NEWS AND NOTES

NZ Truth, Issue 850, 4 March 1922, Page 7

NEWS AND NOTES

' V — '- Napier next Friday and Saturday. Tlie Nelson Meeting concludes ..to-day. • Fibre will do better m the winter, when he will race over, brush fences. Fabrinade is too big to handle the ; ;urns at Wanganui.

Nominations for the Westport Meeting close on. Monday next. Mark Time won like a,- good horse at i Wanganui on Saturday. Equitable stripped well at Wanganui, but he ran badly. Landslide seems to have grown sour, and at "Wanganui he would not try. En Route has a ton of pace and only wants seasoning. . This fellow will be very hard to heat m his next up. Ridden by A. Reed, Roman shaped a lot better on Saturday than he has been doing for an apprentice. The Melbourne jockey, Tom Burn, has left for England, where he is to ride for Lord Rosebery. Egotism got ,a very bad run m the Wanganui Cup, but on. Saturday she finished close up fourth oh the outside. The running m the Oakleigh Plate suggests that Wish Wynne and Demetrius will, have a lot to say m the decision of the Newmarket Handicap. ' Inddan Seal, the two-year-old halfbrother to Aborigine, was favorite m the two-year-old handicap at Epsom last month, but he could only run third. Emperor seems to have got tired of carrying the big weights and at Wanganui on Saturday he gave an exhibition of tail swashing. The connections of Rada were lucky *to have her coupled With La Paloma at Wanganui. One ran first and the other last in' the Victory Welter. An Absurd-Commerce, youngster is a recent addition to J. Lowe's Trentham stables. The yearling is owned \by his breeder, Mr. O. S. Watkins. Two . well-backed horses m. Whiritas and Wrangle failed badly an the Petre Hack Handicap, but those who stuck to. the former got even when he ran second to Roman .oh Saturday.: Awake is a most lucky horse and regularly he gets No; 1 at the peg. This was noticeable at Hawera and at Wanganui he also began from the inner m the Flying Handicap. .The ex-Wellingtonian Mr. W. Riordan, Who has for some years resided m Melbourne, where he has raced horses with much success, is shortly returning here on a visit to his relatives. Reports state that W. G. Stead is selling off his team and is retiring from the ranks of owners. The wool and lamb markets are blamed. Radiant Light looks a giltxedged certainty for the Great Northern Oaks and St. Leger, so there will not be any difficulty dn quitting her. The Wanganui course is not large enough to accommodate some of the big Jields seen out there last week. In the Cup several of the runners got bounced about like footballs, and amongst those i hat suffered were Amythas, • Truthful, Egotism and Sycorax. The' Hawera trainer, Jas. Brown, was very unlucky toot to win at Wanganui 'with Complex. The horse got into a fence at the half-mile and lost his position while his rider lost his irons. Other I Uian this he gave a good exhibition, and looked like coming m backwards. Maniahera, cut one of his feet when .schooling before the Wanganui Meeting, and m the Westmere Hurdles he got into a couple of fences which spoilt his chances. He is to be given a further spell, and will not race again until the Manawatu Meeting next month. Secretary R. B. Caws, of the Southland Racing Club, has an advertisement m this issue notifying 'owners that entries lor all events at the Autumn Meeting of his club, must be received by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 20. . The meeting takes ■ place on Friday and Saturday, April 7 and 8. ' . The wonderful showing of Eurythmic m the Caulfield Futurity Stakes will cause Dick Mason to think hard and the Aussies will get' very cocky about the chances of Eurythmic defeating Gloaming. They will get'\a shock on the day for if the Riccarton champion meets Eurythmdc he will defeat him. Referring to the last racing season m England,; a promdnent , turf critic says: "I could "hope .that the amount of dishonj est running which occurred during the i year had precipitated the advent bf the jjtipendiary steward. But the Jdckey Club 'ftnd.'its upholders still seem invincibly opposed to the stipes. Prior to the Wanganui Meeting Egotism did not do any work as she has been kdcked by Vespucci. If she accompanies Gloaming to Sydney to-day she may win a handicap on the trip, but the j Sydney Cup will be a bit rich for her as i she is too