TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3292, 18 April 1917, Page 40

TALK OF THE DAY.

By Sentinel. THE TIMARU MEETING. The South Canterbury Jockey Club's change of dates will not, apparently, affect the success of the meeting", as the acceptances give promise of providing excellent fields. Rorke's Drift, with 9.13 opposite his name, has been paid up for in the Timaru Cup Handicap; but the stable has Golden King also engaged. It is interesting to note that in the Great JEaster Rorke's Drift was handicapped to give Varnish lib, and the former .has now to concede 141 b. The difference is rather marked, and as Varnish rani an excellent race in the Great Autumn he should have a good chance. At first blush Varnish looks badly treated in being placed within 51b of such a well-performed horse as Flying Start, who won the Courteney Welter with 10.11 in lmin 43 3-ssec. With a di-op of 311 b Frying Start should run a good mile at Timaru if the track and atmospherio conditions are in his favour. Varnish was in receipt of 221 b from John Barleycorn when ho beat him a head fin the Waimate Cup, and on that form has jumped a good deal in the weights. He meets Marc Antony on 91b worse terms than they wero asked to meet in the Great Autumn, and Margerino on 21b better terms than in the Great Easter. Marc Antony was a little short of work at Riccarton, and should be a better horse if he strips at Timaru. Golden King is one of the most consistent horses in training. He as set to meet Highwater on the iame terms as when she beat him in the Easter Handicap at Riverton, and if that form is correct has considerably the best of the deal. Margerino was giving 111 b to Marsa in the D.J.C. Anniversary Handicap when beat a head and should turn the tables .with a couple of pounds in her favour. She should also accpunt for Sedd-el-Bahr, to whom she gave 31b and a beating the same race, and now. meets him on lib better terms. Red shire won at Riverton, but has been running badly nevertheless. Highwater also won at Riverton, and but for a bad passage at Inveroargill might have won the prinoipal event on the second day. King Star and Hordshot are two improving sorts, and should lend additional interest to the race. King Star won the Gimcrack Stakes with 8.4 in lmin 13 2-sseo, and ran a fair second with 9.0 to Ribble in the Addingfcon Handicap, won in lmin 42 l-ssec. Good fields are engaged in some of the other events, but several horses claim more than one engagement, and, under the circumstances, it is guesswork as to the actual strength of a field until the horses are going to the post.

THE WELLINGTON MEETING. Some highly interesting racing should take place at the'Wellington Racing Club's autumn meeting, which is sot down for Thursday and Saturday of this week, On the first day the N.Z. St. Leger, North Island Challenge Thompson Handicap, and Railway Handicap form the chief features of a strong card, and on the second day the Trentham Gold Cup stands out prominently, not only as the feature of the card, but also as one of the most desirable events figuring on a New Zealand programme. Kilboy, Sasanof, and The Toff may meet in the St. Leger, and should provide a great contest. Desert Gold again dominates the situation in. the Challenge Stakes, in which Gazique, Hymestra, Bimeter, Koesian, and several others still remain. The opposition against Desert Gold in the Gold Cup may be supplied by Sasanof, Kilboy, The Toff, Bunting, Bee, and others.; but it is sy.vs- to be a select field that will muster at the barrier. Desert Gold stands on a very high pedestal, ana has proved herself a great mare; but the writer is one that doe 3 not fully subscribe to the general "walkcd-in" verdicts attached to her victories, and hence would not be surprised to see her defeated in a sound run raco over two miles. O'Shea was keeping her up to it in tho Challenge Stakes at Riccarton; but, nevertheless, her thick and thin admirers, and also others who did not see tho race, acecpted the

