TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3859, 28 February 1928, Page 55

TALK OF THE DAY.

By

Sentinel.

CROSSED THE LAST FENCE. Jack o’ Lantern rose to a fence for the last time in the Gore Hurdle Handicap, and his destruction means the loss of one of the most promising hurdlers produced on southern tracks for many a day. The English-bred gelding had not contested many hurdle races, but they were sufficient in number to allow of his proving that he would eventually have reached the best class fields, and he had the qualifications that are required in a National winner. Between the fences he could pull out more speed than the average hurdler, while his hurdling was clever and clean. In the Autumn Hurdle Handicap on the opening day of the Dunedin Jockey Club’s autumn meeting he hung at the post until the other runners were half a furlong on their way, and no one could have blamed his rider if he had decided not to chase them. He did decide to chase them, however, and with a tremendous run, and putting in some wonderful jumps* by the way, Jack o’ Lantern was one of the leaders over the last fence, and registered a remarkable performance by finishing right up with the placed lot. The writer has at times referred to the indulgence shown to Jack o’ Lantern’s waywardness at the barrier, but on the second day at Wingatui and at Gore he showed improvement in this respect, and it may have been that he was being weaned - from his mulish ways.

LIMERICK AND TRIVALVE. As Tri valve is in the St. Leger on the opening day of the A.J.C. autumn meeting, he will not be one of Limerick's Autumn Stakes opponents (says “Pilot”). If they meet at weight-for-age, it will be in the Cumberland Stakes, and, if both are well, the public interest will be almost as keen as when Gloaming and Beauford were opponents for the Spring Stakes and Craven Plate. Limerick had an easy task in the Hazlett Memorial Plate, one mile, at the Dunedin J.C. meeting. It was not asking much of him to beat Countersign and Nincompoop, and they were unable to trouble him in the least. As Limerick is already in fair racing trim, he should be at his best in Sydney. He is to leave New Zealand in the first week in March, and three boxes have been secured for F. D. Jones at J. Scully’s stables, recentlyvacated by J. King. Racing men over here arc looking forward to Limerick and Trivalve in opposition, but the Cumberland Stakes, two miles, is the only race in which they are likely to meet at Randwick at weight-for-age. Without wishing to detract to any extent from the merit of Pantheon’s victory in the Randwuk Plate, I think he caught Limerick a little tired as a result of his three previous runs at the meeting, and, both fresh, i think Limerick would beat Pantheon at any distance. If all goes well with Pantheon, I suppose he will be a Cumberland Stakes runner, but though backers are not likely to overlook him, they will be more concerned in trying to arrive at the relative merits of Limerick and Trivalve. In the Melbourne Cup Trivalve beat Silvius, whom he met 181 b worse than weight-for-age, and yet the latter was able to down Amounis on w.f.a. terms at a mile ami a-quarter and a mile and a-half. Textile. who successfully carried 9.10 in a handicap at Williamstown, could only get f-.urth in the Melbourne Cup vith 8.5, so Trivalve’s form was of a high order. And y. t it cannot be said it overshadows that of the New Zealander. Limerick had 51b over weight-for-age when he ran second as a three-year-old in the Sydney Cup, and 1 think that on ;. dry track he would have won. I am not losing sight of the fact that he gallops well in soft going, but he was at a disadvantage owing to his weight. It was the same in the Metropolitan, in which he carried 81b over w.f.a. Murillo, winner of that race with 8.0 —171 b less than weight-for-age—subsequently ran fairly in the Melbourne Cup with 8.11. Applying the w.f.a. scale he met Trivalve 191 b worse than he did Limerick. It would be impossible to sa„ Trivalve is not a high-class three-year-old and a genuine stayer. Yet. when he meets Limerick,

