AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

Southland Times, Issue 23552, 5 July 1938, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

JUMPING SEASON IN FULL SWING

DOMINION STRAINS PROMINENT

By

SIR MODRED

The Victoria Racing Club’s Grand National Steeplechase will be decided at Flemington on Saturday. Racing for the closing season at Randwick (Sydney) has concluded with a totalizator turnover of £700,368 15/-, against £633,724 5/- for the 192627 season of 21 days. The all-round betting unit of 5/- and win-and-place wagering have proved very successful at Australian jockey club headquarters. Managers of racing fixtures have been commenting favourably on the fact that recently in England on the four days of the famous Royal Ascot meeting the totalizator turnover was £548,326. With 2/- tickets as a unit that was a remarkable result, and beat all previous English records. _ The Ascot meeting is the most fashionable fixture in England and its record machine turnover demonstrates that rich patrons of the turf are not averse to wagering in 2/- units. At the Mentone Racing Club (Victoria) last month the Mitchell Trial Hurdle Race, £l5O (2m. 20yds), was won by the New Zealand-bred Erua, by Cape Hom (imp.) from Veulta. Trained by M. T. McGrath, who is well known to many New Zealanders Erua scored by half-a-neck as first favourite.

The New Zealand-bred sire Agrion, by Limond from Waterwings, by Absurd, has proved a very successful sire in West Australia. One of his most I successful representatives of late has been a filly called Jungle Lady, who has been raced to an encouraging turf profit. The noted Victorian trainer James Scobie will celebrate his seventy-eighth birthday this month. A careful man during his career Scobie is now content to prepare a select string of six gallopers, all bred in the purple and owned by influential patrons of the turf. The veteran of his stable is the Victoria Racing Club Derby winner Hua, who promises to race next season as a very fine type of thoroughbred. Measuring 15.3 when he won the Derby in November he now stands fully 16 hands. Ilana, by Melfort (imp.) from Lalaguli, is the stable’s Derby hope of next season and he stands nearly 17 hands. The colt reads to be on the tall side at this stage of his existence.

HELPING CHARITIES

Racing contributes very solidly to the upkeep of hospitals and charitable institutions in Melbourne. Charity meetings are held by the clubs at frequent intervals during the season, and the hospitals receive half the 10 per cent, deducted by the Government from the totalizator pools. For 11 months of the current season the record sum of £163,482 has been contributed to the Hospitals and Charities Fund and these figures constitute a record. The New Zealander, George Price, has received an important addition to his large Randwick-trained string in the Queensland-bred colt Spear Chief, by Spearfelt, by Spearhead, by Spearmint, son of Carbine. The Sydney owner, Mr J. Harris, has purchased a half-share in Spear Chief for £l5OO and a contingency will ultimately bring the purchase price to 2000 guineas. Mr Harris and Mr J. B. Charlton, who declined to part with his share, will race the colt in the south. Queenslanders fully expect the stout representative of the Musket line to develop weight-for-age from under the care of the success- , ful New Zealander.

There was a great race for the Ascot Gold Cup (2|m.) in England, the American-bred horse Flares winning by a neck from Buckleigh, with Senor a neck off third. The result was of interest in Australia and New Zealand. The third runner, Senor, is a son of Trigo, a full-brother to Harinero (by Blandford from Athasi), who was recently imported for the Sledmere Stud in New South Wales. There are now several sons of Blandford at the stud in the Commonwealth and New Zealand and under the circumstances performances by representatives of the line are eagerly discussed in the Southern Hemisphere. During the new season the first of the descendants of sons of Blandford (sire of four Derby winners at Epsom) will be raced in the Dominion and Australia. The Hawke’s Bay sire Bulandshar will have two-year-olds racing for him in the spring in New Zealand. This is of some interest as he was the first son of Blandford imported to this country, but he was quickly followed by several other descendants of the celebrated English stallion.

Attention has been drawn to the fact that the winner of the Victoria Racing Club’s Grand National Hurdle Race of last week in Dakwood claims very stout lineage, but the same is true of Wallace Drake, who was beaten into second place and prize money of £3OO by half a head. The runner-up in the aged gelding who put forth a splendid effort to lose by just enough is a son of the English horse Drake (imp., and a very successful sire in Australia) from Ortega, by Wallace (son of Carbine, by Musket) from Ortona, by Pilgrim’s Progress (imp., and a horse who left many stayers of the first water in Australia and New Zealand, while his daughters have transmitted stamina). Close up at the finish and only a length and a quarter away, Giant Killer, who secured third berth and £2OO in the National Hurdles, is by David, by Baverstock (son of Maltster from Wakefield, by Trenton from Insomnia, by Robinson Crusoe from Nightmare) from Lady Kingsburgh, a well-bred mare. In his day David was a very solid performer at weight-for-age, and in handicap company won the Sydney Cup (2m.) carrying 9.7. The horses filling the places in the Grand National Hurdles on Saturday were all bred to stay on and did so to furnish a thrilling tussle.

HOLED IN ONE James E. Pike, for many years classed as one of Australia’s leading horsemen, particularly where weight-for-age events were concerned, is now a progressing trainer at Randwick. Like several other professionals of the turf he favours golf as a recreation. He has selected a golfing title for one of his yearling charges and a colt will race as Holed-in-One, by Excitement (imp.). The name is an appropriate one where the sire is concerned.