canter-in victory as being- correct. The champion filly will, of course, run minus a penalty; but with The Toff, Sa6anof, and Kilboy at her Bhe has not a particularly easy task. Few, indeed, would like to see hor defeated, and she should win the Gold Cup. When she does it will make another leaf to the laurels alreay gained. The Thompson Handicap is sure to bo contested 'by a lai-ge field, and is not by any means an easy race to win. Fiery Cross has only to repeat his form in the Great Easter and Great Autumn to bo a particularly hard nut to crack, and the decisive manner in which Gazique scored in the Templeton Handicap makes one pay attention to his chance in the sprint, it wil be interesting to note how Gunrest gets on with Fiery Cross in the Thompson. He meets him on 171 b better terms than in the Southland Cup, and if Mohawk is a better horse than Buller the American should not be out of it at the meeting. Sasanof should take a lot of beating, as he meets Fiery Cross on only 31b worse terms than in the Great Easter. Sasanof's ran to Desert Gold was rather impressive, cut he may, and no doubt will, figure in the St. Leger field. Gazique meets Nystad on 21b worse terms than in the Great Easter, _ and he should master the latter at the woights. Both races are rather open, but with Sasanof out of the way, Fiery Cross should make a creditable show against the northerners. The Wellington Club is fortunate in attracting some of the. very best in training to their meeting, and the meeting should result in another successful gathering, and go further towards establishing Trentham as the natural huo of the New Zealand racing world. THE SOCKBURN HANDICAP. Some few years ago the Sockburn Handicap was the last event on the first day ot the Great Autumn meeting, and as the stake grew in value it attracted horses engaged in the Great Autumn, until the interest in. the race rested in the fact that Great Autumn horses were amongst' the runners. It, however, was not the wisest policy in the world to run a horse with a Great Autumn chance a more or less severe race towards 6 p.nij one day and expect a good race from him about 2 p.m. the following day. This fact was commented upon in the Otago Witness, and Mr C. G. Dalgety, who was then chairman of the C.J.C., thanked the writer for drawing attention to the matter, and further said that any more suggestions likely to prove of practical value would be appreciated. There is no doubt that Adjutant's penalty in the Sockburn did not help his chance in'the Great Autumn, even though the former race is now run a oouple of hours earlier than formerly. Adjutant running minus 51b in the Great Autumn would have brought him well in lino with, if not in front of, both Kilboy and Fiery Cross, and in the best interests of good sport in such races run at Riccarton as the Great Easter, Great Autumn, Stewards' Handicap, New Zealand Cup, and Winter Cup it would be great assistance to each of them if they were free from penalty conditions except perhaps as between the Great Easter and Great Autumn. The writer is quite convinced_ from long experience that the penalties attached to the principal handicaps at Riccarton rob them of a success they would otherwise achieve, as well as wielding not too happy an influence over other events which precede" them. The Canterbury Jockey Club is in a position to take a strong stand on such a matter, and should by every means in its power keep' the chief events as dominant and prominent on the racing calendar as possible. The 0.J.0. have strong rivals, and rivals growing in strength, and should endeavour to lead the way in some such matters as those indicated. Riccarton form—let the writer lay stress on the point—is invariably of a higher class than the meetings which precede them, and why, in the name of logic, should a horse be penalised for a big event because it wins one of relatively much smaller importance in both racing merit and value? The Sockburn and Autumn Plate could bo transposed with advantage, as few runners in the Great Autumn would be eligible for the Autumn Plate, whilst the Sockburn runner could then have a better chance, and hence help to build up the field, if it were changed as suggested. A Great Autumn horse would be generally beaten for speed in the Great Easter, and hence the Sockburn is\ the best race to suit stayers, but it should bo. run earlier in the day and free from penalties. The same remarks clearly apply to the Great Easter, as Fiery Cross minus his penalty for beating a«bot particularly strong field at Invercargill would have lent strong interest to the finish of the big seven-furlong sprint, in which the start, however, completely upset the handicap.

THE NON-PRODUCTIVENESS OF RACING. In the course of an address at Masterton a few days ago the Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald is reported to have- said inter alia that racing' is non-essential and nonproductive. Ho has spoken in the same strain on previous occasions. In making suoh statements the Hon. Mr MacDonald ventures his opinion against that held by the Governments of Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Hungary. In each of the countries named racing as an incentive and encouragement to breedinghas been encouraged for all it is worth by subsidies and by tho Government's purchase of some of the highest-priced stallions that the world has ever known, and placing them at the disposal of breeders for a mere song as to cost of service. Russia purchased the Derby winner Galtee More at 25,000g5, and after several seasons resold to the German Government at"l4,oOOgs. Germany paicj 30,000 gs for another Derby winner in Ard Patrick, and other big pricos for first-class stallions. Aboyeur, tho Derby winner of 1913, was also purchased by tho Russian Government. (In 1910 the Russian Government were using 3684- stallions, and Austria-Hungary 5048 stallions for getting military horses.) Ard Patrick and Galtee More would be, of course, too costly for the purpose of siring remounts; but their stock would be of great value in improving the quality of remounts. Germany purchased Carnage, tho three-quarter brother to Carbine, at BOOogs "for the of getting remounts, and also paid a fairly big price for the same purpose for the Australian-bred Merman, who raoed in England, and won the Ascot Gold Cup and Cesarewitch Handicap, and then was only considered good enough for siring remounts in Germany, and not, as in the case of Ard Patrick and Galtee More, being acquired for the leading Government studs in Germany. Austria and Hungary also paid very big pricea for-English stallions J but France leads the way in the manner in which she encouraged racing and breeding in the pre-

