NEWS AND NOTES.

NZ Truth, Issue 605, 20 January 1917, Page 9

NEWS AND NOTES.

Takapuna next Saturday Revalenta is again m work at Awa"puhi after a short spell. Nominations for the Woodville Cup meeting dose "on January 29. Miss De Val is still very sore, but she shakes it off after a bit of work. .Hylatus went all to pieces on the Coast trip and came back very sore. Entries for the Dunedin Cup meeting close to-night with Secretary H. I* James. "You can* never tell," as Johnny Armstrong said to the horse he hammerlocked. Owing to a bereavement Crowhurst and Sabana were taken out of all their Trentham engagements. Bunting and Chakwana both look 22 carat to-day. Don't speak to the "Tommies" to-night if they win : Acland was very sore after the Hokitika meeting, and E Griffin will be compelled to spell the Finland mare. Golden Morn still retains her old pace* 1 and during the Coasts meetings slie was seen m front on several occasions. / At the conclusion of the Hokltika meeting, the useful Highfleld looked as if he had had enough racing to last hhn for some time. Tho Melbourne Cup winner, Sasanof has a doubtful looking hock that may give his trainer trouble when next ho goes into work. Divorce is still a good galloper, but he does not begin as , well as he used to do m the pasL He should be useful at the Coast at Easter. The Auckland horseman, H. Robinson, who generally rides for R. Hannon, is going to the GJsborne meeting to steer H. Hickey's team. During Jack Close's absence m France, where be has gone to assist to squelch the Huns, his business will be conducted as usual m Christchurch. Tho trip to the West Coast ,w*lth Lady Mlddleton and Tyson paid ' welL The black mare was far too good for the lot she met down there, and the handicapper was unablo to stop her. liT the excitement of trying to pick the Wellington Cup, owners should not overlook the closing of entries to-night for that most popular fixture, tho Te Kniti meeting. The chestnut gelding Arlington, a good performer ovor fences, ,is engaged at the Poxton meeting next week. He can be bought for 200 guineas with his engagements m. H. Hickey is taking a big team from Hastings for the Glsborno meeting, and some races will fall to him. Rumor credits him with having a very smart maiden to attack the Gla borne stables with. Hurry On, who Is now being proclaimed as the best three- year -old In England, is by MarcoviU who has a representative m tho Dominion In Marcavis. The latter was a failure as a racehorse, but he should do well at the stud. The Martian — Two Stop yearling, purchased at the Auckland sales on behalf of Mr. A. B. .Williams, is quite tho nicest yearling sold this season. Trainer J. F. Jefferd intends handling him as soon as he returns home from Wellington.

Mulga Bill saddled up well at Hokitika, but the old fellow has lost his pace. , Entries for all events at the Poverty Bay meeting close to-night at nine oclock. C. Emerson and A. Reed T#ill do tho Takapuna meeting after finishing at Trentham. At the North' Shore meeting outside horses an) conspicuous by their absence from the entries. If RangAtero fails m the Wellington Cup he night do a lot better m the Consolation Handicap on Wednesday. Who is the owner whom the boys say is that mean "that if he owned an electric power-house he wouldn't give you a free shock??. G. Price intended entering Panmure tor the Wingatui Cup meeting, but as the handsome chestnut has been off color lately tho idea was abandoned-. The people behind Olga Carlovna expected tho mare to materialise m tho opening . event at Rakaia, but she dwelt at the barrier and thus lost any chance she had. The Kilhroney -filly, Idle Talk, has beei^ turned out for a spell. She is a very light boned §fty and does not look as if she will be ever m the same street as was Polymorphous. The Hawera trained Volo, by Husbandman, from a Daystar maro, a member of T. Pine's team, is one of the best looking hacks at Trentbam. He can gallop some, too. The racing track at Rakaia had recently been ploughed and the absence of rain prevented the grass from growing. Needless to say, thero was plenty of dust at Saturday's meeting. Panmure has been going very scratchily of late and several times he has been groggy on pulling up. Ho is not likely to b© raced much longer and will go to the stud next season. It gives us the laughless laugh to watch some of our apologies for saddleHitters murdering good mokes. Whero on earth do our trainers dig 'exn up. Praps it's because -they can't ride they get mounts. The English horse Crown Imperial II has been doing a lot better hi his training tasks lately and when the tracks get a bit softer tho Martagon horse, who Is troubled with bad feet, may get on the winning list. Blrkenvalo will mako his re-appear-ance on the race tracks at Trentham to-day. The erratic two-year-old is to be a runner m the Nursery Handicap. In which he will be ridden by A. Reed. So as to run no risks with hhn Price intends usmg a muzzle on the Hlghdon horee. Divorce got a very bad run m the opening event on the second day of the Jubilee meeting at Hokltika, or the old fellow would have beaten Tho Finn instead of running second. Altogether bo appeared to bo unlucky not to win three races, " as he was flying ovor everything at tho finish. In March, 1814, the number of horses m training In England and Scotland was 4014. In 1913, the number of horses which ran was 3006 up to the end of August. On March 1, 191«, the number of horses m training m England and Scotland had been reduced to 2124, and the figures for horses which ran up to August was 1367. These totals show tho war pressure.

