AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

Southland Times, Issue 23795, 18 April 1939, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN TURF ACTIVITIES

MALIGIGI’S WINNING EFFORTS HIGH OPINION HELD OF HIGH CASTE By SIR MODRED The Australian autumn turf campaign will be in full force in Queensland next month. High Caste has raced wonderfully well for a tall, robust two-year-old as yet immature. •At a Brisbane Tattersall’s Club meeting recently three out of the six winners were by The Buzzard. Defaulter’s dam Expense is a halfsister to Scion (son of Boniform), winner of the Auckland Cup. Winner of the Sydney Cup last season and runner-up this year, L’Aiglon is by The Buzzard (Musket line). Three-year-old Mosaic (N.Z. and winner of the Sydney Cup) dead-heated with Spear Chief behind Defaulter on Saturday. Defaulter is not the only son of Defoe (imp.) well-known across the Tasman Sea. Another of his progeny in Footmark won the West Australian Derby of 1937. Writing in The Sydney Referee, “Warrawee” recently remarked: “Defaulter gallops like a stayer. He is one of the most perfect-actioned horses we have seen.” Jockey L. J. Ellis hitherto experienced bad luck in his visits to Australia, but he now appears to have struck oil in his association with the colt Defaulter. The second most valuable crosscountry race in the Commonwealth, the Great Easter Steeplechase (3|m.), run in South Australia, was won by Grantley, by Paving Away, by Green Seal (bred in America). Beau Pere (imp.), by Son-in-Law, is fully booked as a sire in New South Wales for the 1939-40 season. His departure was a loss to New Zealand, but there are still good Son-in-Law sires in the Dominion.

AJAX REINSTATED A Sydney message states that “Ajax rehabilitated himself by winning in good style the All-Aged Plate (lm.) after making his own pace throughout.” He ran the distance in Imin 35Jsec, or quarter of a second outside the record for Australia and New Zealand held jointly by the son of Heroic himself, and Peter Pan, Sarcherie and Ramdin, and all accomplished running righthanded at the Australian J.C.’s Randwick headquarters. There is no doubt about the brilliance of Ajax and he may be termed a champion in his class, but he has yet to make good in highgrade company when it comes to racing at weight-for-age over from one mile and a-half to two miles and aquarter, or succeed in scoring over similar distances with proved handicap contestants.

When Grantley, the grandson of an imported American sire in Green Seal, I won the Great Easter Steeplechase, £2OOO (3:|m.) at the Onkaparinga R.C. (South Australia) meeting on Easter Monday, a new time record of 6min lllsec was set for the big event of the fixture at Oakbank. Carrying 11.2 the son of Paving Away scored by threequarters of a length from an outsider in Nobody’s Son (9.0), with the warm fancy turf Boy, 12.0 (A. Fullarton) close up. Interest was lent to the contest in this part of the world by the fact that it was decided for the first time over standard brush obstacles similar to those recently established by the Southland Metropolitan R.C. with widely admitted success. There was a field of ten runners at Oakbank and the topweights were strongly in evidence in a fighting finish Advice by cable from Sydney hints that had Bonny Loch left the starting barrier correctly, High Caste might not have won the A.J.C. Champagne Stakes to the credit of his Hawke’s Bay sire Bulandshar (imp.). Bonny Loch is a filly by that stout horse Rampion (son of Rossendale, a sire of St. Simon line) from Bonnie Valerie, a mare with two strains of Musket blood through She (sister to Stepniak) and Wallace (Carbine’s best Australian son). The filly may be all that is claimed for her, but High Caste got away poorly, according to the cabled report, and moved up in the home stretch to win like a racehorse. A brilliant galloper, the youthful Bonny Loch should season* to stay on, as she is bred that way and gallops courageously. MALIGIGI’S FORM With two good races to his credit and a third placing in the Sydney Cup (2m.), the Auckland-owned gelding Maligigi has served his connections worthily and confounded his critics on his current visit to Sydney. His successes were recorded in the Warwick Farm Autumn Cup, £750 (ljm.), in which fie equalled the Warwick Farm R.C. course record of 2min 29Jsec, and the Australian J.C.’s Final Handicap, £750 (l;'m.). In the latter event the New Zealander was burdened with 9.3 and in a resolute finish prevailed by a head, the time recorded being 2min 6’,sec. Racing for Mr R. L. Nelson, Maligigi is a five-year-old gelding by Paladin (imp., and a son of Polymelus) from Drop One, by Polydamon (son of Polymelus from a St. Simon maternal family) from Slipstitch (imp., and dam of Te Nigra, Threadneedle, Seamstress, Summer Hill and Black Thread), by Henry the First (son of Melton from a St. Simon maternal family), from Quickstitch, by Ladas (a great racehorse and sire of the Hampton and llluminata strains) from Needlecase, by Common (Triple Crown winner) from Needles, by Lowlander from Beauhar-

