RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21537, 8 January 1932, Page 5

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel.

Nominations for the Tapanui meeting are due on the 13th inst. Handicaps for the Wellington Cup meeting are due to-morrow, and acceptances on, .the 13 th. Australian papers allege that the master mind at the back of the Gagoola ramp and Simba’s disappearance is a. wealthy Queenslander who specialises in ringers. The riders of Gold Pit (G. Humphries) and Riri (D. O’Connor), winners of the principal events at Oamaru, were presented with gold-mounted whips donated by members of the club. , C. Emerson has the two-year-old haoy Zephyr moving along in useful tasks, in view of early engagements*. The three-year-old, Rose of Orange, in the same ownership, has resumed work, and sne will be tried again later in the season. The Riverton Gold Cup will carry a •take of 505sovs, including a gold cup , valued at 100 guineas. The winner can either take the cup or its value. Arrangements have been made to snip Ammon Ra to Sydney on January -2. He has not raced since he contested the Victorian Derby, but will be prepared for the St. Legers and weight-for-age events in the autumn. ... ... A striking illustration of the quality e£ the yearlings submitted annually at the National sales at Trentham is afforded by the fact that more than 35 races have already been won this season by young•ters selected from last year’s catalogue. Thi» year’s sales are to be held on January 21, and the entries, representative of the leading studs in New Zealand, reach an even higher standard than in previous years. An interesting feature is that there are own brothers to the doughty Phar Lap (who himself was bought for 160 guineas at the sales) and Veiimond, who was the champion three-year-old in Australia last season, and close relatives to Nightmarch, Concentrate, i Ammon Ra, who also figured in earlier | catalogues. . . ... Mr C. C. Sheath’s three-year-old Ammon ! Ha, whose autumn engagements include i the Victoria St. Leger at Flemington, I and the Australian St. Leger at Rand--1 wick, will be shipped! to Sydney on January 22. It has not yet been definitely decided whether he will be accompanied by any of the other members of J. I. Jamieson’s team, but it is more than likely that Tea Chat and the two-year-old Closing Time will go with him. Ammon Ra has not raced since running unplaced in the Victoria Derby at Fleniingtoh in November, but he is in good, healthy condition, and should be in firstclass racing trim for his autumn engagements. On arrival in Sydney Ammon Ka will remain at Randwick for a few weeks, and he will then be taken on to Melbourne. , _ ~ Vertigern, who won the Summer Cup at Randwick on Boxing Day, raced m the joint ownership of W. D. Movoney, and bis father-in-law, Mr G. A. Vincent. The gelding was at double figures in tlie betting, the favourite being. Loquacious, who finished in a rear position. At the same meeting High Disdain was at c ycn longer odds when be accounted for the Chisholm Handicap, in spite of his suecess in tbe Villiers Stakes on tbe opening M'Carten probably has had more criticism levelled at him than any other jockey in Sydney since big arrival from New Zealand several years ago, says a Sydney writer. He got into not water ” on several occasions over his handling of Limerick and Veiimond. But, in spite of his numerous critics. M Carten gets tbe results, and each year rides a high percentage of winners. M Carten has had a great innings since the spring. He won, apart from other good races, the A J C, Derby on Ammon Ro, Epsom Handicap on Autopay, and Vertigern enabled him to win the Summer Cup at Randwick on Boxing Day. „ A Reed celebrated his birthday on Boxing Dav by winning the Koornang Inal ■t Caulfield on Anniswood. Xu the corresponding race last year he wag successful on Plunderer, so that it may be a good point for racegoers to be on the look-out for this race next year (says a Melbourne paper), Reed is one of our most capable horsemen, and has had a great deal ot success since be came her from New Zealand some years ago. In the Dominion he was the leading rider in more than one * e According to the Melbourne Sporting Globe, the Agua Cahente Jockey Club have guaranteed the owners of Phar Lap £2OOO to cover expenses and appearance money. The construction of specie quarters on the Monowai and the horse s passage cost £505, including £3O for 10 tons of sand for use in a huge exercise stall. At Papeete Phar Lap will be taken off the ship and will be allowed freedom of the open spaces for 16 hours, and will rest for a week on arrival at San Francisco, after which he will be entrained for the 500-mile journey to Mexico. Phar Laps weight in the big race is 9.3, and should he shape well he should later command good appearance money in the Eastern States of America, in addition to winning some useful stakes. While there may be excuses for the defeat of Bronze Eagle (says an exchange) in the Clifford Plate, it points to the fact that Gay Crest is a much-improved horse now, and his form this season has been very good, though he has not had much reward, having raced rather unluckily. He won at Woodville last month, that being’his only success for the season, breaking a sequence of placed performance*. After being twice third at Trentham in October, he was third in the New Zealand Cup and second in the Metropolitan Handicap, while he was second w the Auckland Cup and second in the Auckland Racing Club Handicap. It will thus be ■cen that he has raced very consistently. At the Trentham yearling sales, two years ago top price (1500 guineas) was paid for the eolt by Limond from the Nassau marc. Full Swing,' a half-sister to Nightmarch. He was secured for the South Australian owner, Mr E. E. Jolly, who named the youngster Fulmond. As a two-year-old he won once in four starts, and high hopes were entertained for Ins three-year-old engagements. This season, however, he has failed to realise expectations, He was sent to Perth for the summer meeting, but on Boxing Day he failed to gain a place in the Western Australian Derby, Martian Chief was galloped on while facing on the second day of the Dunedin meeting, and though C. Emerson got him out for the Waikouaiti Cup, in which he ran a dead heat with Full Feather, he is now having a short rest. His two-year-old mate, Oratorious, who ran third iu his only start at the Dunedin meeting, is none the worse for the southern trip. Jt is not intended to race either of this pair at Trentham. Isle of Astiir, the winner of the Western Australian Derby on Boxing Day. has an interest for New Zealanders. His sire, Isle of Arran, is a son of The Welkin, ■while his dam is an unnamed mare by imported Poetical from Haiiaatur, by Machine Gun, a New Zealand-bred horse, by Hotchkiss from Rubina. Machine Gun was a great sprinter and a wonderful weight carrier. He registered some good performances in the Dominion, his success including the Great Easter Handicap under 10.4. as a four-year-old, in the colours of the late Mr G. G. Stead. Later lie was purchased by D. J. Price am! taken to Australia. He won some races, under big weights, and the opinion held concerning his merits will be realised from the fact that he carried 11.3 in Australia’s greatest sprint event, the Newmarket Handicap, another ex-New Zealander, Gladsome, a weight-for-age winner, being next on the list with 9.11. The unlucky horse at Ellershe the last day was Jaloux. There was a lot of kicking while tbe horses were lined, up for the Grand Stand Handicap, included among those on the receiving end being Jaloux. At first Jaloux looked to be in

