RACING & TROTTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18817, 4 March 1931, Page 6

RACING & TROTTING

On and Off the Track. A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES. Racing:: Mar. 4, s—Rangitikei R.C. Mar. 6, 7 —Cromwell J.C. Mar. 7—Banks Peninsula R.C. Mar. 7—Franklin R.C. Mar. 11, 12—Dannevirke R.C. Mar. 14, 17—Ohinemuri J.C. Mar. 17—Opunake R.C. Mar. 19—Waimate R.C. Mai. 21—Bay of Plenty J.C. Mar. 23 —Oamaru J.C. Mar. 21, 23 Manawatu R.C. Mar. 26— Opotiki J.C. Mar. 26—Otautau R.C. Mar. 28, 30 —Westport J.C. April 4—Tuapeka County J.C. April 4, 6—Wairarapa R.C. April 4, 6 —Feilding J.C. April 4, 6—Auckland R.C. April 4, 6. 7—Riverton R.C. April 6 —Beaumont R.C. April 6—Waipukurau J.C. April 6—Kumara R.C. April 6—Waipapakauri R.C. April 6, 7—Canterbury J.C. Trotting: March 4, s—lnvercargill T.C. March 7—Nelson T.C. March 14—Timaru T.C. March 18—Wyndham T.C. March 21—Cheviot T.C. March 23—South Otago T.C. March 25 —Manawatu T.C. March 28— Wellington T.C. March 28—Thames T.C. April 4, B—N.Z. Metropolitan T.C. April 4, 6 —Hawera T.C. Rangitikei races to-day and tomorrow. Invercargill trots to-day and tomorrow. Banks Peninsula meeting on Saturday. Nominations for the Oamaru Jockey Club’s meeting are due at 8 p.m. on Monday next. B. Brodie. the Otago jockey, intends to leave shortly for Australia. The Australian Cup (2* miles), the longest handicap event in Australia, will be decided at Flemington to-day. Handicaps for the Timaru Trotting Club’s meeting are due on Friday. Acceptances will be taken until 9 p.m. on Tuesday next.

The mighty fallen. In the Railway Handicap at Trentham, Limerick receives 131 b from Laughing Prince and 71b from Cimabue.

Paddy McKinney, the Victorian trotter, who has been in the limelight lately, is owned by a Melbourne milk vendor, and in the off season has usually done duty in the milk cart. The English Grand National is to be run at Aintree on March 27th. It costs £IOO to start a horse, the big fee being charged with the idea of reducing the field to safer proportions.

Gold Tinge, who won the Breeders’ Plate at Randwick, but was a disappointment on returning to New Zealand, has failed to survive a preparation, and may not be trained again.

New Zealand horses continue to dominate the situation in Australia. At Flemington last Saturday, Phar Lap won the Essendon Stakes, Veilmond won the St; Leger, and Waterline was second in the Newmarket. There is a lot of luck, and a lot of art in placing horses, in racing. This is illustrated by the fact that Jaloux, who has won only one race, is required at the Banks Peninsula meeting to give half a stone to Glenrowan, winner of the Invercargill Cup. A feature of the Auckland Trotting Club’s meeting was the good judgment shown by backers in summing up the position. Only two winners during the two days paid over a “fiver.” Two paid less than even money, one even money, and six under £3, and the five others returned just over £4. Mr W. Pearson, owner of Amounis, secured one of the bargains of the turf when he paid 1800gns for him, and won about £40,000 in stakes. Amounis’s sister, Parfait Amour, for which he gave 4000gns as a yearling,-appears to be one of the other kind, as she cannot run into the money in maiden handicaps. There should be no shortage of horses for the Timaru Trotting Club’s meeting on Saturday week, and it seems safe to forecast an increase of 50 per cent, in the number of starters compared with the January fixture. Twenty-nine entries for the Timaru Cup should provide a big field—possibly too big for good racing. Favourites had a great innings at the Auckland Trotting Club’s meeting. On the first day four favourites won, and on the second day five favourites, one second favourite and two third favourites scored. This run of shortpriced winners was fortunate for the Club, as it resulted in the totalisator returns keeping up fairly well. Contingencies were responsible for Steeton, Cough and Hot Tea being bracketed in hack races at Gore. When Hot Tea’s trainer discovered this he withdrew the Tea Tray gelding, and decided to wait for an opportunity to back his horse solo. Hot Tea won so well at Riccarton that he is sure to be dangerous in hack races in future. Phar Lap’s Essendon Stakes win raised his stakes record to £50,762, and he should approach £60,000 before the season ends. The other biggest winners in Australia and New Zealand are:— Amounis £48,297, Gloaming £43.100, Limerick £38,729, Heroic £38,062, Eurythmic £36,891, Windbag £35,939, David £31,410, Carbine £29,626.

The Auckland Trotting Club Committee took the imusual course of holding a conference with owners and trainers concerning the handicapping of Mountain Dell and Free Advice on the second day of last week’s meeting. Eventually it was decided that three representatives of owners and trainers should confer with a sub-committee of the Club with a view to drafting suggestions for improvement. Francolin is becoming cantankerous at the barrier, and helped to cause delay in each of her races at Gore. She was started twice on the second day, the first time with 9.13 up, and had she missed this race she would probably have won the open sprint event later in the day. As it was, she was beaten by a very narrow margin—so narrow that some of her supporters were inclined to question the decision. It was a case in which the judge only was in a position to decide. The penalties and allowances tacked on to what were formerly weight-for-age races at Flemington are not likely to stop Phar Lap’s triumphant progress. The Night Raid gelding is obviously in a class by himself, and must be regarded as the greatest galloper Australia has seen. There are still numerous old-timers—obsessed with the idea that nothing is as good as it used to be—who claim that he is inferior to past cracks, but all the facts are in Phar Lap’s favour. One champion of an old-time New Zealander, writes: “Phar Lap is merely a galloping machine, and nothing else, while Carbine was undoubtedly the greatest horse of the age.” It is as galloping machines that comparisons must be made. In the St. George Stakes, Phar Lap’s first race this autumn, the betting figures were significant—l 4tol on Phar Lap, the others not quoted.