and is in receipt of only 91b over two miles, I think he will be defeated. That idea is principally based on Limerick’s great effort in the Metropolitan with 81b in excess of w.f.a. A RUSH OF RACING. The back end of March will see a rush of racing in the south, and with the Easter meetings in the offing trainers have plenty of ground on which to map out programmes for their charges. The first of the meetings is that of the Otautau Racing Club, to be held on March 21, and though there is some apprehension that the proximity of the Oamaru meeting may affect the size of the fields it will probably be found that these are up to their usual strength. The feature of the card is the Cup, which carries a stake of £175 and a trophy valued at £45, and around this has been framed a programme which includes two trotting events and a steeplechase. Hard on the heels of the Otautau meeting follows the autumn meeting of the Oamaru Jockey Club, which will be held at Wingatui on March 23 and 24. Of the £2480 hung up in stakes, £3OO is attached to the Cup and £250 to the Buckley Memorial, while the balance has been well spread over the other events, four of which are for trotters. The conclusion of the Oamaru meeting will see a southern trek to Invercargill for the meeting there on March 28 and 29, at ■which £3170 will be distributed in stakes. The big events on the first day’s card are the Southland Cup. of 350sovs, and the Southland Steeplechase, of 245sovs, and these are supported on the second day by the Awarua Handicap, of 275sovs, and the Invercargill Steeplechase, of 220 sovs. The three events for pacers and trotters are well endowed, and there is no reason to doubt that the fields for these will, as usual, run to bulky proportions. Nominations for Oamaru close on March 1, for Otautau on March 5, and for Southland on March 16. |

PAMPERED STALLIONS. “ When they go to the stud, life is made much too easy for stallions,” j s the latest cry in America, and no doubt there is something m it. As a rule, after a stallion retires from racing he is treated to a minimum amount of exercise, becoming fat and indolent as a result. This caused a writer in the Lexington Thoroughbred Re cord to ask: “ How can we expect to -ane tough and virile horses from parents that are treated like show horses the year round, the mares kept fat and indolent, and the stallions the same way. thereby destroying the most essential qualities that are required in the thoroughbred—constitution and vitality. You cannot violate a law of nature, even the most trivial, without paying the penalty, and we have the most flagrant violations in modern breeding and rearing of the thoroughbred.” He then wont on to say that the conditions referred to, obtained at many of the Kentucky studs he visited, and he reckoned the commercial breeder was to blame. “ Year in and out,” he continued. • “ stallions and marcs are kept above themselves by gram overfeeding and lack of adcouate exercise, and when the foals get to eat gram, they, too, are pushed in growth, and kept in this same condition. They are grown for the eye alone, to be things of beauty, so that they will bring big prices in the sales mart. It is a great pity that the buying public demands overgrown and fat yearlings insead of judging by breeding’ and conformation.” The writer points out that through all trainers say they would rather have them otherwise, (hey fall for the fat yearlings the same as anyone else. That, I might add (says “Pilot”), is also the case in Australia. I have often heard prominent trainers talk about preferring - to buy yearlings sent into the ring in “their natural state,” but they rarely recommend anything to their clients that is lacking in beef and polish. It is probable stallions are pampered almost as much in Australia as in America, but it is not so with the mares, climatic conditions enabling them to have plenty of freedom, and their owners, recognising it is for their benefit, sec that they get it.

HERALDED IMPROVEMENT. It would seem as though some horses come to the top of their form much more quickly than others do; in fact, cases be quoted, in which, the lapse of a fewdays has been sufficient to transform a horse that has performed poorly at one meeting into one that never looked like being beaten at a subsequent meeting. It may be, of course, that some trainers have the power that is generally attributed to a magician’s wand, but it is significant that the using of this power is generally heralded by investments which are considerably more weighty than those the horse is asked to carry when he is apparently “not ready.” Be that as it may, it appears to bo taken for granted that even one day between two meetings is sufficient to justify the improvement- that some horses show, and one occasionally, very occasionally it must be admitted, happens across a trainer who regards the person with the shortest memory as the ideal racegoer.