RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22432, 29 November 1934, Page 15

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel.

It is reported that Fair Vision is a doubtful starter in the Steeplechase at Winton.

Inflation is apparently training on again as he figures amongst the nominations for the Woodville meeting.

According to a report from Christchurch, Nightly is not likely to race again until the autumn, when he may return to Australia. The Masquerader, Tout le Monde, and Invoice have been nominated for the Woodville meeting to be held on December 8 and 10.

Twenty-six horses have been nominated for the Trial Plate of 60sovs to I>e run at the Woodville meeting. Evidently there are plenty of horses handy to the course.

Gold Paper is making good progress from the mishap that prevented her from fulfilling her Riccarton engagements this month,, and F. Christmas hopes to have her in'work again early in the new year. Bad luck in ownership may be generally summed up that it is principally attributable to bad horses. Some horses are kept in training that would not realise the price of a week's feeding if sent under the hammer.

L. J. Ellis was paid the compliment of being put up 6lb over-weight to ride Lia Fail, who won at the Takapuna meeting. Despite the extra burden Lia Fail won comfortably. She is a four-year-old filly by Chief Ruler.

A. Messervey has been engaged to ride Manetho, Hostile, 'Grecian Princs, and Silver Tasse at Ashburton. G. Humphries will be Rebel Star's and Gaysome's pilot. L. J. Ellis will return to ride at this meeting, his mounts including Sweet Agnes and Rebel Chief. W. Lawson rides Riptide in the High-weight. The two-year-old Haut Monde, who galloped well at Riccarton on the eve of the New Zealand Cup meeting; has been nominated for the Woodville meeting. Haut Monde met with a mishap and could not be started at Riccarton. The two-year-old Round Up is also engaged at the meeting. The Ashburton Racing Club is fortunate in the fact that its course iB within easy distance of Riccarton. This fact has assisted to build up the excellent list of acceptances for the meeting on Saturday next. The fields are not only good from a numerical point of view, but quality is also freely represented, and the meeting should prove a success.

The noted English jockey, Steve Donoghue, who was 50 years old on October 15, celebrated the occasion by riding the Aga Khan's Pampeiro to victory in the Grand Criterium at Longchamp, Paris. He flew back to England on his birthday and was the' guest of honour at a family gathering in London. Another veteran who is riding at the top of his form is Joe Childs. The King's jockey was 50 last May.

Several newcomers are engaged in the Lagmhor Plate at Ashburton. Among them is Lady Wakeful, who will be raced by her breeder,. Mr W. H. Orbell. She i s a three-year-old by Lord Warden from Consuta, by Sarto from Pretty Lill, by Welbeck from Beauty Sleep, by Medallion from Siesta, by Traducer from Hammock. Two others engaged at the meeting are Liberate, by Polazel from Lightning Raid, by Night Raid—St. Winnow, by Masterpiece, and Token, by Polazel from Precious, a sister to Steeton. The Ashburton summer meeting takes place on Saturday, and the Winton meeting will be held on Friday and Saturday. Ashburton has not attracted a Wingatui horse because the time and expensive nature of the journey is prohibitive. Two or three Wingatui horses will be seen out at Winton, but with the majority a local horse has not a chance to get a race between the New Zealand Cup meet ing and the Wingatui summer meeting. A perid of about two months is a bit -rough on owners, and suggests a readjustment of the calendar would' be appreciated. The best way of doing so would be to make the Ashburton meeting a two day programme. Jonathan, whose form last season earned him top weight in the New Zealand Cup, had to miss his spring engagements owing to unsoundness. Having apparently made a good recovery, he was tried out -recently. He galloped well, but later on there was a recurrence of his lameness. As a result it has been found •necessary to spell him, and he will not be seen in public again this season. The trouble is ascribed to a slipped muscle, which made him, a bit lame behind. Motley suffered a similar mishap, but soon recovered, whereasKorokio, who alsoslipped a muscle, felt the effects for some 15 months. It is to be hoped Jonathan makes a good recovery as he is a high-class galloper, up to a mile and a winner at a mile and a-quarter. It is reported that, in addition to selling the filly Te Nira at 2000 guineas, Mr F. Armstrong was also invited to put a price on Entreaty, the dam of Phar Lap, the world famous brother to Te Nira. Entreaty was foaled in 1920, and produced her first foal in 1925. This was Fortune's Wheel. The following season Phar Lap arrived and so supplied a jolt to those who think it wise to breed only in alternate years. The next two seasons Entreaty produced Nea Lap and Nightguard, who promised to be a good horse, but unfortunately went in the wind. The following year she gave herself a holiday by missing to Night Raid, and then in consecutive years came All Clear, Friday Night, and Te Nira. She then recorded another miss, and is due to foal to Night Raid. Entreaty has been bred to Night Raid during 10 consecutive years, but this season goes to Iliad. When watching Nightly at work at Riccarton prior to the Grand National meeting the writer was informed by F. D. Jones that the intermittent lameness displayed by the colt might probably be due to an incipient splint. A splint would have probably developed since then. It might also be caused by a weakness at the back of the knee through the ligament attachment or tendons or, perhaps, a dry joint. Now we have Dr W. J. Stewart M'Kay, the Sydney thoroughbred enthusiast, responsible for the appended description of Nightly:—" 1 have recently examined this horse (Nightly) carefully, and, while he has immense strength, inherited, as I believe Phar Lap's framework was inherited from that emperor of stallions, the immortal Stockwell. I don't think that he will stand the wear and tear of the racecourse as well as Rogilla has done or as Phar Lap did. His present lameness is, in my opinion, of little moment, and is due to grain poisoning, and can be cured by careful selection of his food, just as we have seen in the case of Chatham, where the grain poison acts on the bronchial tube muscles, and causes him to develop what vets, call 'thick wind.' but which T call ' asthma.' Nightly can run well in dry and in heavy goinz, but a really hard course would be unfavourable because the weight of his imnvnse body—he must weight more than half a ton —jars his front legs during the gallop."

