ON THE TURF AND OFF

Southland Times, Issue 23650, 27 October 1938, Page 10

ON THE TURF AND OFF

Veteran Sportsmen At Gore FOXLOVE’S EXCELLENT LINES By SIR MODRED One of Southland’s New Zealand Cup candidates in Milford raced very stoutly at Gore. Riccarton’s crack three-year-old colt Defaulter cost 170 guineas as a yearling at Trentham in 1937. Gustavo, whose progeny are very promising, is the only son. of Solferino (imp.) at the stud. F. D. Jones is evidently campaigning Royal Chief with a view to a supreme effort in the Melbourne Cup. The L.K.S. Mackinnon Stakes, of £lOOO, w.f.a. (Ijm.) may see Ajax and Royal Chief meet at Flemington on Saturday. Displayed in the stewards’ room on the opening “day of the Gore Racing Club’s spring meeting on Saturday was a communication from Australia that delighted several of the veteran managers and afforded pleasure to the more youthful honorary officials on duty. Dated Sydney, Friday, October 21, the cable message read:—“Wishing you a successful meeting tomorrow, my seventy-fourth anniversary. I was interested in your club 50 years ago.— Miah Kingdom” For the benefit of the uninitiated it may be explained that Mr Kingdon was a foundation member of the Gore Racing Club in the days when he was engaged in the meat industry at Mataura. Engaged by one of the world’s largest frozen meat, handling firms Mr Kingdon was induced to leave the Eastern District to act in an important capacity in London. The New Zealander was subsequently appointed manager of the Sydney Municipal Abbatoirs at a salary that very few men can command in the Dominion today and he made good in the Harbour City until advancing years urged him to retire into, private life to enjoy well-earned leisure. Of the sportsmen associated with the club’s well-wisher in those far-off days Messrs F. Wallis, sen., M. R. Lawlor, D. L. Poppelwell and . J. Stevenson were present in the official quarters, at the recent fixture, with the exception of the last-named the trio to be recognized as stewards on active, duty. On Monday, the Dunedin owner, Mr G. J. Barton, won the Second Division of the Centenary Cup at the Geelong Racing Club (Victoria), meeting with a New Zealand-bred horse called Silver Bond, who cost him 550 guineas at the New Zealand National Yearling Sales of 1936. While he has yet to attain to the highest class Mr Barton’s representative has proved a useful performer and last season he won four minor races in Australia. Trained by J. Fryer, Silver Bond is by Pink Coat (son of Hunting Song from Red Edna, by All Red, by Stepniak) from Victory Bond, by Paper Money from Kilberry, by Kilbroney (imp.) from Success (a mare of smart galloping family), by The Officer (son of stout Robinson Crusoe) from Content, by Dreadnought (son of Chester, a noted sire of stamina) from Lullaby, by Apremont from Hammock (imp.). The mare Victory Bond was a half-sister to the well-known Southland galloper Tommy Dodd, winner of many races from Winton to Wellingtqn. Ranking as still a youthful performer Silver Bond may yet realize the high expectations of Mr Barton. BOW STREET’S BREEDING The five-year-old gelding Bow Street, who accounted for the highweight event on each day of the Gore Racing Club’s spring meeting for Mr P. A. Price in the clever hands of F. Voight, may be referred to as well bred. Voight rode a particularly welljudged race when his mount defeated Hunting Chorus by a head on Monday in the Pukerau Highweight Handicap. Bow Street is a son of Balboa, his dam being Easv Street (dam of that good horse Wall Street), by Solferino (imp., and a very successful sire) from Greenstreet, by lan from Vicella' (imp.). Bow Street was bred by Mr F. McKay, a veteran of the Southland turf, and is held on lease by Mr Price to be prepared by F. W. Ellis at Invercargill. Two additional gems were added to Nigger Minstrel’s stallion crown on Thursday at Trentham when he was credited with two good winners in Florence Mills and Quadroon. The first winner representing the South-land-owned sire was the four-year-old mare Florence Mills, by the son of All Black from Liaison, by Lord Quex (son of Lemberg, successful at the stud in England, and sire of the Southland horse Woodend, imp.), from Lovematch, by Martian (imp.) from Lovelorn (imp.), by Milton (a noted sire) from Hebrew Maid (imp.). The pedigree of the Wellington winner is replete with strains of blood treasured in New Zealand. The second successful descendant of Nigger Minstrel on the opening day of the Trentham meeting was the five-year-old horse Quadroon, who displayed marked gameness in getting up to head off his elder and more lightly treated relation Happy Landing. It was an excellent performance on the part of this consistent horse to win the Wellington Handicap, of £750 (Im. 3fur.), and it was a coincidence that he and his more youthful full sister, Florence Mills, should score at Trentham on Thursday. Down the years many good gallopers have at intervals hailed from Gisborne to win important races on the New Zealand turf. For some months past the name of a horse from the district referred to has been bruited throughout the Dominion as a racer of merit and | following previous encouraging form he turned up at Trentham last week to I win the Wainui Handicap, of £350 (lm.)

