NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10546, 24 March 1920, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By "Carbine.") There will be racing at Invercargill and at Bulls to-day. Handicaps for Feildine and for some of the Canterbury events will be declared on Friday. "Wairarapa acceptances are due on Friday. Nominations for the Westland meeting close on Friday. Good fields are engaged at Rangitikci to-day, and some good racing should be witnessed. There is a big entry for the Trial Plate. Empyrean has a reputation and so also has Erin's Isle. Miss Love is more experienced 'than most of the runners. In the Scott Memorial Astinome will have a penalty for her Masterton win, but she is still well fancied. Bindle mav be favourite, and All Over, who is i» very light, looks to be nicely placed. Risingham'will have a big load to carry in the Pukenui "Welter, for his weight will'include a,penalty, for winning at Ouaki. but the field is weak, pud he may win again. Farce looks the most likely of the middle weights. The Rangitikei Cup should be an interesting race. A good horse in Nobleman heads the handicap, and as he is said'to have been doine nicely he may start favourite. He will only need to ba at his best to account for the field. Lovematch and Marqueteur must be, given chances, and Rose "Wreath s showing at Masterton on Saturday should not be taken as her true form.

The handicap for the Southland Cup, which is to be run today, must bo regarded as a very poor one. One never knows till the numbers go up, but Warlike looks to have been presented by the handicapper with a rare chance or winning. The Masterton course sadly needs better totalisator • accommodation. lne crushing Tound the machine on baturday was bad.

At the Ohinemuri meeting the progeny of Queen Abbey won eight races. The winners were King Abbey, Queen Abbey Tinokaha .(two each), Oak Abbey, and Dead Sweet.

Guanaco has shown ability to jump, *nd later on he will be engaged m hurdling events. Arrowsmith oftened the eyes, of the Riccarton touts'She other morning when he ran down three furlongs m 36sec with the boy "holding" hard. Harold Young was not long in getting onto the winning list again. He scored at his first meeting since his reinstatement when he won on All Ready in the Welter. Ashley Reed, who is riding very well this season, rode the winning double at Opaki on Saturday. The secretary of the New Zealand Jockeys' Association, Mr C. C. Sheath, was operated on for' appendicitis recently, and a few days ago was reported to be seriously ill.

' After racing members of his team at Bulls T. Quinlivan will take Lovematch, Demagogue and Hepta to Ellerske. ' The new stipendiary steward, Mr C. W. L. Murchison, who is being brought over from Australia, is due to take up his duties almost immediately. He is said to have owned and ridden horses in the Commonwealth. Excellent nominations have been received by the Manawatu Club for its autumn meeting. In one event sixtyseven horses have been entered. A field of fifty-two has to .be weighted for the Prince of Wales Handicap, and there are twenty-one in the Awapuni Gold Cup. D. Webster, with Fisher and Master Moutoa, leaves for Australia as soon as possible, probably to-day.

The three-year-old half-brother to Sasanof, Vasilkov, was given a run in the Trial at Masterton. The big black fellow looks well, but was not quite rSady for racing. He ran a fair race and finished in the ruck. With a little time on his side he should turn out useful.

The Awapuni Gold Cup has drawn the great nomination of twenty-one. The popular weight>for-age event is run over a mile and a quarter course, and though the nominations are big there will bo a big-weeding' out before the day of the race, for at weight-for-age a number of the nominees have no chance watever. That public idol, Desert Gold, will be musing from this year's field, but Sasanof, vrho beat her last year, will probably take her place and he should play a prominent part in the decision. A meeting of Sasanof, Amyjthaa, Arrow'smith, Fiery Cross, and others would be a great draw.

The ex-West Coast horseman, S. Gibb. now attached to R. Berry's stable in Invercargill, put up what may bo classed as a Southland record by taking, part in two dead-heat finishes in one afternoon (says a Southland paper). He rodo Sartolite when his mount tied with Breton in the Lilburn Plate, and again occupier Pallah's saddle when the Pallas gelding finished on oven terms with Mettle Dnft in the Clifd-en Cup. Gibb also steered Sartolite to victory in tho Farewell Handicap. Nominations for all events at tho Wellington Racing Club's meeting also forfeits for 'the New Zealand St. Leger Stakes and North Island Challenge Stakes close at 9 p.m. on Friday. Tho secretary notifies that the Pacific Handicap (the fifth race on tho second day) is for two-year-olds only. This particular was omitted accidentally from the printed programme.