On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20784, 20 July 1937, Page 5

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing: July 17—Hawke's Bay Hunt. July 24—Rangitikei Hunt. July 24—South Canterbury Hunt July 31—Christchurch Hunt Trotting: Aug. 7, 11, 14—Metropolitan T.C. Acceptances for the South Canterbury Hunt meeting will close at 9 o'clock to-night.

The Washdyke Trot, to be run next Saturday, is the last harness race of the season.

Tagua has been penalised 24 yards in the Washdyke Trot, to be run at the South Canterbury Hunt meeting.

Racing this week will be conducted by the Rangitikei Hunt Club at Marton and by the South Canterbury Hunt Club at Washdyke.

Queen Dorothy was the only winner at last year’s Waimate Hunt meeting to succeed again at Washdyke on the following Saturday.

Betting will be conducted on the single pool (75—25) system at the Hunt meeting on Saturday, as well as at the Rangitikei fixture.

The annual report of the Wellington Trotting Club discloses that the club experienced its most successful season for many years, a profit of £2943/1/8 being made.

The grey deceiver Racketeer is now trained by R. Motz at New Brighton. The angular Wrack gelding paces fast in private, but in races his form is in keeping with his plebeian appearance.

Treviot Downs has shown little form for some time, but it has been decided to give him another opportunity and lie has been placed back in training under J. Young at Addington.

J. Bell is educating at Ashburton a four-year-old Man-o-War gelding which is reputed to measure 18 hands. That means that he stands a foot higher than a horse of 15 hands, a quite usual size for pacers.

Master Reynard, making a reappearance after an interval of about 18 months, was started twice at Waimate —in the hurdle race and the Waimate Handicap. He petered out in each event. - At his last meeting in the previous season his connections thought him good enough to run in the open sprint at the Wellington Cup meeting. Loeknit and Lockit, who are likely to be confused by many racegoers, are both well named—Locknit is a son of Embroidery, while Lockit, half brother to McHeath. is a son of Polly Peachum. Polly Peachum, McHeath and Lockit are the names of characters in “The Beggar’s Opera.”

Taking the view that no race should be of less value than £2OO, the Auckland Trotting Club has for its August meeting allocated £1775 for eight races. In every event an increase has been made over the stakes of last August, which totalled £1375. The classes are still slow, the fastest being 4.36 for two miles.

The rising three-year-old Highborn who, at his last start, won the Nursery Handicap at the Avondale Jockey Club's meeting in April, is to leave for Sydney on Friday to fulfil his spring engagements. Floodtide, who has wintered well, will leave Takanini in about a month, the principal objective of the trip being the Melbourne Cup.

A ruling has been obtained from the Racing Conference that horses which have won between £4OO and £5OO (in firsts), and which will regain hack status after August 1, are eligible for nomination in hack events at the Grand National meeting. A good number of horses are likely to benefit by this dispensation.

Uncle Jim, winner of the Waimate Hunt Cup, is a member of the wellknown Fairy Benzie family, which has produced a host of successful performers on the flat and over jumps. Golden King won a Birthday Handicap and an Invercargill Cup, and nearly thirty races altogether. Deportment accounted for two Great Western Steeplechases, and other winners for the tribe included Mythology, Agnola, Royal Fashion, and Fairy Fashion.

Arrangements have been made by H. Rama to ship Tooley Street and Miss Appellant, to Sydney on July 23. This pah wil be well forward as far as racing conditions is concerned by the time they reach their destination. The form of Tooley Street is well known, and there will be plenty of races to suit him in Australia, while Miss Appellant has shown speed on several occasions and should be a possibility in minor events at the suburban meetings.

The lifting of the New Zealand Cup stake to its pre-depression value of £2OOO has aroused Interest in Auckland, and now speculation is rife as to whether the Auckland Racing Club will rise to the occasion when the time comes for it to frame its summer programme, says a northern paper. In the meantime there is every prospect of the spring fixture at Ellerslie bearing considerable Increases in prize money. With provincial clubs putting on £lOOO races, the northern metropolitan body will have to step out to maintain its prestige).

At Riccarton yesterday morning Cottingham (H. Turner) was the first out, going over eight hurdles. He travelled at a slow pace the first round, but went much faster the second time. As usual, he jumped brilliantly. Redolent and Glggleswick, each with J. Murfitt in the saddle, jumped in good style, when schooled separately over four hurdles. Noctumus (F. E. Baker) and the Shambles hunter from Mrs Campbell's stable (G. Ridgway) set off a few lengths in front of First Spec (H. Turner) for a turn over the fences. The pace was solid from the start. The hunter was eased at the end of a round, but followed the other pair at a leisurely gait over three more fences,

while the other pair went on together with the pace on. All three jumped well.

The Wellington Racing Club has more than doubled its season’s turnover (£279,083 to £568,331) since win and place betting was adopted in 1932-33. That may be attributed wholly to improved economic conditions, but advocates of the dual system can point to the fact that Auckland, which abandoned it after one season’s trial, has ben able to show a rise from £422,172 to £598,128 only. Weather conditions have to be studied, but the figures are rather striking. At Riccarton, another win-and-place stronghold, there has been a jump in the same period from £213,348 to £419,171. The position is accentuated when it is remembered that Auckland has five public holidays— Boxing Day, January 1, Easter Saturday and Monday, and King’s Birthday, while Wellington has only two and Riccarton one.

The Waimate Tragedy: Genuine and widespread regret is felt that the otherwise complete success of the Waimate Hunt meeting, and the endeavour to revive amateur racing, should be marred by the untimely death of an enthusiastic member, Mr Robin Harper. Fatalities in racing are remarkably few in comparison with the risks run, and it was tragic that after enjoying Immunity from serious accident through six seasons of hunting and two of point-to-point racing, MiHarper should have suffered fatal injuries on his first appearance as a rider on a racecourse. The fall appeared to be a simple one, and although the horseman seemed to have the reins wound one wrist, it was not realised that he had received! very severe injuries to his chest. Certainly no thought was entertained that fatal consequences would so soon ensue. The fence was not a formidable one, there was no suspicion of interference, and the horse ridden by Mr Harper was not a green or dangerous mount, as it had a good record in point-to-point races, in which much stiffer obstacles are encountered. Le Chicot, known in the hunting field as The Joker, has two wins to his credit over the Levels country, the last being gained only a few weeks ago. Mr Harper during the last two seasons had met with success at point-to-point gatherings with his own hunter Sir Beresford, and his brother had made a good start with Royal Raid, who won at Ashburton. The sympathy of the whole community will be extended to Mr H. J. C. Harper and family at the premature passing of a young sportsman who had barely crossed the threshold of manhood.

NEW HACK RULE. By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, July 19. To bring the programme of the Grand National meeting in line with the new hack rule, which operates from the beginning of next month, the words "hack conditions" have been deleted from the programme, and the races formerly under this heading had new conditions attached, making them for horses that at the time of entry had not won a race of the value of £250 to the winner, or races of an aggregate value of £5OO to the winner. PADISHAH SCRATCHED. By Tcleernph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, July 19. Padishah was scratched for all engagements at the Grand National meeting, at 9 o’clock this morning.