SPORTING

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 17 June 1925, Page 3

SPORTING

RACING FIXTURES. June 19, 20—Napier Park R.C. June 20 —Brackenfield Hunt Club. June 24, 25—Hawke’s Bay J.C. - June 26, 27 —Ashburton County R.C. June 27—Hawke’s Bay Hunt Club. July 8, 11—Wellington R.C. July 18—South Canterbury Hunt Club. July 23 —Wairaat < Pistrict Hunt Club. July 23, 25 —Gisborne R.C. XAjPIEI 1 1 PA, 1 1 Jv A,CUE PTAJM VMH . /’EY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION. 1 v NAPIER, June 16. The acceptances for the Napier 1-ark .Racing Club’s meeting are

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(Notes bv Maecenas). Old Gloaming is again to make an assault oh Australia, and space for him ,has been booked on Friday's Sydney boat. New Zealanders would not sympathise with the owner of Black Art over the falling of that gelding in the Australian Jockey Club’s Steeplechase. Now that Gunshot has succeeded in winning the Paten County Cup, lie may be given a chance to distinguish himself in the Parliamentary Handicap at the. coming meeting at Trentham. There lias been a couple ol inquiries from the .South Island pricing To ivawii, and there appears to he a. chance ol the Maimiapoto gelding being sold. A brilliant jumper, with plenty of pace, To Kawa would pay his way in the short distance hurdle races that predominate in the South. As a two-yoar-pld. Gaillard was very little inferior to the best at weight-for age, and was capable of winning amongst those of his own age with nine stone and over. This season the .son of Absurd can be written down as a failure. Considering the class that opposed him at Wave Hey, Gaillard .should have won under any conditions were he .solid. Although Eerie beat nothing of note at the Waverley meeting, the win proves that the daughter of Nassau is just as proficient over “big country” as battens, arid if only sound would be a difficult proposition to. dispose of in any steeplechase run in the Dominion. The Napier Park Racing Club will hold its winter meeting on Friday and Saturday while the Banks Peninsula Racing Club will use its extra permit on Saturday.

It has long been recognised that Trentham has drawbacks in the training of horses in winter time. The tracks, are usually too heavy to prepare horses for early spring engagements. and the damp atmosphere, has a tendency to give horses colds. Some of the trainers, recognising this, have removed their teams to other courses.

Once again .the luck of the Wellington Racing flub holds good, as in addition to receiving ah extra day’s racing for their meeting next month, this ciub were lucky enough to secure two extra days' for August, with a view of entertaining the American Fleet. There is no doubt that the distribution of racing permits during the last couple of years, and particularly the last few months, has been very lop-sided, and it -certainly looks as if influence and bias played leading parts in certain allocations.

When Suggestion won the Gold Cup at the autumn meeting of the Manawatu Facing Club, and incurred ,a substantial penalty, for his Canterbury engagements, one heard much of the so-called ridiculous . penalty clause against the so-called sensible ride of reiuindicajv. Now, after the success of Comical in two races at Wanganui, and his double re-handicap, .one hears the same critics talking about the absurdity of re-handicapping, which they say gives the handicapper too much • e . After hearing these arguments one must come to, the conclusion that it is impossible to give satisfaction either way. Some C-..V months back Owner-Trainer •T. McCombe showed his disapproval in no uncertain manner of the weights allotted, his horses by the Dunedin Jockey Club’s handicapper, and at the time manv expected McCombe to'“be called before the Dunedin Jockey Club stewards, hut the incident died down. At the recent meeting of that club McCombe again attacked in strong words the club’s handicapper ancl his work. .McCombe was not so fortunate on this occasion, and after an inquiry the stewards fined McCombe £lO for his conduct. In commenting oh the case, well-known writer says Combe had good grounds for feeling annoyed at the handicapping of his horses. In the Winter Welter (first day), Warhaven, which’ran second, gave The Cheat (which finished third) 131bs ; yet in the Farewell Handicap mi the third day the pair 'were placed on the same mark. During the hearinn- McComho stated that it cost him Cl-10 to bring his team to the mooting, and naturally lie was much annoyed when lie fouiic (lint on handicap lie had little or no chance of winning. On tlm first day of l.lio Queensland Turf Club, Admetus, with George Voinig iii the saddle, won the King’s Plate (To Kara finished third). Imagine Young’s surprise when about to mount Admetus on the last day of the meeting to he told bv the stewards that the owner of the. horse had decided to take him off, suspecting that Young

