TURF TOPICS

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 948, 12 September 1918, Page 23

TURF TOPICS

„i 3 Torpedo.

r1 1 H Tfl New Zealand contingent tak- -®- ing part in the Spring engagements in Australia is one of the strongest that has crossed the sea, and quite a lot of money should fall to its lot.

(Sixteen horses have been nominated for tiiei i\ ew Zealand. Trotting : (Jup, wmcn is Held during the New Zealand <jup uarnival Week. 'Ihe Held, represents me very best trotters and. pacers in me land. Adelaide Direct is doing good worii in view of tne approaching event.

As one who knew him', I wish to pay tribute/ to the late j. ix. Pollock, the wen-known handicapper, who has crossed the last fence, ifor many years nandicapper to the Wellington .Racing dub, besides several other ciubs, he was always liighly esteemed by those who knew him. ifor the past few years ne has besen practically an invalid and so greatly .had he aged of late that few of those who in former years knew him best would have recognised him. lie was 65 years of age. in the earlier years of the iNEW Zealand JTbee JUance he was its regular contributor of ' 'Turf Gossip" tinder the nom de plume of "The Old 'Un." Mr. t'ra.nk Armstrong's horses: are having a spell, but let us hope not as long as Frank has experienced. Many sports want to see bellow and Black and Sleight-of-Hand winning, and they want thei owner there to see them win. A friend of mine who was present at the Marton Meeting reckons that Harry McManaway' s Hio should have won. According to my informant, the boy on top appeared to be out looking for the cows, but thei punters got no milk in their tea that night. Some punter in this land of milk and honey is out with his "hoot" to say that Desert Gold can win the Melbourne Cup. Good luck to him. He's a game 'un. The Demosthenes-Gossip colt, Kipling, who was bought for a thousand quidlets, started in the Trial Stake at Marton, and carried a pot of money. If I mistake not Demosthenes was , a Greek orator, and what would you expect to get with a mare called Gossip? sip ? Sure to stop and argue the point as to the size of the dividend. Jack O'Shea hopped out from the barrier in Australia with a bit of bad luck. On arrival he had to go into hospital with, blood poisoning in on© of his legs. Let us hope that the old saw, "a bad beginning makes a good ending," will come out right. Supplementary inspectors are to be appointed to supervise the registration of investments on the totalisator. Trotter Trainer Bryce will prepare OxeaJiope far future events. If he is as successful with the galloper as he is with the trotter, Oxenhope will prove a cheap horse to 'his new owner; but Bryce won't be up, and that makes a difference.

A recent winner at Newmarket was a colt named He out of a mare called She, and as he> started at a long price, backers probably say "He is just It." Trainers are still hampered in their operations owing to inclement weather, and very feiw of the horses racing at present can be kept upi to concert pitch. Sir George Clifford has disposed of Gamecock, who has been a disappointment. His new owner has had the horse gelded and will treat him to a lengthy spell. A superstitious punter rushed away and took a century about the double Ilosei Pink and All Over for the I>annevirke Meeting. He saw a rainbow in the morning, the top. bars of which were rose pink, and the bottom bar green (J. Bull's colours). At time of writing the races have not been run. It will be interesting to note if the punter's superstition meets with reward. Xiocal sports who had the pleasure of knowing "Jim" Anderson, son of Mr. Allan Anderson, of Oourtenay-place, will learn with regret that he was killed in action on the 26th of last month. "Jim" was a true sport, of a quiet, unassuming manner, and esteemed by all who knew hixn. "Torpedo" extends his sympathy to the Anderson family in their sad bereavement. Percy Tremaine, whose Empire Billiard JXooms are a popular rendezvous for Wellington cueists, is extending his accommodation so as to take in another table.