RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23492, 5 May 1938, Page 18

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel Ajax The crack Australian colt Ajax has won nearly £19,000 in stakes. Sydney Sales The opening bid for the Heroic— Trasina colt, who made 2300 guineas, was 1000 guineas. The Great Northern Meeting Nominations for the principal events to be run at the Auckland winter meeting total 104 as against 276 last year. Great Star The Solferino gelding Great Star, who has won quite a number of races, figures at the minimum weight in his engagement at the Amberley meeting. ' ;• Tudor Tlie Little England gelding Tudor, who won over hurdles and fences last season, is being qualified with the hounds as part of a preparation for winter racing, , Faster Than Phar Lap H. R. Telford, trainer of Phar Lap, rates Ajax superior even to his champion up to a mile. All tracks appea-" to come alike to Ajax and he hap all the" high-class attributes of being able to 1 excel Under any conditions. A Great Tirtte ' Mr L. G. Hill, secretary of the Duhedin Jockey Club, has returned from Sydney. He was of the contingent of returned soldiers who invaded Sydney, where they were overwhelmed with hospitality. A Successful Appeal The owner and trainer of Nightguard, who wasi disqualified for 12 months by the A.J.C. stipendiary stewards for allegedly not trying to win, proved that he put £6O on the. horse. The disqualification was removed oh appeal to the committee. Lady Mlddleham

Lady Middleham, who has been developing winning from, may stay better than most of Paper Money's stock. She is a three-year-old filly by Paper Money from Lady Victoria, by Pilgrim's Progress—Lady Lillian, by Phaeton—Lady Zetland. Lady Victoria, is also the dam of the New Zealand winner Royal Star. Te Hero

The smart two-year-old Te Hero is booked for an early visit to Sydney to be prepared for the spring meetings. Te Hero has four wins and a second out of live starts this season, and when beaten by a head Was considered unlucky. " Knocked "

Veteran James Scobie has been attending Sydney yearling sales for a great many years, but it is doubtful if he has ever had an experience to match that of the first and second days of the sales this year. On the first day he offered 2200 guineas for the Heroic —Trasina colt Without sUccgss. Oh the second day he offered 2700 guineas for the Melfort—Lalaguli colt,, also without success. As he left the* ring a frfcnd hailed him; "Did yoii do any good. Jim?" he asked. Scobie smiled a gentle smile that, unlike the smile of the Heathen Chinee, was neither " child-like nor bland. "No good," he said, "they knocked me silly." An Excuse

Reasons by the hundred have been advanced for the failure of horsey but the pajm mtist be handed to Norman Hoysted'S excuse; for Donaster, who rah poorly in the Sydney Cup. Doiiaster travelled from his stable to Randwick by motor float with His head facing the rear of the vehicle, He arrived at the course very upset. This is given as the reason for his failure. In Melbourne Donastsr is accustomed to travelling " facing the engine." Possibly horses, like humans, have their fad? about travelling. The Dollar Bet

One effect of the operation of the 5s totalisator at Randwick has been that paddock bookmakers, who formerly scorned bets of that amount, now take them Without hesitation. There was a time, and only recently, When "dollar" punters were told to "Go td the totalisator." if they wanted td Invest B§ Straightout on their fancy, but competition with the machine stopped all that. Of course, the bigger men are not worried , With the Small puntijrs. but they will also take_ the minor wagers. Lord Glaneiy The Horse and Hound (London) gives some Interesting facts concerning Lord Glaneiy. who launched out in a big way as a buyer and breeder of racehorses subsequent to his first Win in 1909 with a horse called Goemen. Actually the first horse he bought was a colt named Greeh Wood In 1908. He gave 160 guineas for him, and sold him the following year for 44 guineas. From the time he won his first race tc the end of last season Lord Glaneiy had scored 485 wins on the flat, their collective value being £264,171, His best year was 1919. when he won 45 races and £ 30,604 in Stakes.

