Turf Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 642, 19 April 1929, Page 12

Turf Notes

CONDUCTED BY

"EARLY BIRD"

To-morrow's Big Race The following is the held engaged in the mile weight-for-age race at Hastings to-morrow, the Ormond Gold Cup: Cimabue. 9.10: Silver-Paper. 9.4; Reremoana, 9.1: The Hawk, 9.1: White Fang. 9.1; Toxeuma, 9.1; Great Charter. 9.1; Teri, 9.0. The. unpenalised Reremoana (L. G. Morris) should be difficult to beat if the. going is good. Hunted Along From a bad position at the barrier Big Bertha a good favourite, was bustled along in the early stages of the Portland Hack yesterday, and consequently when it came to a rare lighting finish she had little steam left to meet the opposition challenges. Slis finished fourth, only a length behind the winner. With a little in her favour to-morrow Fag Bertha should show that yesterday's placed horses might have had the breeze with them. Won Well Schorr won the Waipu Handicap so well yesterday that he looks like being very hard to beat again to-mor-row. Perhaps most opposition may come from Ti Tree and Owairaka. The former paved the way for her stablemate. Le Choucas, in the. main event the first day. for she went fast and carted the field along. Ti Tree it was that really beat Wenday. for the latter went with her. the ricfcr apparently overlooking the fact that the pacej maker’s task was merely to crack the j field up. How well she executed her ' task will be judged by the result. Reminders ! Handicaps for the first day of the i Waikato meeting are due on Monday. > uid acceptances close next Wednesday ' at 5 p.m. with the secretary at Hamilon. or with Messrs. Blomfield and Company. High* Street. Auckland. Nominations for the principal events on tiie winter programme of the Auck- ; land K.C. Great Northern meeting must oe made by 5 p.m. to-day. Friday. Nominations for the winter meeting ti. Hawera of the Egmont R.C. close at 5.30 p.m. on Monday, April 22. For the one-day fixture on May 11 of the Franklin R.C entries close at 5 p.m. on Friday next. April 26. with the secretary, at Pukekohe. or with the secretary of the Avondale Jockey Club. Auckland. Wanganui Jockey Club’s winter fixture nominations close at X p.m. on . Monday. April 29. Retiring Owing to health reasons. Mr. J. McCormack has decided to relinquish ; ownership of racehorses in the mean- | time, and his two representatives, I Nincompoop and Tarleton. are to be 1 placed on the private sale list.

A Bad Marble Roman Pearl was unlucky in the Whangarei Trial yesterday. The Romeo filly was badly placed at the barrier, and to finish second to a good one such as Camp Prince proved to be he won this race very easily—was an impressive performance. Roman Pearl may improve to-morrow. Poor Start The dispatch in the open sprint at Whangarei yesterday was a disastrous affair, several of the nine runners having their chances completely spoiled. Lucy Rose registered* a first-class performance. but had The Begum been better served at the start the Chief Ruler filly might even have beaten her. This pair will meet again to-morrow. Well Treated One of the best treated horses in the handicaps of late is Le Choucas. In his latest outings he has been on the 7.3 mark in second rate handicap company. In the Mclnnes Memorial yesterday the Magpie gelding put up 61b overweight, and came with a splendid finishing burst to score going away. Despite this Le Choucas has only been raised 71b in the big event to-morrow, so that it would be quite in order if he won again. Wenday’s Form After being made a good deal of use of in the handicap at Whangarei yesterday, and more patiently handled Wenday might have been the victor. It was surprising to find her the outsider of the field of five (which included a bracket) and had the luck been with her she might have given her supporters a royal return. Wenday is fast approaching her best, so that she can be expected any day now. An Extraordinary Affair What happened to Thursby at the start of the McJnnes Memorial yesterday? When the field came in sight from behind the small hill, where the barrier was situated. Thursby was tailed off. so it was apparent that he had lost a lot of ground. He finished third, a neck and a head behind the winner, so it looked as if he would have won with an even getaway. His showing to-morrow will indicate perhaps just what chance he had. It was an extraordinary performance.

