THE NEW ZEALAND RACING CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2513, 14 May 1902, Page 46

THE NEW ZEALAND RACING CONFERENCE.

The Dunedin Jockey Club are to be congratulated on the acceptances and final entries reearved for the club's- May meeting. The acceptances are particularly good when it is generally considered in spotting- circles that the weights posted for the handicaps are not amongst Mr Dowses happiest efforts in the weight-adjusting line. But a. handicapper ha* not an easy berth, and it is somewhat difficult to please everybody. Frequently when a handicapper makes a "blot" in one of his handicaps, something crops vn which partly rectifies the error — if one can call it such a thing, as I never heard of a handicapper admitting that he made an error. For instance, a horse maybe remarkably well handicapped when he is right out of racing condition, and thus be unable to take advantage- of the chance given him. Even if the horse is started, the "luck" of the race goes against him, and lie is beaten. Then it is eaid that the handicapper was right after all. If a. horse is well or badly treated in a handicap, anything that happens after the weights ane published which enables the horse to win or lose does, not do> away with.- the- fact that, the handicap waa a good or bad effort on the weight-adjuster's, part. That is when a handioapper is weighting horsea whose foum ba*s been exposed, and no great difficulty is in the way oE bringing; about the "dead-heat on paper" wliich is supposed to be every handieanper's ambition. Comparisons are said to be "ojub," but they are comparisons, and as such are. extremely useful in getting a line as to a Uorse-'a racing form. The difference of opinion held by two handieappers is frequently found to vary a great deal when handicapping the siune horses. Since Mr Dowse posted the weights for the Birthday Handicap, Mr Henry has also published his weights for the Ashburton Handicap. With the exception of. the Plumpton meeting no racing- has taken place which would be calculated to strongly influence a handicapper. As ' Calibre haa won a race since- the publication of the Birthday Handicap weights, he shall be- left out of the question. But it is in the case of such as Lady Lillian and Abaydos that a line can be got as to the i opinions held by the two weight-adjusters. Some of the differences in the weights allotted are- very marked, and I believe would constitute a record in " opinions," because it is not with one horse, but with several. For instance, Lady Lillian and Terrapin are , both aaked to meet Dundas on 121b worse • terms in the Ashburton Handicap than they are asked to meet him in the Birthday Han1 dicap, and both races are run over the same distance. In the Birthday Dundas was giving: Abaydos 61b; at Ashburton the former is asked- to give away 151b. Skobeloff was asked to give Lady Lillian 71b in the Birthday at Ashburtoiii the mare is asked to give the horse- 14-lb. At Dunedin Skobeloff was asked to. give Terrapin 51b; at Ashburfcon the formei is in reeeint o£ a stone-and two pounds from the Clanranald horse. In. the . Birthday Djin-Djin was asked to give Lady Lillian 41b and 21b to Terrapin, while at Asnburton Djiu-Djin is put in. at 6.1Q and Lady Lillian at 8.3, and Terrapin at 8.5r this making a difference of two stone better terms for Djin Djin— a difference I have never previously noticed two handieappers making- in weighting two horses. Mr j£ixD>r-B&. bar bja faraaifffl anf i of Diia DJia

