THE SPORT OF RACING

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11651, 16 October 1923, Page 7

THE SPORT OF RACING

THE RAGE rOR THE U.G. DERBY

HQW BALLYMENA WON GENERAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

FIXTURES October 20, 22—Wellington E.C. Spring. October 2«, 22—Gore H.G. Spring. October 22—YVaipawu Country E.C. Annurl. October 22—Waikato Hunt Annual. October 22—Baugior.i E.C. Annual. October 22—Waverley E.C. Annual. October 23—Levin E.C. Annual (at Trentham). October 25, 2'—Poverty Bay Turf Club Spring. itetobor 27—Carterton E.C. Annual. October 31—Bircbrvoo.l Hunt Annual. November 3—New Zealand Cup. November 3,. 5,7, and 10—Canterbury I.C. Metroaol iton.Novooboor Clutha E.C, Annual: NOTES AND COMMENTS (By “Carbine.") Racing at Trentham on Saturday, Monday, ana Tuesday, W, Kay nor will arrive at Trentham to'(light or' 'to-morrow morning with Thespian, .Li&tpw.el, and Motley. F. Tilley is due at Trentham on Thursday with Tukin, Enthusiasm, and Kadonua. Edsaday has been entered for the 4£itchels»opi Cup. It is said that Padonna has gone on the right' way since hie race at Wanganui, an cl he is being sorted out at Wanganui as one of the most likely to win tile M ellesley Stakes. It is doubtful whether Thespian was over better than he i 6 at present (says a Wanganui writer). Tistowel is also looking remarkably well. He was given a run over the schooling hurdles the other day. A 'Wanganui 'report says Motley has furnished into a splendid-looking filly, and is likely to give a good account ot herself in her engagements at Trentham and Auckland. W: Rayner has booked accommodation for Motley and Veil for the approaching spring meeting at Bllerslie. E. S- Bpgby has been engaged to ride Surveyor in his Wellington engagements. Surveyor and Pelham, in charge of trainer W. Patterson, are booked to leave by Tuesday night's express for the south. Goldtown, whom the Biccarton touts \:d been writing down, registered a .tyush victory in the. Trial Stakes at jJOnedin. Hh is one of Mason’s team, and has been' trained by Percy Mason in hie father’s absence in Australia. Goidtown is a three-year-year-old gelding by'Absurd from Ballarat. On his showing be is above Trial Stakes associations. WArseer and Barn Owl carried the bulk of the investments, but'the former has been causing his trainer some anxiety, and ran disappointingly. Barn Owl, which was a strong paddock tip, had every chance, but could finish only a fair "second, being under punishment for the last two furlongs. Great Pun, whp was heavily supported for his engagement at Whangarei on Thursday last, when he only managed to gain third place, is one of the hardest horses to manage at (Ellerslie, so far as bis attendants are concerned. He possesses a temper, And usually treats spectators'to a violent exhibition of bucking and kicking each morning before indulging in his daily 1 asks. He has speed, out may not always do his best, though the genstot impression is that racing Will improve him.

Flint Jack was not on© of the popular fancies when 0. Gray rode the son ot Rock 'Flint home a winner in the important E|bor Handicap, run at York late in August. Steve Donoghu© rod© the second horse, Norseman, who 'yas a greater outsider than Gray’s mpunt. After the field passed the post in the Kensington Handicap at Whangarei on Thursday, Pretty Man slipped and cam© down, arid it looked as though J. Bughanan. his rider, 'was'' injured. However, tbo veteran horseman wa© able to get up a ferf minutes later, and neither he nor mount 'sustained any dam--4 Ge. Zircon and Doleful Ditty, who were looa'ted gt Avondale'for a few weeks, have .tepp transferred to Green Lane, and are r *bw numbered amon.p- the regular track ©7s H.Uerslie. * Trainer W. Stone Aa in charge of the Hawke’s Bay pair. stow is a good sort of a hurdler, and -tfon the Hack Hurdles at Whangarei aXcely on Thursday from Scottish Knight. The entries for the Mitchelson Cup ,«re: —Archie, Bonny Canny, Boomerday, Bright Day, Complex, Glen:cairn, Equitable, Glen Canny, Gold Jacket, Highland, Loyal Irish, Marble Belf, SVaiiv Time, Matinee, Megan. Merry Day, Musketoon, Perfect Day, Poteen, Roseday , Royal Present, Shebang, Smoke Concoct, Snatcher, Soilterina, Stork, Surveyor, To Kara, Tinohoro, Tinokaha, "Unci© Ned. Tho two-year-old Bachelor Gay locked one of- the most forward qf the twp-year-olds who contested the McLean Stakes. He is a very flighty eustonier, rnd he settled his chance winning by jumping back at •tho start. He lost about ten lengths,' and finished so well that with a good start he might h/w* been, hard to beat. Horsemanship enabled Boadicoa to win the M-usaicJ Handicap at Dunedin. C. jjinierson kept her on the rails all the way, and though never very far from the front, he allowed the loaders to go on until the straight was reached. Then ho moved up,’ and with the assistance of a lucky opening on the inside, he outstayed Prince Ferouz. It was a very attractive performance on the part of Jjoadicea, who stayed on well. Filliewinkie ran a solid roc© in th© Mc.'sgiel Handicap. He finished strongly and as he is uackward yet th© race should do him a lot of good. Purple Spur did not appoar among th© lenders in the Mosgicl Handicap until a furlong from home. Ho had every chance at. the distance to win if he* had been good ©ijough. hut he eventually finished a fair foilrth. Sir Andrew’s time for the Metropolitan, which was mutilated in transit when cabled, was 2min 43&gec. He is the first Victorian horse to win th© Metropolitan .since I£B6. Balaton, the winner of the Trial Stakes at Rapriwick, raced Jn England last season as .Clpry- He started, in. oil, ten times, Wing a good second to Oruigangqw.er iu th© Sledmer© Stakes at York, and vwplaced in the Ascot Derby, won bv Backwood (now in Australia), while at the end of the season lie had descended to Maiden Plates, in two of which he filled second, place. He was purchased in *by his present owner for 900 guineas