small to hold her own . m a big field. Ngata was m the pink of condition when he' contested the' Wanganui Cup. He pulled to the front at the half-mile and the race was then a procession. .Raised fifteen pound s»on Saturday he was made a good favorite, but he pulled very hard and beat himself. Weight stops the best of them. Birkie did a great preliminary before the Farewell Handicap at Wanganui, and several of the "heads" selected him to win. He was a trifle lucky to score as the youngster' on Lady Kotiripo carried out Awake at the home turn, and Gunn, on Birkie, realising the position, slipped up on the inside and Awake just failed to get him. There is every reason to think that the next season will see a change m the head of the racing administration. Sir Geo. Clifford is now getting on m years, and it has been noticed that he has aged greatly of late, and his friends are likely to impress upon him the wisdom of retirinf. He, has done, invaluable work im many directions, but some of his recent legislation has got the clubs on their mettle, and the opinion is gaining ground that a change -is desirable., • The more one travels the country the more' complaints are heard re the present racecourse detective system. The essence of the trouble seems . to be that too much power is given to the individual and too little to the clubs which are the money-finders. From all over the Dominion "Truth" has heard reports of alleged victimisation, but one case will suffice. One detective recently wrote to a Metropolitan Club reporting. that dts ambulance driver y had a conviction against him, and he must not, m future, drive the. ambulance waggon. The conviction, be it said, was for purloining a tin of benzdne, and the boy paid the penalty. Is he then to be hounded down all his life? What does Sir George Clifford think of these tactics? Most- people would term it victimisation, and "the president should realise that the public will not stand ■ for such practices. Under the old system the clubs employed their own detectives, and they had the final say as to who was to go on the racecourses, but the attitude the racecourse detectives now take up is one of "Damn the clubs. The Racing Conference employs us." However, some of the clubs are getting sick of this method and it will be contested shortly. For instance, an edict recently went forth' that a certain secretary would riot be allowed to run a race meeting for the reason that he had a conviction against him, but. the committee wasted no time 'in letting the powers that be know that their official would act despite all the recent rules and thus the position remains at the present time. Another matter that has made the racing clubs sore is the cost of the new scheme. .When it was pushed through, the Conference delegates were, given an assurance that it would not cost as much as the old scheme, biit already clubs are finding that it costs more, and m addition to this there will have to be a further levy, for when calculating the cost allowance was not made for any falling off m the, totalisator_ returns. , In these days of increased taxation ' and falling, receipts clubs cannot afford to have their expenses added to, and there ds likely to be a dust-up m July, and maybe the detective system will be scrapped. If it is not actually scrapped the powers, of defectives must be considerably reduced or trouble will quickly follow, and if the matter is ventilated m Parliament the totalisator might go. This is quite a possibility and the racing legislators i know it. Look at the way they get the wind up when it 13 mooted m, the. , House! Again, look at the way these three ha'penny- politicians are fawned upon if ever they go to a race meeting, ; but the politicians are merely the ' servant?! of the peopl.e, and if sufficient pressure is put upon them they would soon ' vote but the totalisator. Just look at the possibilities! Suppose similar caHes to that, of the ambulance driver j were to arise, how easy it would be to ,-. get? a petition signed by thousands prayi j ing that the tote be wiped out. The geni ' eral public would be so disgusted with < such tactics that they would* sign the , ' petition without question. There would [ be no difficulty m getting it presented, to j Parliament and, then truly the fat w6uld .be m the fire. Let the: authorities' ■ be-. 1 ware!

