SPORTING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20612, 10 January 1929, Page 7

SPORTING.

RACING NEWS. FIXTURES. .. January 12. —Wairio. January 12, 14. —Thames. January 16, 17.—Foxton. January 22—Ashhurst. January 22, 24, Wairoa. January 22, 24, 26.—Wellington. January 26. 29. —Takapuna. Japuary 30, 31.—Pahiatua. January 31 February ,2.— Egmont. February 2.—Matamata. February 6.—Tapanui. February 7, 9.—Gisborne. February 7, 9.—Taranaki. February 9, 11.—Rotorua. February 13.—Clifden. February 14, 16.—Dunedin Cup. By Sentinel. Goshawk has been turned out for a spell. Nominations for the Tapanui Racing Club’s meeting are due on the 10th inst. The Waifio Jockey Club received very satisfactory acceptances for its annual meeting, which takes place on Saturday next. 1

Nominations for the Dunedin Cup meeting are due on Friday, January 18, at S p.m. Writing to “ Sentinel ” from London under date November 20, an indignant exDunedinite has this to say: —"We did not get any news along at the High Commissioner’s Office as to who won the trotting and galloping cups. The only news that was sent was that Peter Bingen established an Australasian record for a mile and a-duarter. The sender of the cables has a fine idea of relative values, as there are daily reports about some trivial billiard match between M'Conachy and Lindrum. Now, I ask you?” It' is repugnant to coramonsense to inflict punishment for, an imaginary offence. At the Vincent meeting a rider who was seven Or eight lengths in front of the rest of the field when halfway up the straight ■Was fined £2 . for looking round. In doing so he did not jeopardise his own or any other horse’s chance in the race or do anything except take a glapce to see if any danger threatened, and if so, what should he dona in such a case? There is nothing in the Rules of Racing to say that a rider cannot look round if he.can do so with expert alertness, and whilst that is so pUmshment for an imaginary offence becomes ridiculous when real and fraudulent practices escape official notice. The new Henry barrier used for the starting of the races at the Auckland summer meeting, worked splendidly, but it has one serious fault, says a northern writer. Mr O’Connor manipulates' it from a_ platform, which is too low to enable him to get, a clear view of the outside horses, or the inside .horses, whichever is the case, for at some of the posts the platform is on the outside of the track. It was this which caused him to miss seeing that Ceremony and Supremacy were not properly in line on the outside of the field in the Royal Stakes. With the larger fields the fault was even more apparent. The starter’s platform should be raised, for he stands in line with the horses and has to look over the line to get his view. As it is, it is impossible for him to get a clear sight of the horses farthest away from him. Mr D. H. Roberts achieved a singularly unique performance when he won the Great Northern Derby with Red Heckle, for it is stated that the three-year-old was the first horse ever nominated by him for a Derby, and therefore obviously the first to carry his colours in the three-year-old classic. To have a, 100 per cent, success like this is so unusual (says “Vedette”) that it need not be emphasised, for some owners have been nominating a string of yearlings for years nast and on many occasions when the time arrives not one is good enough to start, let alone win. Such.is the luck of racing. Mr Roberts certainly should have a weak spot for Ellerslie,, for in 1917 he won the Auckland Cup with Fiery Cross, also trained by F. Christmas, who trains Red Heciclo. Christmas, by the way, won last year’s Great Northern Derby with Martarma. Staghunter ran a very promising race in the A.R.C. Railway Handicap at Ellorslie on Boxing Day, and his third to Honour in, the Royal Stakes, on the concluding day of the meeting, did not come as a surprise. There is no doubt (says an exchange) that the Quantock colt is getting hack to form, and on a firm track he might he difficult to Jbeat in future engagements. After the Ellerslie fixture Staghunter was handed over to F. C. F. M'Kay by Captain Gage Williams (who will leave shortly for England), and the three-year-old wifi be prepared at Marton.

