THE SPORT OF RACING.

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 16427, 26 February 1925, Page 6

THE SPORT OF RACING.

FIXTURES. Feb. 25 anti 20 —Gore R.C. Fob. 25 and 20 —-Woodvi'le J.C. Feb. 20 and 28—Nelson ,T.C. Feb. 2S and srand: 2—Te Aroha J.C. M a reh 4 and s—Dannevirke5 —Dannevirke R.C. March 5 and 7 —Marlborough R.C. March 7 —Ranks Peninsula R.C. March 13 and 14—Napier Park R.C. March 21—Bay of Plenty J.C. March 20 and 21 —Rangitikei R.C. March 21 and 23 —Oamaru J.C. April 11. 13, 15 and IS —Australian J.C SALE OF K OAT AN U I YEARLINGS. TOP PRICE 750 GUINEAS. There was a fair attendance at the I sale of the above held at the Koatanui I homestead, but bidding was not spirited. and for some of the lots no bid was forth coming. The yearlings were in tip-top order and reflected great credit on Mr Currie. Air Alfred Reid, of Hastings, was the auctioneer, the sale being held by Messrs. Freeman R. Jackson and Co.. Ltd., in conjunction with Messrs Williams and Kettle. Ltd. The following are the details: P.ay colt (half-brother to Humbug and Epitaph) by Limond out of Eulogy (dam of Pennon) by Cicero —ICelibia., Mr W. H. Gaisford. 200 guineas. P.ay colt (brother to Absurdum) by Absurd —Holy rood (hup.) Mr W. Me A. Duncan, 750 guineas. Chestnut colt by Limond —Faroe (sister to Rational and The Monk) by A b su rd —Cow 1. Passed. Chestnut colt by Limond —Oka (darn of Opa) by Ptepniak—Sortie. Passed at 100 guineas. Bay filly (sister to The Thorn) by Absurd —Rose Queen, by King Rufus— Roscommon. Passed at 200 guineas. Brown filly by Absurd —Hinepahgo by All Black —Musette. Mr Russel Grace... 500 guineas. Bay filly by Absurd—Madam Butterfly (sister to Soldiers' Chorus. TannI hauser, Cherubini and Rossini) by Martian—Grand Opera. Passed at 200 guineas. Bay filly (half sister to Thespian) by Limond —Leta. by Ayr Laddie —Leading Lady. Air J. T. Jamieson. 200 j j guineas. j Bay filly (half sister to Grotesque ! and Glenross) try Limond—Bronze (a ' Wanganui Cup winner.) Alt’ G. F. Moore, 300 guineas. Chestnut filly (half-sister to Loyal Irish) by Limond—Moira Machree. by Cvrenian —Cuirasette. Passed. I Brown filly by Limond —Intrigue (sister to Farceur) by Absurd —Our Lady. Passed. Chestnut filly 3 year (unbroken) by Absurd—Lady Beaufort, by Cardinal 1 Beaufort—Cintra (dam of Para. La Penna, etc.). Messrs Chisholm and I Co.. Sydney. 200 guineas. Bay filly, 2yrs (unbroken) by Limond—Cintra (dam of La Penna, Wamj bn. Rad in e, Para and Foolish). Messrs Chisholm and Co.. Svdney, 50 guineas. I * It is seldom that a mare produces I five foals and is then again raced. Such is the record of Aright. Not only did she race, but the oldest of her progeny, King .lackey, competed at the same place on the same day. The incident took place at Murrumburrah. King .lackey, a live-year-old. by Prince Albert. took his place in the Maiden Handicap and finished last. His dam ran in the President's Handicap, and, not washing to disgrace her son. also chased the field home. Ten years ago - Air J. Hynes trained the mare, and , raced her in the country. Carrying his colours she ran seven times in novice events and filled second place on six occasions. She then threw her rider on the road and bolted, and as a result of cuts was thrown out of work for five months. Aright next appeared in public m; A.R.C. courses. She filled several places before winning a race for T. J. O'Lmighlin. She was then retired to the stud. Her second foal met with injuries and died. The, third is being broken in. preparatory to being raced, and the other two are growing in the paddocks. When the I A.J.C. recently ‘whitewashed' all the. horses that had competed on A.R.C. tracks. A right's owner thought (ho old mare had plenty of dash left, so decided to give her another trial. Her form at Murrumburrah. however, was anything but promising. G. Southall, a Sydney jockey, went to Murrumburrah with the hope of picking up a ride, lie was very pleased when three owners approached him to ride for them. Southall, however, discovered that tlie three were engaged in the same race,

