IN A NUTSHELL

Otago Witness, Issue 3743, 8 December 1925, Page 61

IN A NUTSHELL

The Southland Racing Club has Installed an electric starting barrier for use at its The Gore Trotting Club’s programme attracted liberal patronage from owners. The Riverton Racing Club has allocated 375050 vs in stakes for the Easter meeting. Murihaupa has rejoined F. D. Jones’s stable after being treated to a long spell. The Tapanul Racing Club’s annual meeting is set down for February 3. Count Cavour may prove .the best of the top weights in the Auckland Cup. Nominations for a vacancy on the Dunedin District Committee are due on December 18. Money Spider struck himself rather heavily when racing at Forbury Park on Saturday. Thirty of fifty-one horses handicapped for the Auckland Cup are in at the minimum. The Auckland liandicapper rates The Hawk as 61b better than Glentruin over six furlongs. It is not yet decided wliioh stud the ijnported horse Weathervano will join up for next season. Gold Light has been struck out of all her engagements at the Auckland Cup meeting.

Coupon, the half-brother, by Paper Money, to Los Ambos, has been purchased by Mr W. Baxter the Okner of Kilris. Audobeli is a bad traveller, and for that reason was allowed to drop out of his race on the second day at Forbury Park. Main Voyage is regarded as a. horse that will go a better race than he did last week when in better racing shape. Machine Brick went 2.8 1-5 in the Free-for-All, and should soon get amongst the winners in this country. It. is repot red that Listening Post may not fulfil his engagements at the Auckland Cup meeting. Tlie Canterbury District Committee has suspended F. C. Porter's riding license until December 31. Deucalion did not take long to get over tho trouble which prevented him from racing at the South Canterbury meeting. Both Willie Logan and Teneriffe went better than their handicaps in the final event at Forbury Park. The “Schooling List” appears to have lapsed, hut it is not for want of material to fill it up. Black Admiral did not race up to the expectations of his followers last week, but he went well enough to show that other wins should come his way. Suggestion has developed a tendency to bleed, and consequently put by for a spell. In his case the trouble is no doubt hereditary. Some of the northern critics are asking some pointed questions about the number of accidents which have 'taken place on the Takapuna course. Real the Great, who is engaged at the New Brighton meeting, is an Americanbred horse brought out by Mr J. 11. M’Kenzie. There will be a bit of a lull in racing until Christmas, and then the Dunedin Jockey Club’s Summer meeting will start the game going again. ~ There was some little grumbling last week about the so-called exhorbitant tram fares in connection with the Forbury Park meeting. The principal events for square trotters at Forbury Park were somewhat disappointing, as very few in the fields they attracted proved able to maintain a level gait. Delavan Quest and Great Bingen won both the principal events run at Forbury Park last week from the base of the handicap. Queen’s Own proved that her wins at Addington were not flukes by the fact that she beat them all bar one in the President's Handicap. Dixie’s Pride displayed a good turn of speed in the early part of the Recovery Handicap, but did not carry on at the business end. Great Bingen’s dual success last week aroused a great deal of enthusiasm amongst the spectators, and his fine displays of speed created rounds of applause. Star Stranger will not have to chase Ttunnyinede In the Great Northern Derby, and the fact will probably be deemed sufficient reason to make him start favourite. Whispering Willie continues to find friends for his chance whenever he goes on the track, but he has a hard row to hoe amongst the speedy pacers. Great Bingen was handicapped at 4.22 last week, and this represents one of the fastest marks set against any horse outside of America. Tt generally seeius that Realm and Tom kinson are not a good combination, as the handsome black horse goes kinder when somebody else holds the lines. Mr J. R. McKenzie was not at Forbury Park last week to participate in the pleasure of seeing Great Bingen winning in his colours and setting the track on fire with his rush of speed. The Auckland Racing Club has introduced something new in the way of final payments by announcing that those for the Auckland Cup and Railway Handicap will be made “at the post.” Over 40 horse-owners think they have a chance in the A.R.C. Railway Handicap, but nevertheless the weight-adjuster decided to put as little as possible weight on their horses. Several well-grown youngsters by Paper Money will go under the hammer during tho sale of yearlings to be held in Wellington in connection with the W.R.O. Summer meeting. Tho excuse-book had to be brought into frequent use at Forbury Park last week. The principal reason why it is so much in evidence is that something is going too fast. Acceptances for the Auckland Cup and the Railway Handicap are due on December 18. There is a final payment for the Auckland Cup and Railway Handicap at the scales. It was reported that P. Riddle was going book to Sydney to take over a team of thoroughbreds; but ho is not particularly keen on it at present, and may continue in New Zealand with the light harness racers. The Demosthenes gelding Haze will bo riddon in tho Auckland Cup by B. Rosen, who is a good deal more vigorous in the saddle than the average light-weight who oa-n go to scale near the minimum.