and the Watkins Handicap, of £6OO. (about ljm.), scoring impressively by a length. The winner was Sly Fox, by Hunting Song (imp., and New Zealand’s leading sire) from Gazi (dam of Sporting Blood), by Gazeley (imp., and son of Grey Leg). VERSATILE GALLOPER The history of racing in many lands discloses stories of good horses capable of winning at from six furlongs to two miles and knowledge of this fact will sway a number of people to follow closely the career of Valantua as based on his form of the second day of the Gore Racing Club’s spring meeting. Carrying 7.12 he won the principal event of the afternoon, the Spring Handicap (one mile and a-quarter) like a racehorse from a useful performer over this distance in Petersham (8.8). Three races later the son of Valkyrian was stripped again on this occasion to bear 8.5 in the Stewards Handicap, an open sprint contest over six furlongs to be narrowly beaten by Baljad (7.6), who got a great run on the fence, his favourite ground, after a long absence from the course on which he first learned to gallop at racing pace. The odds were in favour of the speedy Ballad throughout and it was an excellent feat on the part o'f Valantua to finish close up in second berth. Valantua, who is bred to stay, races for Mrs W. Mackenzie, who won the New Zealand Cup with his halfsister Palant.ua, by Paladin, and will attempt a similar achievement with the Gore winner of Monday. Valantua, who is trained by F. Shaw, at Wingatui, is by Valkyrian (imp., and of stout lines) from Mantua, by Solferino (imp.) from Rose Salterne, by Rokeby (imp., and son of Rock Sand) from Rosella, by Seaton Delaval (imp., and sire of a number of stayers in New Zealand) from Roie, by St. Leger (imp., and a sire of stamina) from Hippona, by Robinson Crusoe (sire of a staying line). Valantua was set a very hard task at Gore and he may be said to have come through the ordeal, with flying colours in a searching trial for die New Zealand Cup. The five-year-old winner of a race on each day of the Gore Racing Club s spring, meeting in Foxlove scored for Messrs A. Cundall and P. A. Price in a fashion promising success in extended events of the future, as he stayed on and displayed the courage which characterized him when first tried out on the Southland Racing Club’s training tracks as an unknown performer without a name. The black pupil of F. W. Ellis is almost unique in male line as the gelding and the five-year-old mare by Gay Vixen are claimed to be the only two descendants of the wellbred North Islander, Gallant Fox, in existence—the mare referred to scored on the. opening day at Gore in the Novice Handicap for her breederowner, Mr J. A. White, at one time of Southland, but now residing at Wingatui. Gallant Fox, who was apparently added to the list too soon, was a son of Hunting Song (imp., and a very successful sire) from Smoke Concert (Australian-bred), by Land of Song (imp., and a high-class racehorse) from- Smoky, by The Welkin (imp., and sire of Gloaming and Trivalve) from Cape Hatteras (imp.), by William the Third (son of St. Simon). In female line the dam of Foxlove was the well-bred mare Cupid’s Dart, by Archery (impl, and by Tracery from a Sund-ridge-St. Simon maternal source) from Princess Mosca, by Stepniak (one of the Dominion’s best sire of mares and a grandson of Musket) from Mosca, by St. Clair (son of Musket) from Indolence, by Grand Flaneur (an unbeaten Australian racehorse) from Scraps, by Lord of the Hills from Ragpicker, by Fisherman (a noted Australian sire) from Juliet (imp., and a taproot mare whose excellence prevails in her lineal descendants in Australia and New Zealand today and she came from England many years ago), by Touchstone (a great sire in England). When the writer pointed out five or six years ago that Cupid’s Dart possessed an exceptional pedigree her then owner treated the claim as a joke. However, it is pleasing to state that the joke has rebounded to that breeder’s credit in the shape of Foxlove. In addition to Cupid’s Dart the tnare Princess Mosca gave Borodino (son of Finland, by Bill of Portland), and Dancing Days (daughter of Markhope), and other thoroughbreds to the turf. The dam of Foxlove is a wellbred stud proposition who has this season been mated with Paper Money.

RIDERS IN MELBOURNE CUP MAORI GONG SCRATCHED FROM CANTALA STAKES (Received October 26, 8.55 p.m.) MELBOURNE, October 26. Two former New Zealand jockeys, Maurice McCarten and Ashley Reed, will ride Spear Chief and The Trump respectively in the Melbourne Cup. Royal Chief will be ridden by E. Bartie, who was successful on the New Zealand horse in the Metropolitan. Nuffield’s opponents in the Victoria Derby will include Fort Regal, Tempest and Kingdom. Maori Song has been scratched from the Cantala Stakes.

Respirator has developed serious shoulder trouble and is unlikely to start in the Cup. Ortelle’s Star is suffering from a wrenched fetlock; her trainer will make very effort to get the mare fit. Aitchengee pleased supporters at Epsom today by comfortably beating Miss Gilt over a mile in lmin 44 3-ssec.