Kept Too Far Back Good jockey H. Goldfinch did not show to advantage in the six furlong Maungatapere Handicap at Whangarei yesterday. The Australian Sun gelding left the barrier smartly, but he was eased until he was conceding a big start to the leader. Brilliant Light was galloping over everything in the

straight, to finish in second place. But it looked as if he was a good thing beaten. Not Returning Tuki is not to return to the Dominion yet awhile, for he is to remain in Sydney for the big jumping meeting at Randwick in June. s Heavy Expenses A well-known Australian studmaster recently remarked that it cost him £3OO in railway fares alone to get his yearlings to Sydney for the annual blood-stock sales. Won A Few Races Although he only finished in second place in the United States last season as a breeder, Mr. J. E. Madden holds a wonderful record. From 1917 to 1928 (inclusive) horses bred by him won 4,130 races on American tracks. To Race Next Week A great deal of interest has been created all over the world in turf circles in the future career of the American crack, Reigh Count, in England, and it is instructive to learn that he may race during the final week of the current month in the City and Suburban Handicap (llm) at Epsom. Jocelyn Retired Jocelyn, winner of the last Metropolitan, has left for the Macquarie Stud. Jocelyn is to be mated with Caravel (Cicero —My Dear). Another mare at the Macquarie Stud is Jean Roxburgh, a half-sister to Jocelyn. A Payable Proposition Karuma, the recent Doncaster Cup winner at Randwick, was purchased as a yearling by trainer J. Carey for 200 guineas. Last season -he passed him onto his present owners, Messrs. E. Baillieu and “Constable” for 4,000 guineas. As the stake in the Doncaster was worth £3,251 and he was well supported at a good pi-ice by his new owners, Karuma now stands in a cheap horse to them. He is one of the Magpie clan, having been bred by Mr. P. Millar, of Kia Ora Stud, who supplied the third place getter in the event. Loquacious, who is a full-sister to Windbag. Sister to Call Boy The foalings which took pface in England at the end of January included a filly by Hurry On from Comedienne. and consequently sister to the Derby winner. Call Boy. Comedienne, who has since been mated with Hot Night, is now owned by Sir Victor Sassoon, who privately purchased her with her colt foal by Son-in-Law, for 11.000 guineas. At that time Comedienne had. been covered by Gainsborough, but it proved a barren mating. 3taying On

A recent winner in Victoria of a fair middle-distance event, who to date has not attracted a great deal of publicity, is Bondi, a six-year-old son of Bonifonn and Secret Link (dam of Silver Link, who has given us. Silvermine), bred by Mr. I. G. Duncan. Previously Bondi has been regarded as purely a sprinter, but on this occasion he ran out the mile and a-quarter in good style, running the distance in 2.52. Limerick's Brother The yearling brother to Limerick is receiving his initial education from F. D. Jones. Dunraven is his name. This youngster, who was reared by a fostermother, Comely, owing to the death of his dam, Medley, has been cared for in Jones’s establishment since being weaned, and lias made very satisfactory progress. Paying Their Way At one time bookmakers could bet in any enclosure on an English racecourse at the same fee the public paid for admission. The passing of the Totalisator Bill has altered that. Clubs can now charge bookmakers who do business at a meeting five times as much as an ordinary individual for admission. What with the totalisator in opposition, £ 5 12s Gd a permissible charge to bet in Tatt’s ring—and tiie clubs will collect it—where it previously cost £ 1 2s Gd. and 1 per cent, charge on their turnover, bookmaking on English racecourses this year will not be the soft business it was up to about three years ago. At Randwick it costs bookmakers £5 a day—in addition to admission fees —to bet, and the totalisator also operates, but there is no tax on turnover. Such a charge, writes “Pilot,” would have meant payment of over £IOO a day by

some of our leading bookmakers on Saturday and Monday last, and would have been altogether too stiff. In previous years some Australian bookmakers. while on their “health” trips, occasionally did business on English racecourses, but, with conditions now so unfavourable, they are likely to leave it alone this year. An attempt to cover the expenses of the trlip might prove costly.Betting Not a Crime Many employers regard it as almost a crime if any of their employees indulge in a bet. but Sir Walter Gilbey, head of the great English firm of W. and A. Gilbev, has an open mind on the subject. He believes all employers should encourage their employees in taking up various sports, and. when at the close of an interview with a London “Sporting Life” representative, the talk got round to betting. Sir Walter said: “Employers must be broadminded. I do not encourage my staff to bet. but they know, for I have told them, that I do not in the least object if now and again they have a bet on a horse. What 1 do impress upon them is that they should not make a habit of it. and they should never do it surreptitiously. There is nothing to be ashamed of in having a bet. I frequently have one myself. But I do not want anybody in my employ to do it secretly. I think none the worse of a, man if he has what is called a little •flutter.* but be must never risk anything beyond what he can well afford to lose. In conclusion, just a word as to the prospects of racing, in which T am deeply interested. I take the rosiest view with regard to its future in this country. A short time ago. in a speech I made. I said that racing was certain to go on in this country, .and m-ices for bloodstock - **re bound to be maintained, because fo 1 whole world is now racing, or will be. and all countries have to come to us for their horses.”