Totalisator Turf Topics

Free Lance, Volume VIII, Issue 377, 21 September 1907, Page 21

Totalisator Turf Topics

By "The Tout."

THE executive of the Horou hernia Racing Club must be well satisfied with the success of then lecent meeting. Obviously the alteiation of the date of the meeting from the autumn to the spring found favoui with owners, many of the contestants at the recent meeting being raced w ith the view of improving their condition for the moie important events to be decided later on. Such meetings as Horowhenua serve a very useful purpose if held at opportune times, and will always command a certain amount of support. Local stables were well lepresented, the track being a good one, and the locality handy. The Horowhenua meeting seems to have taken the place hitherto held by the Rangitikei R.C. spring fixture. It is very noticeable that none of the locally-trained horses that were seen out at Horowhenua are •engaged at the Rangitikei meeting. The Rangitikei course is generally very holding at this time of the year, and this may account for Messrs. Prosser, Davies, 'Low, Higgott, and other trainers going direct to Wanganui. The followers of Mahuta were keenly interested in his Horowhenua performances. Jenkins's services had been secured, and it was somewhat oi a facer for the admirers of the JNlahaki colt to see him defeated by fat. Olaimer. It is, of course, early to form much of an estimate of Mahuta s Cup prospects, but his Horowhenua efforts were not up to Cup form. There is ample time for improvement, and his owner will probably give him all the public galloping he can. Experienced trainers consider a race or two in company worth half-a-dozen private gallops. The withdrawal of Truce from the New Zealand Cup was not unexpected. Her late respected owner's relatives have decided that the horses at present in charge of A. Shearsby will not be raced during the early part of this season. Offers have been made for Truce, but it is understood that nothing will be done at present, Shearsby having instructions to keep the team in his charge, and they will be given sufficient exercise to maintain them m condition for racing purposes until latei m the year, when arrangements wM be made either to race or otter them for sale. Visitors to the Horowhenua races complain that the programme was so arranged that the Wellington contingent had to leave the course to catch the train prior to the derision of the last race on the card. This, it is # said, could be easily avoided by_ starting the first race earlier, and making a shghtlv shorter interval between the second and third events. Folks who take the trouble to proceed all the wav to Levin, desire to see as much sporty as they can during their day's outing The club would" also benefit considerably, as many good speculators had to leave the course ere the meeting was concluded The Hurdle Race on the second clay of the Horowhenua meeting was a puzzling race for backeis. Aotea, after his good form at Trentham, was considered" nicely tieated with 9st 111b His stable companion, Playmate (lOst 31b), had, however, the services of McConnon, the stable hurdle rider. Opinion? were thus divided, and both were fairly well backed. McOonnon piobablv had the choice of mounts, and he was correct m his judgment as Playmate won easily, and paid a fair dividend, whilst the more-heavilv backed Aotea was unplaced Naumai, a three-year-old gelding bv Conqueror, was made the medium of some solid betting away fiom the course in the Electric Hack Handicap, on the first day of the Horowhenua meeting The field was a large one and included a number of smart hacks, such as 'lupono, Pixie, Aotea, and Tawhera Aaumai, however, got smartly away from the bairier, and th-3 race was never in doubt local backers were enabled to make a fair haul, owing to the good dividend paid. A note of warning has been sounded in this column on previous occasions cautioning backers not to be influenced bv the booming, through the medium jf the Sydney Press Association, of New Zealand horses engaged in big

betting Australian events. The Sydney betting ring, through their touts, lose no oppoitunity of booming private gallops of horses hailing from New Zealand. Modei ate training gallops are presented in the most glowing colours, and cabled to this Dominion, and these highly-ooloured repoits, when circulated throughout New Zealand, result in laige sums of money being sent to Australian bookmakers. According to the Sydney Press Association agent, the Npw Zealand horses are made to appear to be the only animals able to put up a decent gallop at Randwick. Mamapoto when trained m New South Wales was reported as doing most sensational gallops, and cost New Zealanders no end of money. Pink 'Un ajid Dan O'Brien's colt, Maranui, have been -n ell boomed quite i ecently, w ith the result that much com has again found its wav to the Sydney betting ring As showing the utter fallacy of accepting the l ecently reported recordbreaking gallops of Maranui as authentic the news comes that Mr. O'Brien's cr>] ian against some moderate horses in an unimportant race (the Rawson Stakes, weight-for-age), and failed even to gain a place. New Zealand backers m ruld be money in pocket if they ignoied the cabled reports booming New Zealand horses when making future investments. The owner of Pink 'TJn, D. J. Price, mfoimed the Melbourne correspondent of a Sydney sporting paper that it is no certainty that Pink 'Un. who has been boomed for the A.J.C. Epsom Handicap, will go to Sydney. Price says that neither he nor his friends have backed Pink 'TTn for a single penny for the above race. A French-owned colt, named Quer■do, who is a close relation of the sire Sit. Ambrose, continues to display winning form in France. One of his lates 1 victories was the Prix dv President de Ta Republique, a stake of 4000 so vs., one mile and four and aha'f furlongs. The race was run in 2min 36sec. Querido defeated a ciack colt named Ouida, and Haifa and seven others. Reports of English racing declare that the New Zealander, Noctuiform, seems still a long way from his best form. His efforts during the_ past twelve months have been a series of disappointments. During one of his latest efforts, Messrs J. Buchanan and Geo. G. Stead were spectators. The crack jockey, Danny Maher, was substituted for Hewitt, and, as everything in the garden looked lovely, the public backed Noctuiform down to 7 to 2. All went well till the straight was reached, where Noctuiform ran up to +he field without any apparent effort, and then, in a few strides, dropped out 'jf the race, and finished last but one. The race was, however, run at a tremendous pace. Fugleman and Manaran a dead heat, and covered the mile and a-half in 2min 30 3-sth sec. Ncctuiform carried Bst 131b. It might be here remarked that, good colt

though Noctuiform was when in New Zealand, Mr. Stead could not have expected him to beat such, time with Bst 13'b in the saddle even when at the top of his form. • • • The weights having just been declar?d for the Wanganui spring meeting, selections for the various events must be made in the absence of acceptances, which are not yet due. The following should, if started, run well: — Flying Handicap, six furlongs. — Gawam and Helen Portland. Okehu Handicap Hurdle Race, one and three-quarter miles. — St. Albert and Asteroid. Spring Handicap, one mile. — St. Joe and Waitapu. Wanganui Guineas. — Goldbeater and \U Red. The weights for the hack events will not be declared until the 20th.

The trapper in the lonely ranges grim ; The miner gasping in the drivings dim ; The horseman winding cattle o'er the plain ; The farmer, husbanding his golden grain ; The pressman scorning time at dead of night, The high, the low, and the cosmopolite ; The shiv'ring beggar and the epicure — New Zealanders all — use Woods' Great Peppermint Cure.