NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10561, 12 April 1920, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

The Wellington autumn meeting opens, on Thursday. Acceptances for the first day events at the Manawatu autumn meeting close at 9 o'clock this evening. Marlborough nominations are due on Wednesday, and Hawke's Bay nominations on Friday. The Thompson Handicap will be run on Thursday and the Trentham Gold Cup on Saturday. A great deal of rain has fallen at Trenthsm in the last few days, and the tracks are now more than well I soaked. They were very hard before the downpour commenced on Thursday, and a soaking will do them good, so long as we get fine weather between now and next Thursday. At a meeting of the Board of the New Zealand Trotting Association at was decided that notice should be sent to the various cluba notifying them of the names of defaulting owners and tha fines owing, and demanding thati they should be paid forthwith; also that the attention of clubs be drawn to the rules relating to fines and forfeits. Tlte 9.13 carried by Sasanof in the Great Autumn Handicap is the greatest weight carried to victory in the big mile and a-half event. Warsitep won with 9.11. Los Angeles with 9.5, North Atlantic and Merry England with 9.1, and Merganser win'9.B. F. Holmes was the most successful horseman at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting, winning races with Emperor, Billy Par-ole-and Trix Pointer. E. C. McDermott won with Hayseed and Our Girl, and A. G. Wilson with Mintson and Reta Peter, while F. E. Jones won with Rangitata ' Lass and finished a dead heat for first place with Doraldina. A trainer not far from Wellington who told his friends that his horse had no chance, must have received a shock to see his representative arriving home second and paying a nice dividend. The Trentham steeplechaser, Coalition, will be in nice condition by tho time tho lepping season rolls round. He was given a couple of runs at Tanherenikau and finished close up each time. In fact, on the second day he was a running-on third. He looked well and boro the appearance of having done a fair amount of work. It would not be out of place for the son of Patronus to win tho Wellington Steeplechase this year as he has been runnerup in tho last two seasons. Last season he appeared to be' winning nicely when the lightly-weighted Vascular came up and caught him on the post, and the verdict wont to Vascular. In 1918 he w-as beaten by that wonderful chaser Master Strowan in tho Wellington Steeplechase, and in the July Steeplechase at the same meeting he was beaten by a- head in a desperate finish with another wonderful performer, Bon Reve. A curious mistake was made at tho recent Wairarapa meeting. When the names board was fixed up it announo ed that Stan. Re.id would ride Probate in tho Electric Hack Handicap. Reid is at present busy in Melbourne riding winners over fences. R. S. Bagby actually had the ride, and it was a winning one. After the Oxford Handicap at the Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting several owners were called before the stewards to explain why they had not carried out the club's regulation which makes it necessary to obtain the consent of tho officials to any change # in the rider or.driver of a horse during the meeting. The owners concerned were rewrimanded. The stewards resolved that future breaohes would result in the offenders being fined. Mr "Dug" Webster, in writing to relatives in Otaki, states thait Fisher and Master Montoa stood ithe trip to Sydney splendidly, and arrived in fine condition. Mr Webster, who had a find trip across "the pond" speaks highly of Sydney, and deals eulogistically with tho excellent railway services. I