On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20474, 20 July 1936, Page 8

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OP NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing : July 22—Rangitlkel 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. Weights for the Grand Nationals and Winter Cup will appear to-mor-row. • • • • Acceptances for the South Canterbury Bunt races are due by 9 to-mor-row night. Silver Sail, Silver Coat, Silver Jest and Silver Lark are all engaged in the Levels Handicap at Washdyke next Saturday. • • • • Wykemist appeared to be very sore at Waimate. He drifted to the rear in the Hunt Cup, and was pulled up without completing the course. • • • • Silver Lark gave no trouble at the barrier at Waimate, and although she was one of the last to begin in the Walhao Handicap, she finished well and beat all except Silver Coat. • • • ' • The Auckland hurdle jockey F. E. Baker Intends to ride at the South Canterbury Hunt Club meeting on Saturday, and later at the Christchurch Hunt and Grand National meetings. • • • • Lord Hereford, who raced at Hastings on Saturday, is engaged in the Hadlow Hurdles at the South Canterbury meeting this week. He is now owned by the Riverton trainer G. C. Bain. • • • • Blazon, favourite in the hurdle race at Waimate on Saturday, was going with apparent ease over the first half of the trip, and his failure to return a dividend was disconcerting to his supporters. • • * • When Money Mine won the Otago Hunt Cup at the beginning of the season he was regarded as a promising ’chaser, but he has not fulfilled the promise then shown. He was a false favourite in the Waimate Hunt Cup, in which he hit more than one fence. Sunny Comet was travelling so fast in the lead when he ran off at the second hurdle at Waimate that he went a furlong and a half before he could be pulled up. He had shown jumping ability in schooling and should not be discarded on account of Saturday's failure.

Mr K. Austin, who is booked for a mount In the Gloucester Cup race at the Grand National meeting, had his first ride in New Zealand at Waimate on Saturday, when he piloted Tippling in the Hunters’ Plate. Some years ago he was In the first flight of amateur horsemen in New South Wales. Gay Boa was making his first appearance when he won the Hunters’ Plate at Waimate. He is one of the team the Winton trainer F. Langford brought to Washdyke some weeks ago. Gay Boa is by Balboa from the Nassau mare Geraldine, and is well enough bred to win in much better company than he met on Saturday. • S • • Two good recoveries were made in the Waimate Hunt Cup. Harkaway made a faulty jump at the top of the straight, but was picked up smartly by W. Kitto. Bonny Buff bumped his rider on to his neck at the second leg of the stand double the last time round, and R. Register scrambled back and went on to win the race.

Only £lB was invested on the two-year-old Master Dingle in the Novice Stakes at Waimate on Saturday, but he will be in strong demand next time he goes to the races. He lost a lot of ground at the start, and then got up to defeat all except the winnter. Master Dingle, who is trained at Oamaru by R. Saxon, is by Shambles from Wattle Bloom, a mare related to Amatra, the dam of Black Duke.

A combination of local patriotism, the Rol I’Or jacket, and the fact that L. J. Ellis was riding, was probably responsible for Desirable being preferred to Mutus in the Novice Stakes at Waimate. At Oamaru two or three weeks earlier Mutus gave Desirable a start of ten or a dozen lengths over the last half mile and he should have been a hot favourite on Saturday.

Redolent, who won the hurdle race at Waimate, was making his first public appearance since he went into S. Barr’s stable. Redolent Is by Panmure, most of whose stock can jump, from Redowa, and is a half-brother to Baldowa, a smart performer in Southland some years ago. Redolent was going well in the Greenfield Hurdles at the Dunedin meeting when he got mixed up with Sisterina.

When Tea Urn got away with a lead of a hundred yards in the first two furlongs of the Amateur Cup at Waimate it looked as if he had only to stand up to win, but he broke down in the race and was overhauled and beaten by his stable mate Burglar. Tea Urn did a good deal of racing as a young horse In the colours of Mr J. Lindsay, of Dunedin, and won a hack handicap at Wingatul, but he had been off the scene for over four years when he went into Mrs J. Campbell’s stable a few weeks ago.

The committee of the Canterbury Jockey Club has decided to whitewash the top of the sod walls in the Grand National Steeplechase course, in order to give the horses a better sight for their take-off. The angle of the brush fence entering the straight is also to be altered. This is one of the stiffest obstacles in the whole circuit, and has brought down many a promising winner, but it is considered that the angle of approach has been responsible. Whitewashing the top of the sod wall proved advantageous at Riverton and later at Wingatui, and no doubt will do so at Riccarton. • • • • Santa Casa, winner of the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase had never before won a race, either over hurdles or on the flat. He is not, however, the first maiden steeplechaser to win this race, an Auckland writer points out. When Redleap won in 1892 he had not been successful over country, but he had won the V.R.C. Grand National Hurdles twice, first in 1889 and the second time a week before he won the steeples. In New Zealand Levanter scored his first success in a race of that description when he won the Great Northern Steeplechase in 1886. A few days before he had run unplaced in the ’ Maiden Steeplechase when having his first run over country. When Bercola and Peary won the Great Northern Steeplechase in consecutive years both were having their first steeplechase. Even in the case of the Liverpool Grand National, recognised as "the blue riband” of the steeplechasing world, success for a tyro is not unknown. Voluptuary, who won in 1884, had not before run in a steeplechase.

Questioned regarding the Australian report that One Whetu had been the medium of a sensational betting plunge for the Caulfield Cup, his trainer, J. Fryer, stated that neither he nor One Whetu’s owner, Mr J. F. Kiley, was associated with the commission. “Whoever launched the commission is foolish,” commented Fryer, "for there is no certainty that One Whetu will be taken to Australia. I would not care to take him over unless I had another horse to accompany him, and at present that does not seem likely.” When One Whetu was nominated several Others of Fryer’s team were entered for leading events in Australia, these being Le Grand, Wotan, Cynical Kid and Soloist. Since then, however, One Whetu is the only one of the five to have fulfilled expectations. “Neither Le Grand or Wotan has been favourably weighted in the Australian races and their owners are hardly likely to entertain the idea of a trip, either,” adde Fryer. “Le Grand has been handicapped at considerably above his best New Zealand form, while Wotan’s recent form has been hopeless. If he were right, I would not hesitate about taking Cynical Kid, for he is just the type to do well in steeplechases In Victoria. I should very much like to take him over, but in his present condition there is no chance of him going.” Fryer states that further plans for an Australian trip will not definitely be made until after the Manawatu meeting.