TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3595, 6 February 1923, Page 44

TALK OF THE DAY.

By

SENTINEL.

KOOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. ihe Christchurch scribe “Argus” has taken up the question, mentioned more than once here, of the injudicious clashing which takes place between the dates selected tor the Dunedin Carnival Week and the racing which takes place at Riccarton and Aauington during the same period. He ''turns that the Christchurch clubs are the original holders of the dales on which they hold their summer meetings, and that the Dunedin clubs courted trouble by electing to clash with the northern fixtures, That may be so, but it is not altogether a question as a prior right to certain dates tnat requires consideration, but the very important fact that the Dunedin' Carnival Week can never reach the top of success so long as the existing clash of dates exists, a he Dunedin Carnival Week is the most important race gathering held south of Canterbury, and to achieve complete success an effort should be made to isolate it a little more on the racing calender. Racing has prospered far more in the north than it has in the south, and the clash referred to is one cf the big anchors holding back die southern prosperity. This, of course, is one of the matters that should attract the attention of the Dates Committee appoiri ted by the Racing Conference, and the clubs concerned requested to come to a more satisfactory arrangement, of dates, l-his should be done in the interests of both racing and trotting. There is a continual cry tor more racing permits, but such a thing should not be permitted until those already in existence are used to the very best advantage. Then again a very awkward situation would arise if, by some unfortunate chance, the Midsummer meeting, held at Riccarton on Saturday last, had to be postponed. This would mean that the majority of the best horses engaged at Wingatui would be missing in all probability, and result in a very poor Cup meeting indeed. The possibility of such a lamentable stale of affairs should be avoided at all hazards. No rearrangement of dates would, however, be satisfactory unless the local clubs came to some agreement to prevent the present division of forces brought about by the departure of the Canterbury light harness brigade hot-foot at the conclusion of the Forbury Park meeting. Unless it. can be done the Dunedin Jockey Club should break clean away from the Forbury Park fixture. - Under present conditions those responsible for the so-called Carnival Week are really condemning themselves to be the sisyphus of the racing world, and will never succeed in an uphill struggle which could be made a comparatively easy task. HORSES FOR COURSES. It is easy to explode some of the generally accented so-called axioms of racing. “Horses for courses” is a familiar one, which if subjected to analysis is often found to be based on false premises. For instance. Trespass won the last, Dunedin Cup with 3.3, and then naturally mounted up the ladder in handicap events, and made his chance of success more difficuli. He won with 9.1 in the Longburn Handicap, of 600sovs. one nule and a-quarter, in 2.9 1-5 on a holding track; third with 9.7 to Marqueteur 9.7 and Poatiui 8.2 in the Fending Cup, about two lengths away from the winner, who scored in heavy going; and third with 9.8 in the Easter Handicap’ one mile and a-quarter, run at the same meeting. This season he was third with 9.3 in the Wanganui Spring Handicap, and won tise Eclipse Stakes, one mile and a distance, beating Thespian 9.0. Winning Hit 9.0, and others. Then came a series of failures, with the result that he is dropped in the Dunedin Cup with 8.5, and so has only 21b more than he successfully carried in last year’s race. On the second day of last year’s meeting lie was handicapped to give Insurrection 51b, whereas he is now in receipt of 61b from the same horse. It will be seen that Trespass has been by no means harshly treated on paper, and if he should win it will be because of ii favourable handicap rather than a success of the “horses for'courses” theory. It is not forgotten that, Insurrection was very unlucky in both bis races at the last Dunedin Cup meeting, and in a match between them it should be odds on the Kilbroney gelding. Another saying that once had a vogue was lo the effect that there is not the length of the walking stick between the best and the worst jockey. That, may be true if the stick referred to was telescopic, and could be extended from pole to pole, so as to express a world of difference in horsemanship. (U|> PREPARATIONS. •It is often stated that winning, a race such as the New Zealanil, Cup practically settles a horse’s racing career, and inferential!)' that a Cup preparation is so try-

