RACING & TROTTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 18764, 31 December 1930, Page 7

RACING & TROTTING

On and Off the Track. BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES. Racing:: Jan. 1, 2—Auckland R.C. Dec. 31, Jan. I—Greymouth J.C. Jan. I—Walkouaiti R.C. Jan. I—Wyndham R.C. Jan. 1, 2 —Hawke’s Bay J.C. Jan. 1, 2—Stratford R.C. Jan. 1, 2 —Marton J.C. jan. 1, 3 —Wairarapa R.C. Jan. 2, 3—Southland R.C. Jan. 7, B—Reefton8 —Reefton J.C. Jan. 7, B—Thames J.C. Jan. 10, 12—Vincent J.C. Jan. 14, 15—Foxton R.C. Jan. 17—Bay of Islands R.C. Jan. 20, 22—Wairoa R.C. Jan. 20, 22, 24—Wellington R.C. Jan. 22 —Ashhurst-Pohangina R.C. Jan. 24—Wairio J.C. Jan. 24—Waipapakauri R.C. Jan. 28, 29—Pahiatua R.C. Jan. 29, 31—Takapuna J.C. Trotting: Dec. 31 —Auckland T.C. Jan. 1, 2—Canterbury T.C. Jan. 3—Westland T.C. Jan. 5, 6—Greymouth T.C. Jan. 10—Timaru T.C. Jan. 17 —Wellington T.C. Jan. 24 —New Brighton T.C. Jan. 29—Northland T.C. Jan. 29, 31 —Forbury Park T.C. Feb. 27—N.Z. Metropolitan T.C. Feb. 24—Wellington T.C.

The Greymouth Jockey Club’s meeting is to open to-day. To-morrow (New Year’s Day), there will be races at Auckland, Waikouaiti, Wyndham, Greymouth, Hastings, Stratford, Marton and Wairarapa. On Friday,, meetings are calendared for Auckland, Invercargill, Hastings, Stratford and Marton. The Invercargill and Wairarapa fixtures are to be concluded on Saturday. Harold Logan’s defeat in the Auckland Trotting Cup has been very generally attributed to inefficient reinsmans'nip. High Speed did not do well on the southern trip, and was sent home without waiting for the Southland meetings. , , | Red Royal was off colour last week, and did not start at Dunedin. He will probably be saddled at Wyndham toI day. Some of the Southland horses disappointed their admirers at Wingatui last week. Those which were backed with the greatest confidence were Night Maid and Night Rose, and both may ) make amends before the new year is I very old. . : Historic carried a good horse’s weighu I to victory in the Manawatu Cup. and apparently is as good as ever. It has been suggested that he was lucky to beat Merry Damon, but in any case it was a fine performance. Smithereens, who was given to F. F. Trilford to try out as a possibility for hurdle racing, has been sent back to his owner, the Washdyke trainer having decided that the Arrowsmith | gelding is not specially adapted for the ! jumping business. j Celerity 11. had done very little work lon the eve of the Dunedin meeting. She went well for six furlongs and then got shut in in a packed field. All her best races have been run when she I came on the outside with ample gal- ! loping room. , Royal Saxon wrenched himself when he and some others suddenly dropped | back at the far turn in the Federal I Handicap at Dunedin. The Saxby geldi ing was unable to start on the second i day, and his Southland trip has been ! cancelled.

| The holiday racing has been respon- > sible for a good many surprises, but the i greatest was the failure of Nightmarch ! and Cylinder to secure a place in the I King’s Plate. Nightmarch, no doubt, ; was feeling the effects of his Auckland I Cup run under 9.13, which was not a ! good preparation for a mile race, but | Cylinder was not suffering from this ! disability. Karopoti, who won the King’s Plate 1 on Monday, defeated Cylinder in OctoI ber in the Great Northern Guineas. The fact that he equalled the New Zealand mile record of 1.36 3-5, established in the same race, recalls the sensational defeat of Gloaming by Thespian. The Hawk, maker of many records, set a scorching pace, and Gloaming beat himself in chasing him, Thespian coming along at the end to win.

Hunting Cry carried 7.5 when he won the Railway Handicap last year. This year his impost was 8.12, but under the w.f.a. scale he should have improved 101 b for the extra year’s age. Allowing for this ,he was not harshly treated in being raised another 111 b for his several important wins in the interval. As a matter of fact he was the biggest money-earner in the Dominion last season, scoring seven victories and collecting just on £SOOO.

