ONLY A PLACING WANTED

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1930, Page 5

ONLY A PLACING WANTED

GLOAMING’S RECORD IN JEOPARDY

GULF ALMOST BRIDGED BY AMOUNIS

FACTS & FIGURES FROM EVERYWHERE

The day of the conqueror is at hand. Even now a fresh record has probably been hoisted in winning aggregates of thoroughbred racehorses in Australasia and the magnificent tally credited to the mighty Gloaming has been superseded by that of another gallant racehorse-—Amounis. ,

’ Since Gloaming retired from the glamour of the i acmg arena with laurels laid heavily upon him, many attempts have been made to beat his record of £43,100, the result of 57 wins, nine seconds and a fall. Limerick, Heroic, Eurythmic and Win - bag each in turn had their goal in sight, but each failed to bridge the gulf until Ainounis, surely and steadily even. as Gloaming himself, raced for wins and places to pass the mai < where other champions became undone and reach within of the record .which has stood since 1925. At time of writing the result of the Herbert Power Stakes had not come to hand. Gloaming had to work hard for his of Australasian stake-winning champion, travelling thousands of miles anc * often racing for prizes worth only £350 to the winner. The same can be said of Amounis and most of the big winners in Australia and New Zealand., This, however, is the case where worlds records are considered. America and France began offering inflated'prize-money for their big races after the war, and it became easy for a horse to win a huge amount in a single seaso on the Turf. Blit that it needs individual greatness to establish records was demonstrated by the fact that an English horse racing as far back as the early ’nineties— Isinglass—held tena-. ciously on to world’s figures until quite recently. He was not deposed for over 30 years. Then there was Carbine. “Old Jack” won 33 of the 43 races he contested, but, save for the Melbourne Cup, the present day stakes attached fo the races he won have been doubled and trebled and, under present day. conditions, his total would aggi egate over £60,000. Nevertheless, Amounis has a legitimate right to be hailed as a champion, for he has proved himself a master of handicap and weight-for-age company. Twice he, has won the Epsom Handicap under big imposts (once establishing the Australasian mile record) and again in the Cantala Stakes, each race having a 6.7 limit handicap. Look at a few of the horses he has beaten—Phar Lap, Nightmarch, Limerick, Gothic, Mollison, Fuji Sai), Prince Humphrey, Holdfast, Greenline, High Syce, Rampion, Parkwood, Wise Force, Paquito and a host ot others.

It was not until the close <if t'hq 10-5 season that Amounis was asked to race, and his two starts in July resulted m unplaced performances. He opened his account as a three-year-old with a win at Moorefield and another at Kosehill. Trainer J. Cook had him then, but he did not foresee the' possibilities .m ius horse and succumbed to. an offer oi £2OOO and big contingencies made by Mr. A- T. Wade. Mr. Wade had his eye on the Derbies, 'but ho reckoned without Manfred, and how that horse gave Amounis half a furlong start and beat him iin |ho A.J.C. classic is now history. Mr. Wade won the Hobartville Stakes, Rosehill Guineas and Batman. Stakes, aggregating »» Hi prize-money, and then dropped Amounis. ,

In fairness to Mr. Wade it must be said that had he not been contemplating a trip abroad Amounis ■would have continued to carry his livery. Tripping abroad ,is an expensive hobby, and on this occasion it cost Mr. Wade well oyer £40,000. The Magpie gelding went under the hammer in April, 1926, and fell to the bid of the retired bookmaker, Mr W. Pearson, at 1800 guineas. Subtract that amount from what Amounis has netted for his latest owner, for whom he proved a bighearted champion.;

Probably the £40,000 Amounis has gathered during the'past five seasons is fmaU compared with what Mr.’ Pearson has won over his horse in wagering. His list of triumphs embraces two wins in the Epsom Handicap, two wins m the Cantala Stakes, a, Williamstown Cup and the Futurity Stakes, besides many other races in which bettin o stakes were acquired at remunerative odds Mr. Pearson was recognised as a rich man before he placed hist hand on Amount and the champion has increased his wealth to a very large extent.

Hard To Beat When Fit. An interesting feature in Amount career is that when he was actually at his best he was rarely in a minor place. There was no messing about with kmounis; he either won straight-out or was unplaced. As a three-year-old he won six of his thirteen races, but was never in a minor placing. Amounis must.have a constitution of iron similar to the champion he is. about to eclipse and, astounding to relate, he was as a seven-year-old better than ever in his career. That is generally the age when the majority of thoroughbreds are far down in the decline to mediocrity. Yet at that mpe old age Amounis was given 16 races and was only once unplaced, his ten wins and live minor- aggregating £15,449 in prize money.. And can it be said that Amounis stardom is on the wane this season. He beat Phar Lap—perhaps' luckily—at the opening of the seaspn and was then rushed off to Melbourne. That trip was a hasty, ill-advised one, and he met with two defeats at the hands of AA w force. However, he appears to have recovered now, as instanced by his comfortable win in the Caulfield Stakes, and will perhaps be as good as ever. Dodging Phar Lap as often as possible, Amounis would appear to hold excellent prospects' of establishing a new record, which will be difficult to eclipse. If he proves good enough to win the Caulfield Cup on Saturday—and with Phar Lap out of the way his chances appear considerably brighter—his total will be about £4OOO ahead of that credited to Gloaming and give him a great chance of touching the £50,000 mark. Amounis’ Record ‘Of Placings. At two years: Twice unplaced. At three years (owned by J. AV. Cook) a Won, 7.1, Moorefield, 1025, Three-year-old, 6 fur- **76 Won, 7.12, Rosehill, Three-year-old, 6 fur. Owned by A. P. Wade. Woii, 8.10, Warwick Farm, Hobartville, 7 fur. . r ’‘B2 Won, 8.5, Rosehill Gumfi&c, fi fur,