■ would not do his best. Young demanded to see the owner before' taking off elm colours, and the owner immediately weakened. The New Zealand rider piloted Admetus in. the race and duly won. To we New Zealanders the incident is strange, and shows plainly how slipshod .some meetings are managed. The vast majority of handicappers favour the set penalty clause as against the rehandicapping of winners, and while the penalty clause may have, its drawbacks, it certainly has many points in its favour, tlie'chief one being this: Should an owner have designs on a certain race not to he decided immediately and knowing his horse would he improved with a race or races, such owner knows exactly what penalty his horse will get in Lius selected race by a win in a minor event, and he goes into the contest with full, knowledge; hut under the rehandicap system he can only guess (and''at times he makes a very bad one) as to w'liat additional weight his horse will get in the muchcoveted race by his success in the small event. Take the ca.se of Comical and his wins at Wanganui,, and •stake money totalling £440. _ These wins and the form Comical disclosed caused the Jhandicapper to add 15 lbs more to Comical’s original weight for the Great Northern Hurdles, with its great prize of £2OOO. Now that the race is over, it- certainly looks as if Comical was unlucky to lose, notwithstanding the lolbs rise, but with a .few pounds less to carry over the long and tiring journey of the Northe.ru Hurdles Comical could be looked upon as a.certainty. Under a penalty clause. Comical at the most would have to carry |nibs above bis original weight So now that the other side has been shown, the Suggestion incident was not as had as if appeared on .the surface, as that trainer knew what to expect for.a win of his horse. This is a point that might well be debated on, at the coming conference, for at present one club adopts the penalty clause while another sticks religiously to reli and mapping. The fact that Liberator. El Gallo twice, Loehella and Sir Rosebery, have .succeeded in winning both the 'Great Northern Hurdles and Steeplcha.se in the same season, while other horses have gone close to accomplishing the feat, raises the point as to whether the. Great Northern Steeplechase jumps arc formidable enough tor a race that claims the iiriporLance of the Auckland that such will he answered to the effect that the , Great Northern Steeplechase course is an ideal one. This statement has appeared in print before, but it certainly does not appear so, arid arguments can be brought to prove the fact that the Ellerslie course, while somewhat “tricky,” is very easy to negotiate. Just .a few days ago the writer read a paragraph from the pen of an Auckland writer, iu which it was stated that no fence in the Great Northern course was above 3ft Bin high, and many were less than this. Does this not speak for itself? Why is it that so many horses lmve succeeded in winning the Auckland “double,” .and the same feat has never once been accomplished at Riccaiton in connection with the Grand National Steeplechase and Hurdle { Race; and I do not think the same I animal has won the Wellington “double” in the same year. While El I Gallo had no difficulty in winning the Great Northern “double” iu succession, he fell rin each occasion that he was raced over the Wellington Steeplechase course.

That the Great Northern course m not as difficult as it should be for .a race of such importance was impressed on the writer in 1919, at which meeting Master Lupin rah an excellent third in the Great Northern Hurdles, and had an engagement in the Great Northern Hurdles on the second day of the meeting. Mark this —Master Lupin hat! never competed over a steeplechase course in public, and on the day prior to the decision of the Northern Steeples oil the second day heard an inquirer ask Mr Bull liow Master Lupin went over the hill at Ellershe. Mr Bull replied that he had not tried his gelding at Ellerslie, and did hot intend to until the actual race. Eviclentlv Mr Bii11”s impression was that as Master Lupin was a good average jumper such a course would have no terrors for the gelding; and it must he hero remembered that Mr Bull is as good a judge of steeleehasc courses and jumping horses as lias ever raced horses in the Dominion.

On one occasion during the running of the Great Northern Steeplechase, El Gallo was giving the leader 13 seconds start, with about l-> miles to go, and then actually won. This feat could not he accomplished on such courses as Trentham, Ricoarton or Wingatm. over which a horse has to jump not tricky, hut big fence’s. Should a horse succeed in winning the Great Northern Hurdles over 2i miles, and the stifl’est batten hurdles in use on any course in the Dominion, he is usually paying little more than ‘‘evens” if a runner for the Great Northern Steeplechase at the same meeting. Does this not speak for itself? Certainly horses in plenty have failed to land the Northern “double.”' hut. this is not due to the difficulties of the course in the true sense of the word, hut simply because it is next to impossible to ,make some horses face a brush jump or a. .stone wall, he they ever so low or easy. Finally. ft niav be stated that attempts are made on the Great Northern “doubles.” because, ns -stated above, the hurdle race offers most difficulties, while at such courses as Riccarton. Wingatui and Trentham it is almost essential that a horse be trained specially for either the hurdle race or the cross-country event, as it is next to impossible to mix it at these meetings.

MOTEO HURDLES, 12 miles. Little River 10 J2 Gnrzon 9 5 Many Colours 10 6 Bonecto 9 5 Goldpiece 9 7 Borealis 9 5 Blissfulness 9 7 BETAKE HACK STEEPLES, 2 miles. Jovial 11 9 Silta 9 3 Kovno 1C 13 Birkenella 9 0 Maiiia 10 -1 Chatham 9 0 Maraetotara 10 4 Selenite 9 0 TTnele Dave 9 7 Khyhcr Pass 9 0 STEWARDS' HANDICAP, 1 mile. Arch Salute. Koddb 10 9 Lady Joyce 10 9 Santiago 9 9 8 5 Battle Knight 10 8 Pronto 9 3 Megan 10 1 Tari 9 0 irnictnnai 10 1 Crown Gem 9 0 Duo 9 12 Crisis 9 0 NAPIER STEEPLECHASE, about 3 miles. Eerie 11 3 Buckeye 9 fi Caiawoek 11 2 First Lino 9 q San forte 10 3 Kireblig'lit 9 3 LADIES’ BRACELET U miles, Molyneaux 11 13 Mosthcues 10 u CL ’ Carrington ,11 9 Mixed i leal lier 10 7 Good Mark 11 3 Royal Song 10 7 ATIURTR t HURDLES, 13 miles. Nukumai 11 9 Birka 9 9 Santiago Askari 10 8 Suspicion 9 3 Goldpiece 9 9 0 0 ‘ SETTLERS’ HACK HANDICAP, 6 furlongs. Hukai 10 12 Blue Jay S 3 Kenyon 10 5 Kilmere 9 0 Waioeka .lack 10 5 Manutai 9 0 Alabama. 10 ?> Western Boom 9 0 Polly Peaehum 10 3 Serene 9 0 Tempean 10 2 Killian 9 0 Jubilee, 10 2 Nine of Spades 9 0 Olympic 9 11 Merekara 9. 0 Polyphemus 9 10 Martona 9 0 Killock 9 7 Sasham 9 0 The Strand 9 6