TROTTING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21542, 14 January 1932, Page 2

TROTTING

By Sentinel.

In the list of nominations for the Forbury Park Club’s meeting the name of Sunny Morn was omitted from the Telegraph Handicap on the second day. Logan has been sent north to run in the Wellington Gold Trotting Cup. Handicaps for the first day of the Forbury Park meeting are due on the 18th. The interests of light-harness racing demand the fullest publicity of the_ evidence and discussions on the Ngingongingo case in. Wellington next week. Chenaway earned a good reputation at the Auckland meeting, which may be further enhanced at the Wellington fixture. He is a four-year-old colt by Peter Chenault from Runaway, the dam of Kawhaki, perhaps the most promising young trotter the Dominion has ever seen. -- Red Hope was an acceptor for the first day of the Greymouth meeting, but he was not a starter. He is a three-year-old colt by Great Hope from Jenny Lind Jr., and is. owned*-and trained by J. Bryce. Red Hope is the first of Great Hope’s stock to be registered. His dam is by Coldstream Bells from Jenny Lind. Quality rather than quantity has been engaged in the two principal events to be decided at the Forbury Park Trotting Club’s meeting, but it is the former that draws the crowd. Terence Dillon has not been engaged in the principal events at the Forbury Park meeting, but will be granted a chance to display his speed in the 10furlong races. , When the committee of the Auckland Trotting Club meet to draw up the programme for the February meeting one of the difficulties they will have to grapple with is the fixing of the classes for the trotters’ races. At the Cup meeting the classes had a 4.40 limit, but (says “ Orion ”) it is clear that but for the contribution from the south the races would have been complete failures. In the Rowe Cup there were only half a dozen local horees, in the Epsom Trot five, and on the final day in the Association Trot there were but three _ local horses in a field of five. It is difficult to know just what the limit should be to draw a good field in Auckland, but it should certainly be slower than 4.40, unless the club is going to take a risk and depend upon the south, knowing there are not likely to be eo_ many visitors up for the February meeting as there were for the Cup fixture. ‘ The vitality of the Peter the Great tribe continues unabated in the United States. In 1930 Peter Volo topped the list of winning sires with 65 winners of 106 races. For 1931 Peter Volo is again on top with 59 winners of 147 races. Nest to him comes another son of Peter the Great with 43 winners of 78 races, and the Walter Direct horse Napoleon Direct follows with 42 winners of 119 races. Sons of Peter the Great total seven out of the first 20 sires on the winning list for 1931. Guy Axworthy follows Napoleon Direct with 41 winners of 107 races.

Lou Dillon held the world’s record for 19 years. Lee Axworthy’s stallion record of 1.58 J still stands, although put up as far back at 1916. Peter Manning put up 1.56| in 1922 and putting these facts together it seems that the speed limit has been reached, or nearly so, as very few horses have stepped inside of two minutes in recent years. So long as existing conditions stand there will never be any horses going inside two minutes in New Zealand. The track conditions supply one great anchor to reaching such a gait, and reinsman and trainers appear, perhaps unconsciously, to supply another which is just about as big a handicap as the tracks.