Turf Notes

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19668, 9 December 1933, Page 21

Turf Notes

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS. FIXTURES. Racing: Dec. 11—Woodville D.J.C. Dec. 16—Hororata R.C. (at Riccarton) Dec. 16—Waipa R.C. Dec. 26—Poverty Bay Turf Club. Dec. 26—Waipukurau J.C. Dec. 26, 27—Westland R.C. Dec. 26, 27—Taranaki J.C. Dec. 26, 27 —Dunedin J.C. Dec. 26, 27, 29 —Manawatu R.C. Dec. 26, 28, Jan. 1, 2—Auckland R.C. Jan. I—Waikouaiti R.C. Jan. I—'Wyndham R.C. Jan. 1, 2 —Greymouth J.C. Jan. 1, 2—Hawke’s Bay J.C. Jan. 1, 2—Stratford R.C. Jan. 1, 2—Mar ton J.C. Jan. 1, 2—Wairarapa R.C. Jan. 2—Oamaru J.C. Jan. 2, 3—Southland R.C. Trotting: Dec. 9 —New Brighton T.C. Dec. 26—Gore T.C. Dee. 26—Ashburton T.C. Dec. 26, 27—Wairarapa T.C. Dec. 26, 27—Westport T.C. Dec. 27, 29, 30—Auckland T.C. Dec. 29—Winton T.C. Dec. 30—Reefton T.C. Trotting at New Brighton to-day. The Woodville races will be concluded this afternoon. There will be no win machine at New Brighton to-day. There is some talk of a £20,000 Melbourne Cup next year, in connection with the centenary celebrations. Gold Country is in work again at Addington, having gone to J. S. Shaw’s stable. Minerval is still showing signs of lameness, and it is believed that the seat of the trouble is the formation of a splint. It is reported that Silver Ring, whose owner met his death in tragic circumstances at Riccarton, may go to the West Coast to be trained. Caliente, one of the winners at Takapuna, is by Polazel from Fortune’s Wheel (half-sister to Entreaty, dam of Phar Lap). The A.J.C. a week or two ago warned a New South Wales trainer off the Randwick and Warwick Farm courses, on the ground that he was suspected of complicity in the Gagoola-Simba ramp at Flemington. Mr C. D. Moore, who has seen every race for the Winton Cup—said to be the oldest continuous race in Southland—was present to see last week’s contest. His connection with the Club dates back to the early eighties. Steve Donoghue, the English jockey, has his 49th birthday in October. He still commands plenty of riding, but not many owners in New Zealand would care to put up a. jockey in hia fiftieth year. Gordon Richards has been invited to winter in India as the guest of the Maharajah of Rajpipia. There is something in being a star horseman in the Old Land, and Richards has risen from mine boy to the guest of princes. Australians will regard Inflation 8.5 as the best treated horse in the Railway Handicap, but he is in the paddock, and on top of that has not the same high rating in the Dominion as in the minds of Randwick racegoers The crack Italian three-year-old Crapom is to run in next season's Ascot Gold Cup. Crapom has won the Italian classics (the Derby, in which he was a good thing beaten, excepted), the Grand International at Ostende, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and he is rated 71b better than Capiello, the Grand Prix winner, in the French Free Handicap for three-year-olds. Final Shot, the Winning Hit filly who won at Ashburton, is out of Rivalry (Antagonist-Equipment). Antagonist. Soult, was unsound, but was one of the fastest horses ever seen in New Zealand, and on nis dam’s side traced back to Musket. Equipment was by Martian from TO-morrow, a daughter of a Trenton mare, and produced Centrepiece, Full Feather, Ball Dress, Cricket Bat, and other winners. Bred in this way, it would not be surprising if Final Shot turned out to be pretty useful. It has been pubished that the clash between the spring meetings of the Canterbury Jockey Club and the Auckland Racing Club would not occur again, and that Auckland would probably revert to its October dates. The secretary of the Auckland Racing Club states that his club knows nothing about such a change, and that it has no intention of reverting to the October dates. The conference should see that the clash is avoided in future, and not leave it to the will of the Club. There is unfortunately no immediate prospect of a meeting between War Buoy, the king of the ring among the , South Island three-year-old pacers, and the Auckland colt Chancellor, who presides over the North Islanders. Each j is rated at present at 3.30, though that j is no indication of their class, as each ! is capable of breaking 3.20. Chancellor j broke just after the start of the Sap- | ling Stakes, in his only test with War \ Buoy, and many Aucklanders are not | satisfied that he is inferior to the I southerner. The “Australian Trotting Record” ! states:—‘When Walla Walla goes to New Zealand he will have to be right I at his best if he is to carry all before ! him. Even then it may not be any ! certain!;' that he will remain unconquered. The most recent performances of Red Shadow stamp him as one likely to test the mettle of Walla Walla to the fullest extent His time in the New Zealand Cup, 424 1-5. was good enough, but he has run 4 18 2-5. and that he has not deteriorated was shown on the third day of the recent meeting, when he won over two miles comfortably in 4 21. and the same afternoon won the mile and a-quarter Free-for-All in 2 41 2-5. again having a little to spare ” The “Record” does not know the worst that is in store for Walla Walla. Conditions were not good when Red Shadow did 421 and he would have done at least 4 15 if he had raced on the middle day when Roi I'Or stepped 4.14 1-5 and Harold Logan about 4 13. Walla Walla will have to be at lr.s best all right, as we have horses on 4.37 that do 4.21. 4

