TROTTING ITEMS

Southland Times, Issue 23513, 20 May 1938, Page 12

TROTTING ITEMS

GAME PERFORMANCE OF VOLOMA SAPLING STAKES TRIAL BY ALDERSHOT Aidershot’s third to Guncase and Devotion at Timaru yesterday was probably the best trial given so far of any of the New Zealand Sapling Stakes candidates. He ranks as a brother to Wrackler and Arethusa—both classic winners. A Good Prospect In view of his excellent recent form the pony pacer, Bayard, will be a decided prospect for the All-Age.d Stakes to be run at Ashburton next month. He will start off. the front. Great Speed Directly refused to leave the mark the first day at Forbury but the second day he showed a great turn of speed to get up into fourth place after being slow away. The Wellington Direct pacer has more speed than most in his class, but his manners are no credit to him. Recent .Registration A recent registration of interest is Night Nurse, a four-year-old mare by Wellington Direct from Our Nurse and ranking as a half-sister to Probationer, I Sure, Salalon and Chevalier —all winners. / Son of Truman Direct Very few of Truman Direct’s stock have raced in New Zealand and the three-year-old, Three Bells promises to be the best of them. Although as a racehorse, Truman Direct was not of much account, there is no reason why he should not sire good winners. Like Wellington Direct and Jack Potts he is a member of the renowned Hal family—one of the very few true pacing families known. Napoleon Direct (the sire of Truman Direct) is out of Lady Erectress, the dam also of Wellington Direct (2.4 J. Game Performance Voloma’s second to Three Bells over a mile at Forbury Park on Saturday was a game performance and she was the only one of the field capable of throwing out a challenge to the winner. Her trainer-driver, W. Cosgrove, remarked yesterday that Voloma was a little unlucky as in the early stages of the race she had a sulky wheel damaged by another runner. Under the circumstances she did better than he expected to finish where she did. Australian Opinion An Australian pressman who came over for the inter-Dominion championship meeting said in a Melbourne paper: “The Addington track is of clay and with the slightest rain becomes soggy. On the first day in the mile and a-quarter events, when the track was not quite so soggy, the Australians were well in the picture, but when it became worse on the second day our horses were obviously floundering in the going. It would have been a different story had the track —one of the best dry tracks in the world—been at its best.”

Money For Trotting There is more money for trotting in South Australia so far as betting is concerned than is available for racing. Bookmakers all complain that it is a drag for them to get punters in to any tune at .the races but there is an altogether different aspect at the trots. Up to the end of March the official figures showed that £307,000 had been held by the bookmakers at Wayville. On to this has to be added more than £50,000 for the last four meetings making an average of approximately £13,000 a night. This does not include the aggregate in the' vicinity of £260,000 which has gone through the totalizator. It will readily b» seen that trotting from a betting standpoint, has been a wonderful success in South Australia. It was intended that the season would end on May 28, but it will now be extended to fill in a couple of outstanding dates.