GOSSIP OF THE TURF

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12393, 12 March 1926, Page 10

GOSSIP OF THE TURF

Talk from Track and Stable

(By

"CARBINE.”)

FIXTURES. March 12, 13—Napier Park- Racing Club. -March 13—Timaiu Trotting Clun. March 13—Northland Trotting Club. March 13, 17 —Ohinemuri Jockey Club. March 17—Opunake Racing Club. March 17--Wyndhnm Trotting Club. March 18—Waimate Racing Club. March 18, 20—New Brighton Trotting Club. March 20 —Thames Trotting Club. March 20—Bay of Plenty Jockey Club. March 20—Masterton .Racing Club. March 20, 22—Westport Jockey Club March 23. 24—Oamaru Jockey Club. Maicb 24, 25—Kangitikei Racing Club. March 27—Wellington Trotting Club. April 3, s—Hawera Trotting Club. April 3, s—Wairarapas—Wairarapa Racing Club. April 3, s— Auckland Racing Club. April 8. s—Feilding Jockey Club. April' 3, 7—Metropolitan Trotting Club. April 5,6, Canterbury Jockey Club. April 7—Westland Racing Club. April Jockey Club.,

I A good deal of the interest in the .Napier meeting,, which 1 opens to-day, will Be in the performances of hordes who ‘ will be appearing a little later at the' Easter fixtuies Among these is Rapine, who, is down to contest the. Cup. He is reported to be fairly forward, alid if this is tho case be ought to go very close to winuinfe. His most dangerous opponent might be Oreum, who cleared out trom the field in the Woodville Cup. Rapine is engaged, iii the- Flying as well as in the Cup, and he would run prominently in' the shorter race if reserved for it, but the probabilities are his trainer will prefer to run him over the longer distance. > The field for the. Maiden includes the speedy Ballymoy 11., who lias been a disappointment in the north, wher9 she has taken on the best sprinters: The. class, she will meet to-day is well below what she ought to be capable of, managing, the distarce will suit her, and she should touch a . very short price. When Imitation won at Woodville he was susceptible of considerable improvement, and if he has gone along the right way •in the last couple of weeks he should take a hand in the decision of the Esk Hack Handicap. If Hypnitio and Imitation both start they will’be coupled on the machine. Though Imitation is the most likely' to improve. My Hobby, Minstrel Boy and Plain Sailing, alio are coming on, and soon will be at .their best. , Woodville and Dannevirke form point to Aslsep running well in the hurdle events during the meeting. The Uedclvffe ' Welter lias not attracted a strong field, and the best of them might be Gauntlet and Othon. Good. Sport was in need of the racing he had recently, ar.d he should now be ready to show his best. Desert Glow is in considerable favour for the Ohinemuri Cup. He was considered to have been very unlucky in his last outing. Polonett'is expected to run prominently on. St. Patrick's Day. Cat Call is to be taken north to contest the Great Northern Oaks. King is asked to carry 10.2 at Napier to-day,- and Commendation has been allotted 10.5 at Bulls. Both are meeting weak opposition, and their weights do not seem prohibitive when it is remembered that- Rational won as a two-year-old with 10.9 on his back, and Mcrrmn and -Epitaph both scored .with. 10.3 TV Ohinemuri Jockey Club have decided to present a Bad die to the tidor of the winner of the Ohinemuri Cup. .. The. following , riding engagements have been for Paeroa-to-morrow: W,. Rennie, Peter Maxwell; R, Orange, Qninsilia and Te Kawana; R. E. • Thomson, Pendennis and Ngatea; R. McTavish, Kingfield, Flying -Juliet, ITralla, R’oyal Form, and King Pot; ,W. H. Jones, Mosaic. Charlady, and Arch ArrowH. l - Wiggins, Curraghmore and PinoiiH.’ Goldfinch, Cawnpore. • The steeplechaser Cftpsal has joined J. Lambess’- team, ' Capsal has been •out of commission for a considerable time, and has not raced for over two years. . ■ Zircon is again' among the regular workers at. Ellerslie. . Following on a spell through, tho summer he is very big, and will take some time to get ready. The hunter Cui Bono has rejoined the active brigade at Ellerslie. She should come to hand quickly, as she was hacked about prior to returning to the tracks, according to the “New Zealand Herald;”

