IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3890, 2 October 1928, Page 56

IN A NUTSHELL.

The St. Leger winner Fairway is inbred to St. Simon. Satrap is reported to have become fractious at the barrier. Camisader ran two good but two unlucky races at Geraldine. Nominations for the Auckland Cup of 3000sovs close on October 12. Radiate won in good style at Geraldine, and was going on at the finish. Phaster was all at sea on the Geraldine track, and could not get going at any stage of his race. Chickwheat ran two bad races over hurdles last week, and seems to be quite tired of racing. The Paper Money filly Flicker has scored two wins out of three starts at the Sydney pony meetings. Trivalve, with just about 28,000sovs to his credit, is the record winner in Australia at two and three years. Glenross has been causing his trainer some trouble, but he may be sound enough to stand another preparation. Some horses showed reversals of form at Geraldine, and some well-perforu. .d horses did not show any form at all. Wreath of Myrtle will probably show improved form during the season as his big frame should strengthen with age. Star God, who won at Napier, is a brother to Star Stranger. Up to date Star God has been a disappointment. , As a result of one of Countersign’s legs showing signs of weakness it has been decided to treat her to a lengthy spell. The Avondale Guineas winner Prodice Was got by Catmint from Hyades, by Hymettus from Straga, by Birkenhead. The Paper Money filly Endorse has been wintered at Elderslie, and latterly treated to exercise as a foundation for another preparation. Arch Lassie has a fine filly foal at foot to Tea Tray, and has visited Weathervane. Arch Lassie is also represented by a well-grown yearling by Tea Tray. The Victoria Amateur Turf Club gave 81,15650 vs in stakes last year, and since 1875 the total stakes disbursed have amounted to 1,519,97450v5. First Raid scored a comfortable win over 5 furlongs in the Ohaki Handicap, but failed to stay on in his second race when asked to go an extra furlong. Red Heather gave J. Thistleton a winning turn at Geraldine, when the St. Petersburg gelding won convincingly on the second day of the meeting. Two-year-olds can obtain an opportunity to win a race on each day of the South Canterbury Jockey Chib's summer meeting, to be held on November 23 and 24. With the termination of the Geraldine meeting Mr P. S. APNab ceased to act as starter for any club except the Canter bury Jockey Club. Upon the course, I backed a horse, Although a prudent man. The horse ran well; but, sad to tell, The Bookie also ran. The Psychology filly Amourette was fancied for her races last week, but failed. Her dam, Lovelock, is a sister, to Nones and Menelaus. Money Mine’s winning margin at Geraldine was small, but he appeared to be hindered rather than helped by a novice rider doing his best to ride a finish. Carinthia got into a lot of trouble in the First Hurdles at Geraldine. On the second day his rider filed away second money by knocking off riding 50 yards from the post. First Sight won pulling over the top of Gay Sonnet in the Belfield Handicap, and when the latter was well backed in the Farewell Handicap Front Rank beat her easily. Mime shaped well for a novice over hurdles when he ran at Geraldine. He should benefit by the experience and win over the small sticks before the season gets much older. The Wanganui correspondent of the Auckland Herald states that it is intended to give Kiosk a lengthy spell. He considers Kiosk to be one of the best in the Dominion up to a mile or so. There are some part-'ciilarly fine foals by Tea Tray at Elderslie this year. This season’s crop of yearlings and the foals arriving suggest that Tea Tray will loom large in the not rar-distant future.. Royal Flower, the sister to Ark Royal, showed improved form when racing at the Geraldine meeting. She has been slow in coming to hand, but may prove useful during the. rest of the season. s Full Flight, a half-sister by Archery to Receipt and Battle Colours, was amongst the runners at Geraldine. She showed pace, but did not last long. Racing condition should help her to keep the family fame alive. Thorndale’s race at Ashburton evidently sharpened him a good deal. He made a very poor show on that occasion, but at Geraldine the Brainbletye gelding was always travelling well close to the leaders, and won well at the finish. Waving .Corn displayed , -fractiousness the barrier in both her races last