Beating the Books The paddock bookmaker Mr E. Vandenberg wus mulcted of £ll6 at Randwick. When Weight was announced a ticket for that amount ort the wihner, Cid, was presented and paid. Within a minute or two another, bearing a Similar number, was tendered. ( It was nhe genuine ticket The bogus ticket Was numbered 439,728, and, although the last three digits of the serial number of the genuine ticket for £ll6 were 728 the first three did not correspond. The method employed was that generally in use before tricksters discovered the art of altering the numbers to suit the occasion. Old tickets aro apparently saved until the bookmaker reaches a ticket with the last three digits the same. If it is issued on a winner the old ticket is written to correspond with it, and presented as soon after the race as practicable

Tuitpcka County Jockey Club A general meeting was held in the Druids' Hall, Lawrence, on Thursday, ApMi 28, and was attended by 20 ifidrnbers. Mr G. H. Williartis being in the chair. The statement in connection with the recent race meeting showed that an approximate profit of £ll had been made. The question of a date for the 1938-39 racing season was discussed ii length, members being of the opinion that the district Could not support two race meetings at Easter, and it was finally decided to applv for Saturday, January 21 1939, as the date for next season, Last year the Wairlo Racing Club objected to the club's application for a Similar date, but, as there were no Otago horses at the Wairio meeting this year, it was considered that this was a suitable date. A number of other matters were informally discussed.

Going North The Southland trainer F. Langford intends making Timaru his headquarters, and will remain there until after the Grand National meeting. His team will go north after the Duiiedin

winter meeting, and will consist of Trisox. Gay Boa and Polar Star, and probably others will be included. A Novice Field It is very seldom indeed that a field of . hurdlers is mostly comprised of novices at the game. The Southland Hurdle Handicap field numbers 12 at present, and Fireguard and Black Duke may be classed as the only experienced hurdlers engaged Galleon Galleon Was giving Wild Career 51b when they met in the Great Autumn Handicap, In the Awarua Handicap, to be run at Invercargill, the margin has been increased to illb. At Riccarton Galleon was badly left and yet managed to finish in front of Wild Career, and should again beat the Balboa gelding Late Scratchings The course withdrawals ol fancied horses at Perth race meetings have been investigated by the W.A Turf Club stewards, who have had some owners and trainers of these belatedly Withdrawn horses before them. As the horses were all withdrawn within the prescribed time, no rules were broken However, the stewards evidently see a way out, as it has been authoritatively stated that they have forwarded a report to the W.A.T.C. committee which, it is said, will review the whole matter. Just what can be done is hard to fathom, seeing that no rules have been broken— unless, of course, the committee exercises its right to refuse nominations. Meanwhile, the real solution would appear to be in the revising of the rules prohibiting the withdrawal of horses subsequent to the declaration of acceptances unless a reasonable excuse is furnished. Carbine's Meeting The AXC. autumn meeting of 1938 should go down in turf history as "Carbine's year." The whole of the long-distance races were won by horses of that line, and the whole of the winners referred to are bv a single sire, The Buzzard, who Was imported for the Lyndhurst Stud, Queensland by Mr J. G. McDougall. L'Aiglon (a three-year-old) won the Sydney Cup, Old Rowley Won the Cumberland Plate and the A.J.C. Plate (two miles and a-quarter), Gay Knight won the 13fUrlotigs Dangar Handicap, Cathaftes dead-heated in the St. Leger, and Buzalong was third in the Doncaster— all sens of The Buzzard, son of the Derby winner Spioh Kop and Valescure* by SWynford. The Bend Or line had tns best horse racing, perhaps the best horse seen in Australia up to a mile or more, in Ajax. It also had the best two-year-olds in Nuffield and Pandava, and the winner of the Doncaster Handicap, Hdmurah. The best filly, Bonheur de Pere, comes of the Hampton line, through Beau Pere. Taxation