There was a 'suspicion of soreness about Polonett when lie trotted down to do his task on. Tuesday, writes “Archer,” but his track effort was entirely satisfactory, as he. is usually a sluggish worker. His condition was improved by his race at Te Aroha and he is very bright. All going well in the meantime he should render a good account of himself in the Ohinemuri Cup. It is stated that R. McTavish will be his pilot. In America last year the two-year-olds included some very big winner». the principal being Pompev. a colt hv Imported Sun Briar (Sunbridge— Sweet Briar 11., by St. Frupquin). Pompev. who was his sire’s only two-year-old winner, put seven races to his credit., and, computing the value of the dollar at onlv fivq to the £ sterling', .his earnings were about £24.7-00. Canter, by Wildair (Broomstick —Verdure) was next with about £2l. .400. and, strangely enough, ho was his sire's only two-year-old winner. To say that R. S. Siovier knows racing from A to Z ho doubt conveys In full measure, the accomplishments of “the redoubtable, Robert,” as he is frequently referred to in London sporting prints. Still, what he could reveal on the betting side cf the question would no doubt in itself prove an illuminating document. The following is an extract from his recently-pub lished memo’rs; —“Although I am not. grey of head. T am certainly grey in experience, and to any young man t tender this advice in regard to bet ting: Take n practical interest in all sports, but let the betting side of it he so fractional that it is rendered immaterial if you lose. There is too much commercialism in the snort of kings to-riav to give the judge of a horse and its form any chance whatever unless he-is also' in the 'business.' ” It is highlv interesting to lead ibe above from ‘R.P.S.” consideiing the bold parts ho lias nlayed a* bookmaker, horse-owner., and hacker, apd the liquid resets of his esta*a were recently declared at a very small cuip. Bahadur is described as a dashing jumper, and his display over the big fences at'.Ellerslie this week was good So far he has failed to display form of any ’ merit, but he is becoming more seasoned and should improve with each race. The ohances are ho will do bet

ter as a steeplechaser tliqn as a hurdler and he should come into his own in hunters’ events.

Mr W. C. Ring has left for Sydney taking with him the quartette of yearlings that are to he submitted at Randwick in April next. The Waikato youngsters all looked extremely well, and if the half-brother to Te Monanui does not excite some spirited competition that will 'be a subject for surprise, for he undoubtedly carries the look of a racehorse. The youngster in question was sired by Valkyrian (son of William the Third),

Appellant was very unlucky in both of his races at Matamata. When he made his effort at the distance in the Walton Welter he seemed likely to win, bu lie got stopped badly on the rails and missed a place. A hack event is likely to come his way at any time now.

Failure to begin smartly probably cost Weka a victory in the Waharoa Handicap at Matamata, for she met a lot of, trouble .in the early stages (according to a northern .writer). Weka showed a lot of pace in the middle stage. and was a creditable third. Neither Royal Fame nor Gay Comet were produced at Matamata. The pair met witli minor mishags at Te Aroha and their trainer considered it advisable not to run them. They will most likely be seen in action at P aero a. Lord Star demonstrated that he has not lost pace - by leading the field for most of the journey in the Railway Handicap at Matamata, The big fellow is" not nearly ready, and it may be some time before he is. All going well, he may make a gome-back at the winter meetings. For the first outing Valkon was responsible for a good effort on finishing second in the Putaruru Stakes, Valkon is a good type of. colt and should some day make a decent horse. The manner in which he finished under pressure was very pleasing. The steeplechaser Noble has been one of J, A. Rowland’s working pupils for some time past, but he is not too sound, and it is questionable u he will stand up to a preparation.