week. She has a good turn of speed, and when straightened up should win races. She is, by the way, closely related to Roseday. Antrim Boy fell at the first jump in his first hurdle race, when he came down at Geraldine. He hooked the hurdle and toppled over on landing. Antrim Boy had been schooling very well prior to his first race in public. Pound Note went half a mile with the much more seasoned First Raid at Geraldine, and on the second day was running on at the end of the Wainui Handicap, in which he suffered interference at the home turn. He was put on the rails, and his rider injured his left foot. Silver Coot appeared to be unable to find a passage in the Squatters’ Handicap, but with a change of riders he won on the second day. Silver Coot is a halfbrother to the disappointing Fulmar, but puts far more heart into his work than the Boniform gelding, who could gallop on the track.

The Sarto gelding Zeuxis requires a bigger track than that at Geraldine. He uon on the first day, but got a bad run on the second. Zeuxis stays well, and should do so on breeding, as his dam, Glenluce was got by Gienapp—Lady Stockwell, by The Officer—Temeraire, by Dreadnought—Sister Mary, by Ingomar Sister Agnes, by Rosicrucian. Nominations are due on Friday. October 5, for the C.J.C. Stewards’ Handicap, of 1200sovs, Criterion Handicap of 600sovs, Metropolitan Handicap of lOOOsovs, Canterbury Cup of SOOsovs, J. C. Handicap of SOOsovs, Members’ Handicap of fiOOsovs, Stead Gold Cup of SOOsovs, Stonyhurst Handicap of 500sovs, and Fendalton Handicap of OOOsovs.

Up to the end of July the Polymelus horse 1 halaris was the most successful stallion in England this season. He had sired 11 winners of 19 races, of a tota' value of £25,782. Fairway’s St. Leger win alone would send him to over £38,000 and the chances are that he is nowwell past £40.000, as against £39.316 ■°oo^ C 1927 season - Hurry On, with £_2,601’ was next to Phalaris at the end of July.

Air J. Dunningham, who is Mayor o* Kandwick and treasurer of Tattersail’s Club is the selected Nationalist candidate in the coming parliamentary election for Coogee. The members of the Lower House a bookma ker, but (says rulot ) if the good wishes of a large section of racing men are of any avail, they will, after the coming tc -.t a \? bookmaker l ’ and bookmakers If _ Mr Dunningham is elected he wi i quickly demonstrate that he is a desirable member of Parliament in every respect.

Tea Girl, who won at Geraldine, was very small when trained at Wingatui S?., a f. wo ;year-old, but a long spell at Elderslie has been responsible for a decided improvement in size. She was sore when she went out for the Wainui Handicap, but the fact did not stop her from winning from end to end. Tea Girl wa« got by Tea Tray from Miss Ellice, by Bronzino—Elegance, by Seaton Delaval —Antelope, by Apremont—Miss Kate Antelope is a sister to Prime Warden, who won the Canterbury Cup, Great Autumn Handicap, the Otago Cup (twice), r orbury Handicap, and other races. M - Pear ce, a member of the V .A.I.C. committee, and owner of Mollison, has returned to Melbourne after a trip to Europe. He said that the best horses in England were superior to those racing in Australia, but the three-year-olds this year seemed to be below the average. The present two-year-olds, however, W ? re bi B h ' class > an d he did not think that the best racing in Australia last season could compare with them He did not think thatAlollison would be able to hold his own against Arabelle, who was regarded as the leading two-year-old filly in England.

Occasionally cases have been reported of mares in foal having won races. A remarkable instance, perhaps the most* notable in Australian turf history, occurred at Tumut, in New South Wales. At a race meeting there oa March 16, 1859, a two-year-old filly- named Una ran second in the Trial Stakes. She took part in a hard finish, returned to the paddock, and shortly after the saddle was removed she dropped two foals, much to the astonishment of her owner, who had no idea that she was in foal. They go one better than that in Ireland, where a mare dropped a foal during a race she won, and the youngster finished secona!

