NOTES AND COMMENTS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 196, 2 August 1934, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By “The Barb”) li’pt Billy Boy, Quinopal, and Free Air are the only horses now left in both the Grand Nationals. • • e Weights for minor events on the first day of the Grand National meeting will appear on Monday. o * S. Barr’s stable won 35 races during the season, btit the total stakes collected, £36614, was loss than the £3804 earned by 20 winners trom H. and A. Cutts’s team. • o • The Kurow Jockey Club has been unable to come to an arrangement with the Oamaru Jockey Club for amalgamation. It lips decided to proceed with the reconditioning of its own course, and has applied for a date in March next.

The slow pace in the early part of the Claremont Handicap assisted Palermo, and turned the face into a half-mile affair. The manner in which Haulbowline made up ground lost at the start indicated that the speed was not on along the back, and it takes a good horse 'to beat Palermo in a sprint. Palermo has some good sprint races to his credit, but until the Claremont Handicap last Saturday he had not Won over a longer distance than six furlongs. That, and the fact that L. J. Ellis did not ride him, accounted for the great dividend. J. Dooley, who squeezed Palermo home, has been associated with him on niar.y of his wins, and understands the Solferino gelding thoroughly.

Several two-year-olds were sprinted down the seraight at Timaru on Satur day, and the one that pleased most was Mr. G. J. Barton’s Hawke’s Bay bred Chief Ruler colt Desert Chief, a brother to Gold Trail. Desert Chief is a biggish colt, but has come on well since going to Timarq, and he strode out well with a good lengthy stride. Some of the Others were backward by comparison, but may come on when the sunny weather comes back to stay.

Winners at the Waimate meeting were liable to be rehandieapped for engagements at the South Canterbury Huht iheetihg, and it lu interesting to note that all the winners were practically treated the same, except one, irrespective of whether they Were at the top or bottom of a handicap. Black Duke .went up from 9.5 to 9.10, Peterette from 9.0 to 9.3, Colossian from 8.10 to 9.1, Cheap Money from 8-6 to 8.11, First View from 7.7 to 7.12, Eaton Hall from 11.11 to 12.1, and Cleaner from, 8.0 to 8.5. The figures suggest a lack in the sense of proportion when a top-weight gets the same increase as a horse near the other end of a handicap.

The form displayed by some of the horses seen out at Waimate and Timaru last week docs not seem to warrant a Continuation of engagements at Riccarton. Still, some of them will be on the scene and perhaps show a marked improvement in form as a couple of races, a few days more sunshine, and soundet tracks may improve a horse considerably.

Kapuna was pulled up after going apart of the journey in the South Canterbury Steeples. He appeared to be suffering from an internal trouble which may not prove serious.

One feature of the South Canterbury Hunt Club’s reunion on Saturday was the success credited to- the Elworthy family, so well known in hunting circles throughout the Canterbury district. The Paeroa Steeplechase Was won by Witui, owned by Miss E. Elworthy, and ridden by Mr. H. H. Elworthy, who later in the day figured as the owner of Night Club, winner of the Teschemaker Memorial Hunt Cup. The following event, the Hunters’ Plate, was won by Velvet, bred and owned by Mr. A. S. Elworthy, chairman of the Canterbury Jockey Club. The name of Elworthy has long been associated with hunting activities in South Canterbury, and a kindly reference to the great work done for the sport by various members of the family was made by the club’s president, Mr. C. L. Orbell, when making the presentation of the Teschemaker challenge cup 'to Miss Elworthy at the conclusion of the race.

Punchestown shaped disappointingly at Waimate and Timaru, and will have to improve a lot to have a chance at Ric Carton. He may, of course, go a lot better under a much lighter weight than he carried last week.

Silver Ring is at the head of winning horses trained at. Riccarton with £1765, and Nightly £1525, Minerva! £1215, Copyist £lllB, a.nd Davolo £lO7O are next.

Mount Boa’s pace can keep him with a field of hurdlers, but he loses ground at each jump, and will have to improve a good deal to become a winner (says the Dunedin critic "Sentinel’’). It seemed a bit rough on the old chap to pull him out twice at Waimate and race him on the flat after doing his best over hurdles. He has been a good, solid sort, but as he now wears a bandage in front may be showing signs of weakness.

Probably the most disappointing performance at Awapuni on Saturday was that of the Grand National Hurdles candidate Blacksmith. He never looked like doing better than he did, and it was surprising not to see him improving position at least somewhere during the race. He will require to do ever so much better to have a chance at Riccarton.

An increase in the number of entries for the major events at the Grand National meeting foreshadowed a big addition to last yekr’s figures in the other races, and when 'the lists were compiled on Friday night they revealed a total of 570, against 477 in 1933.

The first acceptance for the Winter Cup reduced the possible field from 64 to 34. Of the 30 which were allowed to drop out, 19 were ofl the minimum.

The 34 remaining in include about 25 whose form entitles them to start, and the big mile race promises to be a very interesting contest. ® • * Apart from an appreciable drop in the weights, Membo, despite his failure to win on Saturday, should be better equippepd for the Grand National than he was for the Wellington Steeplechase. When he left fbr Trentham he was very backward, having been idled by a gash in a Iqg, and he had not been schooled over more than half a dozen fences at one time. That was n big handicap in heavy going. In addition to his two runs at Trentham, the brown gelding has had more schooling and a race at Waehdyke, and he should be in the picture much longer than he was at Trentham.