RACING ON AND OFF THE TRACK

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22473, 7 January 1943, Page 4

RACING ON AND OFF THE TRACK

Happy Man just failed to enter the 2.5 list when he took 2.5 1-5 to win the second saddle race at Addington.

Horses from F. W. Ellis’s stable have won £3295 to date this season. W. E. Hazlett’s team has accounted for only one race this season, but with place money it has collected £770. Shadow Maid was J. Bryce's sixth winner of the Auckland Trotting Cup. The first mile of the Canterbury Handicap, won by Horsepower, took longer than 2.21. Had Gold Bar been on deck it would have been nearer 2.5. Macedoine, who has won £l4lO since the beginning of October, will probably be given a spell. The Riverton Cup may be her next big race. A. McLellan has sold the trotter. Sea Max, to Mr S. Todd, of Invercargill, who will probably send her to Canterbury to be trained. Sea Max should make the grade in the better company. Amor Lad’s Imin 26 l-ssec in the Waikiwi Handicap at Invercargill established a new seven furlong record for Southland. A. Messervy was fined £5 for neglecting to weigh in on Straight Bat (fourth) in the Flying Handicap at Invercargill. Royal Lancer’s win in the Invercargill Cup was his fifteenth, in addition to which he has been placed 11 times His earnings for the current season are £2170, and his aggregate £4730, W. F. Ellis scored his 100th win when he rode Tea for Two at Invercargill. Subsequently he was successful on Royal Chorus and Royal Lancer. The telegraphed report of the result of the Auckland Trotting Cup gave Shadow Maid's winning margin as half a length. A photograph of the finish suggests that It w’as two lengths or more. Royal Brief apparently races best on a full stomach. On returning home after finishing second at Invercargill he cleaned up the feed his trainer gave him, and before morning had consumed all his bedding as well. Kindergarten’s assignment this week will be the Clifford Plate (11 mitesi. It will mark his first appearance in a w.f.a. race at Ellerslie. Two years ago he was not nominated for the King’s Plate or the Clifford Plate, and last season he was not at the meeting. It was a “royal” day at Invercargill on Saturday last. Successive races were won by Royal Chorus, Royal Brief. Royal Lancer and Royal Fortune. One pound played up on royalty on the win machine would have increased to more than £5OO. The record dividend for the Dominion is £1033, paid by Wairoa Belle in a saddle trot at Nelson in 1920. The highest for a galloper is £443, by Karamu in a hurdle race at Avondale in 1924. Billy Peach’s price was slightly less than Karamu’s. Among those who collected more than £440 on Billy Peach was a Chinese. Altogether Billy Peach carried £l6/10/- to win. W. F. Ellis wins a lot of races by getting his horses through on or near the inside rail. This nearly brought trouble in the three-year-old race at Invercargill. He had Tea for Two tucked in behind Ranji and Air Chief coming to the home turn, where he tried to get through. Tea for Two blundered and dropped back, and, although she eventually found the opening, it was overlate in coming and she won by only a short head. Ellis was reprimanded for attempting to go where there was insufficient room.

Twenty-four nominations have been received for the Wellington Cup, of £3OOO ; 2 miles. The list is as follows: Kindergarten, Royal Lancer, Lou Rosa, Happy Ending, Gladynev, Arctic Dawn, Kevin, Battledress, Gay Genet, High Class, Indian Princess, The Joker, Regal Fox, Greek Dancer, Filbert, Marble Fox. Centrepoise, Yogi, Eulogist, Classform, Foxola, Enrich, Beau Leon, Hogarth. It is rumoured that the Canterbury Trotting Owners’ and Breeders’ Association has appealed—it certainly has threatened to appeal—to the Minister of Internal Affairs asking him to suspend the Gore Racing Club's permit unless two trotting events are Included in the programme. It is unthinkable that the Minister would even consider such an unwarrantable act of interference with the domestic policy of clubs which are governed by the Rules of Racing or of Trotting, but if the Association takes the action threatened it will do grave disservice to the sport its has a mission to foster. Its ill-advised action is calculated to cause friction in racing and trotting circles, and to invite political domination of sport is a gross blunder. Turnovers such as those recorded during the holidays were not envisaged when many of the totalisator buildings were designed, and the staffs have as a result been confronted by unexpected difficulties. In one or two cases, however, there have been deficiencies which could not be wholly attributed to shortage of space. Failure to read the signs and provide sufficient workers have been a source of trouble. At Wingatui on Boxing Day the payout department broke down hopelessly, but this is understood to have been due partly to absenteeism. The space difficulty can be overcome to a large extend by the provision of temporary accommodation. Apart from insufficient room and staff there has been another cause for complaint—slowness in balancing. At Dunedin there was ironical applause when the belated allclear was given, and it seems timely to attempt to devise a more rapid method. At the Southland meetings the machine was balanced much more rapidly.