TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3526, 11 October 1921, Page 39

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY

Sentinel.

THE KTROW MEETING. The Kurow .Jockey Club struck disaster in connection with their annual race meeting, which took place on Thursday of last week. The weather was <spite tine on the proceeding day, but a cold rain set in over night, and was coining down fairly heavily in Oamaru, when many who usually attend the meeting would be “making up their minds'* as to journeying to the meeting. Many well-known patrons of the fixture were conspicuous by absence, and the bad weather no doubt had a marked effect on the gate receipts. Still, there was a good attendance under the circumstance, and although cold showers were in evidence throughout the afternoon they wore not serious enough to kill the pleasure of whatever sport was on view. The track was deep and heavier in some places than others. That such appeared to be the case was suggested that some horses, were going well at one turn and floundering a bit at others. Ihe bad state of the going and the small fields had a serious effect on the totalizator receipts, which only amounted to about half the investments at last year’s fixture. The fields, although small, provided some interesting racing, even though they were at times reduced to practically a duel between the first and second past the post. It is a matter of regret that the club did not catch a stronger field than enough to (ill the places in the. Ktirow Handicap, which was the chief event on the programme. Minor, with a 31b allowance, set out to make the pace as solid as he could, and was followed bv Jock (favoured by a 71b allowance) and Radial. Mirza was done with at the home turn, about two furlongs away from the post, and before straightening for home Radial had joined them on the outside. Racine; past the distance Radial looked to hold a good winning chanety but Jock stayed on best and beat him a head. It was the best show Radial hag made over the distance. He was acting under 10.5 in deep going, and may be found running a good race at Wingalui this week.

THE DUNEDIN SPRING MEETING. The local racing season will be commenced this week at Wingatui, and the committee of the Dunedin Jockey Club are in the pleasing position of being able to present an unusually attractive card for the first day, and, no doubt, will do so again on the concluding day. A particularly pleasing feature of the payments and acceptances is the excellent fields which stand their ground for the M'Lean Stakes and Dunedin Guineas. There is no doubt that toe inclusion of three classic events on the programme give a tone to the fixture which would otherwise be lacking. It is equally true that they have lent material assistance in bringing the Wingatui spring meeting to its present status, and as they have grown in popularity from season to season helped to carry the handicap events into the notice of owners. A field of a round dozen stands its ground in. the Mosgicl Handicap, and as it looks fairly open on paper, promises to supply/ a good race. Radial ran a good r .f ae ,Hst week under 10.5 in the Kuroiv Handicap, and holds Jock safe in meeting him on 171 b better terms. Radial looks more forward than usual at this time of the year, and should be found running a good race. Macduff won comfortably on both occasions at Geraldine, and represents recent winning form. He stayed on well each day, but will find Elens a tougher proposition, as the latter comes in on 101 b better terms, and is improving as the result of liis recent racing. Macduff, in common witn Radial, appears to hold Jock safe. Rorke s Drift scored under difficulties when ne won the last run Birthday Handicap, and if ago is not diminishing his prowess should put up a good fight. He meets Clean Sweep on only 51b worse terms than when they.' met in the Birthday, but the latter beat him when in receipt of 121 b in _ the Provincial Handicap, and will probably do so again, principally because he. as a V\ inter Cup winner, will strip in better racing shape than the Calibre gelding. Glean Sweep gave Miss Muriel 121 b and a oeating in the King George Handicap, hut the latter was finishing strongly after getting a share of the trouble which followed the fall ending the career of Thaddeus. _ Bonnie Maid may not be forward enough, as she has been idle as the result of a fall, and although Miss Muriel meets her on 61b worse terms than when they met in the Islington Handicap run at the Grand National meeting, will probably saddle up with a pull in racing condition which will counterbalance the change in figures. Fit and well, Bonnie Maid would be very hard to beat at the weights. Warlove ran fairly well at Ashburton, and as she is galloping well on the. track, site reads the pick of the