RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22328, 31 July 1934, Page 4

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel. The Colossus fielding Colossian shapes as if he will improve on past form when saddled up nest season. Membo cut one of'his front legs when racing at Timaru, and still finds fences more troublesome than hurdles.Woodlace, the winner of the Victoria Grand National Steeplechase, cost £SO, and has won £2OOO in stakes. Imperial Spear was off colour when produced at Waimate, and was in consequence allowed to drop out of engagements at the South Canterbury Hunt meeting. Kapuna was pulled up after going pait of the journey in the- South Canterbury Steeples. He appeared to', bo .Buffering from an interna! trouble which may not prove serious. Lord "Masham, who showed speed at Trentham, is bred like a stayer, as he was got by Robespierre from Lady Swintou, by Clareneeux—Lady Minerva, by Martian —Lady Lillian. The brothers Royal Buck and Velvet both figure as four-year-olds in the South Canterbury Hunt race book. Royal Buck, who is the' makings of a chaser, probably came first on the scene, and ranks as a five-year-old. Punchestown shaped disappointingly at Waimate and Timaru, and will have to improve a lot-to have a chance at Riccarton. He may, of course, go a lot better under a much lighter weight than he carried last week. -. Stakes provided by racing clubs in the Domiuion (including trotting events) during the season which is nearing a close amount in the aggregate t0'£234,460 :ss' in specie and £2225 15s in trophies. Last year the respective sums were • £213.527 10s and £1919 ss. An amount of £957 has also been found this season? in sweepstakes, which is slightly: less than last year's sum of £1039. ' "If there is any difference,'-they are both the same," may be applied, to Mr D. Grant's colours and those carried by First View at Timaru. First View rcpre- j sents a new ownership very welcome on the turf, but the authorities once again fail to note that " scarlet" and " red " read differently, but Took the same. The form displayed by some of the horses seen out at Waimate and Timaru last week does not seem to warrant a continuation of engagements at Riccartou. Still, some of them will be on the scene and perhaps show a marked improvement in form as a couple of races, a few days more sunshine, and sounder tracks may improve a horse considerably. >■■■::■■ First View, who won at the first time of asking at Waimate and- started favourite at Timaru, where he got lost in the crowd, is ponified in appearance but may measure more than a glance suggests. First View has a very attractive pedigree, as he was got by Lord Quex from Bay View, by Leighton—-Baybn, by Demosthenes or Eeramorz—Bayonne, by Bayardo—Alicia, by Bend Or. Night Club, the winner of the Tesehemaker Memorial Hunt Cup, was foaled in 1925,.-but has done very little racing. Last year her only appearance was in the Pareora Steeples", which she.won. .•Night Club is-bred on lines suggesting that she might win, in better company, as, she was got by • Night' Raid from Mumm, by Orzu v.(sbn of Ayrshire) from Fizz, by Algerian There is a run of about a furlong at Timaru from the start of the mile and it races to the first turn, and this supplies a chance to most horses but not those a bit slow from a start. Palermo and Niggerhead got well away in the Uaremont Handicap and obtained an advantage over Cleaner, Gustavo, and Silver Sight, and the last-named two could not give away the ground they had to make up over the final six furlongs. Several two-year-olds' were sprinted down the straight at Timaru on Saturdav, and the one that pleased most was Mr G. J. Barton's Chief Ruler colt Desert Chief, a brother to Gold Trail. Desert Chief is a biggish colt,-but has come on well since Roing to Timaru and he strode out well with a good lengthy stride. Some of the others were backward by comparison, but may come on when the sunny weather comes back to stay. New South Wale's crack hurdler. Greensea, continues to smash records in Sydney, and his owner, F. T. Cush, must regret that he was not prepared for the V.K.U Grand National Hurdle Race. At Canterbury Park recently Greensea, with 12.12 on his back, won the Brush Hurdle in a common canter, yet he broke the race record by six seconds! E. M'Menamin, who rode Greensea, remarked on dismounting that the gelding.was "champion of champions." M'Menamm, by the way, had to make up 4st 91b dead weight to ride Greensea. To prevent any possibility of the saddle slipping,, M'Menamm wore a lead waistcoat, weighing 281 b. Winners at the Waimate meeting were liable to be rehandicapped for engagements at the South Canterbury Hunt meeting, and it is interesting to note that all the winners wore practically treated the same, except one, irrespective of whether they were at the top or bottom of a handicap. Black Duke went up from '9.5 to 9.10, Peterette from 9.0 to 9.3, Colossian from 8.10 to 9.1, Cheap Money from 8.6 to 8.11. • First; View from 7.7 to 7.12, Eaton Hall from .11.11 to 12.1, and Cleaner from 8.0 to 8.5. The figures suggest a lack iu the sense of proportion when a top-weight gets -the same increase as a horse near the other end of a handicap. During the four days of its centenary Melbourne Cup meeting the Victoria'Racing Club will distribute £36,200 in stakes, an increase of £12,200 compared with last year's total. Changes in the programme this year include the substitution of the Duke of Gloucester Cup on the final day for the V.R.C. Handicap. The distance of the old race was one mile and threequarters, and apparently that is unchanged. The prize of £2OOO will include a cup to be presented tfl the winning owner by his Royal Highness. The Wakeful Stakes, for three-jear-old fillies, will this year be worth £IOOO, instead of £SOO. The V.R.C. has also increased the stakes I for its one-day fixtures at .Flemington in August and October. No race at either ( of these two meetings will now be worth less than £SOO. \ " If there was a road across the Tasman half the trainers in New Zealand would be on their way to Australia,'' remarked M. T. M'Grath to a Melbourne scribe when .he returned from a three months' trip to New Zealand. M'Grath considers that excessive taxation is likely to ruin racing in New Zealand. Besides 17$, per cent. tax t ou the ' totalisation there is r> per cent, tax on stake winnings. As no bookmakers operate, it would be seen that owners and trainers are heavily hit on their winning investments on the totalisator. The class of horses racing has also deteriorated. ' Fifteen years ago there were 100 horses in, New Zealand that could have won almost any race in Australia. During his trip M'Grath saw only four first-class horses. If it were not for the Australian competition, yearlings would bring very p"oor prices, because the money is-not in the game to enable local owners to keep up the prices. A New Zealand visitor to Sydney, and one who knows bis subject, told me the other day that the racing outlook was anything but bright in the Dominion. He shares the opinion that the licensing of bookmakers would be an advantage, "but,'' be added, "it is unlikely to come about owing to the narrow-minded belief of many people that the immediate result would be the corruption of trainers and jockeys and all sorts of misdeeds." Well, it cannot be alleged that in Australia bookmakers do much in that lino, and it is unlikely (says "Pilot") it would bo different in New Zealand. Relative to stakes, my informant said: " They are too small to leave much room for profit

at'many meetings, and totalisator investments are often so light that any owner who makes a decent bet fairly buys his money at ridiculous odds evefl if his horse wins. "Another thing," he added, is that present conditions arc tending to deterioration in the quality of horses competing at New Zealand meetings. At the yearling sales those youngsters that look Hke proving the best arc bought for Australia, and that means New Zealand must be left with too great a share ot moderates. I think if our courses were a"ain thrown open to bookmakers it wouM make' racehorse owners of men who now stand out because they reckon they would be up against a certain losing proposition. Stakes and totalisator betting make an adequate return almost an impossibility tor them. Perhaps they might not beat the books, but they would be willing to try-