RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21980, 15 June 1933, Page 12

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel Over 60 nominations have been received for the Takapuna Plate, to be run next season. A lengthy list was also received for the Champion Hack Plate. The Auckland Racing Club is applying for five days for the Auckland Cup meeting. An amendment to the rules would be necessary to grant the request. A special train will be run from Dunedin to Oamaru in connection with the Oamaru Jockey Club’s race meeting on July 1. It will leave Dunedin at 7.42 a.m. and Oamaru at 5.32 p.m. on the return journey. A Sydney writer states that M'Carteu is riding better now than at any stage of his career, and with his remarkable experience and his capacity to get down to 7.12, he will continue no doubt to get choice riding for several big Sydney stables, not to mention that of many New Zealand visitors. The three men charged with forging and uttering totalisator tickets at a recent meeting at Randwick pleaded guilty. One, a commercial artist, was evidently regarded as the leading spirit in the affair, and was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment on each charge. The other two Were bound over in £SO to be of good behaviour and appear to; receive, sentence if called upon within-' ‘two years; ' 1 Mr H. Andrews, the owner pf Red Boa, has secured a lease of a rising three-year-old bay colt by Yalkyrian from Lutby. The 1 youngster has good breeding in his favour. His sire was got by William the Third, one of St. Simon’s best sons op the turf and also at the stud, and Luthy was got by Lucullus from Lisp, by Demosthenes —Savanna, by Stepniak —Seashell, by Chainshot —Nautilus, by Traducer, and so back to Mermaid. The youngster has three strains of St. Simon through Yalkyrian, Demosthenes, and Ard Patrick on to a double, infusion of Musket with the successful Mermaid taproot at the base. The Lucullus gelding Currajong, a brother to Carinthia, is to be schooled over jumps. Currajong .is two years younger than Carinthia. Apart from Carinthia, his dam, Minsk, has produced nothing of note amongst her several foals. Minsk was got by Martian from Stephanie. by Stepniak—Fanna, by Maxim —ITermione, by Cadogan—Helena, by Traducer from Strenua, who was an imported mare foaled in 1874 and brought out by the Middle Park Stud Company. The Strenua line reads stoutly enough on paper, but has produced very few winners of note. About the best is Ostiak, a winner of the Winter Cup, good handicap performer in his day. The line has not achieved anything of classic note, but possibilities always exist when pure thoroughbreds figure on both sides of a pedigree, , _ . _ Miss D Paget ran her Spion Kop —Waffles colt in the Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket. He raced unnamed last season, and did not gain a place in five attempts. Subsequently be was named Tuppence, and as_ he finished much nearer last than first in the Two Thousand, it would appear apt nomenclature,' notwithstanding he cost 6600 guineas as a yearling. For some unknown reason, he was a fancy for the Derby with many small bettors—women, in particular—and he ran about the same as in the Two Thousand. ~ , , In Tasmania the recently-amended rules, under the Bookmakers’ Act provide that bookmakers must, keep a written record, with carbon duplicate, of every bet made. This must give details of the meeting and the club controlling the meeting. Immediately after each race bookmakers operating on a course must deliver to the committee the written record, retaining the carbon copy. The records of all bets made off the course must be sent to the registrar weekly, the bookmaker again retaining the carbon copy. With Mr O. S. Watkins not seeking re-election this year as president of the New Zealand Racing Conference, owing to indifferent health, it seems natural to turn to the vice-president when looking for his successor. Mr 0. Nicholson, of Auckland, has held that position for no more than a month or two, and it is understood that he is not _ prepared to accept nomination for the higner office. The jumper Thespis is to be sent to Cambridge for a spell. He will probably be out for a month and may do some hunting before again being seriously trained for" racing. Thespis raced consistently both on the flat and over hurdles for the greater part of the season, but he has failed in his, last few starts and proved very disappointing at' the recent meetings at Te Rapa and Ellerslie. However, he is capable of doing better, and, as he is young as jumpers go, being only a five-year-old, he should have much usefulness ahead of him. In England last season S. Donoghue rode 55 winners, but if he continues at the same rate that he started this season he will easily boat that total this year. The first month gave him 12 or 13 wins, and at Birmingham on April 17 he showed himself the Donoghue of old by scoring three firsts and three seconds. On the day Donoghue did so well at Birmingham, H. Wragg scored three wins and a second at Kempton Park, showing that, the broken leg which put him out of action at the end of last season had not adversely affected hig riding ability. Four people ■ were injured, three seriously, when a horse bolted into a large crowd at Hereford Steeplechases (England) in April. In the race for the Lutwyche Cup. the principal event of the meeting, Mrs MacGregor’s Ziogoon fell near the grand stand, regained its feet, and then crashed through the rails into the enclosure. The crowd scattered in all directions, but the horse struck throe women and a man before leaping the seven-foot rails into the roadway.. It fell on the pavement, narrowly missing a policeman, and broke its back. The injured women were taken to hospital. The horse was ridden by Mr C. 11. Evans, who was thrown when it fell after negotiating a fence. He retained his hold of the reins, however, and as the horse regained its feet and galloped off he made a plucky effort to restrain it. He was dragged along the gx-ound for a short distance and eventually lost his grip on the reins. Mr Evans was unhurt, apart from slight bruising. The horse galloped for about 100 yards, and as it approached the crowded enclosure onlookers scrambled for safety. Several men tried to stop the animal, but it galloped through the enclosure and came to a boundary fence 7ft high. It cleared this in a great leap, but fell on the other side. An English exchange waxed humorous over Rodosto’s success in the Two Thousand Guineas. After saying that the colt’s French .rider, Bretlies, unwittingly outraged all traditions of English jockeyship, it continued: “It is a commonplace for a carter to urge his old horse with an occasional ‘Gec-up,’ and for a man out hunting when he is riding into a fence to let off a series of ‘clucks,’ hut in the finish of a flat race no jockey ever speaks to ins mount. It is not done. What he may say to him afterwards if he is beaten is another matter. In the Guineas, however, Bretlies, hearing King Salmon pounding on behind, began shouting at Rodosto: ‘Allez, Allez, Allez! ’ (‘Go on’), and lie continued this up the hill until he had reached the winning post. Harry Wragg, on King Salmon, could hear this going on, and for the life of him could not remember the French equivalent for ‘ stop.’ Now, had Wragg been able to shout ‘Arretez, Arretez, Arretez! ’ (‘Stop’), it is quite possible that Rodosto, confused by the conflicting exhortations, would have stopped to think what it was all about, and that Wragg would have won, which shows how important it is that jockeys should acquire and have ready at their command a few simple French words.” Without contending that the Queensland Turf Club (Brisbane) stewards erred in their finding in the Pentheus case, I am still of opinion'lsays “Pilot”) that stewards do not put themselves in a good light by indulging in retrospective inquiries. They are appointed because of their expert knowledge, and are expected to deal with any case of wrongdoing at