and- others, shows fchafc he will, drop a. horse after being continually Beaten; but he alsoshows by his treatment of Siege Gun that he is inclined to take care of a highly-bred, maiden, liorse. Mr Henrys, has asked' SiflgeGun, to give weight to Hastings,. Skoßeloff,, Caaieo, Huku, Scottish ilinistre-l, andl Djin. Djin. In this perhaps, he is rigjit, because they ane not a, particularly brilliant lot as , their public form indicates. But it is, uot i in giving weight to those below T would ' find fault with Siege Gun's handicap, but, in the fact that he is only in receipt of 51b from Lady Lillian and Calibre. It ia true that Siege Gun. is a- beautifully-bred horse, and if he gets beaten a handicapper might argue thai that would be- time, enough to drop him in a handicap. Siege Gun is the last of a great line of horses —that is to , say, the ofF-sprhig of che mare- which, com- J meneed with, Trenton, and finished with, tlie horse under discussion —and it is pachaps right that he should be- hung i.ir the deeds of his relations. Siege Gun is put in at 91b under w.f.a., but supposing the colt were the first of Frailty's produce, would he be treated the came? Or is it only a case of handicapping the owner and | not tlie horse? I To return to the Dunedin weights. In. the Hurdle Race Scurry may be taken as acase in which a horse wa-3 well treated, but did not accspt. According to' Surrey]s. form both, on the flat and over sticks; it cannot be possible that ha- was- allowed- to- ! drop out on tha score- of ill-treatment.. In. | weighting Huku and- Surrey at A^liburton^ Mr Henrys makes the latter a nine, pounds better horse (as to pace on the^ flat and I I think fencing 'honours- are' equal) thatfe 3fr Dowse did' a* Dunedin:. Other comnaripon« could be- quoted, but these will besufficient to point out the very marked; differenca- of opinion between two- handieappers, anxlvsry few who have seen the diffeient. horsps- mentioned race would say that the northern weight-adjuster is in. the wrong and the southern man of avoirdupois in the I right. I ' j j j ; I | ! | ] ! | ■ I I

On Saturday morning last there- was soniemteresting work got through on. the Wingatui tracks, and the majority of the horses. i worked were- sent along at a good solid | pace. The- first to work weie Red GauntIbe, Turcoman (the Stepniak—Queen of theFlat gelding), and the- Santa. Barbara filly., who. singly, got through useful work. Redj Gauntlet moved in his usually free. style,, and Turcoman has had some iniprove-inent worked in him lately. Jupiter and Abercrombie were put together over a mile. Hie first part waa got through at a little betterthan three-quarter pace, bu* they came along at top down the straight. Botli moved freely and well, and _ • Jupitcu is quickly getting, into racing-, condition. Ayrdale and' Goldepur reeled off a fast five furlongs', aud finished together. Red Peony and Vandyke wene spun out over half a. mile, and both shaped well. Pampero andi Canteen were walked dawn, to the mile poefc, and-, jumping- off r raced in company to thefar bend, where Canteen came away from, the chestnut. Turning into the- straight.. Pampero moved' up to the grey, but,, although neither was rid'deir out, the latter passed the post about two' lengths in front of Pampero, who did not gallop- with his customary dash. Pampero pulled; up sound and well, and', after being- looked over by, his trainer, was- cantered an additional eiucuit. Wild West strode along fieely oven a. fast six furlongs, and Forward' Guard and. Red Banner left a fast seven, fnrlonga behind in good style. Seven furlongs was ako^ the mission of Ardnarff and Glenelg, and both shaped in a» satisfactory manner. Blazer was taken down. to> the- four-furlong mark, and ran home over that distance a± top. The St. Olair gelding is fining down and galloping well. Pipi and Tufto were given a turn- over the schooling fences. The latter had the services of H. Carr in. the. saddle, and Pipi waa ridden by a young horoeman who was making his debut as a. crosscountry horseman. Tufto is improving in his fencing 1, but is inclined to dwe-11 when taking- off af the obstacle. When hehas learnt to race over the battens he should be able ten catch a stake or two, a 6 he haa a fair amount of pace on the flat, which would stand him in good stead as a hurdler. Nihilist was not worked whilst I was present, and Transport is worked on the Jfosgiel track. Others who did useful work during the morning were First Night, Mosca, Patron, and Dormant.