A big decrease in bookmakers' taxation is Shown in a comparative statement of the gross receipts on account of the Consolidated Revenue Fund during the quarters ended March 31. 1917. and March 31, 1938, The figures are interesting (says the Sydney Herald) because the new legislation, relating to racecourse admission tax and bookmakers' betting tax, came into operation on January 1 last. Under the heading of bookmakers, the revenue for the 1938 quarter was £6250. as compared with £9604 in 1037, a decrease of £3354. The Bookmakers' (Taxation) Amendment Act brought in only £12,825 lis 4d, as against £25,741 7s lOd in the same quarter of 1937. The decrease is accounted for by the reduction of the turnover tax, As n slight set-off, the totalisator revenue was £1931 17s more than the amount received from the same source in 1937. Racing clubs and associations paid £862 13s more than in the first quarter of 1937. The increases under these headings indicate that racing is more prosperous this year, and thus a measure of success may be claimed for the new legislation. The racecourse admission tax showed a very big drop, the quarter's yield being £8402 19s 3d, as compared with £32.500 0s lid for the corresponding period in 1937, As time goes on, it may be expected that larger attendances at race meetings will help to improve the position as far as racecourse admission taxes are concerned. DeSfert Chief

Mr G. J. Barton is the type of man we want to see in racing. He puts a lot of money into horses each year, being a great patron of trotting as well as of galloping. For that reason (says a Melbourne writer), I do not want to hurt his feelings, but I owe a duty to the many punters who are Globe readers. All and every one of them, including myself, wish that Desert Chief had never left the country in which he Was foaled. A good judge like Eric Connolly declared for Desert Chief in the Caulfield Cup of 1936, many weeks before the race. " Wait till you see this fellow on a firm track," said the king of the turf. Desert Chief was to be seen coming home in jaces with a burst of speed that presaged victories in top-notch company. Punters have waited in vain for the five-year-old Chief Ruler horse to come good. He gave encouragement at Williamstown and Epsom, and was recently labelled the bet of the year for the Pozieres Handicap at Mentone. He failed in the weakest handicap field seen in Melbourne for years If Desert Chief Was my property he would H turned out with a tag on his tail. "Back to the cactus or the desert." Big Betting

lh his reminiscerices published in a Melbourne paper, Mr Barney Allen, once a king of the ring in Australia, gives some idea of the vast volume of betting that has taken place in con* nection with the Melbourne Cup Carbine's year was the high-water mark up to that time, but the business over Malvoiio's year doubled that over the famous race won by the- son of Musket and Mersey, Allen estimates that a win by Plgeontoe, the favourite, would have taken £300,000 out of the ring. Pigeohtoe was backed from 100 to 3 down to 4 to 1 Allen's first bet against PigeoMoc was £SOOO to £l5O, another was £12.000 to £IOOO, He laid £16.000 to £IOOO against Paris, Who Started at 25 to 1, In one bet £20,000 to £1250 was laid against Strath more, who started second favourite after winning the Victoria Derby arid whose laddie broke during the race for the Melbourne Cup, Cc-rresJe was backed to win £20,000 to £ISOO. Megaohon' l was backed to win £40,000 at nn average of 14 to 1, and started at 20 to I, Whimbre] was backed several times at £2OOO to £6O. and Highborn was backed as if the race Was over. Allen does not state the amount but he would have been a bad loser for him. Malvolio was backed to win £BO.OOO. The first wager laid against him was £12.000 to £6OO. and then £1260 to £IOO. Greygown was backed simultaneously ail over Australia and made the medium of a big plunge, Catling was backed to win £50,000 at 100 to 3 and 100 to 4. Several others, including G'Naroo, Sir William (second) and others, were backed to win big money. G'Naroo arid Malvolio were backed to wiri £50,000 to £IOO about the double. Which they landed. Before the t accept* ances Allen had "dead money" in his book amounting to about £6OOO in connection With the race, and the book showed a profit of £16,000, after allow-

ing for bad debts. "I doubt," says Allen, " if there was a bookmaker who didn't write twice as much business as on any other Melbourne Cup. There was money to burn in the Victorian Club that year."