RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23351, 17 November 1937, Page 17

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel

Otago Handicap The principal event to be run at the Dunedin summer meeting will be the Otago Handicap, of £SOO. In Southland The Wyndham Cup will be worth £450 and the Invercargill Cup £SOO Hurdlers > Hurdlers will be provided with two races at the Dunedin summer meeting and two at Invercargill. Brunhilde Brunhilde had a fairly hard race to win the Oaks Stakes, and the task probably took the steam out of her stride in the Members' Handicap. The Invercargill Meeting The Southland Racing Club's spring meeting, to be held on Saturday next, has drawn good acceptances except in the Southland Cup, in which five remain to form the field. A Change The yearling half-sister by Beau Pere to Siegmund and Wildflower has had her name changed from Gay Susette to La Coquette. She is owned by Mr A. H. Marshall, of Marton. Lovechasc The name of Lovechase has been claimed for a two-year-old filly by Beau Pere from Enchantment (a sister to Ringing Cheer and Gallant Fox). She is owned by Mr G. D. Beatson. On Liberal Lines Some owners have made acceptances on liberal lines in connection with the Southland Racing Club's spring meeting. Grand Finale figures in three races, and Ashaway, Ocean Singer, Sea Fox, McHeath, Counterfiight. Pink Robe, and Last Post in two. Long Odds

On a betting list, issued in Sydney on July 16 last, the double of The Trump (Caulfield Cup) and The Trump (Melbourne Cup) was quoted at 2500 to one. The list contained the proviso: "N.B.—One horse coupled or stable combinations special quotation. A Bad Dream

A resident ,of a Sydney suburb desired to wager £lO that the V.R.C. judge would have to hoist the numbers 6,2, 7, in that order, after the Melbourne Cup. He was accommodated by a bookmaker, the odds being £BOO to £lO. The wager was lost, the placed numbers being 10, 13, 6. It was the result of a dream, in which the numbers were seen. Disappointments

Anyone who saw Ben Braggie win at the Wellington spring meeting would grant him a royal chance of winning the Stewards' Handicap, but he failed badly in both races at Riccarton. Haughty Winner was one of the best two-year-olds seen out last season, and won the Dunedin Guineas in a manner suggesting that he had trained on. He also shaped badly in his races at Riccarton. Cuddle

Cuddle has won over £IO,OOO In stakes, and an Auckland admirer claims that she is the best mare that ever raced in New Zealand. Cuddle has proved herself a great mare, and so did Warstep, Desert Gold, Cruciform and it has been claimed that Lurline was one of the greatest mares ever foaled. A Good Sport There are few better-known men on the Australian turf than Mr E. Eccles, owner of The Trump, recent winner of the Caujfield and Melbourne Cups double. Mr Eccles has been associated with racing over a long period An Adelaide racing man who has a great admiration for Mr Eccles is Mr Edgar Solomon, who relates that Mr Eccles always delights in telling friends to back his horses if he thought they possessed chances. Moreover, he is always prepared to take the good with the bad. Mr Solomon stood alongside Mr Eccles during the running of the 1922 Melbourne Cup. in which Mr Eccles had backed his horse. The Cypher, for a big sum The stable stood to win approximately £70.000. When King Ingoda defeated The Cypher by the narrowest margin, Mr Eccles was still able to smile. Until this season Mr Eccles's luck in important races had not been the best as, in addition to The Cypher going down, Yarramba, another horse owned _by the Victorian sportsman, was just beaten on the post by Peter Pan in the 1932 Melbourne Cup. At Riverton