the time it occurs, and not wait until circumstances enable them successfully to play the “ after game.” In refraining from taking some action at the time they see what they regard as an incorrect performance they give a wrongdoer an excellent chance of escape. It an owner or trainer has an idea the stewards, are “ waiting for him,” he can refrain from again racing his horse until the period between two races is too long to justify a reversal of form inquiry. For instance, one steward said he reckoned Pentheus was running five horses wide along the back in the Whinstanes Handicap. That was the time to have' inquired into iiis running. Reversal of form inquiries are always- dangerous, because of the impossibility of gauging the extent to which a horse can improve in a week. The other day I heard a Randwick trainer remark: “Most of us would have been innocently disqualified at some time or other if called upon to give a satisfactory explanation of sudden reversal of form by some of our horses.” I agree with him.

Some proposals for amendments to the Rules of Racing seem to be framed by men with a theoretical rather than a practical knowledge of racing. For instance. a proposed addition to the rules to be considered next month reads that “ a person who has at any time been disqualified in this or any other country may not be employed in any capacity in connection with the care, control, or training of any horse.” If the proposed amendment is converted into law and made retrospective then some prominent figures in racing would be placed beyond the pale. If a person has been, disqualified and has undergone the punishment imposed he may in every respect become a better man in the racing world than those who have enjoyed more luck in carrying out their tactics. It has occurred in the past that men have been disqualified more on suspicion than on positive proof of fraudulent tactics, and for that reason most people will agree with the suggestion to come before the Racing Conference that “at least two of the appeal judges must be men with actual experience in the control of racing.” It is only right and fair that one should be judged by his peers and not by what might be deemed to be comparative outsiders. Apart from that, however, a disqualification may be incurred by perhaps a youthful (in racing) indiscretion and the proposed addition to racing law' would ban such a person from the turf for the rest of his life. If a really serious transgression has occurred then, of course, the turf is well rid of such offenders, but there seems to be no degree attached to what may be termed “ disqualification.” Some have been practically disqualified by public opinion, buttheir name does not appear on the register, even though the offence may be greater than that which hag placed others under the ban. Each case should be tried on its merits, and not by a theoreti-cally-framed law which might possibly prove unwarrantably harsh in its application.

The Moonee Valley Racing Club contemplates expending about £2OOO in providing a longer straight on its racecourse. A long straight is a great asset to a club’s meeting, as it gives a horse a chance to assert superiority that is not obtainable on a small track. A slow beginner on a mile circuit generally has the bad luck of a run to contend against, and hence is beaten by the course rather than the strength of the opposition. Eiccarton has an ideal straight extending beyond three furlongs and a “dog’s hind leg” shaped six-furlong course, with about a straight run of three furlongs to the home turn. It has, however, often been noticed that if horses near the rails have sufficient or equal speed with those drawn wide in a big field the outsiders have a remote chance of success, because they are carried wide at the home turn and have to cover more ground than those near the rails. It would be' interesting to know if the “ straight six ” at Riccarton has ever been measured down the middle and' also near the outside rails to find if a horse drawing a position outsite the middle of the course has to cover more ground than those with or near the inside rails. If there is any difference the angle of the' barrier should be altered eo that each horse should run an equal distance to a point at the home turn. It has often been contended that the Eiccarton straight is too long and that some horses, in consequence, tire in the run home. Such a contention, however, is untenable. If a horse tires a long way from home at Eiccarton the reason is very apt to be due to the fact that the rider, generally in the habit of riding on much smaller tracks, makes his run too far from home, with the inevitable result. An ideal straight six furlongs could be made at Eiccarton by placing a winning post near the turn out of the straight. This would nullify the luck of the draw, but might be objected to on the score that the paddock patrons could not obtain a close-up view of a finish. This reminds one of the historical reply made by Admiral Rous when layr ing down the various tracks and different winning posts at Newmarket. Someone objected because it would not suit the public. “Damn tht public!” said the gallant admiral, who was studying the requirements of horses, and not those of mere men.