nais (a noted taproot mare). A glance through his breeding lines will convince students of thoroughbred lineage that Maligigi should stay and race well and the North Islander has certainly filled the bill in public. The performance of High Caste (9.6) in winning the A.J.C. Champagne Stakes (6fur.) from behind on Thursday at Randwick was really a more meritorious one than will be generally realized. He is a Bulandshar (imp.) colt of more than average size and probably growing as is customary with youthful gallopers from New Zealand raced in Australia, and consequently it is not difficult to understand that he was slow to leave the barrier. He also won carrying the real weight of 9.6 from what is classed as a “poor” jumping out endeavour. The fact that he eventually found his legs and came from the rear to win m Imin 12jsec, is a very strong argument in his favour. There is one feature of his display, however, that will interest and please many followers of the turt in the Dominion and that is the fact that he won from behind or, in other words, evinced a marked tendency to stay on. Possessed of great speeding ability when balanced in galloping, it was feared that he might not stay as a three-year-old, but in several of his races he has now exhibited youthful stamina. This characteristic is very important as there are a number of his sire’s progeny in New Zealand awaiting a verdict as to concrete stoutness. High Caste’s sire Bulandshar, by Blandford, by Swynford, is descended from one of the world s best staying lines, and it is the fixed ideal of New Zealanders to produce stout horses. DEFAULTER’S SUCCESS To use a variation of an ancient axiom, “they came, they saw, they conquered!” This applies to what has happened in Sydney during the past few weeks where the juvenile colt Defaulter, his owner, Mr H. D. Greenwood, and trainer F. Roberts are concerned. Although he failed in the Sydney Cup, the New Zealand crack three-year-old prevailed in three weight-for-age events out of four starts and in doing so he set the seal on his fame as a stayer by. accounting for the A.J.C. Plate, £1250, w.f.a. (two miles and aquarter) on Saturday to justify his claims as a galloper of rare stamina and make good for the great families from which he is descended each way. It has been stated that Defaulter may race in Queensland next month before returning to the Dominion and the fact that his owner has interests in that state may have a bearing 6n the matter quite apart from valuable stakes that will be hung up in Brisbane during the month of May. Defaulter’s family lines are of the best in the world as his sire, Hurry On (sire of New Zealand’s premier stallion Hunting Song) was a great racehorse and unbeaten on the racecourse—his successes including the St. Leger substitute race in the Great War years, while he was the progenitor of three Derby winners in Coronach, Call Boy and Captain Cuttie. The maternal family of Defoe was also of the very best as his dam was Daughter-in-Law, by Son-in-Law (one of the stoutest thoroughbreds of all time) from Clerical Error, by St. Frusquin (son of St. Simon). A winning galloper in England, Defoe was also a descendant of a half-sister to Musket in Quiver, a mare who left her mark in the stud world of the Old Country. Defaulter’s New Zealand-bred dam Expense was by the noted descendant of St. Simon in Paper Money from Lady Jean ll,' an imported English mare of high degree. When he matures with increasing age, Mr Greenwood’s colt should furnish into one of the bestlooking sires of any land, a typical English thoroughbred. Since he took over the training of Mr W. T. Hazlett’s horses in Melbourne the Southland horseman, F. J. McKay has led in several winners. At the Woodend R.C. meeting he produced the three-year-old Gold Colonel, by Colonel Cygnus from Gold Light to win the First Division of the Handicap Maiden Plate from a useful field. The runner-up was another juvenile in i Lanarus, by Salmagundi (imp.) from I Advance Australia. Eight furlongs were covered in Imin 42Jsec, with Gold Colonel winning easily. Later at the Mentone Turf Club’s meeting McKay stripped the aged gelding Larry Resta, by' Balboa from Potheen to score by a neck in a strong field in the Lambourn Handicap (7fur.) in Imin 27sec. Both winners from the Chelandry Stud were ridden by H. Olsen. At a still later date Larry Resta lost the Yannathan Trial Handicap (l|m.) at Moonee Valley by half a head.

ROUGH RIDING AT RANDWICK HORSES CUT AND BRUISED IN SEVERAL RACES SYDNEY, April 16. That the Randwick meeting just ended was marked by some of the roughest riding tactics in the history of Sydney racing, is the verdict of several critics. Apart from what happened to Defaulter, other good horses received several cuts and abrasions and several were nearly on their noses. Limulet was badly scarred. Cardinal Puff suffered a broken hind fetlock, but he may be saved for the stud. Undue crowding at the barrier spoiled the prospects of heavily-backed candidates and even Ajax had a narrow escape and limped .to the weighing enclosure with one shoe hanging by one nail and a severe cut on another hoof. Two jockeys, W. Cook and A. Podmore, have been suspended for two months for careless riding. The Sydney Morning Herald says: “Defaulter showed his real class when he won the A.J.C. Plate on Saturday. Many thought Spear Chief and Mosaic delayed their runs against Defaulter for too long, but they overlooked the magnificent judgment shown by Ellis. The time was the slowest but one ever taken for the race. Defaulter will return to New Zealand recognized as one of the best three-year-olds ever bred there.” J. H. Abbs headed the list of winning trainers for the meeting, with £7070, for which Mosaic was mostly responsible. Mr H. D. Greenwood, owner cf Defaulter, won £2075. WAIRARAPA TROTTING CLUB HORSES REHANDICAPPED (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, April 17. The following horses have been rehandicapped for the Wairarapa Trotting Club’s meeting on Saturday:— BEY MEMORIAL HANDICAP-Don Acron, penalized 12yds, now 48yds bhd. CLAREVILLE HANDlCAP—Loyalette, 36yds, now 48yds bhd; Don Acron, 12yds, now 48yds bhd. CARTERTON HANDICAP—Effie Parrish, 36yds, now 84yds bhd. L. J. ELLIS TO STAY IN AUSTRALIA? SYDNEY, April 17. The Daily Telegraph says that the well-known New Zealand jockey, L. J. Ellis, has decided to settle in Australia. later message says that Ellis will return to the Dominion by the Awatea at the end of the week. He denies that he intends to settle in Australia.