The novice steeplechaser, Mazama, has not taken kindly to the schooling fences on the Southland Racing Club’s tracks,, says “Sir Modted,” but W. Adams got him to cross three fences in the Otautau Steeplechase on Wednesday. When first tried out as a hurdle racer he was even , worse, as S. Trilford alleges that on one occasion, he actually laid down in front of a. row of battens rather than face the timber. He subsequently became a very useful performer over the little sticks, and a similar result may in the course of time ensue from his cross-country experiences. He is a very stout old gelding with a decided will of his own when the conditions and surroundings are not to his liking. Pilliewinkie apparently came through the severe ordeal at Flemington so satisfactorily that it is pretty safe to infer he will be given an opportunity to distinguish himself at the Australian Jockey Club’s autumn meeting next month. Owing to Pilliewinkie having defeated Windbag at weight-for-age over a mile and a half at Flemiii&ton in the spring, much interest will be centred in the prospect of a further meeting between the brilliant pair when the Autumn Stakes comes up for decision at Randwick on April 3rd. The race in question is run over a mile and a half at weight-for-age. Bahadur and Mahgoloire. went over the'big fences on the flat —the sod wall, double and stonewall—at Ellerslie on Tuesday, morning, tlie iormer finishing in front. Mahgoloire also' performed pleasingly. v Now and again a bargain can he secured at the ringside by the delivery of a oourageous opening bid. This was the experience of the Melbourne sportsman, Sir J. P. Arthur At the yearling sales held at Randwick in the autumn of 1923, when the colt by Valais—Lady San was led in, Mr Arthur was quickly in with a bid of oOOgns for the youngster, and tho coil was knocked down to him. In his first race Fuji San won a stake worth £7OO, and in the interval he has captured prize-money to the extent of something like £SOOO. Fuji -San’s latest success was registered in connection -with the Leonard Stake* ol £IOOO, run at Randwick last Saturday. The Waikato Racing Club has accepted the tender of Mr S. Pratt, of Frankton, for the erection of 20 loose boxes and feed lockers at the club’s course at Te Rapa. The now coxes are to provide accommodation for visiting Dorses. A start will bo made almost immediately, and the work will be completed in about a month. ohinemurTmeeting The following Ohinemuri rehandicaps have been declared by Mr W. Russell: KARANGAWAKE HANDICAP Arch Arrow 7.5. OHINEMURI .CUP—Mount Marta 7.8. WAIIII HANDICAP—Loth Abbey 7 2. KOMATA HANDICAP—Lady Passenger 7.3. NETHER TON WELTER—Tinopono 8.4, Loch Abbey 7.10. HEROIC TOPS £30,000 A 3 the result of his win in the Newmarket Heroic becomes the fourth horse in the history of the Australian • turf to win over £30,000 in prize-money. His stake winnings now aggregate £30.144 —a; truly wonderful record considering that owipg to the Purser case he was not eligible to fulfil many of his three-year-old engagements. Gloaming has won £43,100, Eurytlimic £36.891, and David £31,410 10s. Since ’Mr C. B. Kellow paid 16,000 guineas tor Heroic T;he Valnis horse Das won £8215 in stakes. Mr Kellow won over £20.000 in bets when he captured the Newmarket with Blue Cross, It is a pretty safe het that Heroic does not owe him anything now Mr Kellow must show a big profit, ns he is said to have coupled Heroic and Pilliewinkie for n big stake.

