NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8367, 1 March 1913, Page 14

NOTES AND COMMENTS

The Wanganui meeting will be concluded to-day, when the chief attractions will bo the Jackson Stakes and the Wanganui Stakes. Autumnus and Peroniila, who each won races on the hrst day of the meeting, figure in the former event, and they will take a power of. beating. Autumnus, after the way ho ran in the Flying Handicap, is back to his last year’s form, and Sir George Clifford may have the pleasure of seeing his colours carried successfully for the first time in this race. Mira, though given pride of place in the Stakes, will no doubt be very handy in this event after his display in the Cup, though Tiresome and Dearest are well in.

Byron and Makara were scratched for the Great Easter Handicap yesterday.

During training operations at Flemington yesterday Nuwara Eliya did half a mile in 49sec and First Shot a similar distance in 50sec. Pbsitus ran three furlongs in 374After declaration of first forfeits last night twelve horses remain in the A.R.O. Champagne Stakes and eleven in the Great Northern Oaks. The five-year-old gelding Sea God, by Medallion—Nereid, who was among the winners at a recent meeting in Australia, is a brother to Achilles. He realised 475 guineas as a yearling, but has proved a costly failure as a racehorse, in which respect he has followed in the footsteps of other relatives to Achilles.

J. Cameron, who left for Sydney recently, intended including Golden Loop in his team, but the son of Lupin met with a mishap while racing at the Gisborne meeting, and had to be placed on the invalid list, where he is likely to remain for some time.

Lucerne, the Lupin filly owned by Dr Paget, unaccountably injured herself while executing a preliminary gallop on the concluding day of the Taranaki meeting. Later paralysis set in, and on Saturday she died, which is bad luck indeed, for she was a filly of much promise.

It was understood that the Austra-lian-bred jumper Wooloomoo had been permanently retired. Advices to hand from Napier, however, state that the son of Definition is again to be trained, and an effort is to be made to have him ready for the fray by the tiine the Wanganui and Auckland winter meetings roll round. Midnight Sun, the winner of the New Zealand Cup- this season, is advertised to be sold by auction in Melbourne'on M!arch 10th. His engagements at the autumn meeting of the Victoria Racing Club include the Champion Stakes, of three miles, but be is not in any of the other weight-cor-age events.

Peg, who won the Publicans’ Handicap at the autumn meeting of the Dunedin Jockey Club, is under offer to an Australian owner.

The Regel gelding Hoanga stood his racing at the South Auckland meeting well, and showed no signs of soreness after working at Elleralie on Thursday morning.

The veteran gelding Welloast is still a member of W. Olive’s active brigade at EllersUe, and on Thursday morning .vas schooled over a round of the hurdles. Welloast jumped safely but slowly.

Advices have been received from Melbourne stating that the hurdle horseman “Joe” O’Connell is meeting with plenty of support from owners, and that he has decided to'settle there permanently.

A dead-heat in an important steeplechase is an unusual occurrence, but there was one in the Grand Prix de la Ville do Nice of £4OOO, run at Nice in January. There were eighteen starters, and after a great struggle Galafron got on terms with Ultimatum in the last stride, the third horse, Tripot IL, being three-quarters of a length away.