On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20863, 20 October 1937, Page 11

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing Oct. 21, 23, 25—Wellington R.C. Oct. 23, 25—Gore R.C. Oct. 25—North Canterbury R.C. Oct. 25—Waverley R.C. Oct. 25—Waipawa County R.C. Oct. 25—Waikato Hunt Club. Oct. 29, 30—Poverty Bay Turf Club. Oct. 30—Banks Peninsula R.O. Oct. 30—Rangltikel R.C. Trotting October 23, 25—Auckland T.C. October 23, 25—Greymoutt. T.O. October 25—Oamaru T.C. October 30—Wellington T.C . October 30—Invercargill T.C. October 30—Thames T.C. Caulfield Cup this afternoon. The Wellington meeting will commence to-morrow. • * • • The stake for this season's Invercargill Cup will be raised to £5OO. Entries for minor events at the New Zealand Cup fixture are due by 5 p.m. on Friday. • 4> * • Trentham scratchings are.—Wellington Handicap, Hazoor; Wellesley Stakes, Diana Tetrix. • • • • Ortyx sprinted half a mile in 49 1-5 at Rlccarton yesterday, and may show up in the Wellesley Stakes. Dictate was not paid up for on the first day at Wellington, but may be a runner on Saturday. • • • • Sulleman, winner of the Trial Stakes at Avondale, is a half-brother to that smart sprinter Namakia, now in Australia. • • • • The Riccarton apprentice M. Caddy will attend the Gore meeting, where his mounts will Include Galleon, Dissemble, Gambler’s Luck and Dissemble. • • • • The Riverton Club, which has experienced difficulty In accommodating the big crowds at its Easter meeting, Is providing an additional stand which will seat a large number of people. Namara, the two-year-old hope of H. Gray’s stable, who ran below expectations at Auckland, is growing fast, and will not be asked to race again until the Christmas meetings. T. Hobbs may not make an early selection of a Cup rider for Silver Streak. He Is anxious to secure L. J. Ellis, who Is engaged for Wild Chase, and may elect to wait to see if the other Paper Money horse drops out. Real Estate (Rameses 11.-Romneya), apparently the fastest two-year-old in England, is not eligible for next season’s Derby, being a gelding. Rameses 11. is by Gainsborough from the Hurry On mare Grand Rapide. The highest turnover for a two-day meeting at Washdyke is £46,737, in the autumn of 1920. The total for the second day was £24,527, a record for the S.C.J.C. The best for a trotting meeting on the course is £25,211/10/-, also recorded in 1920. • • • • It was reported some time ago that Mrs Parsons, of Wanganui, presented Gallio to Mr M. Tims, who bred him, after the colt’s breakdown. Actually an exchange was effected, Mrs Parsons receiving in return the Australian filly Rosewing. • • * • Since Messrs T. and W. McCone purchased Queen Dorothy about fifteen months ago they have had the pleasure of seeing her win nine races, and the profit accruing (after expenses have been paid) from her earnings is over £l5OO. • • • • There will be racing on Saturday at Trentham and Gore; and bn Monday at Trentham, Gore, Ranglora, Waipawa, Waverley and Hamilton. Trotting meetings will be held at Auckland and Greymouth on Saturday, and at Oamaru, Auckland and Greymouth on Monday. • • • • Assessed on 3.5, Lightning Lady stepped 2.49 1-5 to win the Otipua Trot at Washdyke on Saturday, and from the same line the American pacer Fremont put 2.49 2-5 against his name at his first appearance In a race. Off the 3.37 mark Ivy Peterson won the Gladstone Handicap in 3.21 1-5, so that Marsceres (who was being given a work-out in preparation for Oamaru) would have had to do 3.15 or faster to catch her. • • • • The fatal accident to Gallio is described thus: “As soon as he started to swing Into the home stretch he began to weaken and floundered, hitting Kiltowyn just as the latter was passing him and temporarily throwing him out of his stride. Then Gallio’s rider tried to pull him up, but the horse kept going until he swayed and collapsed, sliding along on his hindquarters until he fell. This explains the fact that both his hind legs were broken.” • • • • At Trentham to-morrow L. J. Ellis is to ride Cuddle, Protector, Miracle and Mlshna, and A. E. Ellis will be on Silver Streak and Middle. The Chokebore horses, Wild Chase, Paper Slipper and Lazybones, also Top Row, will be steered by R. W. Jennings; while A. C. Messervy will handle Nightdress, Mulatto and Godfrey. Kinnoull, Queen of Song and Grey Honour will be piloted by C. T. Wilson, and Rebel Lad by H. W. Hibberd. • • • • A penalty of 31b In the Wainul Handicap for Klnnoull’s win at Washdyke is not prohibitive, and if he really has recaptured his best form there should be no doubt concerning the result. Pukeko has done a lot of racing In Wellington province, and presumably he is accurately placed in the handicaps. With penalty included, Kinnoull has to give Pukeko 31b, and there Is no comparison between the class of Pukeko and Kinnoull as a three-year-old. The effect on the finances of the South Canterbury Jockey Club of the substitution of a two-day meeting for two single days Is rather astonishing. The difference between the gate tak-

