On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20781, 16 July 1937, Page 5

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEW FIXTURES Racing: July 17—Waimate Hunt July 24—Rangltikei Hunt. July 24—South Canterbury Hunt July 31—Christchurch Hunt

Trotting: Aug. 7, 11, 14—Metropolitan T.C.

A special train will leave Timaru for Waimate to-morrow at 10.19.

Acceptances for the South Canterbury Hunt meeting are due on Tuesday.

Mr W. P. Russell has been appointed handicapper to the Dunedin Jockey Club.

Streamline was ridden over eight fences at Riccarton yesterday, and going at a sound pace gave a good exhibition of jumping.

The Southland Racing Club made a profit of £1272 on the year's working, compared with £1291 last year and £154 in 1935. The race meetings showed a surplus of £2330.

Thurina, who has been in work for some time at Riccarton, has again developed unsoundness and is to be spelled. It is possible that this Grand National winner has run his last race.

First Spec, who is to contest the Waimate Hunt Cup, is a stranger to this district. He was given a run in the novice event at Ashburton last month, but prior to that all his racing had been done in the North Island.

Master Musk was to have been brought south by D. O’Connor for the National meeting, but the gelding was lame after the Winter Hurdles and the trip was cancelled.

Ruaform was not at Wellington as he developed a cough after Wanganui. It is not expected to be serious and he may be able to race at the Grand National meeting.

Enge, who was the outstanding handicap horse of the Wellington meeting, is not in the Winter Cup. It is probable that his connections were surprised by the substantial improvement in form he showed last week.

Mr A. F. Henkes entered an Englishbred horse, Dennis Blink, for the July Handicap of £6OOO, the richest race in South Africa. He backed the horse co win £lOO,OOO. Dennis Blink was beaten by the outsider, Bally James Duff, owned by Mrs Henkes, his wife.

The two-year-old filly Privy Seal has been purchased by Mr A. Robertson, of Wellington. She is to remain in R. S. Bagby’s stable at Ellerslie. Privy Seal is by Lord Warden from Palestrina, and has contested seven races for two seconds, being beaten by Bachelor King on both occasions.

The Hawera cross-country horseman W. Grindlay Intends to be at the Grand National meeting, but immediately afterwards will proceed to Melbourne where he has been engaged to ride the jumpers for J. Fryer's team. Few jockeys are more conscientious in their work than Grindlay, who has had a fairly good innings recently. With Red Manfred, Soloist and Tout le Monde to ride he should be busy in Victoria.

Waikato stables have been experiencing a successful winter. They accounted for a third of the winning list at the Great Northern meeting, and no fewer than 23 representatives filled minor roles over the three days of the big winter gathrlng. A number who successfully competed at the northern fixture did not make the trip to Trentham, among them being Sandy Dix, Irish Comet, Erinatlon, Allegretto, Windsor Lad, and Gadger, and, under the circumstances, the depleted team that went down did exceptionally well to win eight races and £2365.

After two good fourths on the flat earlier at the Wellington meeting, Huskle was expected to win the Winter Hurdles and started favourite. However, he gave a deplorable display of fencing and was well beaten, the task of making up ground after losing at least several lengths at most of the fences causing him to tire at the finish. It appeared as if his flat races had knocked him out. Huskie is one of the best stayers among the hurdlers and may make amends if taken to Riccarton for the Grand National next month.

Trentham served to introduce two little known jockeys in A. E. Lord and R. Register as the riders of the winners of the principal events. Neither had enjoyed much prominence, -previously and it was the first success for both on a metropolitan course (says a northern paper). Lord handled John Charles really wpll in both the Tren-

tham and Winter Hurdles. The Hawke’s Bay horseman has done well with limited opportunities and earlier in the season won races on Lord Hereford. Register has been riding for some time in the south with very few winning mounts, but he handled Santoft and Chang so well that he is assured of finding his services in greater demand in the future. Although the 7.3 minimum has been restored, this does not mean that all flat races must now be run under a 7.0 minimum. It is open to clubs to fix any minimum they choose, subject to the Rules of Racing, and if any club thinks that a 7.7 minimum is best it can set such a minimum in the conditions of its programme. The same principle applies to the motion that was defeated at the annual meeting cf the Racing Conference aiming to make the minimum distance of hurdle races IS miles. If any club desires to delete 1J miles hurdle events it can do so. Three horses have been backed for the Caulfied Cup by one man, says a Melbourne report. They are Aurie’s Star, Demagogue, and Alinura. Aurie’s Star won the last Oakleigh Plate and Newmarket Handicap, and his owner was behind the recent move. The horse was backed for approximately £lO,OOO. In the autumn Aurie’s Star was purely a sprinter, but evidently his connections consider that he will run out the mile and a half of the Caulfied Cup in the spring. Demagogue, who was backed with one bookmaker alone for £5OOO in connection with the Caulfield Cup, is a recent winner over a mile at Flemington, and he was second to Prince Sion over a mile and a quarter and 10 yards at Moonee Valley. In connection with the Melbourne Cup the only move of Importance was in connection with Alunga. The move was inspired from Sydney, and was rather extensive, but the backer declared that he was not acting for ths stable. The stable double of Desert Chief and Jack Hemer was backed, but not by connections of the two horses. Little other business was done, although Donaster was mentioned as the Caulfied Cup “leg” of several doubles. Talking, Sarcherie, Damalis. and Desert Chief are at present equal favourites for the Caulfied Cup and the rising three-year-olds Ajax, Courtcraft, and Lynch Law’ are on the top line for the Melbourne Cup. Before leaving for Australia J. Fryer stated that when he returns to New Zealand he will take up residence at Ellerslie, not at Hawera as formerly. He expects to race his team in Victoria until about the middle of November, returning to the Dominion after the Williamstown meeting. Fryer has been Taranaki’s most succesful trainer for many years and during his location at Hawera has turned out over 250 winners. From Fryer’s stables have come many good performers. Notable, of course, was the Melbourne Cup winner Wotan, but there were several others rated more highly than the Siegfried four-year-old. Peter Jackson won the Great Northern and New Zealand St. Legers besides several other good races, and included in Gaine Carrington's wins while under Fryer's care was the A.J.C. Chelmsford Stakes. Good class handicap performers hailing from the stable were Bright Glow. Paitonu, Cold Steel, Mendip, Welcome Nugget, Radiant Star, Gibraltar, Green Linnet, Onewhetu, Alchemic and many others, while jumping successes included the Grand National Steeplechase (Bercola), Great Northern Steeplechase (Copey), and the Great Northern Hurdles (Stanchion) .