RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22833, 18 March 1936, Page 13

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel.

Surfing it Oamaru The Oamaru Jockey Club, has instructed its starter, Mr C. Geiseler, that all starts at the two days' meeting to be held on Saturday and Monday next, must be flatfooted, and also that unruly horses must not be given undue consideration. Special Trains for Oamaru A special fast passenger train will leave Dunedin at 8.45 a.m. each day for the Oamaru meeting. Oamaru Racecourse The Oamaru racecourse is in wonderful condition after the recent rains, and the track will provide excellent going. This Week’s Fixtures Following the Wellington meeting there will be racing this week at Awapuni on Friday and Saturday and at Oamaru and Tauranga on Saturday., The trotting fixtures are Wyndham to-day and Roxburgh (non-totalisator) on Saturday. A Double Winner Pakanui, a double winner in the hack class at Trentham, is a three-year-old by Hunting Song from the imported mare Love Token, Love Token had seven foals (she proved barren in seven other seasons); and Pakanui is the last as well as the best of them. Likely Derby Prospect Prince Quex, a winner at the Victoria Racing Club’s meeting, and now being rated as an A.J.C. Derby prospect for next season, is bv Lord Quex from Princess Pat, by All Black from Martian Princess, by Martian from Two Step, by Stepniak from Far Away, by Bill of Portland from Happy Land, by Musket from imported Atlantis. Classic honours would not be new to this great family, as Prin-cess-Pat was the dam of Lady Pam. who won the Great Northern Oaks and the New Zealand St. Leger. This line produced a host of winners, while Atlantis was the dam of St. Leger, one of the most successful sires of his period. Princess Pat was purchased last year by Mr A. S. Higgs, of Riccarton. and she produced this season a good-looking filly foal by Cape Horn.

Posterity Three-year-old Le Grand, who paid a short price in the Maiden Stakes at Trentham, is a three-year-old by Posterity from the famous matfon Eulogy, and U» a haltbrother to Humbug, Pennon, Yarraldool, Epitaph, Homage, Commendation, Eulalie and Praise. He coat Smith Brothers (ot Peter Jackson and Gaine Carrington fume) 675 guineas as a yearling, despite the fact that Eulogy was 23 years old when she foaled him. Le Grand, who is now -trained by R. BrOugh at Hawera, was one of the team that T. R. George took to Sydney in the spring, and he-was responsible for that trainer and L. 0. Ellis receiving a “please explain from the stipendiary stewards. Change! in Dates The executive of the Racing Conference discussed during the week-end several applications for changes in racing dates to take advantage of King Edward s Birthday. June 23. The Dunedin Jockey Club was granted June 23, 25 and 27. It was decided to request the Ashburton Trotting Club to change from June 13 to June 20, in which case the Ashburton County Racing Club will take June 6 instead of June 27. and the South Canterbury Jockey Club June 13 instead of June 20. In the North Island, the Wanganui Jockey Club and the Napier Park Racing Club were granted permission to change to June 20 and 23. Versa til*

In winning the Trial Plate, Clarion Call was having only his sixth start to date, and the success, enabled him to achieve the unique record of having already won at all three departments, over steeples, over hurdles, and on the flat. He had his first race only last winter in a gentlemen riders’ event, and he then went on to win a steeples at New Plymouth and a hurdles at Marton in the spring in very easy fashion. Taken north to Fllerslie, he fell one day and then finished second to Gascille on the final day. Saturday s was his first start since, ■ and his first in ordinary flat company.

Race Books Compared The paucity of information given in race cards in New Zealand compared with some of the older countries has been frequently commented upon by visitors to the Dominion, and this week the writer was handed a card of the Calcutta Turf Club for December 14 last (says an Auckland writer). The chief event is the King-Emperor’s Cup, for which his Majesty the King gives a cup valued at lOOgns. The race book contains 86 pages, and in addition to the fields for the day, which are set out in much the same way as our own cards, there is an alphabetical list at the back showing the breeding ot all the horses engaged—a most 1 handy form of reference. Then follows the details of races for over a month past. Not the meagre details we get of the previous day or days’ winners, but a complete return, showing the horses that also started and some very useful comments, such as: “ Smoky lost ground at the start “Kama fell “ Chou Rose whipped round at the start and took no part in the race." The interval between the races is half an hour, nml from 1.30 p.m. till 5 p.m. they get off eight events —an objectlesson to the racing clubs in New Zealand. The totalisator is in operation, and provides for the ordinary betting, besides running a daily double and treble, while bookmakers are also operating. There is much to be learned by a perusal of this race card, and if they can run a half-hour interval in India it could be done here. The races could start later and finish much earlier, instead of wnat we have seen lately in the Auckland province of meetings being anything up to nearly three-quarters 01 an hour behind time. Everyone would be pleased to see races running to time, particularly the last -event. It would also be of benefit to clubs to have a race book that would help patrons with recent form, and also serve to while away the long, tedious interval that seems to be the fashion in this Dominion alone.