Ings on Thursday and those on Saturday was approximately £l4O. The difference in totalisator turnover was nearly £5OOO, on which the Club's percentage would have been about £3OO. If the figures for last April (the day which was dropped in favour of Thursday last) were taken into account, the loss In percentage would be Increased by £BB. Thus on gates and totalisator receipts the drop In revenue is seen to be in the vicinity of £5OO. Decreased sales of racebooks and in other directions would mean at least £25. On the credit side there is to be taken into account a saving in advertising, printing, postages and work on the course, amounting perhaps to £3O, and there is a possibility of nomination and acceptance fees being better. Allowing even £7O for this, there is only £lOO to be deducted, leaving a reduction in profit of £4OO on the two-day meeting. Assuming that the results in the autumn would be the same, it is obvious that the Club is more than £BOO per annum worse off under present day conditions as a result of Its Thursday racing, and has so much less money to pay in stakes or to build up a reserve fund. In fact, it is clear that if owners desire two-day meetings, they cannot expect much further increase in prizemoney. • • • • The 2.5 List. There are only fourteen horses with official records of a mile in 2.5 or faster in New Zealand. They are:—

These times were made in varied conditions and on different tracks. Happy Voyage paced on the big course at New Brighton, and Impromptu on that at Claudelands, both grassed. Nervie’s Last, the only unhoppled pacer in the list, performed on the smaller grass circuit at Epsom. Practically all the others raced at Addington on clay. Worthy Queen’s 2.3 3-5 is, of course, the record for an unhoppled trotter, made in a special trial against time. The figures credited to Acron, Logan Chief and Realm, were made in a race, as were those of Walla Walla, Harold Logan and Red Shadow, but even here there is a difference. The first three began from a moving though not actually a flying start, while the second three commenced from a stand. Thus Walla Walla’s 2.4 1-5 is the fastest race mile from a flat-footed start, and Acron’s 2.3 3-5 the best for any race. All the other horses mentioned established their records in special trials, from flying starts and with pacemakers, so that it is not easy to make comparisons. Lindbergh, it should be noted, paced Impromptu, and registered the same figures, but he was not “officially” timed. The horses named do not, of course, exhaust the list of those which have covered miles in 2.5. Scores and scores of times pacers must have covered last miles at Addington in much faster time, and conservative computations have made several of them step round about 2.2. Roi I’Or and Harold Logan have covered two successive miles from a standing start at average raes of 2.7 and 2.6 respectlcely, and the last mile in each case must have been a long way under 2.5. About the time Auburn Lad stepped 2.2 2-5, Roi I’Or had run him to a head when conceding 5 seconds in two miles; and just prior to Evicus leaving for Australia to do 2.3 2-5 he had done much the same to her. Given the opportunity Harold Logan, Roi I’Or and several other New Zealand pacers might have been very near the 2.0 mark.

Indianapolis .. .. 2.0 2-5 Auburn Lad .. .. 2.2 2-5 Acron .. .. 2.3 3-5 Worthy Queen .. .. 2.3 3-5 Walla Walla .. .. 2.3 4-5 Realm .. .. .. .. 2.3 4-5 Native Chief .. .. 2.4 1-5 Happy Voyage .. .. 2.4 1-5 Impromptu .. .. 2.4 1-5 Logan Chief .. 2.4 2-5 Harold Logan .. .. 2.4 2-5 Nervie’s Last .. .. 2.4 2-5 Great Bingen .. .. 2.4 4-5 Red Shadow .. .. 2.4 4-5