Tip Up is still useful on the West Coast, where he regularly shoulders •big weightjs and wins. Killjoy was a better class than is usually encountered at West Coast meetings, and the Kilbroney filly had an easy win on both days of the Hokitika meeting. Xanthos was on the big side when he raced on the Coast, but he was coming on all the time, and succeeded m getting second place behind v Killjoy m the Jubilee Cup. . Weight-for-age. form as a guide to handicap results maintains its misleading character. It . iipparently becomes more pronounced as a bad guide m its consistency* It appears that the doping rule is framed on the lines of the English rule bearing on the subject. The Messrs. Weatherley are being asked to give a ruling on the Keynote • case.' Partisan' failed badly on the first day, at Hokitika, but Mr. D. R. Roberts's. filly ran a good race on the second day, when she finished just behind Lady Middleton, who was fl, better, class. .-.-. .- Kimbolton, winner of the Publican's Purso at Rakaia, is a big, upstanding gelding by Mensohlkoff from Chance Shot. This was. his first start m a race and he showed plenty of pace. He should make a jumper later on. ; Just prior to the Hokitika meeting, Recorder went wrong and the veteran sportsman, Mr. H. Cassidy,. was left "Without a representative m the Jubilee Cup. He purchased Martial ' Air for' the sum of 100 guineas and the Finland mare Kiltie thrown m. An English writer was recently regretting that the modern owners often show a pusillanimous tendenoy to avoid meeting with defeat. Here m New Zealand things are much the same, and it must be said that it is not a promising sign of the times, as it emphasises the growth of commercialism as applied to sport. • » Molly Desmond, by Desmond— Pretty Polly, ls_ credited by some English sporting writers as the best two-year-t old, and probably the best of either sox, of the year. That MolMe can skip . was made .clear when m her first race , after a slow get-away, she deadheated with Athdara, and In her second showed a clear pair of heels to a big \ field m a manner reminiscent- of her - distinguished dam. Mr. S. P. Mackay has sent Saucl 1 (Charlemagne n. — Hope Diamond) to ' Victoria from West Australia, and he will be trained at Flemlngton. Saucl, [ who accompanied Tun Doolan and The > Pole from New Zealand, won a race at Aspendnle (Vie) and ran third m the j Richmond Cup at Caulfield shortly afterwards, and was then purchased by his now owner. Ho is a flno gelding and should make a good jumper. Pretty Polly's young daughter, Molly 1 Desmond, won the Clevely Park Stakes, ] I a race for two-year-old fillies/ on the 1 day of tho Cesarewitch. With 9.0 on ! her back, she ran the six furlongs m . 1.13 1-5, and it is thought that at last j Pretty Polly has given the turf a filly s of her own class. Molly Desmond is r not moulded on the same .big scale as her mother, but she Is said to possess . her action and stealthy style of 'Cover- 1 ' ing the ground. i : The Cesarewitch mustered a field of , t 19, and Sanctum, ruling favorite from j tho opening of the market a month boforo the day of the race, won at his leisure. From 100 to 14, which was i the prico offered to the stable com- ' mlssloner, the price steadily shortened to 9 to 4. Rumors were current that Sanctum would not run, but they were disregarded by the public, -and Sanc- > turn, the hottest favorite for years, won, pulling up. There was tho usual gathering at Kokatahl on the day after tho Hokitika meeting. The course is through i a swamp and several shinglo beds. i. There was a black board tote and tho "guessors," who) wero there m abundanco, did tho bookmaking. Twice during' close finishes the judge's stand 1 was knocked do^n and tho "guessers" named the winner. Tho poor judge fell on tho course once and narrowly escaped being run over. The cup was won by Mulga BUI, with Gleucannlck In second place. / Shortly before the last mall left Eng- ' land, Mrs. Patton Bethuno, one of tho assistant hon. secretaries of the Savoy Fair, In aid of blinded soldiers and> sailors, was attempting to obtain a gift of a racehorse "from every breeder m tho United Kingdom. Theao, of course, were to bo sold for the benefit of the fund. It is to be hoped success attended Mrs. Bothune's efforts, but m England, as m the Dominion, It is probablo that anything given away by some newspaper-booraed "good sportsman" would not be- a catch for anyono who happened to become its purchaser at auction. In discussing tho respective mar its as jockeys of the lato D. Mahor and Tod Sloan, tho Special Commissioner of the London Sportsman expressed the following opinion: "Mahor was a' vastly finer horseman than Tod Sloan, though tho latter had qualities of jockcyship which will perhaps never be rlvallod. Sloan was no horseman at all, and ho has described how m bis early days ho was positively , afraid of a horse and how long it was before he could nit on ono without danger of falling off. For long ho was a byoword among jockeys, and his ultimate success was due to obstinate perseverance and hitting on hiu special method of riding. He improved Immensely during his time m England,' but ho nover was a horseman a,3 Maher was, and it wan for this reason that tho American seat was so reriled by the old-stager. Maher showed to perfoctlon how horsomanßhlp of the best and tho advantages of tho forward seat could bo assimilated." / A Melbourne writor s*ya: "During an Interesting chat with a very old acquaintance, the New Zealand trainer Murray Mobbs, at Flemlngton on O«.ks day, ho expressed the opinion that Desert Gold would be too good for Sasanof If over they met. They did no In the Islington Plato, a wolght-for--Bgo ovent of ono mile, ai Auckland, lout I week, and the unboaten maro won from Saa&nof and tho C.J.C. Derby winner, The Toff, ani put up a Now Zealand time record. Dcsart Gold shares with sevoral other great racehor«o» the peculiarity of often looking to bo In troublo during tho running of a race, and then winning easily at the finish. Deaflrt Gold la owned by her breeder, Mr. T. Lowry, » wealthy land- ( owner, who hod that clinking good i horse. BobrikoJT over In Sydney uomo | yenr» ago, and it la to be hoped that | he will afford an opportunity for Auk- [ irallftfift to «cc hla Incomparabje mare • perform at ttandwlck and Flomlnjrton, According to Hobbu'n oKtixnate. the tvould rnako short work of our weight-for-ttjti* hor»o«."

