NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 9869, 15 January 1918, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By “Tohunga.”) Acceptances for the Boston meeting close to-night.. The Wellington Trotting Club's acceptances close to-night with Mr E. Shott, at Petop.e. Wrestler was galloped alone on the tra<)ks at Trcntham yesterday. He went six furlongs, but did not appear to relish) his task. l'or the half mile Matilda registered 52 3-ssec. Yesterday morning was an off morning at Xre’ntham, and a great deal was not done. Advices from state that Devotion has a- cracked*heel. Sho will be carefully shepherded for the race by her mentor, 11. Telford. Ayah and Gamecock were associated in a try out over half a mile, tho latter prevailing in 52sec. Miss De Val was galloped for about a mile, and appeared to he all right when she walked off. J. H. ‘Prossers team reached Trentham yesterday. They are : —Gold Soult, Rajput, Blighty, Gold Helmet, Restful, Stirrup Cup, Rock Salt, and Tabitha. The handicapper of the Wellington Racing Club has every reason to he satisfied with the acceptances for the first day of the meeting. In the Trentham Apprentices’ Handicap, of a mile, there are fourteen acceptors, all of them being fair horses, over various distances. The Nursery Handicap has drawn an acceptance of seventeen horses. Some of the best horses originally engaged rn the race have dropped out, Demagogue, Long Range, Kilhope and Torfroda. Half of the horses weighted for the Anniversary Welter, of a mile, have been paid up for, and a great majority of the others are engaged elsewhere on the card. The Wellington Cup has a paid up field of fourteen, twenty having dropped oat. Meneiaus would appear to nave been withdrawn in favour of his stable-mate, Johnny Walker. Naturally Hymestra was withdrawn from tho handicap (he appeared in both the Cup and the Telegraph Handicap). Bom Up and Cynic did not look like coming hero for the Cup. In the case of the latter he 'appears to be bettor suited atTakapuna. The withdrawal of Marc Anthony was one of the surprises of the final payments. He had been running well lately. There are twenty-two horses engaged in the Bnapehu Handicap. There are only ten defections out of thirtv,bwo weighted' horses. In the Telegraph Handicap there are seventeen acceptors, practically all of them being solid sprinters. Ihe sprinters engaged come from the north, south, east and west, and the issue on the day should be an extremely , open one. There has been some comment.at the Trentham course regarding additions to the training quarters, ihe Owners and Trainers' Association recommended certain improvements, one being the institution of an extra sand roll, tor horses who have finished their tasks,. There is only one roll at Trentham at the moment, and that appears to be most inadequate. It would reaUy seem to be so. too. To-day the fields are far larger than they were when the fittings at Trentham were laid out. The head serangs" may argue that there were as many horses in commission ten or fifteen years ago as there are to-day, but that argument cuts little ice, because ihe horses of fifteen or. twenty years ago wore not of the racing calibre of today's horses. The fact that racing has been out down by one-third has to be taken into consideration; also the fact that ail the big. or large, owners are pursuing every village meeting with the utmost vigilance. The battler, in these days, has no chance, and that fact la lost sight of by most of tho heads tn the metropolitan clubs. The cost of laying down an extra sand roll is said to be rather extravagant, la the first place, foundations would have to be laid; then there would have bo 'he an enclosure with a roof. All of that is estimated to cost several thousands. But the coat of the proper training of a horse is not taken into consideration. According to some people, who earn their living in a city, a horse can be trained on a cable car route; but those people would not be too pleased to own the horse so trained after he or she had started (and missed) a few times. 1