Boudoir (Lord Quex-Oddity), a halfsister to the Wellington Cup winner Royal Artist, was nearly responsible for a sensation at Feilding. When she finished second in the Trial Stakes she was paying over two hundred. Havering has not improved in barrier manners during his Australian trip, and as a result of his behaviour at Feilding he has been recommended for the ‘‘schooling list.” This, if adopted, wili rule him out of fiat races. Riccarton has three promising Auckland Cup candidates in Polydora. Rocket and Nightly. The soundest of the trio is Rocket. The other two are causing their trainers some worry. A Southland paper says:—“ln running down the back stretch in a short race at Winton a well-known competitor has his mouth so wide open that it was almost possible to see what he had eaten at breakfast time. A belated effort in the home straight did not impress.” The striking success of the Grand National and New Zealand Cup meetings has inspired the Canterbury Jockey Club to increase the stakes for the one day summer fixture in February by £225. All the events except the Middlepark Plate will participate in the increase. The Canterbury District Committee has approved of the South Canterbury Jockey Club splitting the dates *>f its autumn meeting, for which April 19 and 21 were allocated by the Dates Committee of the Conference. There will now be two Saturday meetings, on April 21 and May 25, with the winter fixture on June 16 as originally arranged. In the Akaroa Handicap, run just prior to the New Zealand Cup, Polydora was weighed at 9.9, Minerval at 8.7, and Jaloux at 7.5. Polydora did not start, Minerval finished last and Jaloux was second. In the Auckland Cup, their weights are:—Polydora 7.8. Minerval 7.5, Jaloux 7.0. Minerval comes in 131 b worse compared with Polydora, and 241 b worse. When A. E. Ellis was offered the Auckland Cup ride on Polydora, it must have been anticipated that she would receive 8.3 or 8.5. It was a stroke of luck to get the mare in at 7.8, but there is only the slenderest chance that her trainer will be able to accept the gift. War Buoy’s 3.16 1-5 in the Derby was equivalent to 2.43 or better for a mile and a quarter. In the Saltaire Handicap at New Brighton to-day, Indianopolis will line up equal to llsec behind the three-year-old crack. Based on War Buoy’s Derby figures, Indianopolis is actually on 2.32, or 2.1 for a mile! English buyers are not afraid to risk paying tall prices for yearlings by untried sires. At this season’s sales at Newmarket, top price, 7100gns, was paid for a filly by Fairway from the Swynford mare Harpy. The highest figure for a colt was 6400gns, realised by a Fairway youngster. Fairway is by Phalaris from Scapa Flow (by Chaucer), and is a brother to Pharos, side of a Derby winner in Cameronian. Win and place totalisators will be operated at Woodville to-day, but there may be a change on Monday. A vote is to be taken this afternoon between win and place, and 70-20-10 where there are eight or more runners and 75-25 when fields are smaller than eight. A voting paper will be handed to each person at the turnstiles, and will be collected at the totalisator windows. A majority will decide which system is to be used on Monday. Horses likely to be in favour at New Brighton:—Trial Handicap— Wahnooka, Kotinga. Idanoe; Improvers’ Handicap—Young Travis, Atralette, Real Burton; Mace Memorial, Gay C *don, Ciro, Master Roy; Bowhill Handicap, Tangatu, Ruth Logan. Plain Silk; New Brighton Handicap, Stanley Bingen, King’s Voyage, Mr Penalty; Saltaire Handicap—War Buoy, Gold Paper, War Boat; Wainoni Handicap, Probationer, Royal Drusus, Some Guy; Electric Handicap, Wild Guy, Erin’s Princess, Accras. The value of the rule compelling jockeys to wear skull caps in races, especially In jumping events, was again illustrated at Williamstown (says a Melbourne writer). When A. McDonald. the New Zealand jockey, fell with Bayacre, in the hurdle race, he was struck on the head either by the I fallen horse or another passing over , him while he was on the ground. A cut from the front to the back was j inflicted in McDonald's skull cap. it | was as deep as a knife incision, and ; there is little doubt that the cap j saved McDonald from serious head injuries or possible death. As it was, he suffered only shock. It has been stated that big bettors amc:.j trotting owners are opposed to the win totalisator, on the ground that they cannot obtain a satisfactory price about their horses. It would be interesting to learn whether these owners have ever supported the machine to any extent; if not, their opinion does not count. There are owners who do not play the game with the clubs or public. They invest through channels which contribute nothing to the upkeep of the sport or the provision of stakes, and they are not prepared to accept the logical price about their horses. Instead they keep away from the machine in the hope that it will create a false dividend for them, and their views should not be considered when betting systems are under review'. For a pacer to have one mark on Tuesday, but a slower one if he waits till another day of the week, seems a bizarre suggestion. That a horse could win four races over sprint distances in October without disturbing his two mile rating, while the same penalty would be incurred for two wins in other months of the year, seems equally inequitable, but that h the position that will arise if certain proposals now before the Handicapping Committee of the Trotting Conference are adopted. One of these anomalies is advocated because Red Shadow won four races at the Cup meeting; the other apparently is designed to protect two particular races at Greymouth. At present, a horse on lint 4.28 or faster is penalised one second in two miles if it wins twice over a ! mile and a quarter. Conversely, a similar penalty is incurred in sprint races for two wins over the longer j Journey It is now proposed that any horse handicapped for the Trot- j ting Cup may win four mile and a quarter events before its two-mile ! rating is The result would j be that one horse might win in sue- j . | on 4.26 for two miles, while another

which won off 2.44 and 2.43 only would be pegged back to 4.25. The other proposal is that the Trotting Cup winner, if he is started in the sprint race on the same day, shall be penalised 12 yards, but if he waits until the second day his original mark remains unaltered. These suggestions have the doubtful merit of originality, but they have nothing else to commend them.