On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20510, 31 August 1936, Page 6

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing Sept. s—Taranaki Hunt Club. Sept. s—Otago5—Otago Hunt Club. Trotting Sept. . s—New Brighton T.C. Sept 12—Wellington T.C. Acceptances for the Otago Hunt races are du. at 5 p.m. to-day. Entries for the New Zealand Cup are clue on Friday next. It is expected that the new totalisator at Trentham will be ready long before the October meeting. A representative of Julius Totalisators is at present in Christchurch, probably in connection with future extensions of the machine at Riccarton. Five jockeys were fined £1 each for disobedience at the post in the Sylvia Park Handicap at the Pakuranga Hunt meeting. The hunter Tawhalo, which figures among the jumping fields at New Ply* mouth, is by Tuaheahe, who is now racing as a gelding.

Gustos ran a decent race in the Hobartville Stakes on Saturday. He was always well placed and just missed third money.

The New Zealander Love Song fell on the flat in the hurdle race at Warwick Farm on Saturday, and injured himself so seriously that he was destroyed.

Silver Streak started at a long price in the Campbelltown Handicap at Warwick Farm, but he showed Australians that he is better than he looks, and his form was good enough to suggest that he will pay expenses on the trip. The dual Grand National winner Valpeen is being qualified as a hunter in the Matamata district. From this it would seem likely his next appearance will be at Cambridge on Labour Day. and it will be interesting to see what weight he gets in the hunters’ ranks.

Entheos, who came into prominence last autumn when he won a double at Trentham, is booked to reappear at Wanganui, and it is interesting to note that, while in among the hacks the first day, he is entered for the open middle-distance race on the second day.

There will be three Hunt Club meetings this week—Egmont-Wanganui on Thursday, and Taranaki on Saturday, both at New Plymouth, and the Otago Hunt on Saturday at Wingatui. The next trotting fixture is that of the New Brighton Club, to take place on Saturday.

After spending £2680 on its new totalisator building and making other improvements, the Riverton Racing Club finished up last season with a cash balance of £2579. The Easter race meeting returned a profit of £2917, and further increases in stakes were foreshadowed by the president in his address at the annual meeting. New Zealand horses. Radiant Star and Desert Chief, won the principal events at Epsom (Victoria) on Saturday. both starting at remunerative prices. Radiant Star is now owned in Melbourne, but Desert Chief credited Mr G. J. Barton with another useful stake, and is now attracting attention in connection with the Caulfield Cup.

Twenty-three horses won over £lOOO in New Zealand last season, the highest figures being those of Cuddle £2985, Greek Shepherd £2907, Silver Ring £2145, Queen of Song £2145, and Wild Chase £1865. Greek Shepherd was the principal winner among the three-year-olds, Wild Chase among the two-yeac» olds, and Billy Boy £1470 among the jumpers.

Until it was acquired by the Australian Jockey Club twelve or thirteen years ago, the Warwick Farm course was controlled by a proprietary concern. The A.J.C. spent a lot of money on improvements, and so far it is doubtful if Warwick Farm has paid its way, but it has no doubt achieved the object in view—forcing other suburban clubs to raise the level of stakes.*

When he won the Introductory Trot at Epsom on Saturday, the Australian gelding Vain Lad was making his first appearance in a race, although he had competed in show ground events in New South Wales. Vain Lad was bought several months ago by a patron of F. J. Smith’s stable, but soreness had kept him from racing, and a day or two before he won at Auckland he was labelled a doubtful starter.

Talking must have carried two or three pounds overweight in the Warwick Stakes. Weight-for-age for a three-year-old over seven furlongs in August is 7.11, and the colt was entitled to a 101 b allowance, but J. O’Sullivan cannot scale less than 7.3 or 7.4. O’Sullivan, who won the Melbourne Cup on Hall Mark, secured a chance ride on Talking owing to the stewards rejecting an apprentice, the trainer’s son, as too inexperienced. Gold Rod, an odds-on favourite — the bookmakers laid double figures bar one —ran away from the opposition in the Hobartville Stakes at Warwick Farm, and the Chief Ruler colt is now a hotter favourite than ever for the Derby. The seven-furlongs trip did not throw much light on his ability to stay the distance of the classic, but he could not do more than win, and the race was over as soon as McCarten gave him his head three furlongs from home. With Cuddle. Silver Ring and Kinnoull in the field, the Warwick Stakes was a rather disappointing race for New Zealand. Silver Ring was always near the tail of the field, and appears to be sore. Kinnoull was close up for a time and going well, but dropped back suddenly as if he had encountered

most of the way, but was outstayed by Talking and the Queensland veteran Lough Neagh and just held off Sylvan-

King’s Play, who won the main event at Auckland on Saturday, paced on the rails behind the leading bunch for nearly a mile and a half, then he went to the front and won comfortably. He registered his third win in succession, all over two miles, having completed last season by capturing the principal stakes at Cambridge and Waikato. King’s Play is doubtfully bred, being registered as by Blue Mountain King or Peter Bingen. The owner of Peter Bingen naturally claims that the Cup winner is entitled to the credit, but popular opinion seems to incline the other way.

The Welsh shipping magnate, Lord Glanely, one of the spectacular operators on the English turf, has decided to make a clean sweep of his horses. The team in training numbers about seventy and with the exception of a few mares which are to be reserved for the stud, all are to go under the hammer. Lord Glanely has been poorly rewarded for his huge expenditure on racing and breeding, but the dispersal does not mean that he intends to restrict his interest in racing. He has decided to see if a complete change of horses will bring a change of luck. Until the Aga Khan paid 17,000gns for Fcridoon, Lord Glanely held the distinction of paying the world's record price (14,500gns for Blue Ensign) for a thoroughbred yearling.

Talking, winner of the Warwick Stakes, was the only three-year-old in the field, and he was one of those which benefited by the full allowance of 101 b. Talking first attracted attention by an end-to-end victory in the Wentworthville Stakes, a special weight three-year-old race at Rosehill, three weeks ago. Talking is by Magpie from Society, a New Zealand mare by Absurd from First Class. Talking’s pedigree bristles with winning blood. Magpie is by Dard Ronald (sire of Son-in-Law), and his stock include Windbag, Chatham and Winooka. First Class, dam of Society, is by All Black (sire of Desert Gold) from Class, who comes from the same line as Noctuiform, Wakeful, The Toff and other good ones. The fact that Society is by Absurd will prejudice him in many people’s eyes as a prospective stayer, but Veilmond, Waikare, Honour, Agrion and other winners up to a mile and a half, are sons of daughters of Absurd.