RACING AND TROTTING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume V, Issue 1358, 20 June 1918, Page 3

RACING AND TROTTING.

RACING FIXTURES. •Tunc 21 and 22—Napier B. C. Winter. .Tune 28 and 20—Hawke's Bay J.C. Winter. July 10 and 13—Wellington R.C. Winter. July 25—South Canterbury Hunt Stccplc- ' chase. NOMINATIONS. July 5- South Canterbury Hunt Steeplechase. TROTTING FIXTURES. August 11 and 10— N.Z. Metropolitan T.C. August. NOMINATIONS. July 17— N.Z. Metropolitan T.C, August. TURF TOPICS.

?*'orc than -«.isual interest is being taken in the J».g jumping events at Nnpie" »rk to-morrow, as many of the competitors are llkelv to be ven out at the C.J.C. Grand Xati-al Meeting iu*t August. \\ .th all bis weight. f.raeburn is bound to be handy at tb» finish of the Napier Steeplechase, and be is reported as being in even better racing trim now than when he performed.so reditnblv at Wanganui. Collector's line turn of s'oced should make him bard to dispose of and in this respect he should have ■'in advantage over the ton-weight. Master Timi's dual success at C.isbonic last week has brought him into prominence. So tar he has not measured strides with a good one. but In to-morrow's contest he will be well tried out. St. Elmn has been off the scene so long that he can hardly he at his best. Still, a race or two is bound to sharpen him up in view of his proposed visit to Riccnrton. None of those lower down the list can have much more than jumpers' chances. ' A high-class lot of jumpers stand their around in the Almriri Hurdles, with Pursefiller heading the list at 12.1. As the going is almost sure to be heavy, this impost should settle her chance, especially il she still pursues her tcaraway. tactics. (.ladle, and Art, both on the 11.0 mark, are well treated ill comparison with PursCntlcr, and Ihcv should have a-good deal to say in the finish Banian may be withdrawn in favour of his stable companion, but Kauri King has rare prospects now that he is gaining confidence at the obstacles. Almo s maiden effort as a jumper will be followed with considerable interest, as he is in the boom as novice with more than average prospects. If Bagdad is in anything like the same form that he showed at Riccnrton last Foster, the Stewards' Stakes should be well within his capabilities. . Planet who acted as runner-up in the Newmarket Cold Cup, is a full brother to Dav Comet, recently purchased as a sire by the Associated Waikato Clubs (Auckland). He is also similarly related to Quinologist, now racing in Australia, while a halfbrother by Radium recently won a thrce-yenr-old race in England. The veteran New Zealand-bred gelding Sauci is evidently right on the top of his form again. At the Sandown Park Meeting on the Rth inst. he carried 9.0 to victory in the principal event, being followed home bv Barcelona 7.:! and Kangatong b.7. The announcement that the British Government intend stopping all racing next winter owing to the strain on the railways, refers to racing under National Hunt" Club rules hurdle racing and stecplechasmg being principally concerned. Evidently the Summer Meetings at present permitted under the jurisdiction of the Engbsh Jockey Club arc liot to be interfered with. Of all the horses that raced at Randwick during the present season Biplane did best from a stake winning point ol view, his three successes crediting Mr Greenwood with »'.r,:H">:;. Others well placed in the list are: Outlook £SIOB, Cagou £-1220, Robus (imp.) ruw'.-i, Uinius (imn.) £201)8, Prince Viridis £2OOO Poitrel £2555, Wallace Isinglass £2312. Desert Gold £2:tls, Sweet Lady £2220, and Satin Bfrd £2189. It is pleasing to notice by this list that nolonlnl-brM hor«<-s have, this season more than held their «wn with the importations. . To the Australian Red Cross Fund the V \.T.C. Committee has decided to give £:sOOO, which makes a total of £IO,OOO donated by that body to war funds. Racehorses often have strange fancies, but a pig as a stable mate is very uncommon, if not unique. An American trainer is responsible for the following:—"I knew of a high-class horse who would not do a single thing his trainer asked him unless a young pig was kept in his stall. He'd got used to the piggies when a yearling on a farm, and he demanded the company of a pig for the remainder of his career." Almo and Atuntoro have been getting through a good deal of schooling at Napier Park recently, and both are reported to be showing considerable promise. Over 00 years ago J. Carter, who died recently in. Australia, was a very successful rider both in Australia and New Zealand. Carter rode Knottingley and Magenta when those horses won the Canterbury Jockey Club Handicap (now known as the New Zealand Cup) ill the late sixties. The Greenwood cast-off, Bimeter, was given a race in the Flying Handicap at the Canterbury Park Meeting (N.S.W.) on June 8, but finished out of a place. A Sydney writer says that the black horse is looking well.

Amongst those drawn in the latest,ballot was Mr J. B. Norris, secretary of the Now Zealand Trotting Association. The well-known local horseman, ,T. McLennan, left for the south to-day to take up his position as private trainer to the Otago sportsmen, Messrs Ritchie and Sligo. He took with him Gay Wilkes. Royal Hope, and Wild Cherry, who will he includeoVin his southern team. - The local training tracks are very quiet just at present, and are likely to remain so till the August meeting comes round. At Addington teams are being kept going by A. Cox, E. Berry, J. McDermott, T. G. Fox, 1). Mahoney, C. James, J. Wright, and G. Anderson, while at Canterbury Park N. Price, R. Franks, and S. August each have a lew horses in commission. The well-known Tiniaru trotting enthusiast Mr W. Quirk is one of those to draw a marble in the latest ballot. Just recently he had the misfortune to lose the services of his pacer Pukearuhe, who broke a leg. The names of North Island trainers J. T. Jamicson (Opaki), T. George (Awapuni), and F Lind (Greenmeadows) appear In

yesterday's ballot list. Jockey R. Hatch lias also been called for service. Additional New Zealand entries received for the A.J.C. Epsom Handicap were Parisian Diamond, Impediment, Stutter, and Sweet Tipperary, while Impediment was also engaged in the Metropolitan Handicap. Among the youngsters that assisted in the two-year-old parade at EUerslie on Saturday were an Australian-bred gelding by Popinjay—Nancy Stair (both successful two-year-olds), and a filly by Charlemagne 11. from Vencnia (by Royal Artillery). For two successive years the Manton trainer Alex. Taylor has turned out the winners of the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby, and Oaks, a feat unparalleled in the history of English racing. Last year Cay Crusader, the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby winner, was prepared by him, as was the Oaks winner. Sunny .lane. This year Gainsborough and My Dear arc in his charge, as is Blink. Such phenomenal success must be particularly gratifying to Taylor, even if there is an inclination to regard the classic races of slightly less importance than those decided before the war. Monetarily, the Derby and Oaks are, but, seeing that those races are,,still competed for by the best of their age, there is no I'alling-otV in any other respect. In some past years the acknowledged best colt did not run in the Derby, for one cause or another, but with nominations closing so much nearer the day of its decision there is little likelihood of such e happening in the New Derby. TEMPLAR.'