Mr J. M. Samson intends to be represented in the North Island Challenge Stakes by Lord Argosy. The Stratford Racing Club has been granted an extra day’s racing, and will race on Thursday, April 23. Since the rogues’ rail was sanctioned by the Racing Conference, Mr A. D. Mclvor has made free use of it, and nowadays he wastes no time in ordering bad actors. The three-year-old gelding. Night Recital, by Night Raid from Elocution, has been pm-chased from his breeder, Mr F. T. Buchanan, by Mr D. Campbell. He is a half brother to Gay Sonnet.

The late F. E. Loomb, who died at the beginning of the week, first came into prominence as a trainer in Poverty Bay, and it was from Gisborne that he produced Cynic, a Great Northern Hurdles winner.

The Sutala mare Steeton had been expensive to her admirers . since she won a trial event at Gore in the spring, and although she had run one or two good races in third place, she did not secure another van until the Gore meeting last week. Charmaine was making her first appearance over a mile and a quarter when she won the Racing Club Handicap at Gore. It was not until New Year that she displayed ability to run out a mile, and obviously she is staying better with age.

Tunamoe still carries an unsightly scar as a result of being hit by a car on the road at Wa-shdyke several months ago. but he is in good order just now, and should more than pay his way when the jumping season comes along. Ronaki, whose last previous start was in a steeplechase in Hawke’s Bay, reappeared in the Borough Handicap at Gore. He sported a bandage in front, and did not look likely to stand much racing. He is now trained in Invercargill from a trotting stable.

There was consternation when Erin’s Fair missed a place in ie two-mile trot at Gore on Wednesday. This four-year-old Erin’s King gelding has a big private reputation, and he has won more than one race. At a mile and a half he was an easy winner, and his turn should come soon.

Red Royal ran his best race for a long time when he was beaten by a head in the Croydon Handicap at Gore. He looked as if he would stop just before reaching the post, but was coming on again and was heading the winner once more a couple of strides past the judge. Messrs Revell and McMillan’s scheme of handicapping was discussed at length by the Wyndham Trotting Club, and it was finally decided that although the present system of handicapping was not perfect, it was the mi.it suitable, and that the club support the present system. A few showers during the next week should put the track in fine order for the Trotting Club’s meeting on March 14th. The made-up portions of the new course have now consolidated, and with a little grass on the crossing on race day it should leave little to be desired. The trotting events at Gore were a very useful adjunct to the racing. All four races drew good fields and provided excellent contests. The limits are shorter than they used to be, but there are plenty of pacers available in the south for the classes arranged, and better racing has resulted. The owner of The Smuggler (a four-year-old gelding by Balboa, trained by A. S. Ellis), was asked to put a price on the horse by a buyer who was prepared to go to a fair amount, but the reply was that The Smuggler is not on the market. A natural jumper with a nice turn of speed, The Smuggler looks an excellent prospect for the jumping business.

System handicapping has never been popular with a great many Aucklanders, and there was another outburst against it last week. The trouble arose over the handicaps for the second day of the Auckland Trotting Club’s meeting. The winner of the big race on the first day was penalised only 12yds, while the second horse was left on the same mark. This however, was not the fault of the system, but was the idea of the official administering it. As an economy measure, the Gore Racing Club closed its stewards’ luncheon room last week. No free luncheon tickets were issued to “distinguished” or other visitors, and stewards paid for their lunches at the public rooms. It is understood that the Invercargill Trotting Club will adopt the same procedure. So many people, many of them without colour of right, had found ways of becoming “guests” of clubs that the saving will be a very considerable one. Steeton and Cough were among a truckload of young horses bought by some Southlanders from Mr G. D. Greenwood. Although they race in different colours, a contingency caused them to be bracketed in the Summer Handicap at Gore, and as both were fancied, the couplet was made favourite. Steeton won and pulled Cough’s admirers through along with her own. Thornton, who won the Trial Plate, is a sister to Cough. Cough’s turn came on the second day, her previous race apparently having worked considerable improvement in her.

The complaint of an Auckland lady owner against the handicapping of Arachne at the Nelson meeting brings to light another of the complications which arise out of the “system.” Arachne won a race at Kaikoura, and at the Nelson meeting is one second further back than the extreme penalty on her Kaikoura mark. At Kaikoura, however, she had been let out a second, and Mr Paul imposed the penalty on her previous mark. It is probable that he is not entitled to do this, but the incident shows that the system is not so watertight as owners imagined it was going to be. Red Sea, whose running at Gore was questioned, was taken to Australia early in the season, but failed to display her best form there, and she did not race on her return until midsummer. Her win at Gore was her first this season. Last season she com-

menced a run of success by annexing the Wairio Gold Cup and the Otautau Cup. Next she won the Riverton Gold Cup, was beaten by a nose in the Easter Handicap, and won the main handicap on the third day of the meeting. Later in the season she won the Dunedin Birthday Handicap, and ran Waterline to a neck in the Provincial Handicap, carrying 8.11. Now that she has struck form again she should be in the limelight once more. In connection with the inquiry into Red Sea’s running, it may be said that her performances were not so inconsistent as those of Cough.