Won, S.ll, Flemington, Batmau Stakes, 1 mile • , ' I Owned by IV. Pearson. Won. 10,6, A.J.C., Exeter . . , Handicap, 1 mile 528 Season’s Total £3381 At four years: Won, 8.13, .Rosehill, Dundas Handicap, 9 fur. £2O2A Won, 8.11, A.J.C., Epsom Handicap, 1 mile ' 2908 Won, V.R.C., Cantala I mile 2334' Won, 8.11, V.K.C, Linlithgow, ... 1 mile * , Won, 9.4, Warwick Farm, 1927, Chipping Norton Stakes \ ■ .11 miles < 789 Third, 8.11, All-agefl, 1 mile, to Fuji San 300 Won, 10.5, Wagga, Gold Cup, II miles, . 800 Season’s Total £84541At five years: Second, 9.0, Warwick Farm, E 1927, Warwick Stakes, 1 mile,, to Limerick £2OO Third, 9.0, Rosehill, Hill Stakes, Lmile . . 75 Won, 9.1, Moonee Valley, Cox / Plate, 9J fur. §5O Second, 9.1, Flemington, Melbourne Stakes, 11 miles, to 'Silvi us Won, 8.13, Flemington, Linlithgow;. 1 mile His •Second, 9.1, Flemington, C. B. Fisher, 11 miles, to Silvius 300 Third, 9.5, Williamstown, Cup, 11 miles, to Star d’Or 300 Won, 8.13, Fltemington, 1928, Essendon Stakes, 11 miles 1117 Second, 8.12, Flemington, Lloyd Stakes, 1 mile, to Gothic . 300 Third, 8.13, Rosehill, Rawson Stakes, 9 fur., to Limerick 60 Season's Total £4617 At six years:, Won, 9.4, Rand wick, Tramway, 7 fur. £655 Won, 9.7, A.J.C., Epsom, 1 mile 3023 Won, 9.1, A.J.C., Craven plate, ll'/miles 2209 Second, 9.1, Caulfield Stakes, ' 9 fur., to Gothic, 9.4 2'50 Second, 9.0, Flemington, Melbourne Stakes, 11 miles, to Gothic, 9.3 . 300. Second, 8.13, Flemington, Linlithgow, 1 mile, to Gothic, 9.2 300 • Won, 9.5, Williamstown, Cup, 1J miles 3 300

Season’s Total £8537 At seven years; Won, 9.6, Canterbury, Stakes, 6 fur., w.f.a. £450 Third, 9.3, A.J.C., Spring Stakes, U miles, to Winalot 250 Third, 9.1., A.J.C., Craven Plate, 1J miles, to Phar Lap 300 Second, 9.5, Caulfield Cup, 14 miles, to High Syce 1000 Won, 9.12, Flemington, Cantala, 1 mile 2488 Won, 8.13, Flemington, Linlithgow, 1 mile H 33 Won, 9.2, Flemington, C. B. Fisher, 1J miles 1115 Won, 0.5, .Rosehill, Stakes, 1 mile, w.f.a. 380 Won, 9.9, Caulfield, St.George Stakes, 9 fur. \ 750 Won, 9.9, Caulfield, Futurity, 7 fur. / , 2500 Won, Flemington, Essendon Stakes, II miles' LOSS Won, 8.12, Flemington, Lloyd 1 Stakes, 1 mile 1093 ’ “ Second, 9.6, Warwick Farm, Chipping Norton Stakes, I.J miles, to Phar Lap- 200 Second, 9.0, A.J.C., Autumn Stakes, 14 miles, to Nightmarch, 9.0, 500 Won, 8.12, A.J.C., All-aged, 1 , mile, beat Nightmarch, 2202 Season’s T&tal £15,449

At eight years: » Won, 9.0, Warwick Farm, 1930, Warwick Stakes X

Second, 9.8, Caulfield, Memsie Stakes, 9 fur., to Wise Force, 9.0, - 200 First, 9.0, October Stakes, Flemington, 1 mile 600 First, 9.1, Caulfield Stakes, Caulfield, 9 fur. 1100

, Season's Total £2656 In the last two races approximate winnings are given,