lhe Gore Trotting Club, the Winto.i Trotting Club, the Wyndham Racing Club, the Southland Racing Club, and the Wairio Jockey Club will distribute a total of 10,73550 vs in stakes at tlitir summer meetings. Ihe attendance on the second day of the Forbury Park meeting, although representing a very big muster, was, according to official returns, very much smaller than on the corresponding day of last season's meeting. Handicaps for tho first day of Hie Dunedin Jockey Club’s Summer meeting are due on Monday, December 14, and acceptances must be declared on December 18. Entries for the Trial Stakes are also due on December 18. If Automne came back to hie early form he would be considered dangerous in the Railway Handicap with 7.3. Apparently he is training on satisfactorily, as he figures in the Royal Stakes and in the Great Northern Derby. According to a private watch, when he won the Exhibition Cup Great Bingen went his first half-mile in 1.5, a mile in 2.12 3-5, 12 furlongs in 3.18 1-6, and the full distance in 4.24 3-5. The official watch made the crack pacer go 4.25 4-5. Ihe Cromwell Jockey Club has decided to hold its annual race meeting on Friday and Saturday, January 8 and 9. The dates may not be deemed suitable by some people, as they involve a stay over Sunday before a train service is available for the return journey. Native Chief shaped well for a three-year-old when he won last week, and promises to develop into a high-cla-ss pacer. Copa do Ora’s stock is a bit flighty, but the fact that one of the tribe ranks as Native Chief’s dam does not seem to wield any harmful influence. Mr G. M. Currie has purchased two mares in England. One is Drax, by Spearmint—Suncroft, by Sunstar—Miramonde, by Desmond from Admiration, the dam of Pretty Polly. She is in foal to Mountain Orb. The other is Pomyris Pommera— Poryphis, by Sentor, and has been bred to Junior. Logan Chief has freshened up since he raced at the Trotting Cup meeting, but he could not reproduce his best form when running last week. He, however, showed a fine turn of speed in catching up fairly close to Great Bingen in the Free-for-All, although the task of carrying on was beyond him. There seems a tendency to make Haze favourite for the Auckland Cup. R. J. Mason has saddled up previous winners of the race since 1901 in St. Michael, Siege Gun, and Karo. When he won with St. Michael he also landed the Railway with Cruciform, and the following year finished the winning double with OrlofF. With a racing start and a berth on the rails, Great Bingen would have threatened two minutes under favourable track and atmospheric conditions last week. Some watches made him go a mile in 2.4 and half a mile in 1.1, and he did so after covering some outside ground over the final three furlongs. Some new track records were created at Forbury Park last week. Willie Logan reduced Adair’s mile race record from 2.12 1-5 to 2.10 2-5, anti in the Free-for-All Great Bingen put up 2.7 3-5 and ousted Emmeline's 2.8 3-5, which stood since May, 1912. Private watches made Great Bingen go 2.4 3-5 from post to post. A remarkable feature of the racing at Forbury on Saturday consisted in the fact that back-markers in the shape of Great Bingen, Native Chief, Delavan Quest, and Willie Logan were amongst the winners. It is seldom a horse at the base of a handicap is found successfully working his way through a field. Although Ivy Audubon has won a couple of races for Mr W. Quirk, she has proved anything but a bargain in the early stages of his ownership. As a matter of fact, she shaped so disappointingly * last season that it was decided to send her on a visit to Nelson Bingen, but then came a final decision to give her another chance on the track. ’Frisco Beau was one of the shipment of horses brought out from America some few months ago by Mr J. R. M’Kenzie. •’Frisco Beau is by Tip ’Frisco from Irene Beau. The others in the shipment were Real the Great, a brown filly by Caduceus the Great—Chaco; Mill Work, a filly by Axworthy—Miss Alma Mater, by Peter the Great; Lady Worth, Silk Thread, a bay colt by Bingen Silk 2.7£ Astounding betting figures, rivalling turf fiction, were revealed in connection with the victory of Masked Marvel in the Cambridgeshire Stakes at Newmarket last October (remarks a London journal). Following upon Forsetti’s win in the Cesarewitch, Mr Macomber, the American millionaire, owner of both horses, is reported to have won £50 ; OOQ on a double laid by a firm of commission agents when the horses were quoted at long odds. One bookmaker declares that he lost £79.500, while a friend of the owner is said to have won £27,500. Probably the largest amount won over the Melbourne Cup by the stable and its followers was that credited to the Revenue party in 1901. They began backing the horse at 50 to 1. One bookmaker actually laid « fancy wager early in the discussions of £IOOO to £4 about Revenue. The stable commissioner was still backing Revenue when tho horse was at 4 to 1. Revenue went, out a 7 to 4 favourite, and won from San Fran, on which odds of 3 to 1 on were laid when the home turn was reached. Poitrel. which won tho Melbourne Cup of 1920 wa9 backed bv the owners and stable followers foi; £65,000. The owners were reported to nave had wagers aggregating £2O 000 to £IOOO. The stable commissioner collected £31,500 at the Melbourne settling. Bitalli was backed for fully £60,000. When Kingsburgh won one of the wagers collected was £20.000 to £l2O. lhoj, K lr inimediate stable followers won only £25,000 over Artilleryman, that horse was well supported by tho general public. k T' wagers of £IOOO each were accepted about Artilleryman in the express train between Sydney and Melbourne four nights befoie the race. The stable wins over 1 atrebas amounted to £21.000. and the average nr toe of 84 to 1 was secured for tho whole ot thi<* amount. Those who may still cling to the opinion that the Forbury Park Trotting Club should cater for slow-class events such ns amateur races and others in which a 2.50 horse 19 nominated with a hope of winning, should noto that the winner of the first race at last week’s meeting is an American importation. The average aniatour would have a, very romoto chance of heading off such a horse as Beau, who won comfortably in 3.57 25. It may he taken for granted that anything worthy of being imported is tar too superior to the average arnatour performer that formerly paddled round the Forbury Park. As a motropoli.

tan club, those in charge of affairs could not afford to return to discarded events, which were dropped simply because they had outlived their usefulness. It is the height of lolly to bring a slow horse to the races, because anything considered to have a winning chance must be able to step much better than the class for which it it nominated. This particularly applies to what slow-class events still remain on a programme. The public support cannot be held unless something interesting in the way of a good sporting spectacle is provided, and a club nowadays is really doing a good turn to owners of slow horses i? they force them off the track.