ing that it will not stand repetition. It is, however, agreed that the old-time trainers were tar more severe on horses than what is the case to-day. and yet the old-timers survived where the moderns crack up. '1 he reason, according to ihe writer, is that ll.e old-timeis never raced a noise oter a journey on a short distance preparation, wliiih is quite a common practice to-day. lii re is no surer met nod of breaking up a horse than setting it a hard task on a soil preparation. Templeton ran second to Lurlute in the Dunedm top ot 1674 as a three-year-old; he won ihe Cup of 1875 with B.lk he ivas fourth at six years with 9.3 in 1877, and won again with a. 3 in 187 c. He was third with 9.9 when Mata and Sinking Fund dead heated m the Cup of 1879. He also won the Auckland Cup of 1874-5, the Canterbury Cup of 1873, the Great Autumn ot 1876, the D..T.C. 1 Landicap of 1875 and 1678, the Forbury Handicap of 1874, and other races. lie at least proved that training a horse for a journey by no means shortened ills career, and it is a great pity that suclt a solid and well-trained horse did not meet with a better end than meeting with a fatal -accident through galloping over a cow taking a siesta on a training track. Nelson won three Auckland Cups, and so did Ariel. Nelson also tun in two Dunedin Cups (scoring in one), a couple of New Zealand Cups, tne Canterbury Luo, and won several other races, including the 'Wellington Cup. Tasman won a Dunedin Cup, Wellington Cup, two Tunaru Cups, and several other hard-fought battles. Canteen ran in three New Zealand Cups and two Melbourne Cups, and a heap of other events. Lochiel ran third in the New Zealand Cup of 1886, won in 1887, also an Auckland Cup, Australian Cup, and Newmarket Handicap. Carbine ran second in the Melbourne Cup with 10.9 a_nd won with 10.5, and also \v on a few other races, including the Sydney Cup. Many other incidents could be quoted, including Occident (trained by S. Waddell), who ran third in Sultan’s Dunedin Cup, second to St. •James the following year, second again to I« reedotn, and won at the fourth time of asking. All this gees to prove that a horse can stand a tremendous lot of racing if he is in the hands of a trainer who really knows his business. THE TROTTING Sir D BOOK. The keeper of the New Zealand Trotting Stud Book, Mr F. C. Thomas, is now busily engaged in getting Volume VII reacly for publication, and appeals to breeders of trotting stock to send in returns as soon as possible. There is not the slightest shadow of a doubt that admission to a stud book enhances a horse’s value, and breeders are damaging their own interests when they neglect to send in returns of their slock which can claim admission. It is always a matter of regret that some of the pioneer breeders of Australasia did irreparable damage to some of the best winning families by neglecting to take proper care of the pedigrees of their stock, anu tins is partially responsible for the disappearance of some, blood lines which produced great winners. Breeders of to-day should have genuine enthusiasm and the welfare of their sport sufficiently at heart not to require continual urging to send in returns, and now comes the opportunity that will not occur again for several years. THE BIG SWEEPS. The announcement that the world-famous Calcutta Sweep is illegal under the Indian Code led. the Daily Mail, in the course of a leading article on the subject, to express the opinion that the general public in Britain certainly hopes that there will be no interference with the very popular sweepstake. me Calcutta Sweep pays out about ±'60,000 to the winner, and naturally there is a great rush to procure tickets, but it is feared some people get hold of spurious ones, which, of course, do not participate in i-ne draw for the big prize-money. The Australasian public are. however, much more concerned about the Tattersall’s sweeps drawn in Tasmania, where they have flourished for very many years since they were banned in Sydney. These sweeps are strongly patronised, and gather their linancial strength from all parts of the Commonwealth and New Zealand. They are a continual and exhaustive drain on the wealth of the Dominion, but no real effort is made to stop the financial flow which enriches our neighbours far more than ourselves. The simplest and sanest method of doing so would be to legalise sweeps in this country and have them under Government control. That, however, seems a hopeless idea, because we are a nation of hypocrites. The Dominion can send a ton of honey to Tasmania so long as the fact is not published and the business done only by underhand methods. We can shove a ton of money through the tolalisator. but legislation which prevents Ihe right hand from recognising the left, and backed bv narrow-minded opinion, debars the publication of dividends. It would be just as sane to permit publication cf racing reports, but make it illegal to publish the times put up by the various winners. VANGUARD’S YEAR. The Dunedin Cup once ranked as about the biggest betting medium in New Zealand, and quite a big commission could be placed at the call of the card. One oldtime fielder statpj some years ago that all the principal operators had a 2COO volume on the big event, and no doubt it was somewhat elastic against some of the runners. In Vanguard's year a big commission was placed simultaneously all over the Dominion, and Mr S. G. Smith, who is still a well-known figure about town, received instructions to back Vanguard for all (lie money lie could gel from 9's down to 3’s to 1. He attended the call of the card in the old Empire Hotel, and backed the son of Traducer and En A van t step bv step until he cleaned out the market. He accepted all 9’s, B’s. and so on down to 3’s, and in all secured about £SOOO. of which lie held £SOO at the average price. Vanguard won in 1885. and the party behind him had a big win wherever they could place a bet. He started at 5 to 2 in a field of ten, and won handsomely from Trenton, who was afterwards destined to become a rather famous horse both on the turf and at the stiid. The double Vanguard and Rubina —Cup and Publicans’— was backed at 100 to .60. and it duly landed. In those days the Publicans’ was run over n mile and a-quarter, and Taiaroa and Lady Evelyn were the only runners against Rubina. It would now be impossible to pick a bet to win £SOOO on the eve of the I Juried jn Cup, i) or could that, amount be lifted .through the medium <>F the totalisator, unless the ft.P. market was thoroughly exploited. Vanguard picked up a couple