lightweights, of whom Tin Soldier looks well in, and if in racing shape should give a good account of himself. Clean Sweep may start favourite, with Warlove, Macduff, and Miss Mur.el following next m demand. Palestrina is sure to lie a well backed chance in the Electric Handicap, but it may be worthy of note that Meteorite was handicapped to give her 221 b when she won the Pioneer Handicap, and now comes in on the very handsome margin of 21!b better terms. Meteorite was then not too sound, and was not seen again until the recent meeting at Ashburton, when be looked in good racing shape. It may also be worthy of note that Meteorite finished third to Merrnin and The Hawk in the V. elcome Stakes, and incidentally finished in front of the unplaced Winning Hit, who was asked to giro him 91b at Wingatui. Michaela is galloping well again, but may require a race to tune her up. and perhaps the order of favouritism will be Palestrina. Meteorite, and Bunny Corner, although the hi Her has her full measure of weight in being placed. >■> V-e to Silver Peak and Michaela. The lll‘Lean Stakes will serve to introduce an attractively-bred lot of youngsters. and perhaps most people will pin their faith and pence on the representative- of Sir George Clifford's stable, Swallow-flight and Balderdash, whilst not forgetting that: Wartime and Prosperity are a pair of speedv youngsters. If one could be sure that Whipcord would not. be asked to g.ve away/ distance as well as his handicap, lie. would lie a well-backed chance in the spring Hurdles, but with a doubt on i In * point, backers may go for Mandrake and Maria w-aponga. Roseday, Client ruin, and Ivilbarry will not be overlooked in the Mating;; fua Handicap, and Pluto and Valdatno will start a hot pair in the Trial Stakes, as they outclass the field except in the. case of Bluff. St. Easel won tinder difficulties at Geraldine, and will have a good following if fancied for the Taionm Handicap., in which Mantua and Humboldt should shape well. Down amongst the minimum lot is Te Kuri. who ran a g-ood race at Ashburton when finishing second to Limelight. Sunny Loch will probably be the popular pick in the October Welter, in wmeh Twinkle reads well in on his second to Alias Mimic in the Final Handicap run at the Riecarlon autumn meeting, and also on his form at the Timaru autumn meeting. THE DUNEDIN GUINEA* The star attraction on the second day's card at Wingatui will be the Dunedin Guineas. The running on the first dav may upset some of the opinions held at present, but it seems a foregone conclusion that the coupled pair, Purple Spur and Winning Hit, will start favourites in the betting. A line to .Meteoi ite’s chance will be obtained by bis display in the Electric Handicap, and the same remark applies to Palestrina, who. however, may be next in demand to Si" George Clifford’s pair, as it is possible she may be slow off the mark in a sprint race and so beaten for speed, but she will stay on as well as or perhaps better than anything in the race. East spring Meteorite won the M'Lean Stakes, and on early form was, a better youngster than Winning Hit. Meteorite is bred to stay in being got by Martian and inbred to his taproot Sunshine, one of tile best fountains of stamina in the stud. From it we get Postfcano, the sire of four Melbourne Cup winners and Martian, so nothing more need be said on the matter. Pluto and Valdamo are unfortunately doubtful starters, and Songbird and Bluff may prove the best of the others. THE HAWK ON THE WING. When the northerners were lamenting what, to them, seemed to be the fact that The Hawk had not trained on since last; season, the writer endeavoured to give heart to admirers of the Auckland candidate by staling that tf the son of Martian and Spurrowhawk was being seriously and bv that is meant confidently trained for the New Zealand Cup, it need not astonish anyone if he got beat for brilliancy in his early spring ongegemente. There was possibly, a further reason for the Hawk’s defeats. He may have been simply lacking in racing condition. The Hawk ruade his first appearance this season as a