Handicaps for the Timaru Trotting Club’s meeting are due on Saturday. Acceptances will close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Trotting meetings for the remainder of the week are: Auckland, to-day; Canterbury Park, Thursday and Friday; Westland, Saturday. G. Hope, who won two Grand Nationals on Mutiny and another on Waterbury, died in Southland last week.

Rawhitiroa was given by the wireless stations yesterday afternoon as the winner of the Auckland Trotting Derby.

Pink Note displayed a lot of his old dash in the St. Andrews Handicap at Wingatui, and if he can be kept in strong work he should re-enter the winning list before long. The 3.20 2-5 registered by Red Shadow at Auckland yesterday is a Derby record, and also a winning record for a three-year-old. The only faster official time by a pacer of that age is John Jinks’s 3.20 for third place. Silver Paper was a high-class sprinier until an attempt to win the Wellington Cup set him back. He is coming along nicely under J. Ruttledge’s care at Wingatui, and will come into the picture again before long. Quinopal more than once has petered out at the end of six furlongs, but it was just at that point that he commenced his winning run at Dunedin. The popular impression that seven was just beyond him, enabled his friends to secure a nice return.

Meadow Lark has been a long time striking form this season, but he is not far from his best now. He may have had the breeze with him when he won at Dunedin, but some good races should come his way during the autumn.

Town Major ran a sterling race in the Otago Handicap, and possibly was unlucky to be beaten by a very narrow margin. P. T. Hogan has the black gelding in excellent order, and the Major looks an excellent prospect for a win this week, particularly if rain should fall.

It was stated after the Dunedin meeting that Celerity 11. was to be sent home to her owner’s place at Otautau, and would not race at the Southland meetings this week. However, she appears as an acceptor in the Invercargill Cup.

Solmar. Nightmarch’s half-brother, ran two good races at Dunedin. On the first day he would probably have beaten Kakara had his run been made a Ititle sooner. On the second day he tackled open company, and defeated all but the winner, the rapidly-improv-ing Some Toff. The Solferino gelding Solanum came from the tail of the field to finish third to Night Parade and Segrave in the Trial Stakes at Dunedin. In the Fernhill Handicap on the second day, Solanum was hung up at the start and lost ten or a dozen lengths. He put in another great finish to get fourth, and it looked as if his bad luck at the barrier cost him a win. Solanum is in the

Trial Plate at Waikouaiti. Gay Crest’s owner must be sympathised wtih in losing the Auckland Cup, but the horse is a notorious borer. He gave evidence of this early in his career, and carried more than one opponent against the outside rail. It was expected that the right-hand running in Sydney would cure him, but he bored out there also, and when he won the Waverley Handicap at Randwick he carried Paquito out. In the Woodville Cup recently, Gay Crest was again an offender. Mount Boa’s owner has had no reason to regret swapping a sheep dog for the sprightly chestnut, who won the big race on the second day of the Dunedin meeting so impressively that he must be considered in any provincial race. T. Hobbs has Mount Boa in fine condition, and the Waimate representative is not fickle over the state of the tracks, in fact he prefers them soft rather than otherwise. It has been recognised for some time that Satin King, winner of the big races at Gore and Winton, was the best pacer in Southland, and he has won his races this season with so much in hand that his real worth can only be guessed at. The tight mark he has worked to now will necessitate his appearance in better company, so that it should not be long before he is seen on Canterbury tracks. Meprisant beat Taboo at a difference of a pound over a mile at Wingatui. In the Waikouaiti Cup, Taboo has to concede 91b, and on a dry track Meprisant should beat him again. The Riccarton horse, however, is not a certain starter in the Cup. Taboo’s chance appears to depend on a heavy track, which assisted him to victory in the race in 1929 and 1930. In similar going to that which prevailed last year Taboo might complete the hat trick. At the six galloping and four trotting meetings in New Zealand on Boxing Day, there was a total decrease in totalisator investments of about £70,000, or an average of 20 per cent. The biggest decrease was in evidence at Awapuni, the investments totalling £34,408, against £51,763 on Boxing Day last year. The Club's revenue for the day from the machine was over a thousand less than on the preceding Boxing Day. Taranaki showed an almost equal rate of decrease. Matters would have been worse at Awapuni on Boxing Day had favourites not registered five wins and two seconds.