ot 6a. :>y wiiia at too same meeting by anuexing ihe Tramway Plate, w.fa., six furlongs, and the Marshall Memorial Stakes, w.t.u., one mile and a-quarter. Uttier famous horses that won at the meeting were Nelson, who had yet to win l up iliaunction, but won a Bracelet Handicap and the Forbury Handicap; 1 asinau won ilia Jockey Club Handicap, one mile and tl.reequai lers. by a head from Sen'-wester, with Captain Webster, the same distance away in third place. Eveilou Lad downed ail odd-on favourite in Mouyhurst when they met in the Champagne Stakes, with Spade Guinea a subsequent winner of the New Zealand Cup and Dunedin Cup, a head away iri third place. Lady Einma, Russley, July, The Poet, Marion, Billy, and many other well-known pertormers of the day helped to keep the game alive at the Dunedin Cup meeting of 1385, when the amount of money handled by the totalisator during the three days ran to £38,357. Trenton was not produced again at the meeting, but he afterwards won the C.J.C. Challenge Slakes. He was taken to Victoria. and ran third to Sheet Anchor and Grace Darling in the Melbourne Cup. and he ran second to Arsenal when that horse beat lnm huif a length in the race of 1886. THE DUNEDIN CUP MEETING. The Dunedin Cup meeting will commence at Wingatui on Wednesday and be tinned on Thursday and Saturday. It is very gratifying to patrons of sport in Otago to see the principal fixture hack to irs old-time strength, and no doubt efforts will be made to retain a three-day card. At the time of writing very few visiting horses have arrived at our racing headquarters, and hence their is a doubt as to the actuai strength of the fields. A special train will bring the Canterbury horses, but so far no information is to hand as to what northerners will make the journey. At, present Gold Light continues to retain her position as favourite for the Dunedin Cup. and next in demand comes Silver Peak and Cupidon. During the past week Roseday and General Advance have been responsible for some good track work, and promise to strip well on the day. F,leus is showing good work, and it is within the bounds of possibility that he may upset things. ‘Limelight has been favourite all through the piece for the Publicans' Handicap. On the strength of good track work Kerb is growing iri favour, and Tressayr will probably grow in favour as a result of his recent win. Listening Post has not been pleasing too well in his track work, and looks a bit on the big side in condition, but he may be much better when under the colours. Razzle Dazzle will see a short price in the Champagne Stakes. Mazama and Glenshine may lie the popular picks for the Autumn Hurdles. Loughrea, Avispado, and Pilliewinkie may be the order of favouritism for the President’s Handicap. Baldowa and Incursio are sure of a good following for the Berwirk Handicap, and Palamon will Ire supported for the Stewards’ Welter, in which Some Kid may be second choice in the absence of Sunny Loch.