The principal events of the Victoria Racing Club’s Grand National middle day tomorrow will be the Keilor Hurdle Race, £5OO (2m.), Lawn Handicap, £5OO (6fur.), Steeplechasers’ Flat Race, £4OO (Ism.), and the Baybrook Handicap, £5OO (14m.). When the last mail to hand left Melbourne the equal first favourites for the Victoria Racing Club’s Grand National Steeplechase, to be run on Saturday, July 9, were Green Cape and Gnair. The latter is a very smart jumper from South Australia and a son of St Spasa (imp.).

Proved as a very smart two-year-old winner in South Australia the colt Pimlico would have no difficulty in procuring a pony certificate, as he can easily pass under the standard at 14.2. He is a youngster of rare courage, and

ranks as the son of a young sire in Shakuni, by Brazen (imp.) from Varta Mozzle, by Linacre (imp., and sire of Acre) from Grafton Lass, a mare tracing back to Lochiel in maternal sire line. The little galloper recently won the Adelaide Stakes (seven furlongs), with 9.7 up and scored by sheer gameness.

The second of the principal events of the Doomben Racing Club’s meeting, which concluded on Saturday in Brisbane, was the Doomben Cup (handicap), and it was appropriately won by the Queensland-bred horse Brown Lance. Racing as a juvenile colt last season, Brown Lance did not win a stake in six starts, but he managed to

record a second placing in a minor event at a provincial fixture. However, he developed more encouraging form this season and like many of his sire’s progeny, he exhibited speed and stamina with advancing age. He is a son of the Queensland sire Spearfelt, winner of the Melbourne Cup of 1926. He won the great Flemington event as a five-year-old, and carried 9.3 to victory in the good time of 3min 22i|sec. But he had other noted performances to his credit, including the Victorian St. Leger (lijm.), and the Australian Cup (24m.). In the latter event he was loaded up with 9.13 on his back, a noted feat in the chronicles of the Australian turf. This great galloper Spearfelt was by Spearhead (imp., and son of Spearmint, by Carbine) from Lady Champion. He can claim many stout descendants, two of the number well in the limelight of recent years being Soft Step and Spear Chief. Bred at the Chelandry Stud the juvenile Colonel Dazzle, by Colonel Cygnus (imp.) from Razzle Dazzle, was a starter in the Tambo Purse (Im. 2|fur.) at the Mentone Racing Club's meeting last month, but finished at the tail of the field. The event was won by the New Zealand-bred Shere Khan, an aged gelding by Gainscourt (imp., and son of Gainsborough) from Tigeroy, by Kilboy (winner of the Australian Jockey Club Derby, and son of Kilbroney). The winner ranked as a third fancy. The Invercargill representative Colonel Dazzle was a very promising colt, but he had to be added to the list and this delayed his thorough try-out as a racehorse. He was a handsome individual when shipped to Australia and displayed promise when sprinted on the Southland Racing Club’s tracks as a youngster.

The retired Australian champion Peter Pan, winner of the Melbourne Cup in 1932 and 1934, in the latter contest under 9.10, is now at the Baroona Stud in New South Wales at a fee of 100 guineas. The stud career of Peter Pan will be watched with interest in the Dominion as he is descended on the maternal side from a famous New Zealand line featuring brood mares. The champion was by Pantheon (imp., and son of Tracery from a St. Simon line) from Alwina, by St. Ahoyne (imp., and by St. Frusquin, son of St. Simon) from Formaliter, by Boniform (a noted sire of stud mares, and by Multiform). With his close-up strains of St. SimonMusket blood Peter Pan may become responsible for descendants to follow in his tracks as a stayer. While the New Zealander Boniform was a good racehorse and a very successful sire it has also to be remembered that he was a half-brother to that famous stayer and sire Martian (imp.), the pair claiming as their dam the English mare Otterden (imp.). Settled down like an old horse on the tracks in Melbourne the high-priced yearling by Heroic from Trasina is one of the attractions of James Scobie’s limited team. Costing 2300 guineas at the recent Sydney Yearling Sales, General Wolfe’s sire (Heroic) does not call for mention as he is already very well known, but it is another matter where his dam is concerned. He is from Trasina, by Woorak (a noted speedster, by Traquair, imp.) from I Rosina, by The Welkin (imp., and sire of Gloaming and Trivalve) from Seville, by Wallace (son of Carbine) from Andalusite, by Orme (a brilliant galloper). There is a strong suggestion of speed throughout the pedigree of General Wolfe and if this trait reproduces the costly colt should win well in two-year-old company next season. It is claimed that Heroic has never sired a colt more like himself than the New South Wales-bred youngster. The purchase of the English-bred sire Myosotis (imp.) from New Zealand for a New South Wales stud is being warmly acclaimed in Australia. The first of the horse’s New Zealand progeny will be seen in action as two-year-olds in the Dominion next season. Myosotis is by Philaris (son of Polymelus) from Scarlet Martagon, by Tarpoint, (son of Trenton) from Lily of the Valley, by Martagon (son of Bend Or, and sire of Martian.