GOSSIP OF THE TURF

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12391, 10 March 1926, Page 10

GOSSIP OF THE TURF

Talk from Track and Stable

(By

“CARBINE.”)

FIXTURES. March 10— Mariawat*u Trotting Club. March 10’—Opotiki Jockey Club. March 10, 11—Southland Racing Club. March 12, 13—Napier Park Racing Club. March 13—-Timaiu Trotting Cluu. March 13—Northland Trotting Ciub. March 13, 17 —Ohineniuri Jockey Club. March 17—Opunake Racing Club. March 17—Wyndhara Trotting Club. March 18—Waimate Racing Chib. ' March 18, 20—New Brighton Trotting 1 Club. ' March 20 —Thames Trotting Club. | March 20—Bay of Plenty Jockey Club. ; March 20—Masterton Racing Club, j March 20, 22—Westport Jockey Club j March 23, 24—Oamaru Jockey Club. Maich 24, 25—Kangitikei Racing Club. ! March 27—Wellington Trotting Club. I April 3, s—Hawera Trotting Club, j April 3, • s—Wairarapa Racing Club. ; April 3, s—Auckland5 —Auckland Racing Club. > April 3. s—Feildings—Feilding Jockey Club. April 3. 7—Metropolitan Trotting Club. April 5,6, Canterbury Jockey Club. April 7—Westland Racing Club. April 10—Greymouth Jockey Club.

Willow Wai has incurred penalties tor .his Opunake engagements. A olb penalty in the President’s Handicap makes his weight 9.8, and a 101 b penalty in the Cup raises him to 8.4. ■ W. H. Jones rode three winners at Matnmata on Saturday. The Wellington sportsman, Mr W. J. Jorgenson, leaves for Sydney on Tuesday. He will be present at the Easter racing carnival and will at- ; tend the yearling sales, j The grey mare Reffiitai is to be tried at hurdling, and might be seen out at ; Opunake oi> St. Patrick’s Day. She is i entered at Bulls also, but is better I treated at Opunake. At Opunake j -be is in receipt of 101 b from Mountain Bell, and at Bulls is within 41b of the same opponent. ftongatahi, who was backed down to a short price in the*Highweight at Matamata. had no public form to recommend him. However, he won. He is an aged gelding by Monoform from a Firearm mare.

Grey Lass was. responsible for an attractive performance in winning the Kinloch Welter Handicap at Motukarara on Saturday. She was one of the leaders all the way, and she had no trouble to hold her position in front after reaching the straight. The halfsister to the speedy Kenmore should do still better before the end of the season.

The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, was a visitor to Motukarara for the Banks Peninsula Racing Club’s meeting on Saturday. After the race for the Peninsula Cun, Sir Heaton Rhodes introduced him to the public in a brief speech. Mr Coates then handed over the silver cup which went with the stake, and in doing so con-

gratulated Mr F. Christmas on the success of his.horse, Fresco.

The-Judicial Committee of the Banks Peninsula Racing Club met after the Terawera Hack Handicap on Saturday to inquire into an incident when the field was leaving the straight, in which Some Fox was the chief sufferer. D. R. Gunn, the rider of Rag Fair, was held to have caused the trouble, and he was suspended for the remainder of the day. The Harp had a very easy win in the Forsyth Flying on Saturday, and he has excellent prospects of earning further distinction during the next few weeks.

Lady Clarenceux was unlucky in the Terawera Hack Handicap at Motukarara on Saturday (says a southern writer). She was near the front five furlongs from home, where she met serious trouble, and she was overhauling the leaders again very fast at the finish.

Lady Zetland won the Great Easter j Handicap and the Great Autumn Handicap in 1894, a feat which was repeat.1 ed by her daughter, Lady Lillian, ip 11903. No horse has won the double i since then, but Gold Light, Royal Divorce. Listening Post, Tommv Dodd, Grand Knight, Archeen, Clarinda, Overdrawn, Haze, Carnot, Miss Minerva. Baldowa and The. Harp are eligible to run in both races next month.

Tinopono is coming back to his best form and, after being a close second in the Matamata Cup, he won the Walton Welter from end to end. It is likely that he. will go on improving, and another victory may soon be credited to him. Too much use was made of Hokioi in the Okoroire Hack Cup, otherwise he would have won (says the “New Zealand Herald”). Even then he may have scored'if better handled at the finish. It should pay to keep Hokioi in mind for he is likely in win soon cither over hurdles or on the flat.

It was with a strong finishing run that Star of the East won the Okoroire Hack Cup. His victory was in no small measure due to the excellent riding of 11. Goldfinch. This is the third hack mip event won by Star rl the East, ho having'won the Kerries’ Memorial Hack Cnn at Taurangn end the Piako Cup at Te Aroha. In the Peninsula Cun on Saturdav Ercsc6 was - not near the frrvt u"td anproaehmg the straight, when lie came •with a strong challenge and von in good style. He is net brilliant, but n stays and fuHEer successes .shoo’d c' ,r ''o his V”y before ibe season rlof.es. Fmosi. who won the th'i h’cap lest year, and his srator Eivilitv. who wrs beaten by a neck, have both been nominated p'-miu fm* the nevert r, T»*long nt Siccarton on Easter Monday. Of t!v field that nntestc'l tbo Easter Handican last rear, Smcsi fhvinner), ■ Civility (secondh Fool’s Paradise. Los Ambus and Finorn have been nominated again this seaoon. Red Wink. who won the Great Autumn Handicap last year, is in retirement. while Pillicwiukic, who finished third, is doinp'grcnt things in Australia. Haze, who sidit the pair a year ago, is again a candidate for the race this year, also Tnrloton. who was narrowly beaten for third place.

