BLAYDON SHOULD IMPROVE

Southland Times, Issue 23921, 13 September 1939, Page 10

BLAYDON SHOULD IMPROVE

NEW ZEALAND CUP CONDITIONS FIRST ISSUE OF TROTTING CALENDAR Entries for the New Zealand Trotting Cup close on Friday, September 29. The Wellington Stakes, the first three-year-old classic of the season, is to he run on Saturday week. Gore Meeting The annual meeting of members of the Gore Trotting Club will be held this evening. Classic Candidate A three-year-old filly by Llewellyn from Hard Times has been working along nicely at Winton. Although on the small side she is a sweet pacer, and is engaged in the Winton and Wyndham classics. A Pleasing Gesture The Auckland Trotting _ Club has shown a commendable spirit towards men who serve their country in the present crisis. It was resolved at a meeting of the committee that “troops in military and naval uniforms will be admitted free to the lawn enclosure at future meetings of the club at Alexandra Park during hostilities.” Blaydon, Blaydon, one of C. S. Donald’s improving pacers, is possibly jiot yet wound up for a stern contest, *and this must be put down to lack of training facilities caused by the bad weather. He was going better at the finish of the Belfast Handicap at Nevz Brighton than at any other stage of the race. I Stud Items Mercedes, dam of the high-class pacer Twos Loose, is due to foal to Gamble. Mercedes, an imported mare, by Peter Chenault, was raced under the direction of W. J. Tomkinson, and, although she showed little speed on the race track, she has proved a successful brood mare. Gamble is a son of Jack Potts, sire of Twos Loose.

Cup Conditions In an endeavour to make the New Zealand Trotting Cup a contest worthy of its name the Metropolitan Trotting Club has drawn up special conditions for the race and what will appeal to most people, if the field is not an unwieldy one, is the short limit of 36yds. The decision of the Metropolitan Club supports the* opinion expressed by the writer at different times that horses reaching a 4.26 two-mile mark should be dissociated from the handicapping system and assessed on form. The Cup horses have too few chances for the mechanical system to provide the desired results, and this has apparently been realized in the framing of New Zealand Cup conditions. The Trotting Calendar The first issue of the New Zealand Trotting Calendar was published last week, and as the official organ of the New Zealand Trotting Conference and the Trotting Association, the new publication will be welcomed as one catering solely for trotting. Light harness racing in New Zealand has made rapid progress in recent years, and a journal of this kind will have an excellent field to cater for. There has been a feeling in recent months that trotting has not always been given the publicity that it is entitled to, and the move made by the official body tn produce its own publication has been made at an opportune time. The new journal has been fortunate in securing the services of a former Southlander in Mr Karl Scott (“Ribbonwood”), a writer who is known far and wide as an authority on light harness matters.

Yet To Win a Cup Last season Plutus won £2lOO in stake money, and two of his victories were in free-for-all contests, where he beat many of the best pacers in commission. The black p cer is still on a handy mark, and is the hope of C. S. Donald’s stable for the big races this season. While Donald has had many great pacers through his'hands, he, like M. B. Edwards, has yet to win a New Zealand Cup. Plutus, now eight years old, has made steady improvement in the last few years, and is just the type to win a big two-mile race. His owner, Mr W. J. Gudsell, was seriously considering a trip to the inter-Dominion championships at Perth with the black pacer, and a win in the New Zealand Cup would probably cause him to make a definite decision to be represented at the fixture. In America Before being imported to New Zealand by C. S. Donald, Lusty Volo did several seasons at the stud, and the few of his stock that are racing have kept him well in the limelight. One of his two-year-olds, Lusty Volo Junior was second in the TWo'-Year-Old pace at Charleston in 2min llsec and 2min 9sec, and was again second at Taylorville in 2min llsec and 2min lOsec, and won the Two-Year-Old Pace at Carrolton. A year-old in Colossal won the 2min. 14sec pace at Eureka in 2min B|sec, 2min ssec, and 2min ssec, and continued the fine record he commenced last season. Another winner of interest to New Zealanders was Betty Worthy by Calumet Axworth, who at Washington won the 2min 13sec pace in 2min Bsec, 2min 7Jsec, and 2min 9sec.

Bingen Blood The predominance in New Zealand of trotting horses sired by sons and grandsons of Bingen is illustrated by the fact that of 95 trained and raced in the North Island in the past 12 months, 55 are descendants of the American horse. Nelson Bingen is the sire of 17, and his son, Worthy Bingen, is represented by 15. Of the 40 remaining trotters 15 represent the Axworthy line. Sires of other’lines represented are Wrack, Surprise Journey, Maxegin, Roy Redmond, Peter Volo, Peterwah, First Fashion, Rey de Oro, Drusus,- Great Audubon, Childwobd, Win Alto and Peter Moko.