RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25277, 14 July 1943, Page 5

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel According to a Wellington report Tring would have won his race on the second day at Trentham if the journey had been a bit longer. The practice of keeping the totalisator open to get every possible investment was condemned at the Racing Conference. The totalisator should be closed strictly to time. * Gold Spot did not start on either day at Trentham, and is missing from the Grand National Steeplechase. Apparently the dispute about a lease and right of purchase is still unsettled.

It is reported that a substantial price has been paid by Mr G. W. Clark, of Levin, for the battle Song—Koton colt. Koton was got by Night Raid from Courtesy, by Limond—Homage. In order to reduce congestion at the gates the Canterbury Jockey Club has decided to abolish the charge for admission to Riccarton. As a result the Tramways Board has decided to reduce Riccarton race day fares to Is single and Is 6d return. Previously the tram fares included the price of admission to the course. .

In the Melbourne Cup Amorlad has 3.11, The Joker 8.9, and Dominate 7.8. In the Sockburn Handicap The Joker 8.9 beat Dominate 7.7 by a length, and in the Great Autumn The Joker 8.12 and Dominate 7.2 i finished well back. Fiddler’s Green, who finished second in both the Whyte Handicap and the Parliamentary Handicap, is a rising three-year-old mare'by Tiaerace—Slack Lirte. by Night Raid—Miss Hook, by Sarto—Monture, by Royal Artillery—Lady Rosslyn, by Lord Rosslyn. A great deal too much latitude was allowed fractious horses at Trentham. A considerable delay took place at the post for the Parliamentary Handicap, and Flying Spy then swerved and interfered with half a dozen horses. In the Stewards’ Handicap Aero King held up the start for some time.'

Conspicuous, who ran second to Flying Ace at Trentham, is a two-year-old brother to Amiable, the holder of the mile record at lmin 34Jsec. They were got by Lord Quex from Agreeable, by Psychology—’Woodhen, by Sunstar, a winner of the English Derby. Writing to The Times, London, Lord Russell of Killowen says: What is all this talk in the press about Gordon Richards beating Fred Archer’s record of winning mounts? He will no doubt ride a larger number of winners, but he cannot approach Archer’s “ record.” Archer rode his first winner in 1870 and died in 1886 ’aged 29. Richards rode his first winner in 1921, and is now aged 39. Archer was a tall, long-legged fellow who had to waste in order to ride at weights which are well within the reach of Richards. Archer, with fewer mounts, rode a number of winners in 16 years which Richards, with more mounts, will have taken over 21 years to equal. At the Racing Conference the president, Mr H. R. Chalmers said he would like to see all clubs adopt a policy of increasing the distance of races. He considered that it would tend to improve the stamina of horses, help to improve riding, and reduce cases of interference. It would also help to' solve the large field problem. It would be in the interests of racing generally, Mr Chalmers said, if no open cup race were run over less than a mile and a-half, and no hack race for horses three years of age should be less than a mile. In 1890-91 'races run over a mile and a-half or more totalled 231, and in the season of 1940-41 the number had been reduced to 19. Surely, he said, this was not creditable to New Zealand racing. Mr H. R. Chalmers, president of the Racing Conference, declared against division races, which, he said, should be avoided either by ballot or by some other means. Such a suggestion from an authoritative source should be taken as tantamount to a command, but the difficulty of reducing fields in a fair and satisfactory manner is not easy of solution. Only one winner came from the horses handicapped on the minimum in the flat races decided during the two days at Trentham, and the fact seems to suggest that a very large number of horses were rather too ambitiously nominated. This is all the more remarkable because heavy going is generally in favour of the light-weights. It is a well-established fact that the public prefers to see and bet on the best horses in training, and for this reason any process of elimination should deal first with those on the minimum. Such horses Should be raced at the minor meetings until they train on to warrant inclusion in the metropolitan fields. Unwieldy fields are most undesirable from every point of view. At present the racing authorities are satisfied when fields become reduced to the safety number, but that should not be considered sufficient, because they still remain unwieldy, with probably only a srtiall percentage obtaining a clear run. Big fields impart danger into the running of races on a circular track. '