RACING AND TROTTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20465, 9 July 1936, Page 11

RACING AND TROTTING

On and Off the Track A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing : July 9, 11—Wellington R.C. July 18—Hawke’s Bay Hunt Club. July 18—Waimate District Hum Club July 22—Rangitikei Hunt Club July 23, 25—Poverty Bay Turf Club July 25—South Canterbury H.C. July 25— Manawatu R.C. Aug. I—Christchurch Hunt Club Aug. I—Poverty Bay Hunt Club Aug. 11, 13, 15—Grand National. Trotting : Aug 8, 12, 14—Metropolitan T.C. The Wellington meeting will be continued to-day. Entries for the South Canterbury Hunt meeting will be taken until 9 p.m. to-morrow. There are over 60 horses in training in Hawera, the largest number for over eight years. Both jumping races in to-day’s programme at Trentham are restricted to hacks. Peter Jackson was one of the longpriced division in the Whyte Handicap at Trentham, and was one of the last to finish. Hunting Jay won the Vittoria Hurdles at Trentham a year ago. This year he declined to line up at the barrier and finished last. The most disappointing effort at Trentham on Tuesday was that of Desert Glow, who was never prominent in the big steeplechase and was pulled up without completing the course. In the last two seasons the same horse won the Trentham Hurdles and the Winter Hurdles. Clarion Call looks like barring Black Marlin’s way to the double this season. • ♦ * • Clarion Call, whose only race at the Wellington m’eeting will be the Winter Hurdles, arrived over the week-end and he looked in great order when out exercising. There Is every possibility of several fresh horses from the Auckland district competing on the second and third days at Trentham and their presence, also that of others making their initial appearance, will further stimulate interest.

When Half Note let her backers down at Oamaru, the excuse was offered that the hard track did not suit her. Another alibi is called for to explain her failure at Trentham. Her ability is unquestioned, but she seems to have become unreliable.

The best all-round performance registered at a Wellington winter meetIng was that of Nukumai, who In 1027 won the Whyte Handicap and Parliamentary Handicap on the flat, and on the third day accounted for the Winter Hurdles.

Le Grand has gone on the right way since Wanganui and at Trentham is expected to keep the opposition busy in the middle distance hack events. The roomy nature of the course will be in his favour, while he showed in winning at Te Rap.i that he is at home on a heavy track. Cynical Kid is engaged in the Hack Steeplechase to-day, and the July Steeplechase on Saturday. He has not yet completely shaken off his lameness, but has shown distinct improvement during the past week. If "warmed up” before the start he should go to the post in fairly good shape and appears sure to be hard to beat. R. Webby will ride him.

The Waverley Racing Club, which races on Labour Day, has had some remarkable fluctuations in totalisator turnover. In 1920 the investments totalled £41.950, and in 1931 had dropped to £4620. In 1926 it gave £1560 in stakes, and in 1932 the prizemoney had dropped to £6OO. In 1920, the sum of £1284 was taken at the gates; in 1932, rock-bottom was touched at £l9O.

The Victorian owner of the New Zealand gelding, King Colossus did not land his coup over the V.R.C, Grand National Hurdles. Long before entries were taken, and at a time when the horse was on the black list at Flemington, he backed him at long prices to win a fortune. When he succeeded in getting the ban removed, on the plea that King Colossus had become more tractable, his bet was a better one, but in the race the horse was last to finish.

Until High Speed led the Held home in the hack steeplechase on Tuesday, his owner had not won on the Trentham course. Mr Jones has done comparatively little racing there, however, and it is at Ashburton and Ricearton that he may be considered unlucky. He has won races on most South Island tracks, and succeeded on the old Ashburton course near Tinwald, but never on the present one. On one occasion many years ago backers of one of his horses claimed that it had been overlooked at Ricearton, and it may happen that High Speed will put matters right there. • • • • The following horses may be prominent at Trentham to-day:— Highweight Handicap— Signaller, Santoft, Corowa. Trial Plate—Chat, Araboa, Young Paddon. Corunna Hurdles—Ethiop, John Charles, Lord Vai. Seatoun Handicap—Bantry, Hunting Star, Braw Lad. Matal Steeplechase— Illuminagh, Tangled, Gascille. Parliamentary Handicap— Arctic King, Korero, Horowhenua. Members’ Handicap— Boomerang, Dungarvan, Adalene. Petone Handicap—Hunting Maid, Le Grand, Contract. The rising three-year-old colt Brabant by Vaals from Roselove, trained at Trentham by H. Telford for Mr A. G. Roberts, of North Auckland, has been sold to Sir Joseph Robinson, of South Africa, and he will be shipped from Wellington on Friday. Brabant

has not done much racing, but he is a winner, and he has developed into a fine colt with first-class prospects. Sir oseph Robinson, is now well known in Dominion sporting circles. His first purchases, four yearlings, included Wakatipu and The Haka, and later he bought Rotorua (who went on to England because of an excessive import tax then ruling in South Africa), and more recently The Khedive, who has already been a winner in his new home.

An interesting entrant for the Trial races at Trentham is the Te Rapa trained two-year-old Young Paddon (Surveyor-Lady Frisco). The Lady Frisco family is noted for mudlarking. The best was probably Paddon, who ran second to Rascal in the Trial Plate as a three-year-old and then won the Novice Stakes on the final day, and also won the Whyte Handicap in 1929 and the Winter Hurdles in successive years, 1932 and 1933. Young Paddon is a half-brother to this horse and also to White-Comet, Chang, and Grand Score. It will be remembered that three years ago, Mr C. Seifert, the owner of these horses, brought off a coup with Grand Score at Trentham. As a three-year-old Grand Score was asked to make his racing debut in the Woburn Hack Handicap, and ran greenly, going very wide at the home turn, after showing a lot of pace up to this point. He was produced again on the final day and he defeated a hot favourite in Tavern Knight to pay a big double-figure dividend. Will Grand Score’s halfbrother Young Paddon follow In the footsteps of his relatives this week?

Mr E. J. Watt (owner of Gold Rod), who is reported to be seriously ill in Sydney, is scarcely known to the young generation of New Zealanders, but at one time he was one of our biggest owners, and still has considerable interests in Hawke’s Bay. Among the horses he raced with success in this country, winning two New Zealand Cups and nearly every race of importance, were: Palaver. The Shannon, and St. Mack, Indian Queen, King Billy, Float, Starshoot, Bridge, Midnight Sun, Aborigine, Maori king, Boomerang and Cheddar. Mr Watt carried on with racing in Australia, and won the A.J.C. Derby with Mountain Knight in 1914, the Breeders’ Plate with Ventura (1911) and Del Monte (1914) and Gold Rod (1936); the A.J.C. Metropolitan Handicap with Pershore (1920) and Waikare <1934); A.J.C. Champagne Stakes with Athenic (1913); and the AJ C. Hurdle Race with Lady Doris. He also won many other events in NSW. and Victoria, while he extended his operations to Queensland in 1933 to score in the Derby with the New Zea-land-bred Waikare.