Mr W. G. Stead’s colours have not hsen seen at Riccnrton for some time, hut lie has nominated Imitation anti Hypnotic for the Groat Easter Handicap, so it is probable that the yellow jacket and black cap will make their reappearance next month.

TE MONANUI IN AUSTRALIA 'IV Monanui is to make his first ap* ponrance in public in Australia at Rosehill on Saturday next. Private advice is to hand to the effect that the son of Potoa is fit and well, and doing good work. HOW TO START RAFA AND MANFRED A fe.v years ago the English trainer E. Goby owned a cross-country performer in Fire Island, who was so restless in his stable that nothing would induce him to eat anything but hay. His trainer found that the horse would go to his manger whenever a barrel organ was playing in the street. He, therefore, at feeding time, had a musical box playing in the horse’s stall. Another liorso that has a liking for music is Rosy Sun, who won a steeplechase at Leicester last month, and can be induced to do anything when there is a gramophone playing within his hearing. Now that c/a have the idea, it is easy to picture the big gramophone from the “Oi” being taken to the,starting post when Rafn is about to line up; but it is doubtful if anything less than* the* Grenadier Guards Band would satisfy Manfred.

EXCITING STEEPLECHASE The “Southland Times*’ turf writer gives the following description of the Otautau Steeplechase run on Wednesday : I'he Otautau Steeplechase furnished a race that must have thrilled the most exacting critic of the day with its close and unique run home, and several interesting occurrences in the struggle. The finish was one of the most peculiar ever seen in a crosscountry event, as one of ihe horses most concerned made to jump an obstacle on the extreme outside of one of ’-he widest tracks in New Zealand, while the winner and others were racing home near the inner rails. While Karanga and Mettle Drift ran to the jtidge on the flat on the inside of the course proper, Greenstone swerved out ns if to take the double again as in two previous rounds. He did not actually jump the fence, but his rider pulled him to the outside of it and he got through a very narrow opening next the outside ‘fence, passed the winning-post right under the judge’s box and was pulled up against the second fence of the. double. While doing this Greenstone was only beaten bv .a length and a-half by Karanga, who had broken down badly two femes home. Had Greenstone kept to the flat portion of the wide course he might easily have headed off the winner. Greenstone ia a notoriously headstrong performer, and it looked as, if j ™ a^ e II P bis mind to jumo the double instead of run home on the fiat, /vJ ri % t 5 15 ra S e Scam P gave his owner (Mr W F. “North) a very ugly fab. tlie rider s head being doubled under nis nonv. The injured horseman was medically examined, and it was stated that no bones were broken, but the muscles of his neck and shoulders were affected The sufferer was removed from the course for further medical attention. ■ ? TROTTING for all events at the \\ e Imgton Trotting Club’s meeting, to be held on March 27th, close at 8 p m to-day./ 1 The second contest for tho trottinc championship at Perth will be run nest Saturday evening over a mile and a halt course, and the two mile race will take place on March 20th. The total stake-money is 2000 sovs, with heat prizes of 100 sovs. The stake for each event is 525 sows, and in addition 425 sov3 goes to the winner of the championship, which will be decided on the greatest aggregate of points over the three distances. The two trotting events at Motukabara on Saturday provided a . great contrast. The Wairewa Handicap was a fine contest, the places being filled by three of the greatest outsider* in the field. In the Wnihora Park Handicap, the three best backed horses .secured all the money in one of the worst races that has been witnessed lor some time, two of the competitors clearing out and beating tin. othe* starters by 150 yards. St. .Fillan, the winner of the AVairewa Trot Handicap at Motukarara is a well-bred gelding, being by Logan l ointer from Inniefail, a member of Mr J. Farrell's famous Rothschild— Ruahuie family. St. Fillan was a failure when tried by his breeder, and

ho did a. lot of unsuccessful racin" Ip.tor when trained by J. N. Clarke, at Aev/ Brighton. Ho went into H. Acer’s stably recently, and showed useful form in Saturday’s race, though he was not called on to register fast time to win. Ivor, the winner of the Waihora Park Trot Handicap at Motuknaara, was making hie first appearance in a race. He is a member of J. McDermott s team, and in the meantime he is only a useful plodder, who stars well. Ar.'ka is reported to be improving with e\ory race. The three-year-old s:mi of Cathedral Chimes and Zorn, will mako good with experience. Surfbcmrd flattered his hackers foi uiib and a quarter at the Banks Peninsula meeting, but after that he faded out. According to n American exchange, the syndicate of West Australian horsemen, headed by Mr H. A. Humnv.wston, who purchased the six trotters recently imported from America, made a held hid to secure the noted •stallion Chestnut Peter, which is proving ouc-cessful as a sire. Peter Goode, a prominent American horse dealer, stated that he was commissioned by Mr Humnierstnn to go to £of)3o for Chestnut Peter. When Chestnut Peter came into the v sal© ring lie was started at £2OOO, then Geode raised it to £4300. the next hid was £->OOO, and as N C*oodo’s limit was reached he dropped out. The final duel rested between two noted breeding farina, Fox Stock Farm and the Walnut Hall Farm, and the latter’s final bid of £3BOO secured the hdrso. Chestnut Peter, now 4 ten years old. Ls by Peter the Great from Dorothy Axworthy. As a three-year-old, Chestnut Peter made a trotting record of 2min s}scc.