and Nightraider. Sir Geo. Clifford's pair, were the only favourites to score at South Canterbury on Thursday last. Both Were ridden by George Young. '.^ All Talk, Bombproof and Gamecock were supported in that order for the Hadlow Hack Hurdles at South'Canterbury, and the, trio finished in the places. At the start Samiel and Sonnv led from Strayshot and Bommproof, with All Talk next; Gamecock, s who had taken charge six furlongs irom home, led over the last fence from Bombproof and All Talk, and won easily by two lengths. Bombproof ;was four lengths away third, a head in front ofCalma. 'Strayshot fell. The South Canterbury Steeplechase was a complete boil-over, San Sebastian. Golden Prince, Merry Lad and Barrister all being better supported than Jack Symons. Golden Prince, Barrister and San Sebastian were < ut by themselves with four furlongs to cro, but Jack Symons cam© from nowhere and won very easily by five lengths from Golden Prince, who was

three lengths in front of Barrister. Collector was a noor fifth. Warform fell at the first fence. Sir Medallist, the favourite in the Tesehemaker Memorial Hunt Cup at South Canterbury, fell at the second last fence when running well. La.vsnH Avon bv seventv yards. The following are the weights for fch« P-diau Hack and Hunters' Hurdles, IPO sovs. ; U miles, at the Bv.->ckenfiel:l 3*unfc Meeting, to be' decided nevt Snturday :—M\ T.->ik 11.11, Gomecock 11.8. Bombproof 10.9, Calm a 10.2, Samiel 10.1. Kino; star 9.13, S"imv AU 9.2. Strayshot, War Tax, Gleniee, Tlm'e-we-are, Jackaboo 9.0. The Brackenfield Steeplechase, of 200 sovs.: 21 miles, weights are: —Codition 12.13, Moreeamb- 11.4 Bill Terry ■"U 3. Mervv Dunmure 10.1, Warform 9.11, Sir Medallist 9.8. The Grand, Cervulus 9.7. Mr. J. J. Corry. the well-known Blenheim owner, left by the Tofua <<n Friday en route to the United States. Sir Fanciful, though paid up for in the Winter Cup, has been sore since the Wellington Meeting. "Hector Gray's riding fees for the season just closing totalled the tidy little figure of £1,385. At least one member of Parliament who accepted the hospitality of the Wellington Racing .Club on Saturday week,*, says the New Zealand Times, went into the lobby -on the very next day the House of Representatives sat and voted against the totalisator. An important principle was at stake when the Racing Conference was discussing the licensing of jockeys. At present riders are licensed by the district committees, and the proposal Sir George Clifford put before the conference was that in fututre a committee of the conference should do the licensing. There are arguments in favour of Sir George's idea, but the big thing against it is that it would be one more step in the direction of centralisation of control. That the complete control of .racing should be centred in the conference is not desirable, and it might go a greater distance toward killing the sport —if it is possible to kill it —than some of the other ills to which we are being told the turf is heir The President has been fighting for this change for some time, and

has always been heavily defeated. Various good reasons are given bv die delegates who oppose the President, but too little is said about the danger of too much centralisation. If ail the power is taken from the local bodies and handed to the central body, local interest, in the control of racing will soon die. Nov/ Zealanders, of course, would not lose their love of the sport, but the condition would be something like the 'state of affairs that would come about were the New Zealand Rugby Union to absorb all the Rngby power and leave the provincial unions as mere figure-heads. Merry Lad has broken down and will ,rrt be seen out at the Grand National Meeting. Th n peered bv Checkmate and last week increased Sir George Clifford's total winnings for the season from £9999 to £10,146.