To Richard Mason, of Gloaming fame, and one of the greatest trainers to saddle’ a horse in Australasia, go the thanks of r red Jones, mentor of the mighty Limerick, .for it was Mason who taught him practically all he knows concerning the preparation of a thoroughbred. Wntn he joined Mason as a lad (says “ Fernhill ’) Jones was indentured for three years, but at the expiration of that period he signed up again for a similar term. As a jockey Jones was successful in New Zealand, Australia, and England, and now he occupies a high rung in the ladder of fame as a trainer. He has led in the winners of more than 40 weight-for-age races.

Early last year four colts were chosen from the National Stud yearlings and leased by the King. Those colts are now two-year-olds, and it is to be noted that the Royal stable is having a good time without any assistance from this quarter. Not one of the leased National Stud colts has won a race, and I gather (says an English writer) that there is very little hope for any of them It would seem that the National Stud yearling colts last year were bad. The only one who has done any good so far is the bword Play- colt, and the King’s advisers quite naturally turned him down when they were making the choice because he was lame at the time.

For some time past there has been a growing feeling in Victoria that there are far too many race meetings, and an agitation aiming at the abolition of the proprietary racecourses is stated to be gathering strength. It is suggested that n i down-the-hne courses — Srtndown Park, Mentone, Epsom, and Aspendale—should be abolished, except as to the retention of one course to provide training facilities for racehorses, and that, the

land should be sold for xesidential areas. The four leading clubs in Victoria, it is stated, are prepared to face the necessary compensation that would meet the case, and strong hopes are entertained that the proposal will, sooner or later, be carried •to a successful issue. Six racehorses reached Melbourne on September 4 on the steamer Port Fremantle. All are bound for Sydney (says an exchange), the most valuable being the three-year-old colt Fernkloof, who ran fourth in the English Derby this year. Fernkloof was sold to Mr J. E. Brien, of Sydney, for £5OOO. An eight-year-old stallion by Gainsborough, High Art, has been brought out for stud purposes. The other four horses are yearlings—-a chestnut colt by Tetratema out of Saturnella another by Haki out of Jump, a third by Gay- Crusader out of Athena, and a black colt by Black Gauntlet out of Wife of Bath. Arrangements for their carriage to Australia were in the hands of the British Bloodstock Agency. Another consignment of about 14 horses is on its way to Australia.

The latest Sydney mail to hand brought advice that the ex-Hawke’s Bay colt Raasay is to be put aside until the autumn. When “ Air Constable ” gave a high price for Raasay after his second to Reonui at Rosehill, he intended running him for the A.J.C. Derby. The colt’s form in the Hill Stakes at Rosehill not only caused him to abandon that intention, but decided him upon spelling the chestnut. Raasay yvas raced until fairly late last season, and, as he yvas ready to run well at his first start in the current one, he may have needed a longer let up than it yvas possible to give him in view of his spring engagements. He is to do easy exercise at Randwick until it is time to send him away, and will be trained again for the autumn meetings. .. Racecourse managements will not face the facts, and the most important one which concerns them in their present difficulties is that they do not give value for money. In other words racing is much too costly all round. The whole policy in the conduct of the business side of race meetings in this country (says an English writer) is wrong, and the attitude of mind of the higher racecourse officials is hopelessly unprogressive. The comfort and the convenience of the public is the last thing that most of them consider. Their methods lack almost completely a studious business-like endeavour to please those whose support they seek. The JockeyClub controls racing as sportsmen, and not_ as a board of directors, which is as it should be, but the outstanding need is a spirit of greater enterprise on the part of those who present the sport commercially as a public entertainment. There is an insane notion (says Dr Stuart Al’Kay) that still remains firmly in the minds of some trainers that they can make a non-stayer into a stayer by giving him a large amount of long-dis-tance work. Never yvas there a more fallacious notion. We may bring staying power to a high degree by training, but no amount of training can put into the horse that particular kind of heart upon which staying so largely depends. The trainers who most often over-gallop their horses belong to the old school, who 40 years ago had to train horses yvith “ endurance ” hearts—horses that were as tough as our best hurdlers of to-day. All these wrong ideas are gradually being forgotten, and the newly-evolved racehorse very quickly reminds the trainer that he is not made of cast iron, as his Arab ancestors were, but he is made of a material so delicate—l may say rotten — that too many stf-enuous gallops are quite sufficient to put him in “ queer street.” A glance through the Caulfield Cup records of the past 10 years or so should further encourage the friends of Gothic for that race. _ In that time imported horses have gained several successes in the big mile and a-half handicap. Lavendo began the series in 1915, and since then other Britishers to score in this particular race were Shepherd King, King Offa, Lucknow, and Violoncello. On his form up to the present Gothic compares very favourably yvith any of these horses, though he must to a certain extent be taken on trust in regard to stamina. It was not so with King Offa, who a few weeks before his Cup had yvon a mile-and-a-half race'at Flemington in a most conv-incing manner. On this point (says the Afelbourne Globe) there should not be much doubt about Gothic. Even if he is not quite a “ stonewaller,” his great speed reserved for a final run is likely to carry him through to the end.

