RACING NOTES

Grey River Argus, 1 July 1914, Page 3

RACING NOTES

The Inangahua Trotting Club will have in all probability a £100 event on their November programme. Well done Reef ton.

The many friends of Mr. W. Donnellan will regret exceedingly to hear of his serious illness. It has come about through an unfotunate accident in Tuaning- a nail in the calf of the leg. Be is being- skilfully attended to at Dr. Conlon's private Hospital Reef ton. (

Divorce has gone into work with a view, to racing iri , Christchurch at National time. ■.

if Cheddar can jump he is not badly treated inthe Winter Hurdles at Trentham. The brown srelding is better able to g-et the distance than any of the other horses engaged in the race, .and as all the Merriwoe tribe can jump it may be expected that he will be amongst the starters.

Joo Scott has Lessa 7 a big bay son of Birkenhead and Arathusa, looking in good trim 1 . The gelding;, which was first schooled about two months ago, did not take at all kindly to the business, but with perseverance Scott can now\ claim to having* under his control one of the. finest jumpers .at I'rentham. 1

Amity _ carried over a thousand pounds on the machine in the conclud ing :event at Napier. This was more than any horse has carried on the same course. The •• black ■ gelding .. is very sore and those who noticed this we,re considerably ..surprised at tjy. strong support accorded him.

A notable feature of the Hastings and Napier meetings was the number of new steeplechase riders who appear od in the saddle. Two of them, in T. McLean and A. 'McMullert won races and both gave really gQPd exhibitions for novices. A Jittle more practice will improve the pair and as several of the elder division are. right out of form, the newcomers should. command plenty of riding. /

Opinions vary as to the weight allotted Clynelish in the Te Aro Hack Handicap at Tientham. The Soult horse has been given 11st 21b., or with in 3II). of Day Fly, the top-weight. Those who argue that he- is well treated should remember that in the south he has met "nothing ot any note. The harks in the south are not as a general rule, anything like as good afc they are in the North-Island.

Generally speaking- Exotic is a most iiroficient jumper, but at Napier he foil ;it a very simple fence. Th© Explosion gelding looked anything but right, and was plainly feeling the efforts of the "severe gruelling he had at Hastings tho week previous. He had lightened up a lot and as the fall knocked him about a s°°^ d.eal 'he mnv be absent from the Wellington meeting.

It is stated that Australians have been endeavouring to buy Czarevnal the' dam of Anna Carlovna, but her owner will not put a rjrice on the mare. She has a Martian foal at foot, and s infoal to Boniform.

Mr R. D. O'Donnell was a heavy loser over the fire which destroyed his house at Riccarton last Tuesday afternoon, a large number of valuable piqtur.es and trophies beintr consumed by the flames (says a, Christcburch writer). He was, however, fortunate in saving the gold cup, which was part of the stake secured by Los Angelos when he won the, Stead Gold Cup, this trophy being stored in one of the city banks. The house being old, burned rapidly, and it was .little more than a heap of ashes half an hour after the fire broke out. iUnder ordinary cir j cumstanccs the risk of the stables catching .fire would have been small, but a high wind was blowing at the time and this increased the dangerSome trees between the house and the stables caught fire and sparks threat cned to ignite the stables, which were only saved by the energy of tho amateur fire-fighters who were on the scene. The destruction of this house removes a historical building, which hits been closely identified with tacing for many years.

The Victoria Racing Club has decided to increase the stakes for the next season b x The Maribyrnong Trial Stak.es, the fiTSt two-year-old race of the season in Victoria, will be raised from £500 to £1500, Champion Stakes from to Grand NationaJ Hurdle Handicap from to St. Leg.er froni to and Sires' Produce Stakes from £750 to the/ balance of the increases being chiefly devoted to han dicaps. Some alteratiohs have been made regarding penalties in The New market Handicap, to be decided next Autumn. The winner of any handicap flat race after the declaration of weights of ,£2OO and over will be penalised sib: of ,£3OO or over, 71b: of £500 or ovqr, iolb. The winner of, the Caulfie*!^ Futurity Stakes for 10.15, if handicapped below weight-for-age at the date of running and not being subject to the iolb penalty, will bo. railed upon to carry a penalty of 7lb in the Newmarket. 'Hitherto the winner of the Caulfield Futurity Stakes (the race not being a handicap) has < -scaped a , penalty in the Newmarket Handicap.