NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 18 July 1923, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By "Maeconas.") j That race trains are a source of revenue to the Government it is wortny of mention that no less than 7GOO paacengers were carried on the trains runiHiig to Trentham on Saturday. Palencia was a very unlucky gelding on Saturday, as when going well in the mifklie he got too close to a fence and lost many lengths, and when he had caught his field he was badly interfered with by Tigerlarid and. was nil but down. | The lare Mr Turnbull, who was a victim oi a motor car accident, jvas a prominent sportsman, and was well known as &n owner a few years ago. Boris was a horse successfully raced by the deceased gentleman. . The report on the Avondal© Jockey club, submitted to the Itacmg Conference by Messrs Bidwill and Earl, showed up in a bad way the management of the northern club, and certain members of the conference were very outspoken on .the matter.- In fact, it was almost a cas# of the club losing their license. Grucelle has broken down, and as the lease had o-nly a month to run she was returned to her owner (Mr D. Culiinane), a-nd in future she will be asked ■to make her name good as a matron. In the Wellington Steeplechase Snake gave himself a rick and was in a bad way after cooling down. Prompt treatment did the gelding much good and his trainer owner was able to race Snake in the Winter Hurdles. Young Thumham was suffering from festered corns when racing at Trentham, and in consequence was unable to show his true form. In consequence of the disability Young Thurnham may n®t go south for the Grand National. It seems a pity that the Racing Conference does not nass a rule to insist that the battens in hurdle races be 3ft 6m without any lean. The jumps in the hurdle races at Trentham had a decided lean. Two years ago Elcullus went wrong, and had to be turned out for s, lengthy spell. He was raced on the opening day at. Trentham. but was pulled up. and evidently broke down again. After running a fine race on the opening day of the Wellington meeting Maunga was much fancied in his next start, but when standing at the post he received a bad kick, and. although he ran he finished a furlong last. After running promising races on the first and second days "at Trentham, Princess Fran was entrusted with over 3000 tickets in the Crofton Hask at Trentham, but at no stage had she a chaace. Mountain Signal ran two good races at Otaki, and coming on to Trentham the chestnut filly ran four solid raoes, and is evidently a good one, and should win .good races next season. The Hawera-trained Ecuador ran three excellent races "at the Wellington Racing Club's, meeting and the way he finished under _his 11.8 on Sat- i urday was a treat to -witness. Ecuador ' should pay his way in "open" com-; pany. Although numerically Taranaki was not strongly represented at the Wei- • lington meeting, its representatives did i really well, and San Forte, Hcuador, ; Eerie and Alteration each got some prize money. i Tinokaha ran a fine race in the Winter Hurdles on Saturday, but the rider of the gelding made a .tremendous amount of use of Tinokaha, and more patiently ridden he may have done even better. Tinokaha is certainly useful. Many good judges were surprised when the price of Lou£hrea (£2750) was made known, for while admitting that this gelding is a promising one, the figure was certainly too high for an animal of the performances of Loughrea. The same individual also offered very big prices for Kilbird and Rapine, but according to th© latest developments the business was certainly a joke Only last week I wrote about the questionable methods used by some of par larger clubs to get race* meetings held on their courses, and in their desire to secure more racing on their courses they cared little for smaller clubs, the meetings of which suffered in consequence. Of course the cry i raised by these metropolitan bodies that such gatherings were held to strengthen financially the small club is . : certainly half truth, but in most cases it was a matter of setf first. j When Empyrean fell with the Hawera i lad, M. Con way, he dragged the lad for ; quite a distance, and those who wit- ' nessed the accident feared that Conway.i had received very grave injuries.- How- !- ever, on being examined the injuries ; were found to. be less severe than exI pected, but were bad enough to keep : him off First Born, on which, he won. I . on the opening day, and subsequently ! r won the richly endowed Winter Hurdles. This -was a severe monetary loss \ to Coriway. • t By the lamented death of Sir Robert ! ? Nolan the sport of racing in this Do- jil minion (and) Taranaki in particular) '■ c has lost one of its strongest pillars. I One of Nature's gentlemen, the de- j P ceased was an asset to any community, f and his work during the Great War •! s will live for many years. Th e late Sir a Robert Nolan was one of the founders ,1* of that live body the Egmont Racing i Club, of which he was an able presi- • dent. . ! S. Henderson has a reputation of get- ■ ting eleventh hour rides which usually win. Of late R, S. Bagby has had a n similar run of luck, for it was just prior : £ to the race that Bagby was engaged to :.'.' ride Kohu in the Great Northern Hur- I " dies, which event Kohu won. At the ' „ Wellington meeting Conway was en- ™ gaged to ride First Born in the W Tinter j Hurdles, but, getting a bad fall, Bagby '■ took his place, and won on First Born, i Eerie was most unlucky on the con- ! eluding day at Trentham, as Jackaroo ! falling at the initial jump badly interfered with Eerie. The chestnut mare also met further trouble, and* was giv- "' ing the leading horses an impossible j start. She again finished well, and will • certainly nay her way over the battens.' x After .lumping the last hurdle in the : Winter. Hurdles at Trentham on Satur- ' diy Wormald rode Red Gown hard, and I 'boring badly she came right over on I Penury Rose, and in consequence Cor- "

Lett had to stop Penury Rose, which was finishing well, and, Dulling the gelding outside Red Gown" Penury Rose only missed second place by a neck, and most certainly should have been awarded second place and dividend. San Forte is a much improved gelding, and gave fine exhibitions in his three races at Trentham. Although j quietly ridden, he got little or no assistance from his rider, and with any help at all San Forte would certainly have won two, if not the three, races he competed for. After putting un splendid performances on the two first days, First Born enhanced the good opinion many formed of him by, winning the Winter Hurdled most decisively, and it certainly is an oversight on the part of his ownertrainer that the promising son of Thurnham was not* nominated for the Grand National. Somebody expected a big improvement in Mountain .Peer on' the concluding day at Trentham, for while the gelding only carried 500 odd chances, on Wednesday, and failed, to finish in the first four, he carried almost 1400 , chances on Saturday, and running a ; good race throughout won like a good : sort.