FREAKS POST MISBEHAVIOUR. HEROIC’S DAY. “Are Heroic and Manfred to go down in turf history as the magnificent or the wilful? (asks the Australian writer “Poseidon). Both linve done grand things, hut both have disgraced themselves by their indiscretions at the harrier, “To-day it was Heroic’s turn to-be magnificent, and Manfred's the role of ignominy. His owner. Mr Cliaffey, and his trainer, H. McCalman, had not the slightest fear about Manfred, as be bad behaved so well for Tooliev on the track, bi't no sooner were the tapes lowered than he began liis buckjutriping. Cajolery and a loose rain were no

good, but cuts with the whip were more effective. The trouble, however, is that he will not stand still for a moment at the barrier, and when the tapes do go up he springs either back or sideways. For pure cussedness he would beat any mule. He is not a source of danger to at her horses at the machine, so fnere is no reason to refuse his nomination, but he is always apt to be a source of annoyance to thousands of backers, who know what a great galloper he is. What can be done with such a colt? HEROIC BEHAVES HIMSELF. “By a strange freak of contrariness Heroic, after playing up for three or four minutes, took a fit into his head to hop away with the others, and after Top Gallant had done his dash Heroic was the only one in it. “The chestnut looked a picture today. As I saw him a few yards from Top Gallant in the birdcage before the racing began I could not help remarking how calm and sedate he looked. Jack Holt, who held him, has been at great pains to mend liis manners and was confident he would get away well and run the race of his life. He did, and by winning made his stake winnings £30,091 10s. He is thus the fourth biggest stake-winner in Australia. Really Heroic ran a beautiful race. In his last few races he has shown a disposition to run out, and he did so to-day, but Cairns always' had him well in hand. Considering his great weight his was a great exhibition of pace, and even though Top Gallant at his very best may be a slightly better horse, there is, no need for Australia to be ashamed of Heroic. BIG DOUBLE MONEY. “From appearing to bo a bad purchase for Mr C. B. Kellow at 16,000 guineas, Heroic has become a much cheaper horse. Although he had won two races and gained several places, his owner, who bets heavily, stood last week about £27,000 to the bad over him —that is, including the purchasemoney. He got most—if not all—of that back to-day. One of Melbourne’s fielders laid £20,000 against Heroic in one hand. He has'been heavily coupled with Pilliewinkie and other horses in the Cup, and the stable, which bets heavily, must have a great “killing” over .him. Pre-post bookmakers who thought that Top Gallant had got them out of bad trouble are almost sure to be heavily struck now. “Although Top Gallant failed, ho one who saw him run last Saturday, or to-day, for that matter, has any doubt that he is a great horse. He will repay inspection. A rich chestnut, he has a small blaze, but no other white about him. He is a beautifully symmetrical horse, with great scope, all quality and power, with splendid shoulders, broad quarters, and magnificent barrel. He is just made to carry weight, and has a most intelligenthead. He has a wonderful disposition , 'and stood in his box with three attendants' around him as placidly ns could be wished, and he was just tho same at the post. “His failure can he attributed to lack of condition, which is onlv to be attained by hard work and racing. A keen judge argued with me onlv this morning that he could not possiblv be hard enough, after barely three months’ training, to sfand such a severe race as the Newmarket, and he proved to be right. Evidently he w"x not quite as fit as '-'.-is thought. He is a smooth-actioned ’ sweeping galloper. and there is no doubting his tre-mendous-pace. He cannot fail to be jr fitter horse;, by the time the Sydney meeting comes along.

R \ MPTON qr;T>i,-;r{TriT{. “There is no doubting the quality of Rampion. Probably the Fleraingtou experts were quite right in thinking he was not quite so good as in the spring. However, Fred. Williams did not think he had to be, but that he could take to-day’s race in his stride, on the way to the richer A.J.C. Sires’ Produce Stakes. Only for a moment to-day did Cyden look like catching him, but he answered splendidly when Cracknel 1 pulled the whip. To-dav’s race was worth £2591., So that Ranipion has already wen £6756, and if he stji.vs next season he has rare stakewinning possibilities.”

