ON THF TURF

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIX, 29 January 1936, Page 8

ON THF TURF

NOTES AND COMMENTS His late Majesty King George V was not widely known in the field of the Turf prior lo his accession to the Throne, as his father, King Edward, remained to his death the first sportsman in Die land. One of the last messages that was conveyed to King Edward as he lay dying that afternoon of 6th May, 1910, was that his filly, Witch of the -Air, had won the 4.15 Two-year-old Plate at Kempton Park. That'success evoked an outburst of emotion on the course, llis -Majesty’s life, however, was then moving along its final hours ami he. died that evening. King George took over the whole of his father’s racing establishment at Egerlou House and his famous stud at Sandringham, llis interest in the horses became"'an exact replica of what his father had shown. .All through llis reign he never missed a Sunday afternoon at his stud when residing at Sandringham. A great favourite of !os was the stallion Frair Marcus, once a noted sprinter who had delighted the multitude. One, would wish that the record of His Majesty on the Turf had been brighter. Yet the King, conscious of the big part that luck must play in the conduct of the Turf, ever faced disappointment evenly' vfith the joys pertaining to success, llis main concern in adversity was for those who were endeavouring to serve him, knowing full well the measure of heir disappointment. It may be now that King Edward VIII will follow in the steps of his fath. er and grandfather by taking over the racing establishment—he is a keen Turf enthusiast, as also is his brother the Duke of Gloucester —and perhaps the day may not bo long ahead when there will be another ltoyal Derby winner to call the same tremendous ovation as Minoru did when he won the Epsom classic in 1909,_ the Inst Derby before King Edward died. P. T. Hogan, owner-trainer of , the Wellington Gup winner, has had many ups and downs on the Turf, amt it was Olio of his lucky inspirations that induced him to buy Queen of Song. The Songbird mare was bred by Mr T. E. Hide, of Seadown, and the History of her lease to three different Otago owners may be recounted, it is said, in another place, 'l’iiere was an option of purchase under the lease, but the mare was sent back to her owner before the lease had run its full term, and no effort was made to exercise it until it had expired. . Then P. T. llogan purchased Queen of Song for 175 guineas. Her first start in his colours was made on the last day of the New Zealand Cup meeting, when she won a higbweight handicap l and later finished second in a hack handicap. Next she was second to Southdown in an open milt at Ashburton. At Wiugatui on Boxing Day Queen of Song won a mile race with great case, and was a good tiling beaten on the second day. Her only other appearance prior to the Wellington Cup was at Invercargill, whore she got the run of the race and strolled homo in the Cup in fast time. Songbird, sire of Queen of Song, who also was trained by Hogan ,was a very brilliant three-year-old in a season of high-class horses of that ago. The leading lines in the pedigreee ot the AVellington Cup winner, Queen of iSpng, are as follows Sire: Songbird, by Kilbroney, son ol The Wag and grandson of Ormc, from Grey Linnet, by Thursli. Dam: Differential, by Tractor, son of The Tetrach and grandson of Roi lierode, from Fabia, by Light Artil-

lory. Although the Cup treble eluded him Mr R. J. Murphy had some consolation in llm victory of Acceptable in the W.R.C. Telegraph Handicap, when he heat Silver Streak in 1.10 J,. Acceptable was formerly trained by C. Emerson, at Riccartou, but is now in the stable of H. Pritchard. He won open sprint races during tlie holidays at the Manawalu. and Wairarapa fixtures, and is by Tea Tray from Bonny Dawn, by Greenback (sire of Paper ..Money), is a half-brother to lline Ra, also a much improved galloper this season. Although tlie number of New Zealandowned horses engaged in the Newmarket Handicap, Australian C’up, Doncaster Handicap and Sydney Cup are not large, there seems a prospect of tlie Dominion being well represented, as a good number of horses, bred in New Zealand figure in the list of entries for the various events. Cuddle, who stands out as ihe leading performer on the New Zealand turf at present and is, of course, file one in whose prospects most interest is centred, figures in the Australian Cup, two miles and n-quartcr. and the Sydney Cup, two miles. -Master Briorlv, who is also owned in Now Zealand, figures in the same races. Illluck has persistently followed llm son of Musketocm this season, but the two races lie won at weighl-for-age last autumn at Bandwick will not be overlooked if lie trains’ on properly. Under Ihe heading “Optimists . who get the Yearling Bargains,” ‘‘Pilot,”: writing in tlie “Sydney Referee,’ says : “It is "the optimist who makes a success of the racing game, and the place where optimism finds its greatest impression is at the yearling sales. Pliar Lap, who won £66,738 in prize-money, cost a paltry 16U guineas as a yearling. Gloaming changed hands at 230. guineas, Eurythmic at 510 guineas, Windbag at 150 guineas, and David at 40 guineas. The whole of the racing game is built on the taking of chances, and undoubtedly tlie greatest gamble of all is the yearling market. Mr D. J. Davis had no idea wiial sort of a prize lie was buying when ho gave Telford permission to bid for a Night Raid—Entreaty Yearling early in l'y2B. Pliar Lap was the gem.” A sparkling finish was witnessed in the .Summer Handicap, the principal handicap event of the day, Rome Bay just winning by a short half-head from Spiral, with only the judge able to decide among Passion Fruit, Grand Jury, and Sunce for tlie other placing. They were not the high-class huiulicappers of the previous days, but they made a thrilling race of it from start to finish. Rome Bay, the winner, has been a very consistent mare • since she began her run of regular victories at Ashburton at the end of November, and she lias now ri’c.oi'dcd five successes in ioss than -.wo months. She went a liine race in the Wellington (.up to tlie straight,, where she was running second to Cuddle, and on that form she looked to hold a big chance in Saturday’s event over tlie quarter-mile shorter distance. It was a race that Rona Bay might nevertheless have lost, going to the front when she did, but she has a stout heart for her size and plenty of stamina, and she valiantly iouglil oil all her challengers. She just succeeded in keeping Spiral at. bay, but she deserves every credit for tier very plucky display. Her traiuci’-ridcv, W. H. Jones," knows tlie mare, and undoubtedly he believed that the lisk iie took was one worth venturing. Though the club was a big loser from i.he viewpoint of turnover, the Trentham Stakes justified its inclusion m the programme for tlie meeting bv the splendid contest that it provided for the public from four of tlie highest-class I hree-year-olds in the Dominiom JTlic PERMANENT Results follow Varex Method of Treatment for Bad Legs and varicose ulcers. Never fails. No resting. Ernest llcaley. Pharmaceutical Chemist, Varcx Ltd., Box 1558 N, Wellington.

only pity was that the Great Northern f)ei'bv winner Greek Shepherd was not in the field,, for then the race would have gone far towards settling three-year-old supremacy for the season. As it is Heritage must for the present be aceepted as bettor than Kinnoull on a firm track. Kinnoull was the natural favourite, and he carried £1623 10s, to the £642 10s on Heritage, who was nearly as greatly in advance of the other pair in the betting; but when it came to t|ie final quarter-mile Heritage made short shift of the favourite’s resistance, and lie ran past him after a short struggle below the false rail to score by three and a half lengths.