TO-DAY’S RACING NEWS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1939, Page 11

TO-DAY’S RACING NEWS

Galloping

MEETINGS TO COME.

June 24. —Ashburton. June 24. —Waipa.

Invercargill Apprentice: The young Invercargill rider, R. 14. Humphries, is living at Riccarton, and will probably do the riding of F. Roberts’s horses at Trenthain.

Hector Gray: H. E. Gray has left New Plymouth for his old' quarters at Takanini, and the horses .lie took with him were Namard, Wynardo, Nightbeam, Night Pilot, and an unnamed three-year-old from Frasciuita. No Dash:

Land Raid met the first defeat, of his career over live and a half lurlongs, when he came in> fifth in the Flying Handicap. at Onrolo on Saturday. He was well back at the straight entrance, and failed to finish with his usual dash.

Should Improve: Lockit, owned by Mr D. E. Wanklln, who is visiting England, raced well enough at Omoto on Saturday, to suggest an early improvement. This full-brother to the. useful Miracle has not raced for a long time, and may be more prominent on Saturday next at Ashburton. Ohm aha:

Unless present intentions are altered, the Auckland horse Ohmaha may he sent to Christchurch in the near future to join the team of M. IlEdwards at Yaldhurst, says an Auckland correspondent. He is a four-year-old gelding by Acre, and is owned by Mr W. J. Armstrong, of Auckland.

Bean Peru Juveniles: The Te Awamutu trainer A. Cook has in his charge an attractive rising two-year-old colt by Beau Pere from the English mare Lady Bede. He is a half-brother to Galilee, and is (Owned by Mr E. H. Cucksey. In the .same stable is the yearling filly by Beau Pere from Melissa, the dam of Merial.

Derby Winners: The four immediate predecessors of Blue Peter as winner of the English Derby, Bahram, Mahmoud, Mid-day Sun, and Bois Roussel, all failed to come up for four-year-old racing. Bois Roussel strained a thigh muscle and it was decided' to put him out of training. Last year’s champion filly Rockfel also went amiss, so that neither of these horses was in the recent Ascot Gold Cup field. Made Easier:

Lady Middleham’S l victory in the Grandstand Handicap at. Omoto on Saturday, was made easy by the fact that Pol Roger set a very slow pace. Like all Paper Moneys, Lady Middleham has plenty of pace, and when asked to sprint from the turn for home, she soon left the other two. This mare is only a four-year-old, and should! continue to pay her way in middle distance events at provincial meetings/

Beaten Twice:

Treasureiyin common with most of H. Nurse’s representatives when brought to the West Coast, was heavily supported in both his starts at Omoto oni Saturday, but he failed both times to run up to his recent track and race form. He cannot be condemned! for these failures, asi he- was not suited by the small course or the soft going. He will do better in the near- future.

Promising: Lady Graceful had her first outing for several months when she ran a useful third! in the Flying Handicap at Omoto, on Saturday. Her appearance suggested the need of a race, and she should be all the better for her effort on Saturday. Now owned' and : trained by R. D. Wes'tenra at Riccarton, Lady Graceful won the New Zealand l Oaks in 1935, for Mr. D. W. Westenra, when trained by Mrs. J. Campbell. Bun Fight and Going Gay filled the places behind Lady Graceful in the Oaks.

Favourite Failed: Jewish Lad raced consistently over the battens in the early part of the season in Canterbury, and on the strength of those performances was a hot favourite for the Brush Hurdles at Omoto. However, the Rabbi gelding had only recently resumed work after an enforced spell, and though he jumped well, it was obvious that he had no chance with Contract and Metal Bird three furlongs from home. Courtyard, a good hurdler, was another, who was obviously not ready to race after his enforced spell.

Paid His Way: Donadea was purchased by Mr D. A. Withers prior to the West Coast Easter circuit, and has since won two races, both at Omoto. This six-year-old' Valkyrian gelding is not big, but he has a useful turn of speed, and handles any sort of going. He is now .trained by G. I-I. Withers at Riccart.on. Donadea should continue to pay his way on small courses. He did not meet a strong field on Saturday, but he was never off the bit, passing the post four lengths to the good. Withers is also preparing the Shambles gelding, Culverden, for steeplechasing.

