SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 June 1923, Page 3

SPORTING.

TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.”) The, Auckland winter meeting gave sportsmen “the strength” of the northern jumpers when set to measure strides with horses from most parts of the Dominion, and to-day and to-morrow, on the occasion of the Napier Park winter meeting, further interesting comparisons await Turf students. Considering the moderate stakes and equally moderate entries for the various events, a fair number of horses have been paid up for, and the best of Hawke’s Bay second-raters will be tested by a fair sprinkling of outsiders, including a trio from Taranaki. Dick, who ran such a great race in the Great Northern Steeplechase, and First Line, who showed symptons of a return to form at Wanganui, will contest open events at Greenmeadows. Amongst the hack ’chasers the performances of Multive will be watched with interest. The Multifid gelding was useful over the small sticks a couple of seasons back, and judging by his display over the big fences at Hastings on Saturday morning steeplechase country has no terrors for him. Alf. Tricklebank will probably ride him in his Napier and Hastings engagements. The hurdlers likely to be seen out on the East Coast circuit .are a fair lot, and the Taranaki pair, Alteration and Complex may not return empty-handed. Amongst the hack hurdlers are promising fencers like Mountain Peer, Toa Taua and Gaze, and probably before the carnival is over sportsmen will be I able to judge whether one or more of the trio are fit for better company in bigger hurdle races ahead. Bracelet hurdles are not as formidable in j Hawke’s Bay this year as last. Amongst the i successful ones in this class last year were I Multifual, Comical, Black Art, and Sunray— ■ a fairly decent quartette. It is safe to say i that Battle Knight and Blue Socks are not in that class.

Kilbird and Kahlkatea, who both won at Ellerslie recently, will race at Greenmeadows and at Hastings. Sunny Vale, who raced prominently at Wanganui, will contest hack sprints. The last-named is reported to be fairly At. Oranga, the promising young Royal Soult gelding, who was badly kicked by General Advance when the field lined up for the Great Northern Hurdles, had to be destroyed on Saturday. Although only a handful, Oranga had speed and could jump anything, and, being only four years of age, might have done anything. \ Integrity, the three-year-old daughter of Kilbroney and Honesty, was very much in the limelight at Ascot Pony Races on May 30. Starting favourite in the 14.1 Handicap, she carried 8.2 and won handily. Produced again in the second division of the 14.2 Handicap, odds were laid on her, and she scored in hollow fashion. In reply to “Curious” (Hawera) : Albert Whittaker rode seven winners at Huntly (New Zealand) on February 9, 1910. That is the record. Pamplona, winner of the Otago Steeplechase the other day, is a half-brother (by Pallas) to that wonderful jumper Lochella. An exchange states that Hendra requires experience. Considering that the black son of Royal Artillery is rising twelve, he appears to have left his run too late. Lemmington, a three-year-old filly by Nas-sau-Sophia (Kllmoon’s dam), won a race at Sandown (Victoria) recently. Gerald Stead bred her. The trotter Star Queen has not won a race this season, though she has been placed ten t’mes in nineteen starts. A modest £lOO in stakes won* would hardly recompense her owner. M

A two-year-old filly named Mumtax Mahal, ■ by The Tetrarch-Lady Josephine, was clocked to run five furlongs in 57 4-5 seconds at New- , market (England). How would she do for a j “hurry-up” at Waverlcy? Since he hit Sydney George Price has done I well with his limited opportunities, having turned out seven winners. Stony and Norma Talmadge have each won twice, and he also scored with Loyal Irish, Piers Plowman and j The Shag. Two of the Thurnham breed showed up as jumpers during the holiday meetings. First Born won both hurdle races at Otakl in fine style, and Young Thurnham scored two firsts and a second In three starts over obstacles at Ellerslie. During the short time he was at< the stud Thurnham sired some useful horses, and his early demise is a matter for regret. , Tame Fox has always shown a liking for , the Otaki course, especially in winter, and has i won the Hula Handicap three times In sue- , cession. At the same time he has been unlucky in the Raukawa Cup, running third to JTolo and Molyneux in 1921, second to Demos in 1922, and second to Bitters this year. Congratulations to Mr. J. R. Corrigan, M.P., cn again heading the list of winning owners of trotting horses. Mr. Corrigan came into prominence in the trotting world in the season 1917-18, and since then he has raced on J a big scale, and with considerable success. I His position in the winning owners’ list, and stakes won, are as follows: —1917-18, sixth, £873; 1918-19, ninth, £1239: 1919-20 sixth, £1727; 1920-21 second, £3574 10s; 1921-22, | first, £B2ll 10s ; 1922-23, first, £5425. In six seasons Mr. Corrigan’s horses have won £21,050 in stakes.

“The following letter from the pen of Mr. D. J. Hughes, appeared in Tuesday’s Auckland Star, and if the facts are as stated, Mr. Hughes (as owner of Banogue) certainly has a grievance:— SHOOTING A RACEHORSE. Sir,—-Last Monday I raced my horse Banogue in the Panmure Hurdles at Ellerslie. He got bumped on to his head at the first jump after landing, lay on the course about twenty minutes, and then walked off into an adjacent paddock, where he trotted about in a semi-conscious state. After the accident he was examined by the Racing Club’s ret., who stated that he had concussion. The horse shifted from place to place, and was mostly lying down. When asked what should be done the vet. replied: “Don’t put him m a loose-box, leave him where he is; give him a drink of water each day, he is in no pain; he will most likely coma to In five or ten days.’ On the following Tuesday the horse was put Into another paddock. On Wednesday morning he had shifted four chains from where I left him. At the races on Wednesday afternoon some stranger informed me he was shot. I saw my trainer and asked him if it was true. His reply was that he didn’t know. The race club’s vet. gave professional instructions which were carried out, and yet my property was taken from me, presumably, by hysterical oeople I saw the vet., who told me he shot '.he horse, under orders from his employers, and that he never sent a bullet on its mission with greater regret. To use his own words, the Society tor the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was screeching, the police barking, and the racing officials shivering, and as a result my horse was not given a chance to recover. Would this treatment have been meted out to a wealthy owner? I am quite sure he would at least have been courteously informed of the shooting; my trainer and I were not. I am only a country owner from Taranaki. Why does not a wealthy club like the A.R.C. copy the Australian clubs and have a horse ambulance and a place for doctoring horses hurt during racing?