A Melbourne writer mentions that Three, a member of Maurice Mc» Grath's team, is at present enjoying a spell at Mentone P. Brady rode five winners at the HoMUka meeting and C. Emerson rode four. The latter also scored a win at Rakaia, as did H. Donovan. Blairftnde, by Antonio/ left Melbourne on Tuesday last, and is due here on Monday. Ho has been purchased by a patron of J. McLanghlln'a stables at Trentham. In anticipation of a couple of new arrivals, j. McLaughiin is ibuildlng a couple of extra boxes at Trentham, and m future he will have accommodation for half-a-dozen horses. v ■ Trentham again lon Monday, when the Wellington Stakes will be decided. Hymenestra's form to-day win "decide whether he is entitled to go out favorite for tho welght-for-age ovent on Monday. » Mr. P. Armstrong, owner of Sleight-of-Hand and Co. was. a visitor to Wellington this, week. He is still on active service, but if his duties permit of it, he hopes to be present at Trentham this week. The whole of the blood stock of the successful Melbourne owners, tho Messrs. A. and G. Tye, is shortly to be offered at auction. One of the brothers is going out of racing and the sal© Is to dissolvo the partnership. The Bezonian filly, Carol Slngor, and the disappointing Don Francisco, have been turned out for a spell at Weedons; Canterbury. The filly showed signs of soreness, so her owner decided not to go on with her while the tracks were so hard. Tho English sportsman, Mr. J. Buchanan, made a happy investment when ho secured Hurry On (the best three-year-old m England last season) for 500 guineas, but it was not his first fortunate exporlence In that rospect. In 1900 he gave 1050 guineas for the Ladaa gelding Epsom Lad, and "during' tho succeeding year he won over £18,000 with him hi prizo money. Because only Mr. A. B. Williams was sportsman enough to opposo Desert Gold m tho Waterloo Stakes some people are of tho opinion that this race should bo cut out of tho Wellington programme and a hack event substituted. This is all nonsense Wo shall not havo a Desert Gold always and when a champion does not stand out the weight-for-ago events fill better and aro productive of fine races. As a matter of fact there aro fewenough weJght-for-ago races on tho Tron thorn programme. '