Why horses are " badly handicapped ” is shown by the following paragraph from a Wellington paper:— r“ The fhree-year-old Filosol has taken some time to strike form, but now that he is in winning vein he is bound to go on improving, At the Invercargill meeting lie was backed down to favourite for the Summer Hack Handicap, and after always being handy he eventually beat Phastar by a neck. Filosol, who is owned by a Dunedin sportsman, Mr W. Quirk, has iii private shown some exceptionally fast gallops, and his failure with the colours up, earlier in the season, nonplussed his connections for a short time. But apparently he lacked solidity. On the score of , breeding Filosol lacks little, for he is a son.of Solferino and that good mare Filigree, ■ He is freely engaged at the forthcoming Wellington summer meeting.” Phastar ran off the track at the home turn, or would otherwise have beaten Filosol by two or three lengths. Whilst doing an “up-country meeting” within the past few days the following was heard:—A stipendiary steward who is also a follower of Isaaz Walton, went fishing and caught something so and so long, and fully so and so in weight. A well-known trainer who was one of the listeners to the fish-catching story said: “ Well, it must have been sound asleep.” After Gloaming’s memorable race with The Hawk at Eastings, he went into retirement, but the name Gloaming is a household word these days, and (says “ The Watcher ”) racegoers are never likely to forget the brilliant career of the Son of The Welkin. At- present the old champion is spend.ng Hie rest of Ins days in peace on his owner’s property, and admirers of the one-time crack gallopor will be pleased to learn that lie is enjoying good health. According to R. J. Mason, who saw his old favourite recently, Gloaming has thickened out a great deal since his retirement, and looks as well and as bright as over. Some time ago mention was made of the possibility of Gloaming being put into work again—no doubt he still could be trained and would win valuable races—but that idea has never really been entertained. The Auckland Racing Club spends a heap of money on its “garden,” and hence the following is interesting, particularly the “modern appliances”:— “ I’ll never complain again about the tracks at home,” said a visiting trainer at Ellerslie during the recent meeting. The Auckland Club certainly is beset with a solid problem in reconditioning its course after cutting up in wet weather. The peculiar nature of the soil makes it hard to handle, with the result that the course becomes very- rough and lumpy, despite as much attention as possibly can be given it. In addition, the duo has been handicapped bv the need of modern appliances, but by‘the end of this month this should be remedied, for it was stated officially that the complete set of implements, together with the motor tractor, like those at Trcntham, will be available by the end of Januarv! This news will be well received generally for many people with horses were definitely of the opinion that the lawns and flower gardens were the only tilings considered at Ellerslie, and the racing tracks were only a minor consideration. In effect, that the stage rather than the actors was the most considered. The club’s officials, therefore, have placed themselves on-side by securing the necessary implements, which, with constant use, should remove all causes for complaint. Transformer, who ran second in the Auckland Racing Club Handicap on New Year’s Day, is a ten-year-old gelding bv Thurnham, and he has had an interesting career. He was bred by the Te Aroha sportsman, Mr J, M’Nicol. from whose stud visitors were in the habit of looking Tor promising stock on their annual visits to Hie local race meeting. For three years (savs the Auckland Start there were no admirers of the horse now known as Transformer, partlv on account of his lack of good l*oks, but also he-

cause trainers did not fancy Thurnham stock. Eventually be was sent to the Waihou stock sale, where he was secured by Mr A. Forrest for £B. After being broken in, he commenced to show some speed, and h® was sold for a comparatively small price to Mr D. Twojiill, of Thames, for whom he has proved a wonderful bargain. Ho improved gradually with racing,' and nearly three years ago he scored his first important success in the Takapuna Jockey Club Handicap. A year later lie won the Takapuna Cup, while later in the season he won the Auckland Autumn Handicap and the Storey Memorial Cup at Waikato. He did a lot of racing last season with nothing better than a number of placed performances. This season he has come .back to his best form, as he won the Alison Cup at Takapuna and also scored in the Te Kuiti Cup. An exchange remarks that Childsplay. who has no penalty to carry, will thoroughly test the two-year-olds this mouth in the Wellington Stakes. Three-year-olds in Limited and Paganelli have won this race in the last'two years. Whilst in _ the backblocks doing the Vincent meeting, the writer had the pleasure of meeting Mr R. Toliill, the pvesiJp irni i 6 ® uns^a , ll Racing Club. Mr robul lends a practical assistance to sport by owning two or three gallopers and a couple of trotters. He ran the writer out to see the Dunstan racecourse, which enthusiastic interest lias converted into a really good track. The club bad a successful meeting on Now, Year’s Day, and entertain hopes of obtaining a totalisator permit. The track is as level as a billiard table, and during the writer’s visit a triangular iron frame with short tyres or teeth was being hauled round by a motor wagon and with the assistance of a clog float ’ left a dead even surface worthy of Addington or Forbury Park. In fact, the writer thought of Mr " Jim " Mitchell, who sleeps, and dreams, about keeping the Forbury Park track in order with the antiquated means at his disposal. At Dunstan the full track can be harrowed and floated whilst a furlong at Forbury Park is under treatment. At the Dunstan racecourse there is ample room to make a mile track. At the present time the inside of the track is sown down in grass and the outside, with its light and very friable soil, can be worked into a cushion surface rather apt to create misleading ideas as to what a horse would do elsewhere. The club hopes that in the not far distant future a totalisator permit will be obtained, and it is claimed that if granted the greatest boost possible will be accorded the sport in the Central Otago district. Enthusiasm and hospitality are the dominant factors making a success of the Vincent Jockey Club’s meetings. Mr A. C. Scoullar, president of the club, does not allow a visitor to escape his hospitality, and one can only do so by sitting on the far side of the horizon of the Omakau racecourse. All and sundry are made very welcome, and the president makes every effort to make the meeting' one of the most enjoyable picnic meetings on the calendar.

If a horse by every law of the game is entitled to start au odds-on favourite in a small field and does so, but nevertheless runs like a 100 to one chance, the running must be open to grave suspicion. The suspicion becomes more and more pronounced when the odds-on chance Keeps, or is kept, on the blind side of one of the duffers in a race whilst something else is streaking away to a 10 or 12 lengths’ lead into a straight that is only a furlong, and the sta"t from that point makes it a matter. of impossibility for anything, no matter how vigorously handled, to overhaul a leader that is already within the shadow of the winning post. Under such circumstances the production of £5 or £lO on the winner is anything but sufficient evidence against eyesight and common sense racing knowledge. It IS' the easiest thing in the world for a rider to get someone to put a few pounds on his mount and then doublecross.