| so asked them what chance each had [of winning. Ariglu's owner was sanguine of success so Southall took the j mount. I The stewards of the Wellington Trotting Club have lost no time in prepa ’- ing to make use of the extra permits granted by the Minister for Internal Affairs. At a meeting held this week it was decided to hold the autumn fixture on Thursday and Saturday. April 2nd and 4th. A total sum of £4030 was voted in stake money, and the limits . in all the events were substantially tightened up. The desire of the stewards to cater for the best class of sport was shown by the inclusion of ■ a, ’'Free for All” to he run over a mile i and a half course, with a moving start. This will give the Wellington public an opportunity of judging what highclass trotting really is. It is to be honod that the club’s enterprise will be rewarded by a liberal response from ■ owners. Conflicting reports are in circulation concerning Gold Light. It is understood that accommodation has been booked on the boat leaving for Sydney ; in file first week in March, but it is ■ rumoured that the Hymettus mare is , feeling the effects of the hard racing she has had this season, in which case there may he some doubts about the Australian trip. ‘•WHAT’S IT TO YOU." _ j THE DAYS BEFORE ADVANCE. We wore on our way to Wanganui (says a writer in the N.%. Times.) It was the day before the Cup. ‘'How would the horses of to-day get on with the horses of yesterday?” someone asked the oldest hand of the party. “Well,” he said, “if old Advance were to come back he would win the Cup to-morrow, even with all the weight they were putting on him towards the finish of his career.” We left is at that. A little later one of the earliest settlors of the district became attached to the party. He began to tell us of racing in the early days. “There were a lot of pretty good horses came over here those times,” he said. “They used to. bring them over from Australia and. as we could not get the pedigree of some of them, they were suspected of having been stolen.” There was one importer he remembered particularly. Not that he suggested the man raced stolen horses here. ’’Whenever there was a meeting.” lie said, “this fellow always turned up with something good. There was to he a meeting, and sure enough a couple of weeks before «the day of the races he appeared in the town with a rather good-looking mare. He was working her on the racecourse one morning and the other people with horses asked what the name of his mare was. “What’s it to you,” he replied. Those who made the -inquiry felt offended because of the answer they received, but when the mare was entered she went on the list as Wliat’s-it-to-You. She won alright—won very easily. Then came the most interesting part of the story. “That mare,” he went on. “was the dam of Old Sharkie, who was the dam of Young Sharkie, the dam of Laurel, from which we got the great Advance.” The old settler, it transpired, owned Advance for a brief while. He bought him for ISO as a yearling, but in order to enable a certain promise to be kept gave him back to the seller, and the black colt went into the stable of Joe Prosser, and became the champion of his time. “I had another from the' same mare." he said. “But lie was not as good as Advance'.’’’ we suggested. “No good at all. His breeding? Yes, he was by a horse called Vharangi, by Rangipuhi. but lie was no good as a ra rehorse." \V. I!. Jarvis, who lias been appointed the King’s trainer, comes oi old training stock, being the third son of the "late William Jarvis, the famous Newmarket trainer, whose father and grandfathers before him were en

gaged in the same profession on the famous Heath, in tiie early years ol the nineteenth century. It was, in lact, a Jarvis who trained Gitstavus whose .success was in 1921. Jarvis's lather, who held the- record for length of service at headquarters (or anywhere else, for that matter), had prac- ! tical experience in the management of horses for fifty years. He rode iiis first winner in 1860, but rapidly increasing ; weight made him turn his attention to training. His name will always be asI soclated with Ilona Vista, St. Damien, ( Rnvensbury (who had the misfortune ito be born in the same year as the | great Isinglass), and the famous Cy--1 llene, who was so tiny a yearling that ;he was not entered for the Derby. | \Y. 1?. Jarvis, who is very tall, and 1 rejoices in the soubriquet of ‘‘Long 1 "Willie." has not been so much in the public eye as his better known I brothers, Basil and Jack. He has had practical experience of horses all 1 his life and of training for the last | fourteen years, having been granted j his license in 1910'. Jarvis did exc-el-j lent work during the war. When his j father died Jarvis took over the stable, and by indomitable pluck, persistent ■ energy and skilful exercise of ■ his inherited ability he has turned the 1 corner handsomely, and in recent sea- , sons has done well. The horses which J Jarvis will take over for the most part have shown moderate form, though Weathervane and London Cry have fared exceptionally well in handicap j company, and Itunnymedo and Spark - j ling Gem are two-vear-olds with possiI bi 1 ities. The horses bred at the Sandringham Stud for years past, however, have not been worthy of its past fame, when such giant as Persimmon, Diamond Jubilee and Plorizel IT., first saw the light there. Efforts have made to infuse new vitality into the stock by , sending the mares to various of the best-known sires, but there has been no noticeable improvement. W. Alford, who is apprenticed to Jarvis, wail ride His Majesty’s horses whenever J. Childs, first jockey to the Royal stable, is unable to do the weight. Alford did exceptionally well last season—his second in the saddle. He won thirtyeight races.