SOUTHLAND RACES

TERENCE DILLON WINS' TROT AWARUA HANDICAP TO GERANIAL. Per Prm Association INVERCARGILL. March 11. Southland Racing Club meeting concluded in fine weather with a good attendance. The totalisator handled £13,896, against £13,638 10s last year,and for the total meeting £29,515 10s. against £30,306 10s last year. Results : MYROSS WELTER, Of 150 soys; seven furlong 9. 1— Pink Note, 7.13 (R.' Burns) ... 1 7 'Vogue, 7.8 o 2 Frivol, 8.9 ) 3 Aka started—3 Solzia 8.4. 4 Bran Pie 8.2, 5 Rippling Lake 7.13, 6 King Cut* 7.9, 8 Flight 7.8. Neck; half length. 1.28 2-5. NEW RtVER, TROT, Of 215 sovs; two miles. 1- Dillon, 48yds bhd (J. AlcLennan) ’. 1 4 Ding Dong Bell, limit 2 5 Red Admiral, 12.vds bhd ,*•> Also started—9 Revolt, 15 Kaihiku, 10 Snowcap, 12 Forburv, 14 Northope limit, 8 First Toll 12, 11 Lingfield 24. 7 Mate o’ Mine 48, 2 Maiwhariti 48. 6 Van Director 48. 3 Jolly Pet 60. 10 Dark Rosine 72,. 13 Moor Chimes 84. Neck ; eight lengths. 4.41. PRESIDENT’S HANDICAP, Of 225 sovs; six furlongs. 2- Set Sail, . 9.3 (C. Emerson) 1 6 Wiirlinven, 7.10 2 s—Circulation, 7.12 3 Also started—4 Lava 8.5. i Con. Money 7.13, 3 Soltoe 7.7, 7 Ecuador 7.0, 8 Ha.II Mark 7.0. Neok; half a length. 1.13 1-5. INVERCARGILL &TEEPLECHASE, Of 250 save; about two miles and a half. 2—Kipling, 12.6 (Cooper) 1 4—Greenstone, 9.3 2 8 — Ngarata, 9.1 3 Also started—6 Uncle Bob 11.4, 1 Cassels 11.1, 5 Mettle Drift 9.12, 7 Flag Lieutenant 9.10, 9 Mazama 9.9. 3 V indermei'e 9.9, 10 Blazing Light Two and a half lengths; three. 5.8 3-5. AWARUA HANDICAP, Of 200 sovs; one mile and a quarter. 7 Geraninl, 7.4 (L. J, Ellis) 1 2—Listening Post, 9.10 2 I—Ravenna, B.S 3 Also started—6 Tommy Dddd 9.4, 3 Mountain. Lion 8,11, 5 Happy Days 8.1, 4 Full Swing 7.7, 9 Kilfane 7.6, 8

Franeaiso and Dazzling Light 7,0 (coupled). One and a half lengths; hair. 2./ 1-3. BLUFF HANDICAP Of 130 bovs ; one mile. 3—Bilbo, 7.1 IN. C. Dw.ver) .... . 1 3—Obligio, 8.12 2 1— Kapuna, 7.13 3 Also started—4 Jack o’ Lantern 0.0, 7 Navy Cut 8.8, 5 Highborn 8.4, C Vogue 7.8, 2 Black Duke 7.8. Head each way. 1 42 1-5. DASH TROT, Of 175 sovs; one mile. 2 Carbon, limit (F. E. Jones) * 3 Macnranda, 24yds bhd * 1— Final McKinney, 24yds bhd ... 3 • Dead heat. Also started—6 The Monkey, 15 War Chimes, 9 Trusty Child and Eous (coupled), 7 Lady Freeman, 4 Dillon Blake, 10 Wild Flight limit, 11 Our Star, 5 Leith Chimes 12. 12 Dark Stream, ,8 Bricklayer 24. J. 6 Perfect. Pointer, 13 Eonanza 36, 14 La Franco 48. Five lengths. 2.19. WINTER OATS HANDICAP, Of 203 soi6; one mile. 2 Apache, 7.5 (T. Metcalfe) 1 I—Los Ambus, 9.3 2 3 Queen Balbon, 8.0 3 Also started—l The Cheat 8.9, 5 Valdanto 7.13.'6 Counter-stroke 7.0. One length: two lengths. 1.40 4-5.