TURF TOPICS.

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 988, 11 June 1919, Page 24

TURF TOPICS.

By Torpedo

THE Otaki Racing Club's Winter Meeting opened on Tuesday in delightful springlike weather, and the day being a holiday there was a very large attendance. A very satisfactory railway service was provided, and the public greatly appreciated the opportunity afforded of. purchasing tickets at the booking office in Willis street on the day prior -to the meeting. I would suggest that in future the Otaki Racing Club should adopt a better system in regard to the collection of the extra two shillings which holders of complimentary tickets are called upon to pay. It rather takes the gilt from the gift when the recipients! of the Club's favours have to crush round an inadequate pay-box to dole out the couple of bob. The racing throughout both days was of a most interesting nature. The going was good, and most of the owners. appeared> to be after the goose. Mr H. Goyle's handicapping resulted in some very close finishes; in fact in the Raukawa Cup, the judge's placing of Yolo first and Battle Song second met with disapproval- from a section of the crowd, who contended that Battle Song had won by a liead. I viewed the race from a point of vantage -in direct line with the winning post, and I am on the side of - those who declared that Joe Ay res' charge won. I was not monetarily interested in the race. Volo was a heavily backed horse, both straight-out and in doubles, and the judge's verdict, which, .of course, had ■; to stand, made a double book show| . a much smaller credit balance than would have been the case had the race gone to Battle Song. The racet-for the second leg of the double, tk&lC'adplia Handicaps was one of the best I' have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The field was never very, much strung out, and at the distance anything looked .to have a chance, and when the post was reached there were only heads between the winners, Lady General, Astinonne and Oratress. The six furlongs were cut out in lmin 13Jsecs. Thg connections of Oratress were very confident that the daughter of Equitas would win, but the rider dropped his whip .at the top of the straight. That, of course, might have affected the result, as on the following day Oratress was sent out first favourite and could do no better than second to Astinonne.. On the first day Oratress was paying nigh on a score for first —on the second day a little over level money. The • wild-eyed Rewi Poto haa struck form of late, and although he looks well to the eye the black son of Maniopoto doesn't put the necessary ginger into his stride. I am of'"opinion, however; that Rewi Poto may-have a big dividend hidden away and in the near future his consistent followers may reap a golden harvest. Remarks on the Otaki Meeting would not be complete without considerable praise being bestowed on Mr O. J. D'Ath, the secretary, for the admirable manner in which he carried out his duties, in which he_ was assisted by Mr Griffiths, of Wellington. Mr Harley's starting was not consistently good,, in some events the fields being sent off in straggling older. In the Steeples- on the. first day, the start being in front of the stand, the-horses lined up in nice order, but when the barrier was lifted some of the horses were slow in finding their toes. This resulted in a stragbling start, but for this Mr Harley was not responsible. * * * •» * * Remarked in sporting circles that the public is getting wise to the tip that when a horse which is not on the card appears in a race there's something doing. Accidents will happen, of course, even with the best intentions. I was always under the impression that it was illegal for anyone in New •Zealand to be a bookmaker and to ply his calling. I have before me a judgment given by a magistrate in a case where the police prosecuted a person for being a bookmaker. Because the police could not prove that the bets were made on licensed premises or in the streets the information was dismissed, although His Worship was satisfied that the accused was a bookmaker and the entries might have been made where it was legitimate for bookmakers to bet. There are several punters who would like to know where it is legitimate for bookmakers to bet without