Last year Lord Derby yvas an easy first in the winning owners’ list in England. He won 37 races and £40,355 in stakes, but he is already yvell ahead of the latter total this season. At the beginning of last month he had reached £39,412, the result of 24 wins. Fairway’s St. Leger win probably carried as much as when Book Layv won a year ago, and it was then £13,280. A similar amount would send Lord Derby’s figures to over £52,0Q0. and it is fairly safe to bet that when the English flat, racing season closes in November his total will be very close to £60,000. Thfe added money for the St. Leger is only £4OOO, owners' 1 finding the rest. Lord Derby, by the way, is a nop-betting owner, arfd races such a large number that, even if he wins £60,000 in stakes, he will not make a tremendous profit on the year. A little while ago, when speaking in favour of the Totalisator Bill in the House of Lords, he said it cost him £650 a year to race a h'orse in England.

Ever since the Elderslie stud passed into the ownership of Mr lan G. Duncan a continuous scheme of improvements have been n progress, and'when on a brief visit there last yveek further operations in the same direction marked the scene. New paddocking, was being made by clearing off plantations, old paddocks were being treated to a turnover, etc., and a road being formed from the residence to the corral and paddocks, which can comfortably house about 60 youngsters without overcro.wding. At present there are 48 yearling- on the stud, and last week 40 foals had arrived up to date, and 30 more were due to arrive in the course of the next few days. Last year the stud had seven sets of twins, and this year six couples have arrived. As a prejudice exists against twins they were all destroyed except one. A brief glance was paid to the three Stallions, and they were in excellent order. The yearling

are r. particularly fine crop of youngsters, and they will not be seriously handled until November, when some of them will be got ready for the Wellington sales to be held in January.

,W. Kelso is losing no opportunity of giving his Melbourne Cup candidate, Statesman, outings in public. No doubt he considers (says a Melbourne paper) that a horse to live through a Alelbourne Cup ordeal must be in thoroughly seasoned condition, and racing always helps to that e > i P resent progress Statesman should be a very fit horse by the allimportant first Tuesday- in Noy-ember After coming to Australia Demosthenes, i . J?J re Statesman, did not folloyv up New Zealand success at the stud, but this should not, perhaps, be urged against Statesman, who always has given the impression of being a stayer in the true sense of the word. The blood he inherits from his dam Alarcelle also strengthens that idea. Alarcelle is by Alartagon, whose name in a pedigree i.% generally taken as meaning stamina, and not without good reason. The Alartagon family- includes Martian, an honest stayer himself, and a consistent begetter of horses of similar l e ' 3 a three-year-old Statesman showed plenty of room for further development. The extra year on his age probably has done a good deal for him in this respect. He is said to have built up into quite a nice horse. Of course, , P s c , ai l e not awarded for looks alone, but Statesman has proved that he does not keep all his goods in the window.