young three-year-old in the Railway Handicap, run and won at the end of six furlongs in 1.13 4-4 sec. The Hawk was fourth. He next appeared in the Wanganui Guineas in which lie had to be content to third place behind Tamar ere and ’ihespain. Tito Hawk was in receipt of the 51b _ r ithi’g allowance (some clubs continue to float on readjusted \\ .F.A. scale, as far as uiisex.-d horses are concerned), from Thespian and it the form was con ect it was m t sun risin r that tine latter gave 41b and a beating <- . ane second uay. at the .same meeting. Ra,tonal ints in the meantime been winninb over short courses. A win came for him at Taranaki and again at the Pakuranga Hunt Where Rational gave Ur resqu;- 131 b and nearly a two lengths beating over six furlongs. The superiority of speed scenic unquestionable. At Avondale, Rational gave 211 b and a length and a half beating to Grotesque, whilst Merinin in receipt of 141 b from the winner was unplaced. Then Grotesque c-omes out and those follow their fancy with money made him third favourite to Rational and Merrnin, but. Grotesque appears to have completely outstayed them arid was apparently the Lest tihre’e-Yoar-oU of the, trio over this distance. I,n the Hawke's Bay Guineas, Grotesque had apparently an absolutely hopeless chance of giving Ihe Hawk 71b, and the form over the distance now reads Taimateie, Thespian, Ihe Hawk. Grotesque. Rational and Mcrmin. Possibly Merrnin is not yet right, but so tar it is clear that Rational retains liis remarkable turn of speed, The Hawk lost lus by being trained for a journey, Grotesque has made a remarkable improvement since last year, although lie was an attracLte but too- lusty looking two-year-old in the spring, and now it remains for Tamatete, ihespian, and 1 he Hawk lo meet again. They may meet in tile Champion Plate, to be decided at Trentham this month, but there are other Richmonds in the field in the shape of the A.J.U. Derby winner Cupidon, Artiyriia.s. Sa.-anof. to sav nothing of other good performers which "should make it one of the most- interesting races ever oecided in New Zealand. DIRTY HORSE BONES. Redfire contracted strangles on returning from his trip to the south, and lienee had to be allowed to drop out of his Wingatui engagements. The trouble is supposed lo have been contracted as a result of being carried in and unclean horsebox, which are allowed, at- times, to get into a most undesirable slate. This is principally due to the gross ignorance of trainers who ship horses in horseboxes so dirty as to be unfit to use as a medium of transport for valuable stock. \\ hiisf at t\ tngatui on Saturday .morning, the writer inspected a box from which some horses had been recently unloaded. It was quite obvious that thev had not been properly clean.-ed for some considerable time and lienee very not to act as a carrier of strangles or influenza from one district to another. Some years ago a similar complaint was made in th sc columns and the writer was confronted with a voluminis mass of red tape correspondence impressive in appearance, but not by any means a refutation of the charge made against the Railway Department. The fact that dirty horse boxes are allowed to he in use is primarily a charge against ihe Stock Department, hit any trainer who shins horses in unsanitary looking boxes is not fit to hold a license, anti they are the people from whom a remedy-compelling protest should come. The writer was greatly astonished after niTbrig the protest allude ! to above to be informed by a railway official that some trainers preferred to travel horses in boxes from which straw and manure had nor been removed, after uso by j a previous occupant, as it was held to pp j easier on a. horses fee: and logs. If that | is so any consequent trouble arising is well deserved by its recipients. In former da vs j trainers who knew their business always : provided heavy mats and straw lo relieve- ; the leg weariness of horses travelling je.ng j journeys, but now the bare boards and a . handful of straw is de< med sufficient, it is, | or should he. the duty of the Stock Denari- ! merit to see that disease is nor transmit! eh from one district to another per medium of flirty vebides of transport, but evert more so is it the duty of trainer- to de line to ship valuable horses in boxes which obviously have been minus a thorough cleans ing and di-inft ction since the date of their contraction. ! A GRAND I" ME'S DAUGHTER, j Reports from The norlh state that the ! once great racer Desert Gold has produced i a filly to> Bill o’ Portland. It will be | interesting to note if Desert Gold will en- ■ rich the Stud Book in the same manner I as she graced the turf. It may be claimed ! by some that I)es> rr Gold's turf career | was rather too long, and so impaired her value as a brood mate. Tit all the opinions expressed in that direction, however, the writer failed to note one which referred to the placid temperment displayed by the granddaughter of All Black and Aurarius during her racing career. This fact may have an important effect on what may be termed her producing vitality at the stud. The writer saw Desert Gold run a fairly large number of her races in New Zealand, but never once noticed her upset, and, as they say, “on her toes.’’ after a race — not even when she ran against the ghost, or at least, in spirit, against Biplane at Manawatu. She met foremen more worthy of steel in Australia, and if there was bitt.erness--not disgrace—irt defeat, the Australians did not apparently have reason to comment on