running the risk of helping to swell the Public Account. It is not generally known that Tasmanian Tattersalls> do not pay out money Avon by subscribers who- are under 21 years of age until the lucky one has attained his or her majority. A youth of 18 years won the second priz<j recently, and the Court was asked to order Tatts to pay over, the result being that a trustee was appointed to invest the prize until the youth became a man. -Jf * * ■» The Auckland Steeplechase Meeting concluded last Thursday. The tote turnover for the three days ran into big figures, just topping £200,000. There must be added to this the thousands handled by the double and straight-out layers. Truly Hector Gray is a great horseman and although he gets the choice of the best, in the.hands of less experienced riders many would undoubtedly misß the bus. He won the flat leg' .of the double (the Cornwall Handicap) on the first day on Alteration, and repeated the performance on the same horse in the York Handicap on the concluding day. Hector haa many loyal followers, who are profiting by his successes. - ****** The lEEorowhenua Racing Club's one day meeting, held on Friday last, was a most enjoyable affair. There was a good attendance, and sepculation fairly brisk, £15,213 being invested on the machine. The principal, event, the Horowhenua Cup, was won by Zola, after an interesting race with Detroit and Master Moutoa, who filled the other places. Pacific Slope went out favourite, but was. never dangerous. There is a good race in store for Mr Smart's horse in the near future. Gold Problem won the McDonald " Memorial from Royal Chef and Wonder. Birkenetta was t]ie . only other* starter. The scratching of a number of locally fancied ones upset the calculations of those who indulge in doubles. Messrs Dwan's American Beauty at last succeeded in catching the judge's eye, winning the Maiden Scurry at Levin. She started an odds on favourite and, being nicely handled by that promising light-weight Bagby, won comfortably from Hautawa and Multiplex. -Change of name doesn't appear to have brought change of luck for Zabiam, .now known as Lady Witch, Though well supported by her connections in recent events she still continues unsuccessful. * * * * A nasty rumour is. going around alleging very suspicious running in the last race at Levin last Friday. Those in the "joke" were certainly in a very violent hurry at the last moment before the tote closed to put their money on. Recent performances of their fancy could not have been responsible for their speed. However, some of the riders in the race in question were certainly not out to break records. I ..presume the light was too bad for the "stipes" to detect any auspicious running. A very unfortunate mistake for many punters was made at last week's Otaki Meeting .on the ' occasion when in the Steeplechase .on the first day the second divvy was transferred from Master Webster'to Gwynne, owing to the rider on the former continuing in the race after missing a fence. Punters were not aware that Master Webster had run off and many of those holding tickets on Gwynne, not being notified of the at once destroyed them. When the news spread that the second dividend was being paid.on Pi'osser's neddy, the lawn was dotted with men, arid women too,' all hunched up with their eyes on the green turf like some short-sighted professor looking for the latest thing in grasshoppers. "Torpedo" heard of the recovery of two tickets and the piecing together of another, but as there must have been quite a number unpresented it would be a graceful act on the part of the Otaki Club to pass on the amounts in hand to some charity. A fine of £5 was inflicted on the rider of Master Webster for continuing in the race. It should have been doubled, as his act might have led to the owner of Gang Awa being robbed of the stake, as the black horse had to come out at the last fence at top to stall off Master Webster, and, unseasoned as he was over big country, he might easily have made a bloomer. It's a guinea to a gooseberry that the church plate takings in dour Dunedin will show a drop of 50 per cent during the next few Sabbaths, consequent on the three days' racing, when a record tote revenue resulted. The meeting was the most successful held for some years. The new owner of Kilkee is Mr Tom Deegan, of Southland, who paid Joe Biggins 700 guineas for the Kilbroney gelding. Pretty well everything got by Kilbroney can gallop, and anything by him out of anything good should bring big prices in the future .