Still Sea is now out of hack class. Racing at Blenheim on Thursday and Saturday next. Erie ran bafily at Wanganui and so did Sdmondies. Halifax seems unable to begin m his races, and he would do better as a hurdle horse. Creme 1 de Menthe looked very ragged at Wanganui and she wa3 not m a fit condition to race. Vagabond is a great beginner for such an old horse. At Wanganui . he was prominent over the first mile m the Cup. A. Orrell is. riding plenty of winners m the Newcastle district, and at Wallsend last month he scored dn the big handicap on Timber. Left, the full sister to Menelaus and Nones, ran badly at Wanganui. She is only a three-year-old, so there should be plenty of time for her. Gloaming allowed Tamatete to make play for half the journey 'In the Jackson Stakes on Saturday, but then he put out his net and Tamatete was soon m dt. The ex-Awapuni trainer, Thes. Wilson, is now m charge of a team at Hamilton. Wilson, who ' knows the game from A to Z is sure to do well m the North. Enthusiasm got off badly m the Juvenile Handicap at Wanganui, but on Saturday when backed down to a short price, he won by a head from the unlucky Zany. The Victorian trainer, F. Foulsham, tried to buy Quest before he won at Wanganui,- but the owner asked 2000gns., which Foulsham thought was rather much for a maiden. The Riddiford colors which have been out of luck since the National triumph of Coalition, came back successfully at Wanganui, where Quest and Scion both won. Mr. W. G. Nightingale, a well-known sporting writer m Napier, was last week wedded to a Wellington bride. The couple will have the good wishes of all sportsmen. They went to sleep when they failed to accept with Kilrush for the Dannevirke Cup. On his form m the Wanganui Stakes he would not have been beaten. Wheatfield does not seem to be a seer ond day horse. At Trentham he failed on the second day, and also at Wanganui. At the latter place he was ridden by an apprentice, who naturally could not get the best out of such a big fellow. Unless matters improve considerably the writing is on the wall for racing clubs as owners simply cannot keep go-, jng. The ten per cent, on stakes is not all. At Wanganui owners had to pay £2 per horse for the hire of loose-boxes. This is a 100 per cent, rise, and on top of increased railway charges and the certainty of reduced stakes owners cannot possibly go on. Big bettors are now a thing of the past on our racecourses, and where one' would see one hundred commission books m use it is a rarity to see one these days. The owners who were m the habit of using commission, books are now short of money,' and the ' totalisator returns show this. The ordinary -wage-earner t'till goes to the races, and invests his cash, and the attendances are as large as ever, but the tote returns crash at every meeting, for the simple reason that., "he money is hot about. ' , Trainers say that the railways are getting more impossible ,every day. At Wanganui last week there was a lot of complaining as to the way horses ' are treated and the long delays that take place before they are unloaded. Another sore , point Is the practice of the authorities iri charging what appears to be exorbitant rates for the carriage of racehorse feed. Trainers think this 'is overdone as the fodder is always stored m the horse-box and takes up no space that is not already paid for. Some of the grandstand critics think Roy Reed is riding badly now. . Is this to be wondered at when it is remembered that when he rides some of the stipes cannot see anyone else m the race. Already Reed has a total of 69 black marks against him m the "Bible" kept by the Racing Conferenhe, so altogether he could not be blamed if worry causes him to lose his confidence. With such a record waiting for him dt is easy to see that lie will have a job to get a ticket next season. Is Silver Link losing her punch? Recent form suggests that she is and can it be wondered at for her owner has been sportsman enough to send her out on divers occasions to take on the heartbreaking task of chasing Gloaming while other prominent owners allowed their champions, to remain m their boxes irrespective of whether the racing clubs would have to face a walk-over and so lose heavily on the race. How often has Sir Geo. Clifford, owner of one of the largest teams m the Dominion, been guilty of starting one against Gloaming? Volo had none the best of the luck at Wanganui. He met with a bit of interference "m the Stewards' Handicap, and on the second day he was not himself, and sweated very freely before the race* Not that he would have had any chance' of defeating Quest, who is a coming handicap horse. When they are good and get on to the minimum before they start winning it is impossible , to stop them. On Saturday the Martian gelding was raised thirteen pounds for his first day's win, but with A. Reed inHhe saddle he just strolled dn. - Reed is riding very well this season. He has a great seat and hands, and very wisely does not try to use a stick. The/ American champion, Man-o'-War, has a full list for 1922 at 2500 dollars (about £600). This seems a big price to pay, but the fact that Man-o'-War has a full booking plainly indicates that his services are eagerly sought. Man-o'-War started 21 times and won 20 races, his one defeat being put down to . "abominable riding," when the aptlynamed Upset beat hdm by a head m the Sanford Memorial Stakes. As a three-year-old, Man-o'-War established five records, namely: 1 mile (with 8.6), lmin. 35 4-ssec; 1 mile 1 furlong (9.0), 1.49 1-5; 1 mile 3 furlongs (9.0), 2.14 1-5; IVz mile (8.6), 2.28 4-5; and 1 mile 5 furlongs (9.0), 2.40 4-5. Altogether Man-o'-Wor won stakes to . the value of 249,465 dollars, the largest amount ever credited to an American racehorse.