On and Off the Track

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20892, 23 November 1937, Page 12

On and Off the Track

A BUDGET OF NEWS AND VIEWS FIXTURES Racing Nov. 27—Ashburton C.R.C. Nov. 27, 29—Takapuna J.C. Nov. 27, 30—Felldlng J.C. Dec. 4—Otaki Maori R.C. Dec. 11—Hororata R.C. Dec. 11, 13—Woodville D.J.C. Dec. 18—Waipa R.C. Dec. 27—Waipukurau J.C. Dec. 27—Westland R.C. Dec. 27, 28—Dunedin J.C. Dec. 27, 28—Taranaki R.C. Dec. 27, 28, 30— Manawatu R.C. Dec. 27, 29, Jan. 1, 3—Auckland R.C. Jan. I—Waikouaiti J.C. , Jan. I—Wyndham J.C. Jan. 3—Oamaru J. C. Jan. 3, 4—Southland R.C. Trotting Nov 25, ’7--Forbury Park T.C Dec. 4—New Brighton T.C. Dec. 4—Waikato T.C. Dec. 4—Wairio T.C. Dec. 11—Reefton T.C. Dec. 27—Ashburton T.C. Dec. 27—Gore T.C. Dec. 27—Walrarapa T.C. Dec. 27, 28—Westport T.C. Dec. 28, 30, 31—Auckland T.C. Dec. 29—Winton T.C. Jan. 1, 3 —Canterbury Park T.C.

Acceptances for the Ashburton races close at 8 to-night.

Sea Fox has gone amiss, and had to be scratched for his engagements at Invercargill.

Mr F. Legat, of Winton, has been appointed starter for the Wyndham and Wairio Racing Clubs.

The Forbury Park Club’s spring meeting will open on Thursday, and will be featured by a reversion to the single pool system of betting.

Kinnoull was not started at the Cup meeting, but there is nothing amiss with him, and he should be nearly at his best by the time the summer meetings come round.

Francis Drake suffered from a split hoof which prevented his fulfilling his Australian programme, but he has made a fair recovery, and is to race at Auckland at Christmas.

Amalia, who won the Australian Cup last year, was passed in after being offered for sale by auction at th recent Melbourne sales, the highest bid for the seven-year-old mare being 200 guineas.

Hunting Cat, who has recovered from the accident that befell h! on the boat en route to the New Zealand Cup meeting, is again a daily visitor to the Hastings tracks. He will probably race at Feilding.

Only five horses have been paid up for in the £3OO sprint, and only eight in the £5OO President’s Handicap at Forbury. The big fields promised if the single-pool system was reverted to have not materialised. Since the recent Addington meeting Aircraft has had another change of trainers, and he is now under S. A. Edwards. His efforts at Addington were fair, but he is capable of holding his own in better class.

R. E. McLellan had nine horses which it was intended to race at the Southland meeting, but they were reduced to five. Western Song broke down, and Boswell, Waltoru and Coonara all developed soreness on the hard tracks before rain arrived.

After 10 months’ absence from racing Great Shot has been recommissioned at Invercargill by F. W. Ellis, who also has taken in hand the three-year-old colt by Silvius. The colt was put into training over a year ago, but was soon put aside.

Courtcraft, after a few days in the paddock on his return from Australia, has rejoined the active brigade at Woodville, and F. W. Davis is preparing him for the Derby at Auckland. The two-year filly Homily, who did well in Australia, will contest the Foal Stakes at Ellerslie.

The filly Lady Chat, who was injured on the trip to Riccarton and was unable to start, was on the tracks at Hastings last week for the first time since her return. She is carrying some scars, but has made a good recovery and may be got ready for the Auckland summer meeting.

When Janet Gaynor won her third race at Riccarton she registered 1.24 2-5, within 2-ssec of Finora’s thlrteen-year-old course record. The runnerup was Fog Peak, but this gelding nished out of a place, with only two pounds above the minimum at Invercargill, after getting a good run.

Since the New Zealand Cup meeting, the American pacer Bill B. formerly trained by F. C. Dunlevey, has been handed over to G. Mourltz, and it is the intention to give hi: a long spell from racing. At the moment he is being boxed and fed, but otherwise his routine of training has been dropped.

A. D. Webster is likely to return to the racing arena in New Zealand in the near future. He reregistered his colours, and has claimed the name of Sir Acre for a five-year-old gelding by Acre from the Spalpeen-Lady Moutoa mare Moutoa Lady. Sir Acre is in work at Otaki.

The Tasmanian pacer New Ideal, now trained at Forbury, was installed a sound second favourite for the Waverley Trot at Invercargill. He broke at the start and interfered with another well-backed candidate. Fortunate. New Ideal left his feet again after going half a mile, but was once more a possibility for a place when he made a fatal mistake three furlongs further on. The New Derby gelding has plenty of speed, but will have to become more reliable to win many races.

A £19,000 race at Randwick during the Anniversary celebrations is a proposal that is now being discussed in racing circles in Sydney.

Bright Wings, who won the two-year-old race at Te Rapa on Saturday, is by the Valais horse Vaals. His dam, White Wings (Limond-Water-wings) is a sister to Agrion and Waikare, and Waterwings is a sister to Mermin.

At a sale following the Cup meeting in Melbourne, Mr M. Steinberg, f Auckland, secured a two-year-old bay colt, by Windbag from Lutra for 110 guineas. After being broken in the new purchase will be shipped to New Zealand in charge of the Hawera trainer, J. Fryer. Lutra, who is by Duke Humphrey, is - half-sister to Otford, dam of Manfred.

Discussing the success of comparatively young horses at Addington, a northern writer says: “Never before in the history of trotting had two five-year-olds been eligible for the Cup, a -1.26 class, and it says much for the advancement of breeding that they should account for two of the principal races at the fixture. They were Lucky Jack in the New Zealand Trotting Cup and Pot Luck in the Louisson Handicap.” It has been overlooked that Graham Direct and Gamble (five-year-olds) were in the previous Cup.

Since his poor showing in the Free-For-All, Indianapolis has been kept up to his work at Addington. He appears to be in excellent order, and if he pleases his connections he will be taken north to contest the Auckland Cup. He has been seen in action at Epsom several times, and although he won the Great Northern Derby in 1932, the Auckland Cup in the following year, and the Champion Handicap of 1934 after failing as a hot favourite in the Auckland Cup, he has never shown quite his best on the Alexandra Park track.

In America trainers adopt totally different methods of training from their brethren in New Zealand, Australia and England. They do not believe in pace-work. A horse either trots or he gallops. Jockeys, too, in the U.S.A, ride differently. They believe that the best way to win a race is to make the pace, and they hurry to the front, or try to. This means that whips are flashing immediately the barrier rises, and it is not uncommon for the first six furlongs of a ten furlongs race to be run in 1:11. The result is that the field - almost walks over the last half-mile, and weary horses stagger over the judge’s line.

So great were the punters’ winnings on the four days of the Melbourne Cup meeting that it may be several years before the ring regains its normal strength (alleges an Australian writer). Settling day, it was estimated, would bring their aggregate losses over the carnival to more than £200,000. Punters picked winners with uncanny accuracy. In race after race well-known turf plungers brought off spectacular coups. Of the 25 races 11 were won by heavily-backed favourites, four by second favourites, and one by a third favourite. The longest price winner was at 12 to 1. Faced with alarming deficits fielders were forced to take risks at the finish: but only got into further difficulties. It may be weeks before some of the bigger punters get their winnings. This can be taken with more than one grain of salt. Bookmakers seldom admit having had a winning day and just now they are vigorously agitating for a reduction of taxation.