Fast work at Riccarton .was divided on Tuesday between the plough and No. 6 grass tracks, but the morning was quiet. Both tracks were in good order (reports the Sun). On the plough Rocket and Horn's Reef ran seven furlongs in lmin 32 l-ssec. Orris and Chidden covered six furlongs in lmin 18sec, Cricket Bat lmin 17sec, Horowhenua and Free Air lmin 22sec, Maroha and Rebel Star lmin 18 l-ssec, the last three in 0.39 4-ssec, Madame Pompadour lmin 18sec, Sea Fox easily lmin 22sec. Sibella, with the Love in the Mist gelding to assist her home went a striding mile in lmin 50 1-5 sec. First View did similar work over six' furlongs. Gas Mask' covered five in lmin usee. On the grass, Manetho, with Jolly Beggar assisting over the last halfmile, covered seven furlongs in lmin 29 3-ssec, the last half-mile in o.slsec; Toute le Monde beat Earthquake, after the latter had made all the pace, in lmin' 30 l-ssee. Sky Rover finished ahead of Sweet Agnes in lmin 31 3-ssec. Southdown and Hostile beat Heather Glow, lmin 28 3-ssec, the last six in lmin 15 3-ssec. Ranelagh beat Sam Smith in lmin 28 4-ssec. Delice and Tunnelier clocked lmin 15 4-ssec for six, the first three 1n o.37sec. Gavsome, lmin 14 2-ssec, well. Top Rank lmin 16 l-sscc, Grecian Prince lmin 16 l-ssec, The Masquerader lmin 18 2-ssec easily. Capital and Quietly lmin 16 3-ssec, Highbrow, with Moonbeam over the last four, lmin 16 4-ssec. Cleaner beat Cup Bearer lmin 17 2-ssec. Cranford lmin 14 4-ssec, the first three in 0.36 4-ssec. Invoice lmin 15 4-sseo» the last three in 0.38 2-ssec. Rebel Chief, Royal Amphora, and Gold Cross finished as named in lmin 2 4-ssec, the last half mile, however, was run in 0.49 4-ssec. Rona Bay beat Silver Tasse lmin 3 2-ssec. Theatin and Monastic o.slsec for half a mile. Grey Honour (late Honour's Lad) and Fair Weather 0.50 3-ssec. Silver Ring covered throe furlongs effortlessly in 0.35 4-ssec. Battle Queen took 0.36 4-ssec. Back from Australia after a campaign that was generally successful, although the big prize at Flemington eluded him, Mr F. D. Jones lost no time in picking up the reins. He was well satisfied with the result of the trip (says, an exchange), having won Taces with Nightly, Shatter, and Two No Trumps. The two last-named remained in Australia. Nightly leaves for home this week. Shatter is being trained by H. Gabell, who trained Sandhurst, a V.R.C. National winner,.and the Shambles gelding is also to be jumped. In speaking oj: the weather that ruined the Melbourne Cup meeting, Mr Jones said that women patrons, in their light dresses, were seeking shelter in the horse stalls or anywhere else where there was the slightest cover. When a horse came back from a race to reoccupy the stall there was a scurry to find other protection from the elements. Just while the Cup was being run there_ was a lull in the terrific downpour. Nightly was running outside and third horse past the five furlongs in the Cup and p;oing like a winner, when he collapsed in a few strides. Several theories were advanced but none was proved. The horse finished very distressed, as also did Journal and Sir Simper. Better tracks than those at Caulfield he had never seen, said Mr Jones. Although there had been an unusual amount of rain, they were in marvellously good order. At Randwick, however, where they had had the wettest spring for 78 years, conditions for training were not nearly ■as • good. Nightly will'not race at Auckland, and in all probability 'he will not appear in public again until ; the autumn, when another trip' to Australia is, on the cards.