FROM STABLE AND COURSE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 254, 23 September 1933, Page 12

FROM STABLE AND COURSE.

(By “Binocular.”) The former North Islander Hystride contested tho hurdle event at Geraldine on Thursday. Ranking as the outsider of the field, ho finished outside of a place. Don Jose and Tea Garden again met in tho jumping event at Geraldine, but on this occasion Don Jose reversed positions with the Ashburton winner by little short of a length. Cherry Queen, tho half-sister to Chief Cook and Cherry King, was sent out favourite for the hack scurry at Geraldine, but she was beaten out of a place. Delice, who ran second to Gaysomc, is a filly by Tea Tray from La Paix, by Be7.onian from Peace, being thus a full-sister to Ghakwana, a speedy sort who carried tho colours of Mr T. H. Lowry very successfully, and a sister to Auto Pay and Pay Paix, two successful Australian perforors. While Top Thorn has hardly fulfilled the big things which wore predicted for him, he may yet come right. On Thursday at Geraldine he ran third to Gaysome and Delice in the scurry event. He is by Hunting Song from Lady Bentinck, a -Wellknown Taranaki performer in her day, and is a brother to Belvoir. Clirysology, who did his racing until recently in this island, has recently made two bold bids to win a distance event, and his new southern owner may yet find him a profitable purchase. At Ashburton be was narrowly headed off by Cricket Bat, but Ranelagh beat hi in more comfortably in the Geraldino Cup. Manetho, tho winner of the Raukapuka Hack Handicap at Geraldine, is a five-year-old gelding by Diacquenod from Lovelorn. As a three-year-old ho was placed twico in five starts, but opened his winning account last December at Ashburton. A third to Cottesmore and Kamal Pasha in the Gimcrack Handicap at the Grand National meeting was a particularly good effort, so his success of Thursday was not surprising. Gallant Fox, who attended the consistent Nightly home in the Beltield Handicap at Geraldino on Thursday, did his racing originally in the colours of the Hawke’s Bay sportsman, Mr G. D. Beatson. While he has not attained top class, ho is well bred, being by Hunting Song from Smoke Concert, an Australian-bred mare by Land of Song from The Welkin mare Smoky. - Royal Amphora has been racing unluckily of late. At Ashburton ho set the pace meet of the way and hung on resolutely when challenged by Nightly to be narrowly beaten by the challenger. At Geraldino on Thursday ho ran iVlanetho to a head, and it was at tho conclusion of tho race that the riders, C. Eastwood and G. Humphries, were concerned in a little scene which led to tho former’s suspension. As a result Royal Amphora was without Eastwood’s services to-duy. Rocket is reported to bo getting through a lot of useful work at Riccarton and he should be in good order when ho is. required to start his racing for tho current term, probably at Trontham next month. He has an engagement in the New Zealand Cup, and he has one valuable asset, having demonstrated last spring that lie' can stay. PLACE BETTING. IS IT A PASSING PHASE? ' “Win and place betting did not benefit the Ashburton Club last week,” writes tho Dunedin scribe “Sentinel.” "Under perfect conditions tho turnover was smaller than under tho old system a year earlier, and the place machine handled only a few pounds over £3OOO. Place betting under present conditions grows more unpopular week by week.” There is without doubt a great deal of truth in the statement, for regular race patrons in the North Island are also finding tho indifferent returns from place betting most .unattractive. As a result they are being encouraged to either stake their investment on the win totalisator, or to increase their wagers by backing both ways. Howover, in these days when money is somewhat scarce that method has its drawbacks, unless the backer is favoured by luck —that fickle goddess who smiles on the few but frowns on the many. Unless one is so favoured it appears to be an error of judgment to make investments of equal amount on the two totalisators for, in the event of the backer’s fancy returning a place dividend only, the patron is almost invariably out of pocket. There is a possibility that a backer of tho favourite at tho larger meetings may double his oilier money on a place wager, but it is too much to expect at the smaller gathering, where thcro are smaller fields and a restricted volume of money for investment. The most sensible system of backing appears to be to invest twice as much on tho horse selected on the place machine as is wagered on his chance on the win machine. Thus a backer, instead of betting a £1 each way, is required to put 10s on tho win machine and £1 on tho placo machine, or in corresponding increases. Thus should the backer's fancy run into a place, yet does not win, he is bound, save in exceptional instances, to secure the return of his money and probably show a small profit. To tho casual racegoer the placo betting may carry some appeal, but to the regular student of form it does not appeal to any extent, even if the system has given him additional chances of securing a return on his investment. THE GERALDINE CUP. THE WINNER IN 1895. The smallest field on record in a Geraldine Cup was two, in 1895 (says the Timaru Herald). The winner was Chaos, a five-year-old horse by Total Eclipse, owned by Murray Hobbs, who provided tho sensation of that year. After winning a double on the first day of the spring meeting at Washdyke, Chaos on the second day, though loaded with 10.2, frightened all tho other entrants out of tho Gladstone Handicap except the Oamaru gelding Vandyke 7.10, who could not extend the winner. Awarded 9.13 in tho Geraldine Cup, Chaos again had a solitary opponent, Invader, who was weighted at 6.5, but carried 201 b overweight to run for second money. Given 10.3 in tho Racing Club Handicap on the second day, Chaos won from two lightly-weighted adversaries. His only other start was in the New Zealand Cup, in which he finished second to the triple-crown winner Euroelydon, with another good threo-year-old, Gipsy Grand, in third place. THE MASTERTON MEETING. AN ATTRACTIVE PROGRAMME. The Masterton Racing Club will conduct a racing fixture on Saturday, October 14, and in view of that fact that the meetinf precedes the metropolitan gathering at° Trentham it will give owners an excellent opportunity to give a winding-up gallop. The programme which has been arranged is quite an attractive one, a feature being the manner in which the hacks have been catered for. The Nursery Handicap, a two-year-old contest over four furlongs, ushers in the day’s activities and local enthusiasts will recail the fact that it was at this gathering of 1931 that Inflation beat his stronger fancied stable companion, La Moderne, to win his first race with the colours up. For some seasons past the club has retained a highweight contest in preference to a hurdle race, but provision is made for that class of horseman by imposing a restriction in respect to tho riders eligible anc! making the minimum poundage one of 9.0. In the Maiden Stakes, the succeeding event, the fixed poundage is 8.8, so the supply of horsemen should not be limited by reason of weight restrictions. With the exception of the Masterton Handicap, a mile and a quarter contest for a stake of 110 sovs., all the other events aro of the hack class and embrace varying distances, the Lansdowne Handicap being of six furlongs, the Lawn Handicap of one mile, the 1 Grandstand Handicap of seven furlongs, and the concluding event —the Electrio Handicap—of five and a half furlongs. The club is providing the sum of £575 in stake money and tho complete details of the programme are to bo found in our advertising columns. The club should be rewarded with large nominations.