Some of Musent Miss’s backers who saw the Farewell Handicap from the main stand on the lawn were confident that Mr Hill’s mare had won. The winner finished on the inside rail, with Musent Miss against the outside fence. From the southern end of the stand Musent Miss no doubt would appear to be well in front. Actually she was at least two lengths behind Nanette, and half a length behind the third horse. Many spectators were similarly deceived when Master Anomaly ran off the course at Oamaru last season. Ammon Ra, the Foal Stakes winner, is a half-brother to Prodice. His only previous start was at Takapuna, where he finished second to his stable-mate Chief Jewel. On that occasion the trainer, J. T. Jamieson, w r as admonished by the stewards to be more definite in giving instructions to his riders, and the popular opinion was that Chief Jewel won on sufferance. Boxing Day running confirmed this view. With Ammon Ra, Tea Chat, Chief Jewel and other smart juveniles in his team, Jamieson holds a strong hand in two-year-old contests. Ammon Ra continues to be confused with Amun Ra, a four-year-old mare. The sensational dividend returned by Nanette in the Farewell Handicap at Dunedin was contributed to by Musent Miss attempting to run off the course. Musent Miss finished so strongly after being straightened up against the outside rail that it is probable she would have won had she come home in a straight line. When she swerved, she took A 1 Jolson and Steeton, who were just behind her, out a bit, and this also made things easier for Nanette. On the other hand, A 1 Jolson had plenty of time to catch the winner again had he been good enough. He looked like doing so at one stage, but was tiring at the end. Fair Weather outclassed his opponents in the two-year-old races at Dunedin, and if he maintains his recent rate of improvement he will be a tough proposition in the Champagne Stakes in February. At Riccarton in November there was not a great deal between Fair Weather and Last March—each

notched a second with 7.l3—but it would take a lot of weight to bring them together now. Fair Weather shapes as if six furlongs will be well within his compass next month. His dam. Victory Bond, was a rank nonstayer, but she had stout blood in her veins. Fair Weather is owned by a steward of the D.J.C. who entered the ranks of owners only a little over a year ago as part-owner of El Boa.

When it became known that the judge’s placings in the Auckland Cup had been reversed, the question was on many lips: “Who is Motere?” Motere is a four-year-old gelding by Lord Quex from Lovematch. Last season he won three hack races in Auckland province, and then finished third to Don Quixote and My Own in the Auckland St. Leger. This season, prior to contesting the Auckland Cup. he had finished out of a place in three open handicaps over a mile and a quarter. The progeny of Lord Quex have been more noted for speed rather than stamina, but the imported sire is by Lemberg. Motere’s dam, Lovematch, is a daughter of Martian and Lovelorn (a sister to the New Zealand Cup winner Menelaus, and Nones), and his blood on this side is very stout.

The Dunedin summer meeting is overshadowed in the matter of stakes by the Waikouaiti, Wyndham and Southland fixtures which follow, and there is a strong feeling that some horses which race there may be merely doing sharpening-up gallops for the bigger events later on. There was not much sign of it last week. On the first day especially the percentage of triers was very high. Two or three horses were neglected in the btV:ing. and were ridden by jockeys who are not usually associated with them when the money is in. but on the whole the racing was refreshingly keen. It was much the same on the second day, if one race is excepted. In this event coming events appeared to cast a strong shadow, but in all the others it would have been difficult to name more tnan three or four non-triers.

Night Parade atoned for several disappointments by landing a double at Wingatui. There was not a great deal of merit in his win in the Trial Stakes, as the field was not strong. Still he won by staying on. and he showed further ability to see out a journey by annexing the mile and a quarter hack event on the second day. The brother to First Raid is a lazy fellow, and a few pounds overweight were put up on Saturday to secure a strong rider in B. Brodie. It was hard riding that got him to the front in the straight, and he slowed up when the pressure was eased just on the post. This nearly cost him the race, and instead of beating Ballance by half a length or more, the margin was a short head. On the eve of the meeting T. E. Pankhurst took Night Parade over from his brother, J. W. Pankhurst, who was unlucky in not being credited with the wins.