war days. It may be remarked in passing that Germany during the racing seasons immediately preceding the war was giving far more money in stakes than England. Good old England has wakened up a bit in regard to the importance of breeding, and at the National Show held in February last gave about £20,000 ae King's premiums for stallions—thoroughbred stallions, bear in mind—that had to be the pick of make and shapo In all Great Britain and Ireland. If racing produces King Premium stallions for the benefit of small breeders in England, how, then, can racing be deemed non-productive? Some few years ago about £5OOll per annum was all that the English Government spent in King's premiums.. Now they aro spending four times as much on what some people claim to bo nonessential and non-productive. Without the assistance of racing the English Governnient would not have the ghost of a chance of getting the number of stallions deemed worthy of being entered (175, were entered this year) for a King's premium, let alono winning one of them. The New Zealand Government worked on the same lines in the days of the Scddon regime, but did not, unfortunately, follow the matter up, and allowed some well-bred stallions brought from England to go to waste. The Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald obviously looks at racing in a very superficial manner, and not by any means in the same light as the leading men controlling the affairs of tho great Continental Powers. It is, in' fact, tho brains of tho Continental Powers as regards racing and horse-breeding against those of the Hon. Mr Macdonald, of New Zealand. It is, however, more important to come nearer home and inquire into the non-productiveness of racing in New Zealand. First and foremost stands the fact that the Defence Department have secured over 10,0C0 horses for military service abroad. Several hundred or more are still on the lines, and if necessity domanded that it should bo clone, the Government could commandeer another 10,000 light horses in Now Zealand. The English Government had to commandeer hundreds upon hundreds of hunters and racehorses suitable for military purposes at the outbreak of war, but trespassed as little as possible on the racer, because the Government price was such a groat deal lower than racing value. The same procedure could be adopted in New Zealand. Racing has horsed the New Zealand army when it would otherwise bo unable to do do, because without racing light horses would be very scarce in this country, whereas they have been obtainable in "their thousands. Can racing then, by any stretch of imagination, be deemed unproductive? It may bo in the same sensed that seed, grain, potatoes, and other farm produce used for reproductive, purposes might be held to be nonproductive, because it is not immediately converted into bread or some other form of food. One statement is just as logical as the other, as the thoroughbred is tho seed used for the purpose of producing the best type of light or medium horse and imparting the essential vitality forming the foundation of its value. Let it be stated here that the late Lord Kitchener was also a strong advocate for the adoption of horse"breeding on the lines followed by the Continental Powers. Racing in New Zealand has not only produced horses in their thousands, but it has also produced money, and very much money , v for the Government coffers. According to the N.Z. Year Book, the Treasury benefited to tho tune of about £750 S OGO between 1892 and 1914 as tho result of the taxation on racing, /and since the latter date another £369,470 has been raked into the Treasury per the same medium. The revenue derived by : the Government through other sources, euoh as railway traffic dependent on race meetings, must amount to a very large sum; but even without it the country has benefited to the extent of well over £1,119,000 per medium of racing, and it is gathered without any cost to the Government. Anything that can present a country with well over £1,000,000 is surely not to be regarded as non-productive. Racing gave up to a few months ago about £50,000 to patriotic funds. Racing has contributed millions, battleships, horsed an army, and is still, contributing in the same direction, and yet is deemed non-productive. On the contrary, it is a magician's wand that has helped the country in very, very solid and practical manner. THE "POCKET" REGISTER. The second edition of the New Zealand Turf Register made a very welcome appearance on the eve of the Great Autumn meeting, and enabled one to study form with a minimum of trouble. It takes up the form in both racing and trotting from December 9 to March 10, and so continues the sea-son from the date of the previous edition. The presentation, of the season's form as it progresses in such a handy and concise manner should make the pocket edition of the Turf Register command a ready sale, which should certainly increase as it gets older and better known. It does away as far as students of form are concerned with the necessity of keeping a cumbersome file of newspapers, which makes research a matter of considerable time. The book is well printed on good paper, and is published by the Press Company at the very reasonable price of 2s 6d.