NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLV, Issue 10464, 17 December 1919, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

■William Griggs, the English jockey, recently received from th» Italian Ministry of "War the Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare, for services rendered on the Italian front) in the course of the wax. Griggs's other decorations include the Military Cross. "The Australasian" Bays that although pressure has been brought to bear to increase the number of race meetings in Melbourne, it has not been effective. There is less racing in Melbourne than Sydney, unregistered sport '. not receiving the same consideration in the former city .that 16 did a, few years ago. A French thoroughbred which went

all through the war with a cavalry regiment has, after being "demobilised,'' won seven races in succession in the space of five weeks. Ho is called Le Petit and belongs to Captain Felix Petit. The brilliant sprinter Irish Elegance goes to the stud in England next year, and, notwithstanding his progeny will not be eligible for the Stud Book, and will also be ineligible for some Continental countries, he is to start at a fee of 200 guineas. Something like a record is said to have been established in America a tew weeks ago. The "Thoroughbred Breeder" is responsible for saying that Mr S. C. Hildrefch declined an offer of 300,000 dollars (about £60,000 at the pre-war rate of exchange) for his three-year-old chestnut colt Purchase, winner this year, of seven races worth nearlp 25,000 dollars. Purchase is by Ormondale out of Cherryola, by Tanzmeister. For the' 6ixl'h successive season, S.

Donoghue .has headed th© list of winning jockeys in .England. He finished this season with 129 wins out of 532 mounts, nearest him being Carslako, with 106 wins for 341 mounts. AH sportsmen will bo sorry to hear (says the "Referee") that that good colt, Richmond Main, met -with an accident while running in a paddock at his owner's place at Will's Gully. It appears that Richmond Main was playing and galloped into a fence and fell, and in extricating himself a piece of paling was embedded in one of his coronets. Mr AV. J. Miller. V.S., was dis- ! patched immediately to Will's Gully, and after a thorough examination he found the injury rather serious, but does not think it will take the chestnut long to throw off the effects of the trouble. Mr V. E. H. Davis, V.S., of Newcastle, also attended the colt, and removed a piece of the paling an inoh and a half in length from one of Richmond Main's feet, but like Mr Miller, Mr Davis does not consider it will affect his racing career." The leading jockey in France for the season is the American, Frank O'Neill, who has been riding in Europe for a number of years. The leading owner is also an American, Mr W. K. j Vanderbilt, whose horses have won no less than 412,000 francs.

To recover from a broken hip, and to become a real cood racer, says the "Kentucky Thoroughbred Record," is tho luck of the colt John 0., one of the three-time winners of the present I/atonia meeting. John 0. as a yearling gave great promise, and his owner, O. Rogers, believed, in him. Ho -was being exercised as a two-year-old at Churchill Downs a year ago last spring and slipped and fell, fracturing his hip. His owner ordered tho horse to be destroyed, as he believed that his usefulness had corns to an end. Dr C. R. Richards was called and gave at as his opinion that tho horse might be saved, so he was loaded into a van and moved to stable in Louisville, whero he was suspended in a sling for . seven weeks.' The fractured bones healed rapidly, and at' the end of that period he was let down and able to stand, although poor and scrawny. The horse was taken to a farm in a few days and permitted to roam about in the fields. He wased fat, and last spring Rogers took the

horse up and trained him, but was able to get onlv ono race in him during the spring meeting at Latonia. The colt remained at Latonia all summer, and won his first two starts of the present meeting. Ho started ,1 third time, however, but met defeat and won his last out.