the fact tbal the mare used privilege of sex and displayed temper and tantrums when tin high pedestal on which her blind admirers placed her win rocking on its base. A highly-strung, nervous mare might possibly bo ruined for stud purposes by half the racing which Desen Gold underwent, but tbal may ini be the case with our equine lady friend, who always displayed a serene and sedate deportment even after her most strenuous battles. A filly by Finland front Desert Gold will not only -show a representative in tail male ns a descendant of the great St. Simon Galopin line, but she also derives the same strain through the same source on the dam’s side, as Aurarius claims as her grandsire Bill o’Port'and. who was also the sire of Finland. The inbreeding to a roarer in Bill o’ Portland mar be carrying trouble in its train, hut the fact that it is fortified with strains of Fisherman. Panic, and Wallace may stive the situation, even though Fisherman and Wallace both belong to lines which earn- birds on their escutcheons, which, it is to be hoped, will he bred out to oblivion if Desert Gold’s daughter graves either the turf or the paddock. THE JUDICIOUS SILENCE. The small racing clubs of New Zealand in comparison to metropolitan and semimetropolitan clubs are apparently very far below the salt in the big sporting ban-

quc-t annu.il'y at:.] continuously supplied the racim g >uimai d of the'l )ominion. At least one would gather that opinion it on; tlie remarks of Mr J. li. Ifar.-ouir, president ol the Wellington ltae • c <‘lul>’ " i-en delivering lii.s , a 1« 1 h ss" to the 1 ■ ; ■ ■ ■■. .ir Hare n re auk <1 h 1' ; i’f ‘ oi thr- 1 ) .i ;.1 ii,:.;n for _p\ uu much piiinicity to report - of minor meeting*. and so (he claimed glutiiio i t eni into n tters r vii .i mi; tart ;e. And s tin are to :• 1 ' v ‘ ln take more than a superfieial JIIU ‘ '#t in racing and Invading. Mr ilarCOUI s *i"s to forget that i acing, or. ral V. rat ing form, in this or any other country, is made up •. v an endless chain m which even the smalii t links art % j of vital importance in the racing world. , ;i‘ ; ' mvays been the t oast of the country ciubs that they are b eoers of lhe metropolitan clubs, botli with men, m nev, and horses; and to a certain extent that is true, it is related that a mouse once helped a non, and that a spider "bucked up” King iiruce ‘ when he sat hims If down in lonely mood to think.” Bo also do the ' s ! Tlali meetings assist the big clubs--some-tunes, indeed, to show the wav how to make progress. Borne of our country meeti mgs are, in fact, curtain-raisers to the equine dramas played on the metropolitan traeiys. Did not Amythas run at Marton, and here we have an equine idol woiiliv of I tvotship running and Mr ffarcourt claiming that the press should he silent! Rational Morn-mi The Hawk, and other sars of trie turf have been running at minor meetings. and so have New Zealand Cup eandidates. Perhaps in truth merely rehearsing for some bog drama, hut in public evidyneo nevertheless, and. despite all the rignfs of Mr Harconrt s remarks, the public demand news in newspapers as to liow they have comported themselves and so supply some idea of bow thc-v may do battle when they enter the list.-, say. at Trentham I this monta. In matters of comparison let it j” e seal that even Wellington was onoo regarded as a place where full-dress rej heaisals have been staged for other places i and we know that the stars do not so fully ! extend themselves as when plaving for the I money. Mr Harrourt no doubt' infant well, aoq so did the old lady who tried to sweep ■i! * oncumimr a wav from her cabin door. WIXOATTI NOTICS. ; fhe heavy rain which set in on Sunday came as a great boon, and v.ill be - the means of supplying excel! nt going for j i lie opening of the Dunedin .spuing meeting : on 1 hnrsnay next, Yesteia iv the inside | grass track was busily occupied from about i a.m. to 10 a.m.. arid last-comers were | ■■’lid working when it became necessarv to 1 catch a town-going train. Nearly all the work was from steady to strong half-pace work. Purple Spur and Winning J fit ; singly both did strong work. Swallow blight and Balderdash ‘antered and v ere allowed to run nlonar up the straight. War--I°\ ‘ mid Bin it strode o er a couple of cir--1 ■ ■« 1 ■ • Macduff, Hylans, Mi-' Mui el, Bonnie Maid, M.ichaoia, Srnnv Corner, Pyjama, Sunny Loch, Corn Rigs. Pa-la mon, le Karri, Ktlroe. and several others qofc through useful tasks. 1 It is understood that Pinto and Valdamo ;ire doubtful starters at the meeting. R. J. Mason his left Randwbk for Melbourne* with two of bis team, and i\ Mason will have to meet ire balance of the team on i arrival in \\ eliington. and unless there is a iiii*ni train leaving Wingatui on Satur- ! day Pinto and Valdamo may be allowed to ; drop out of ilieir engagements.