FROM TRACK AND STABLE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1933, Page 4

FROM TRACK AND STABLE

HORSES FOIR TO-MORROW BOLD BID’S PROSPECTS. K. VOITRE NOT COMING. I ■ (By “Hurry On.”) ' Owing to ill-health the leading horseman K. Voitre will not be seen in action at New Plymouth to-morrow. He was to have ridden Carfex, No Doubt, Little ' Doubt and St. Clara. Round Table Improving. A three-year-old who is beginning to attract attention at Hawera is Round Table, brother of High Falutin’. He will have his first outing in the Opunake Hack Scurry to-morrow, and though his, breeding would suggest that he would be better suited by a distance, he is expected to run a creditable race. Back in Favour. After Iris indifferent showing in a gallop with St. Clara at Hawera on Tuesday Richfield receeded in favour for his engagement in the Members’ Handicap on Saturday, but he demonstrated that that form was not right by reeling off the best half-mile of the morning at Hawera yesterday. The son of Acre should strip a fit horse in the Members’ Handicap and will probably be favourite. Fit Northern Pair. Reports from Auckland state the P. E. Pope’s pair Diversion and Te Hiker, who arrived at New Plymouth yesterday, were in excellent order when they left Takanini. They will probably be on the track this morning, when they will be watched with interest. Ngareta in Form. ' No fault could be found with Ngareta’s condition yesterday. Miss Hicks certainly has her hunter in excellent order. So far nothing definite has been decided as to where the mare wilt be started tomorrow but she will probably contest the Maiden Steeplechase and the Hunt: Club Cup. She will have the services of the capable Hawera horseman W. Grindlay. Cereal’s Condition. Though he has not raced since the Stratford meeting on April 1 Cereal looked fit and well when he made his appearance on the New Plymouth track yesterday. It is evident that his ownertrainer has not let him be idle during the interval. He was not asked to go fast yesterday but will probably be sent along this morning. Showed Improvement. The hunter Mataro came to New Plymouth with a big reputation as a jumper but her intial effort on Tuesday morning was very disquieting to her connections. However, yesterday with her Hunt Cup pilot A. Gilmer in the saddle she gave a much improved display and may act up to her reputation on Saturday. Plenty of Riders. There were plenty of riders available for tire final trials at New Plymouth yesterday morning. H. Goldfinch, A. Gilmer, C. Goldsbro and R. Marsh were present, and the first named had a busy time on the flat, while Gilmer schooled Mataro and Ngareta. Good Gallop. Bold Bid showed to advantage over five furlongs on the track at New Plymouth yesterday. His effort was the best of the morning. When he was taken up in June he came to hand very quickly and his trainer gave him an easy time. When he was galloped five furlongs three weeks ago he stopped very badly over the last furlong. This did not greatly surprise his connections and since then he has made steady progress. There was no semblence 'of stopping yesterday morning, when it appeared as though another furlong would not have troubled him. He is a three-yera-old half brother to Merry Way by Potoa, both being out of the Absurd mare Merry Jest. Should Make Amends. Headmistress’ gallop yesterday demonstrated that the filly will be in excellent order for her engagement in the Urenui Hack Handicap to-morrow. Since she won at Opunake in March she has faced the starter on only one occasion—in the Trial Plate at Trentham—when she lost whatever chance she had by failing to move off smartly. She has improved of late, and followers of R. Barlow’s stable will be very disappointed if she fails to make amends very shortly. Calculating Dividends. An interesting experiment was witnessed at a Sydney course recently, when a totalisator indicator was tried in the presence 'of Government department and racing officials, and provided a satisfactory test. This indicator enables punters to arrive at the prices of all horses in a race, and it is possible to calculate what the dividend will be when the backer has added his own investment to what is already in the machine. This type of indicator employs two graduated scales, one, stationary, bearing numerals representing the number of investments ‘made on the totalisator, the other, a money scale, bearing money values. Dividends are read by the public by noting the number of tickets on any particular horse and referring to that number on the stationary numeral scale and reading the money value on the adjacent dividend scale. The machine may be set to show dividends on a first, second, and third basis, on first and second only or on first only. The percentages in the event of a race payadjustment for altering the required Ing only two dividends or one is simply made and requires only a second’s operation. The machine makes allowances for the percentage reductions required for taxes, etc., and may be used for a straight-out win machine or a place only machine. Approximate dividends may be read from the indicator at any time during the process of betting, and fluctuations of dividends are readily noted. A noted attraction is that any prospective totalisator investor may determine the amount by which any large wager would reduce the dividend value of any particular horse before he actually places that wager on the machine.