I i There is in front of me a cony of Bell's ' Life in Victoria bearing: tlie (Tate of November 20, IESB, and which. haE kindly been ' lent me for perusaJl Being of a- sporting turn of mind naturally, my eyes at oncer strayed to the columns devoted to- the - chrouieling of racing, intelligence. On thefront page i» advertised a programme of one of the Bendigp Jockey Club's meetings, which is< laid out to extend over three days. • Prominent amongst the. list of stewards atj tached. to the programme is the. name of Mr j C- E. Bird, who- to-day is one of the most j prominent figures in the racing world, although he has- long since relinquished taking an official active part in the carrying out of our race meetings. Mr Bird was one of the first of the Bendigo sportsmen to organise a race meeting-, and was chiefly responsible for the. forming of the Bendigo Jockey Club. He was. also one of the committee- formed to lay off the Epsom, racecourse, and formed a deputation to the Government of the day to gefc> a grant of the land on which the track was laid out. Mr Bird came over to- New. Zealand in '61, and was one of the^ principal instigators in. the formation of a, thousand-pound champion race. In this he was ably supported 1 ' by the firm which he represented, and his firm cams down handsomely with a cheque for five hundred towards the race. How many wealthy firms of the present day would do likewise- if the totalisator should be knocked into oblivion by the ultrareformera of the colony, who are desirous of doing away with everything, except their own, advertisement. The Champion Race alluded to was- won. by Mr Redwood's Ladybird. In this race Mr -Redwood's mare beat Mormon, who was then considered one of the .best horses in Australia. Ther amount- of added money attached to the programme previously alluded to was£Bll, and many of the races- carried yith them a sweepstakes of five or ten sovereigns. None o£ the races on the programme were to be raced over a lesser- journey than a mile, and of 1" 13 events- advertised two were to be decided in heats. One of these was a- hurdle race, which waa to be got off in mile and a-half heats, over six flights of hurdles-, which stood 4ft hyjh. T'hfl balance of the races were run over

a-half mile courses, and a trotting race was to be decided" over a Tour-mil© course. How would, our. present-day/ owners: of watch-smashing:, furlong-flyers respond to an" invitation, to nominate, in euch races as what figured on the-. Bendigo. programme of '53? Amongst the rales- and regulations which governed the puogrammer is one. wliich saya that a fee of Ss woulii be charged for all jockeys weighing out, and an additional 5s fee would Be charged- to riders- of winners. (| No fialse- stai'ts allowed/ " All) dogs, found on the course- wilL be destroyed* by strychnine" were a. couple o£ the' rules also attached to the card. Turning to another part of ttie paper, a report of the fourth day's racing: of che Victoria Turf Club's' Spring, meeting- is found,, and amongst the races- got off thafrday were two matches —one for £5Q a.-sidey to be decided! over a mile course;, and tha other for £100 a-side, to be decided over & 20-mile course, with lCkfc ou the back o£ each, horse. During this. 2G*naile contest one o£ the contestants hadt to pull up twice owing" co- the breaking of, stirrup-leathers, and. by the time the second break had been, remedied, he was a, mile behind his opponent; in. the match. However, he made up his ground, and when the. horses had' a. mila and a-half to go the horse whichi had to stop> for repairs led tlie> other by two lengths. But the exertion?- he: had. undergone in. making, up his lost, ground told, and in the-, run home, he was. easily, defeated! by- severallengtiis. The, time' of the race is? given ar 58min 3Qsec. , In another part of the paper, under: the! Heading " lintest from Eh^Farid," Tthera ia an account of. the Doncaster races,, and the' names of the' winners on- the- last day, of -the, meeting are familiar to Tjreseat-day" spprtsmen vnd bfeediers-. -It is a* fttrtliejr psoof-' of the fact' that s goodT horse, -never- dies; hut r lives again in tfre deeds of his- sons. The two winners alluded to are- Toxophilite and Vedette. The former- wae the sire of " our Musket," one of the- greatest, sires-, that ever set foot in. Australasra;; and' Vedette 1 gaveEngland St. Simon, who lias provedj to be one of the- best horses- ever foaled: Oil' the last day of the Doncaster meeting- previously mentionedl Toxopnilite, running' in; t6©> nomination! of Lord Derby, won. the- Doncauteir Stakes and beat six others easily by four length?. The next race was- the- "iDoncaster Cup, two- and. a-half miles, smdi in bha uace Vedette carried 8.12 andi won.- " hands down 1" fcom Sirantecer- (the- sire- of: Steppe, the dam o£ Stepnialr and co.), and amongst rhe unplaced! division was Fisherman, who was top weigßt with. 9.5- Fisherman was afterwards imported' to Australia, and became one of tlie pillars- of the? Australian Stud. Book. Both. Toxophilite and Vedette started favourite- for their races, and the. former went out a& 2^to- 1 against; and Vedette'a starting.' price was 2. to. 1 on. It is interesting to read of this tiio. o£ equiues racing- on the came- day,, because amongst Hieir direct descendants- are to bo found some of the best horses ia the world at the present time.