a bad way, for his rider dismounted twice and finally staidcd front behind the held, together with White Wings, who was left badly. As Jaloux finished a good second, he was without doubt (says an exchange) a good thing beaten. The Riccarton gelding was very lame before the race started, and after. It was learned later that the jockey, J. Cammick, intended to let Jaloux run along for a little way and to pull him up if the injured hind leg were seriously affecting the horse, but apparently he was going so well that he kept on, and at the finish was only touched off by Great Star by half a length. The start of this race was one of the bad ones at the meeting and aroused much dissatisfaction. Bronze Eagle was the. biggest stakewinner at the Auckland fixture, his successes in the Derby and King’s Plate and second in the Clifford Plate securing his owner £2300, Admiral Drake won £1550. In the four big handicap events at the meeting South Island horses held a monopoly, securing four firsts, four seconds, and two thirds, leaving two thirds as consolation prizes for northern owners. Mr G. A. Kain, of Gladstone. Park, has entered nine yearlings for this month’s Trentham sales. A colt by Nightraid from Full Swing is a three-quarter brother to Nightmarch. Another Nightraid colt, from Satisfaction, is a half-brother to Receipt, Battle Colours, and Satisfy; and Receipt has a colt by Nightraid. Other Nightraid youngsters are a filly out of Monoxide, a filly out of Moiselle, and a filly out of Coehyhondhu (a relative of Windbag). Another colt is by Diacquenod from Spangle (sister to Maraa, dam of Nightmarch). The hostile demonstration which followed Vertigern’s win in the Australian Jockey Club’s Summer Cup was one of the most pronounced seen at Randwick for a long time, G, J. Graves, in the Sydney Referee, discussed the form of the ex-New Zealand horse as follows: —After following Vertigern through his series of six defeats prior to his Summer Cup victory, racegoers of Sydney had to confess that there was no gauging the form of stayers. He gained three minor places when the bad horses were racing before the appearance of Summer Cup weights. Then when the better class came out he couldn’t even get minor place money. The crowd made a noise after his Summer Cup win because of prior failures and apparent inconsistency. But there.was no doubt about M'Carten trying to win with him in races prior to the Cup. The explanation is that the longer distance, one mile and five furlongs, suited his slow stamina. And there was another factor. All his strongest rivals, the favourites— Loquacious, Spearman, Inducement, and Gemiight—ran as if they were hobbled. In the absence of their best form, Vertigern obviously had nothing to beat, and so he won the Cup. The strange thing was that although Vertigern on all form in Australia appeared to have no chance, he was a strong tip. His connections declared that he would win the Cup. It would be difficult to gauge what they based their deductions on, except that he was working so well. But he had been doing that for a month past on the tracks at Randwick, yet in three prior races bad failed worse than ever.