Not Her Best: Miss Tasta created a fine impression by her spjeed in winning several races on the West Coast Easter circuit, but she was not the same filly on Saturday. As usual, she made a fine beginning, and was in front early, but over the last furlong and a-half she was weakening, and was well beaten into fourth place. Miss Tasta was produced' again in the open sprint but she was slower than usual from the barrier, and after a check in the back stretch drifted back and was even beaten home by Silver Lark, who had been badly left. This filly is well bred' enough -to go on with her early promise, and should not be condemned for her failures on Saturday.

New Bule Proposed: A proposed new clause in the Rules of Racing governing jockeys has been placed on the list of notices of motion for special resolutions to be placed before the Conference next month. The addendum put forward is as follows: —“No change in the rider of any horse in a similar class of race during any meeting shall be made without the owner or trainer concerned first obtaining the permission of the chairman of the judicial committee and the stipendiary steward, which shall be granted' only on good and substantial grounds, If an. 1 breach of this sub-clause be corn

1 mitted. the owner or the owner and trainer ot the horse concerned may be lined not more than £5 and such horse may be disqualified for the race.” Blue Peter’s Size; Although the Derby is now ancient history it is interesting to note the measurements of the winner. Blue Peter, who so roundly trounced his opponents, is a beautifully moulded colt, laud his measurements are more than i ordinarily interesting when they are compared with some of the previous Derby winners' during the last three or four years. Blue Peter stands a little more than 16 hands and has eight inches of bone below the knee. He has exceptional length in therein (5(1) hut is a particularly well-balanced colt. He differs from the. runner-up, Fox Club, in that he girths 74 whereas the son of Foxhunter, although standing 16.2, is not so round of middle nor is his length of rein so great, but Blue Peter's length of rein is considerably above the average. As a comparison to Blue Peter’s measurements the last five Derby winners are included. They are: 1934 —Windsor Lad: Height 15.31, girth 70, bone below the knee Bs, rein in, 49. 1935 —Bahram: 16.2 —69, —7i — 47; 1936 —Mahmoud: 15.2.7 —69 —8 — 45; 1937 —Mid-Day Sun 15.3:} —71 —8 — 46; 1938 —Bois Roussel 15.3 —71 —8 — 45.’

Racing Finance: The general account of the New Zealand Racing Conference for the year ended May 31 differs little in detail from that of the previous 12 months. Following are the chief items of expenditure to the nearest £, with the corresponding amounts for the previous year in brackets:—Conference office salaries, £956 (£1038); printing and stationery, £2BB (£189); travelling expenses of executive committee and appeal judges, £750 (£413); inspection of training establishments, £lBB (£145); stipendiary stewards’ account, including salaries, office staff, deputies’ fees, and travelling expenses, £3696 (£3694); racecourse 'inspectors’ account, £4151 (£3994). Expenditure on the Stud Book amounted to £784 land on the official calendar, £369,

| compared with £497 and £193 (part lof year) in the previous season. The aggregate expenditure was £12,389, against £11',354, an increase of £1035. The main items of income were from registration fees, £728 (£781); Stud Book sales, £504 (£258); broadcasting fees, £9OO (£900); levy on racing clubs, £8999 (£8238); contribution from Trotting Conference, £925 (£953). The gross income was £9924 (£9191), and’ the excess of expenditure over income for the year was £234 (£118). Accumulated funds now stand at £3867, with an additional £4414 as Remount Encouragement Fund, which is handled by the Conference. In the Apprenctice Jockeys’ Fund, riding fees credited to employers total ’ £5205, and those to apprentices, £6OlO. Interest credited to apprentices amounted to £lB4. The balance sheet shows assets comprising £4759 lodged with the Post Office Savings 1 Bank and' £7OOO on fixed deposit. The ■ sum of £39 is noted as unclaimed : riding fees. i