The Tahuna Farlo Trotting Club- are out 1 with an attractive programme for the club's Winter meeting, whioh is set down- for June J& 1 and 28. Chief interest is centred in the Prince of Wales Handicap,, of 200sovs, onemile, for- horses- that can do, 2147 or- better. The. race is divided' into two heats; and thefirst three horses- in each will be qualified to start in a final heat. The- stake is cut up as follows:—The wiim«re off tbe first and' second' heats will receive susavs eacli from the stake, and the winner of the final is to receive 7Qsovs; the second horse- in. tha final is to" receive 20sovs and the third- lOsova from the stake. In America at the present day there i» a tendency to put down, heat-racing, andi. it is argued by some American sports that heat-racing is not conducive to- straight running; as many owners, are nofc sufficiently ambitious to win both heat and final, even: if their horse is> capable of doing: so-. Our local club is apparently endeavouring to • guard againsftni& by making- a heat-winner also a good stake-winner; and the- valueof the heat, coupled with tho value of the final; makes the stake well worth capturing. One- thinjr about heat-racing is that it gives- the scratch horses- a better chance to capture a fair stake. But a. heairwinner is liable to be re-handicapped, and: that would' not Be- calculated' to improve «- horse's chance for tlic final. A 2.47 claas is an awkward-lookiny one, and! 2:40 or 2.50 would at least look better on> paper, as> unless- the number of starters is exceptionally ' lirt?e. they are- not called upon to " nego1 tiate " a. large field. It is frequently noticed ithat the scratch: horse*, genera-lly. handicapped up to the hilt, have to race on- the outside, of the> tractr, and 1 by being com- . pelled to do so set themselves' a- much more dimcult task than, is asked; by the handi- ' capper. Next to the Prince of Wale 9 Handicap in monetary value comes the I President's Handicap, of 50sovs, two- miles, ' and open to horses that can show a gait of 5.15 or better. The second horse is< to receive lOsovs from, the stake, and the starters must race ia harness. The v Ocean.' , Beach Handicap (in saddle), of 4Csovs, is also two miles* and. the second horse is to receive Bsovs from tlie stake. This race is ' open to horses- that can. step 5.30 or better. Tlie balance of the first day's card is made up with a Maiden Handicap, of 30sovs, one mile and a-half, and is open, to horse 3 that have never won a trot; a Progressive- Handicap, of 30sovs, open to horses that can do. 5.40 or under; and a Pony Eace, of 25sovs, one mile- and a-half, and open to the usual 14.2 liliputians. On the second! day the principal stakes are the Otago Handicap (in saddle), of 5050v9, two miles, and open to horses that can do 5.15 or under; and the Winter Oats (in harness), of. 4(feovs, two miles, open to horses, thai can do 5.30 oc better-. "Other races are the mile and a-half and the mile pony races, each worth. 25sovs j the Advance Handicap (in harness), of 30sov«, two miles, and the Mile Dash, of 30sovs. Nominations for all events to b» oecided on both, days close on Saturday, May 31, and handicaps^ for the first day are due to appear on. Monday, June 9.

The- annual meeidng of th& Racing Conference will be held at Wellington- during the month of -July, and notices -of- motion ion amendment to the rules must be in the hands- of the secretary of thY Racing Conference not later than Tuesday, June 3.

— It appears to me that in a&kirrg Siege Gun. to meet Lady Lillian, and Calibre at a difference of 51b Ihe handicapper has h.ung the Frailty colt for the deeds of his relations. Siege Gun is put in at 9lb under w.f.a., but supposing the colt wore- the- first of Frailty's produce, would he be treated the same? Or is it only a. case c£ hatdicamjirui thfi awnex