How Iho wife of a prominent A.J.C. member nicked the Metropolitan winner: “What (to you fancy?” risked a friend. “Well, 1 believe in unions,’* said she. “When Homo recently I put some money in the wolf business at St. Andrews. My first half-yearly dividend came bo hand this morning. So \ must back Sir Andrew:. ** On wont her .£lO dividend from St. Andrews, ami home rolled the faithful Sir An<lr3wr. Povhvoo and K.T.A., who finished first and second in the Gimerack Stakes at Randwick, are trained’ in the same stable, both bein’under the change ot W. Booth, at. Rooohin. The two-year-old colt Paielight must have very favourably impressed C. T. Godby, as presumably it was on his recommendation the chestnut was bought by one of his patrons from Mr A. B. Williams (writes. ” Pilot”). Rumour places the price somewhero about 1700 guineas, but I cannot vouch for the correctness of that. It is safe to say, though, that the figure was substantial. Palelight is by Absurd from Starglow. New Zealnn;l-bred horses won two races at the Rosobcrry pony, moating in Sydney on September 26th, Rod Rock (Rokeby— Rcso Red) and Caricature (Absurd —Carmania) winning divisions of the Plying Handicap. Bellamy (Absurd- Dreamer), the two-yoar-old purchased at Mr W. G. Stead’s sale by Mr L. lv. S. M-ackinnon, will not be raced until the auluiun. Mercian King,'who filled third place in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes at Plemington, is described! in the repent files from Australia a:? a bold-going colt by King Offa from Bunfeast. An Australian writer states that thero was a contingency attached to the .purchase of Nassau, that had Tarlefqn won the Derby, Air Miller was to pay another ,£SOO to Gerald Stead. But it is understood that the agreement of sal© did not take into account tho winning chance of Ballymena in the Derby. Zev, who is to meet Papyrus in the match at Belmont Park, New York, ph the 20th, is a brown polt by The Finn from Airs Kearney by Planudes (St. Simon—Lonely) from Gourtplaster by Sandringham by St. Simon. The Pinn, the sire of Zev, is by Ogden by ICilwarlin from Oriole by Bend Or. It will tbus be seen that one does not have to go far back in Zev’s pedigree to find the well-known English sires. Zev usually rLces in blinkers. HQW BHLYMENA WON THE A.J.C. DEBBY. Tho A.J.C. Derbv was a great boil-over, says tlie Sydney Ballymena, the winner, is a New Zealander, who Started as the outsider in the race. Ho outstayed the field in a fast run race, and won well. Ballymena’s success was something few Sydney- racing men anticipated. Beaten in the Hawkcsbury Handicap with 7st 2lb by Bolycletan, to whom he was conceding only 61b, with the moderate Black Burr a close third, it sparsely possible for Rim yo win Australia v s richest classic race only a later. But he did, and as a result of outstaying his opponents' in a fast-run race. King Carnival made the pac% with Ballymena, Bjqck, Scot, The Monk and Tarlcton nearest him. After passing the spvan f uplongs the last two uqre Lady Valgis and Leonardo, and just ahead of thorn warp Shra.pnpl and Rahirj. At the five- furlongs All Sunshine, on the rails, was being hard ridden to hold Q fair position, and a little further on ho got a squeeze that caused him to drop hsck nearly last at the fialf mile. King Carnival came round the turn in such bold fashiem that his chances of winning -seemed * excellent, but, as his trainoy feared, he started to tire opposite tho loger. Then Ballymena, The Monk, Lady Valais, Tarleton and Shrapnel all closed on him. Ballymena, who took charge three-quarters of a furlong from home, was challenged by Lady Valais and Shrapnel. In turn each looked Tike overhauling Ballymena, but notwithstanding that ho swerved under pressure, he did better ihan any of hir» followers over the last fifty yards. He would have still won, even with further to travel, as everything behind him was very tired. In fact, I have rarely seen a more tired field. M.cCartxn rode an excellent race on Ballymena. Ho got him into a handy position soon after barrier-rise, and r.ever took tho risk of losing it. Unlike some of thoso a little further back, Ballymena had an uninterrupted run throughout, never being further hack than third. When F. D. Jpnes loft New Zealand the general opinion over there, was, that his team wa£ useful, but nothing out of the ordinary, and jit *is improbable many gave thought to Ballymena ns a possible A.J.C. Derby winner.