Colonel Soult, who broke down at the Auckland Meeting, has finished his racing career, his owner having presented him to Mr "W. E. Stead, who intends to spell the son of Soult on one of his Hastings properties. When again sound he will be used as a hack by Mrs Stead, a much more pleasant occupation than usually falls to the lot of a racehorse when its racing career has ended. Coeur de Lion in 1901 and Cynic in 1919 are the only two entire horses that have won the Great Northern Hurdles. Bon Reve is reported to be quite sound again and doing good work over the big fences at Hastings. Bv the way, Bollin went down from Hawke's Bay for the Steeplechase at Wingatui, but he turned a seven in the race. He might do better with a bit of schooling when the Christchurch Grand National Meeting comes on. When Waimai fell at the last fence in the Winter Steeplechase at. Ellerslie he was remounted by a spectator and came in fourth. Recent arrivals "from England are: R. H. Skipworth, the well-known starter, and the jockeys F. Cress and H. Griffiths . The clever riding of young Raynor is at present attracting attention. He is a son of the well-known trainer of that ilk, to whom, no doubt, much credit is due for the lad's proficiency. We have some very fine light-weights* riding in the North Island, whilst we have others again who should have a milk round. War dancer has practically recovered from the mishap which occurred to him prior to the Dunedin Meeting, and which prevented him from fulfilling his engagements thereat. He will not be asked to race again until the spring. A returned soldier friend informs "Torpedo" that when the first batch of Americans reached Prance to take part in the war they were called "Nat Goulds," a name suggested by that sporting writer's novel entitled "Landed at Last." Sweet Corn is being taught .the jumping business at Hastings and is ecquitting herself creditably. ' Rose Pink appeared to the writer to go rather scratchily in her preliminaries for the Raukawa Cup, but her owner informed me that her customary movement whilst going at half pace suggested such an idea. I've just been reading that Madder, the dam of Rose Pink, in 17 years at the stud produced 16 foals, Mr Whitney's mare being the last but one. Prior to winning the Great Northern Hurdles Cynic was referred to as the Irish bred horse, but now that honour has come his way he is being referred to asi the English-bred horse —another injustice to the Ould Sod. The Wairarapa-owned Bonville, who until recently was trained by Joe Ayres, has been retired from the turf, and next season visits Absurd. The owner of Comment is said to have refused an offer of £400 for her. The rumour that Comment is owned by a syndicate isi denied. She is the sole property of a well-known «wool valuer, who races under the name of Mr Bradford. * * * * The Gisborne Racing Club's Winter Meeting takes place on Thursday and Saturday this week and at the time of writing the acceptances are not to hand. The programme opens with the Park Hurdles (2 miles). Cynic (9.9) is given a chance to add more fundst to pay his feed bill. There is a trio* of smart ones in the Flying. Handicap (6 furlongs) in Ticki (9,3) Carlysian (10.7) and Black Lace (10.4). There is only a small fieJ4 in the Gisborne Steeples. Merry Jack has 9.13 and L>iavolo 9.11. On Ellerslie form Sabine (9.12) and Grand Idea (9.10) should run well in the Hack Handicap.. Peneton (10.6) is top weight in the Tramway Hack Steeplechase, 2 miles. A good field should face the startei in the Winter Oats ,amongst them being Multifual (11.1), Hy thread (9.3) and Crosswords (9.2). «• * * * Dear "Torpedo."— I There was a good deal of dissatisfaction expressed at some of the judging and starting at the Otaki Meeting just concluded. As regards the hostility sthown by a certain section of the sports in connection with the judge's placings of the horses at the finish of the Cup, I for one thought that Battle Song had just got up in time to get the thick end of the prize. To prove my opinion I got upon the stand at the back and in as straight • a line as possible with the judge's line. From there one gets a different view and I had to admit that no one but the judge could give a correct verdict. I was with a friend- who in England had had a good deal of experience in timing professional runners. So we got as near the judge and time-keeper as possible. Thus my friend again

tried his liand at time-keeping and in every case he was 2-sths of a second longer than the official time recorded. I merely mention this to further strengthen my case and show that it is unfair to cause a demonstration against a ;judge who isr in the best position to give, a decision. In connection witli the starting it it quite a different thing, and there is no doubt that the despatches in some cases., .were far from good. I think it would be a good thing if the Racing Conference were to take a hand in seeing that all clubs appointed starters who knew something about the game, as so mucli depends upon the start, especially in a sprint event, and I am 1 perfectly sure that if a decent start had been effected in the Steeplechase Gang 'Awa would not have had such an easy win, and no doubt Master Webster would not have run off at the hurdle, as he would not have had to be bustled to keep Gang 'Awa in sight. —Yours, etc., Fair Play.