TROTTING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21308, 13 April 1931, Page 5

TROTTING

By Sentinel. Nominations for the Ashburton Trotting Club’s meeting are due to-morrow. A peculiar case has arisen in Victoria, Recently a well-known trainer in E. L. M'Donald was suspended. He owned a horse. Nigger Brown, and M'Donald appealed against the suspension, and ip the meantime, his horse was engaged to race at Victoria Park. The appeal was heard on the morning of the races, but as it had not been decided Nigger Brown’s name was deleted from the list of starters. Eventually, however, the appeal was upheld and the gelding was allowed to start. Previous to Nigger Brown’s re-entry the connections of another Hankey horse, in the same race decided to back their horse, the only one they were afraid of being the apparently suspended horse. Nigger Brown won, and the connections of the second horse are questioning his eligibility to start. The whole affair has caused a lot of stir in Australian trotting circles. Maurice Holmes, ranked as probably the best rider and driver in New Zealand to-day, failed to win a race at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s Easter meeting, but with ordinary luck (says “Argus”) he might have won both unhoppled trotters’ events at Addington. In the opening event he drove Nelson Boy a fine race, keeping to the rails and saving every inch of ground, but, unfortunately for him, the opening he might have naturally expected did not occur, and he was beaten into third place. In the Sumner Handicap, Holmes was behind Native Star, who could not be controlled owing to the short sulky she was drawing. The mare was extremely well, and only bad luck prevented her from being in one of the dividend-paying positions.

Mr J. B. Brennan has done a great amount of work for trotting in Western Australia, and while at one time he was a most popular figure in light' harness circles in Australia and ‘ New Zealand, he has recently had trouble with the Western Australian authorities. Some time ago he was suspended by the Western Australian Trotting Association over a disagreement in connection with a certain case, but eventually it was found that the association had no authority to suspend him, as Mr Brenan held an official position as guarantor to the association. As matters now stand, Mr Brennan is not suspended from the association, but he intends to take action for damages against the Western Australian Association in general, and certain members of the committee. He has certainly earned the title of being the most lively trotting enthusiast in Western Australia. Mr G. J. Barton, the Dunedin sportsman, who distributes his interests between the galloping and light harness horses (says the Press), had a good week in Christchurch, for besides winning two races at Riccarton, he collected both big stakes and place money with Free Advice at Addington. The Blue Mountain King mare has always been a favourite with W. J. Tomkinson, and his good judgment and a bit of luck has made her into a very pavable proposition. Possibly Free Advice is not a genuine stayer if asked to race from end to end of a twomiles race, but with the patient tactics adopted by Tomkinson she finishes with the best.

Nelson Boy was very unlucky in the Harvest Handicap, as with a round to go he was just behind Standby, but be had Admiral Bingen on the outside, and the only chance he had of getting out was_ by pulling back and going outside Admiral Bingen. Possibly M. Holmes, his driver, anticipated that Admiral Bingen would stop in the last furlong, when he could then bring out Nelson Boy and tackle the leader. Unfortunately for him, Admiral Bingen saw out the fast-run race in fine style, and was only beaten by half a length by Standby, whilst Nelson Boy was a length away in third place. For the New Zealand Three-Year-Old Futurity Stakes, sponsored by the Greymouth Trotting Club, only one nomination is necessary for both pacing and trotting events; but when the time comes for acceptance, if an owner wishes to accept for the pacing event he can do so; if, subsequently to this, he wishes to accept the same horse for the trotting event, he can do so, but must pay the acceptance fee both for the pacing and trotting evsnt. It is thought, however, that the cases where an owner will accept for both events with the same horse will be very few. The club also considered that if it made forfeits instead of ordinary payments it might militate against the nominations, and, while it was too late to alter the conditions now, as they were in the hands of a large number of owners, the club would consider an alteration to forfeits next year if owners preferred it. Great Britton (2.02 J), a son of Peter Chenault, is one of the leading young sires of the Peter the Great family in America, for he has been represented by a champion of egme division ever since the first year his foals appeared on the turf. Five of his get are already members of the 2.10 list, and numerous others are headed that way, some of them sure to make the grade this year. Among his performers are Guy Britton (3, 2.03), winner of the pacing division of the Hambletonian Stake in 1930, and champion three-year-old pacing gelding last year; Hollyrood Jacqueline f 3,' 2.03 j), champion three-year-old pacing filly of 1927, and four-year-old champion pacing filly (half-mile track) in 1928; Tronia Britton (4, 2.04 f), champion four-year-old trotting filly of 1929, winner also of the 10,000dol purse at Windsor, Conn., and winner of second money in the Transylvania. The renort of the committe of the New South Wales Trotting Club, which was dealt with at the biennial meeting of members last week, throws additional light on the parlous times through which racing is passing. The statement embraces the period ended January 31, 1931, and comparisons reveal most satisfactory progress by the club up to and including the month of December, 1930. The prize money distributed exceeded by £ll4 that available for the corresponding period of the previous season. “In January, however,” the report states, “ a more serious decline of revenue was experienced, admissions. totalisator receipts, and bookmakers’ fees being approximatly 40 per cent, lower than the average for the preceding five months. In view of this fact the committee was reluctantly compelled to review the queteion of prize money, and, after careful consideration, this was reduced from £BOO to £6OO for the ordinary meetings. Prospects for the immediate future cannot, moreover, be regarded with undue optimism, in view of the abnormal and unsettled conditions prevailing generally.”