RACING & TROTTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19801, 17 May 1934, Page 6

RACING & TROTTING

On and Off the Track A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEW 3 FIXTURES Racing: May 19—Rangitikei R.C. May 19—Ashburton C.R.C. May 19, 21—Te Kuiti R.C. May 26 —South Canterbury J.C. June 2,4, s—Dunedin J.C. June 2,4, 6—Auckland R.C. June 2, 4—Otaki Maori R.C. Trotting: June 2, 4—Canterbury Park TjC. June 2, 4—Hawke’s Bay T.C. June 9—Ashburton T.C. June 20, 23—Auckland T.C. No mid-week racing this week. Racing at Ashburton on Saturday. There will be two race meetings in the north on Saturday—Rangitikei and Te Kuiti. F. Voight is now qualified to ride in light-weight handicaps for hurdle and steeplechase jockeys. L. J. Ellis, who will be riding at Ashburton on Saturday, maintains his lead of six points over K. Voitre. lan’s March, Denise and Donalda are in foal to Pink Coat, and have been retired from the race tracks. The horses nominated for the Invitation Race at Wellington were Harold Logan. Red Shadow. Walla Walia, Lindberg, Auburn Lad, and Glenrossie. Walla Walla’s last appearance in his New Zealand trip will be made at the Wellington Trotting Club's meeting to-day. The future of Silver Ring seems to be settled for the next two years by the lease to a West Coaster. An offer of £2.500 was refused not long ago for the Silverado gelding. Signaller raced four times on the two days at Invercargill, twice over ten furlongs and twice over a mile. The result was two seconds and a third. W. Stone has returned to Sydney, taking Norman Conquest and a two-year-old half-brother to that gelding. Norman Conquest might do well on some of the smaller Sydney tracks, as he has a brilliant burst of speed.

Ringtrue, who has given J. T. Paul a lift at Auckland provincial trotting fixtures, has won three r&ces in succesion. He is by Travis Axworthy from Bertha Belle, dam of Great Bingen, Peter Bingen, Great Peter, and other good ones.

F. W. Ellis has not had anything of the class of Red Sea or Queen Balboa in his stable lately, but he won a double at Invercargill last week with Great Shot, a smart little gelding who looks a good prospect for middle- distance racing.

The entry of nine for the South Canterbury Handicap is one of the poorest in number and class for a mile and a quarter race at Washdyke for many years. There is compensation in a nomination of fifteen for the steeplechase, and of 25 in the mile hack event.

Royal Limond was sent home in disgrace after the Wanganui meeting. His northern tour never looked promising, as he seems to have taken a pronounced dislike to hurdles. Tea Garden also has been brought home, leaving Hounslow to go to Auckland alone.

Last year the Ritchie Memorial Steeplechase at Invercargill was a fiasco. There were two acceptors, and one fell at the second fence. This year the race was described as “one of the most thrilling between the flags ever witnessed on the course, six of the starters being in the picture throughout.”

Worthy Queen could not finish with the pacers in the President’s Handicap at Oamaru, and the trotting queen does not look a good two-miler. It might be unwise to adopt this view in the meantime, as she had to put up a long and sustained fight to avoid being headed off on the rails by Chenwood.

Ecclefechen and Dunmure, who have won three steeplechases each in Southland this season, are both by imported Panmure, who has met with moderate success as a sire so far, but may come into prominence as a producer of jumpers. A week ago Dunmure was looked upon as Southland’s most promising young chaser, but Ecclefechen. who looks the more likely of the twain to handle weight, is now more in favour.

Three two-year-old pacers—Hoyle (by Jack Potts), Radiant Gold (by Rey de Oro), and Moana Tama (by Neison Derby)—were introduced in the Advance Handicap at Oamaru. Radiant Gold, a half sister to Chenwood. showed some promise, but Hoyle gave a rather shocking display. Moana Tama’s effort in finishing second was rather impressive, and was the best public Sapling Stakes trial to date. So far there have been no War Buoys seen out among the two-year-olds.

The invitation races have attracted to trotting courses thousands of people who were merely onlookers and not patrons of the totalisator. The gate and machine returns at Oamaru demonstrated this. Last year the gate receipts were £239 and the totalisator handled £12,800; this year the turnstile took in £350, and the turnover was £14.400. Last Saturday the Club had approximately 1.200 more paying male guests, and probably an additional 1.000 ladies (who were free), but the extra thousands sent the investments up only by £1,600 or so.

Black Duke ran a sound race under a light-weight in the Southland Cup. He appeared to have his head in front when the straight was reached, and was still in the front row' half a furlong from home. Black Duke does not look his eleven years, and D. P. Wilson by no means despairs of winning more races with him. The old fellow might have been retired and used as a hack if he had a more tractable disposition.

The A.J.C. has increased the stake for The Metropolitan from £3,500 to £4,000, but the race will be overshadowed next spring by the big prizes to be offered in Victoria in connection with the Centenary celebrations. The Melbourne Cup will be worth £IO,OOO, and the Caulfield Cup £6,500. In four days the V.R.C. will distribute over £30,000 at Flemington. and in two days there will be £15.000 in prizes at Caulfield. Moonee Valley I for one day offers £B,OOO and WilliamsI town £5,500 for one day, with a ConI solation Day of £4,500 at Caulfield.