Splendid conditions prevailed at Riverton on Saturday morning and the No. 1 grass and plough were open for fast work. Bay Duke is back in work again. He is looking big and lusty and was restricted to a couple of rounds slow. Barley Almond led off with a couple of circuits. This mare has not done too well for Mr Bain, says the Southland News, and he will not be taking any of his horses into the Invercargill meeting next Saturday. Ashaway jumped away from approximately the mile and a-quarter peg on the plough and was picked up by Silkwood at the seven, taking lmin 34|sec, the last six in lmin 21sec. Ashaway had a slight advantage at the finish, but Silkwood went well. Peony Rose and the Some Signal two-year-old slipped over half a mile in 49 4-ssec They finished together, and it was quite an attractive gallop, on the Na 1 grass. Tauraki. Crusader Lad and the Te Manui colt hopped away from the five and went lmin 6Jsec, the last half-mile in 53sec. The former lost a couple of lengths at the start, but had several lengths' lead at the finish from the colt, with Crusader Lad a couple of lengths further back. Bow Street and Smoko, on the No. 1 grass took lmin 45sec for a mile, the last.six in Imin 19|sec. Smoko had several lengths' advantage at the finish and it was quite a good gallop. Fleet Street and the Woodend-Black March colt walloped the last half-mile of six furlongs in 56sec. with the former showing to advantage by several lengths. Mohican

To come from a suburban novice performer to be one of the best sprinters in Australia within a few months is the record of Mohican, who accounted for the Cantala Stakes and the Yan Yean Stakes at the recent Melbourne Cup meeting, making his tally three wins in his last three starts. His trainer C. A. Russell, settled in Sydney a few years ago, and has had a remarkable record with cast-offs from other stables. Caravel Boy was one of his first horses to show improvement, and Russell developed him into one of Sydney's best jumpers. Then followed The Genius. He was an outlaw until Russell took him over, but he quietened him down, and he has won races on the flat and over hurdles, while he was third in the last Grand National Hurdles. to Pooley Bridge and Full Charge. Sir Walter and Diatter are others The latter won at Ascot. Melbourne, recently. Mr Spencer Vaughan. who is at the head of the Australian family which is entitled to £600,000

from the estate of the late Lady Houston, has been backing winners in wholesale fashion in Victoria this spring. He placed a big commission on Mohican in each of his last three starts, and won £IO.OOO. Mr Vaughan also won over £SOOO from The Trump's success. Turnover on Totalisator

The totalisator turnover during Carnival Week aggregated £393,954. against £234,496 last year, the increase for the seven days being £59,458. For three days at Addington the figures were £173,752 10s, an increase of £23,035. and for the four days at Riccarton £220,021 10s, an increase of £36,423. At Riccarton the increase averaged £9105 per day, and at Addington £7678. -Comparative figures for each day are appended:—

Totals 183,778 10 0 220,201 10 0 To compile the above figures the money invested was turned over in 56 races. A Record During the past few years there have been several records broken in hurdle races in Australia, and when Blackford traversed two miles in 3min 34Jsec last autumn it was expected that these figures would stand for many years. However, at the recent V.R.C. meeting at Flemington Bridge of Mar, who won the Cup Hurdles, reduced the time to 3min 34Jsec, which is a world's record. As Bridge of Mar carried 11.4 and led all the way eventually to win by six lengths, the performance was a truly remarkable one. He is owned by Sir Alan Currie, chairman of the Victoria Racing Club, and although always considered a good hurdler could never be regarded as a lucky horse. Instead of winning one race at the National meeting everything went against him, and in the National Hurdles his gear broke, while in the Doutta Galla he mistimed a jump and fell when he had the race at his mercy. Bridge of Mar made hacks of the opposition at Flemington, and beat them at jumping, at pace and in stamina. When it is considered that the time was only 13sec slower than Wotan's Australasian record, established in the Melbourne Cup, some idea of the speed at which the race was rim can be imagined.

First day Second day Third day TROTTING 1936 £ s. d. 51,054 0 0 40,397 0 0 59,266 10 0 1937 £ s. 64,104 10 44,702 0 64,946 0 d. 0 0 0 Totals First day Second day Third day Fourth day 150,717 10 0 RACING 1936 £ s. d. 49,637 0 0 30,584 10 0 38,256 0 0 65.301 0 0 173,752 10 1937 £ s. 65,585 10 37,410 0 48,891 10 68,314 10 0 d. 0 0 0 0