THE TROTTING TRACK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7606, 16 January 1903, Page 1

THE TROTTING TRACK.

miWs M HORSE AND SULK,

L ' (By DIRECTOR.) '„ i yy "' Dan Patch, the Americtra crack, paced ten imiles in 2min lsec or better during last Beason.

The trotting hbr_e The Frog,, well known •n Canterbury tracks, changed* hands at Hokitika recently foi: £12. y The Trotting Asswiiation has decided to refund the deposit in the appeal regarding the case of Maori Lad, considered at the December meeting.'

A pacing gelding, that has been racing Hnd winning in the Eastern States of America during the past season under the jiaroe of Dandy Hal, is believed to be ai H" ringer," but although many- con^plaints tiave been lodged against him, no : oine has llieeh able tp positively identify the; horse.

! la appointing Mr H. Brinkman as .handicapper for its next meeting, in place ;>f Mr :6L Dowse, who has resigned, the kahuna Park Trotting Club has made a move which should- popularise its meetings with Canterbury owners, '■' and generally conduce, to better apoit in Dunedin. Mr 'Brinkman has had a lot- of experience handicapping trotting races in Canterbury. He is very careful and conscientious, and- pos•esses the confidence of owners. His appointment by the Tahuna Park Club has been well received in Christchurch.

. What can he done by good training has been forcibly illustrated in the case of the American horse Prince Alert. Wlteh he wait landed over toLDeraarest to train, he. carried Ws head on" one side, would not score, and when he did get the word would rush away so fast that he was tuckered up before he bad gone half, the distance, and ao earned the imputation of b«ing soft. He has been in. Demarest's hands two seasons, has raced whererer he oould gst in, and has lost only tv* xaeaa. Be goes witb his bead straight

scores perfectly, and is a thoroughly game racer. ■ . j Most of the leading trainers of America say that the trotter that reaches the 2mm mark will have to he trained for nine months for the effort. ' When Cresceus made his recent record of 4min 17scc for two miles, he' trotted the last mile in 2min 6Asec and the last quarter in 32sec. As be liad only been in work for about three . months the performance was all the more remarkable. Jflie general impression is that he is capable of a: mile in 2min,' if specially prepared* for the task, bub as he is to be retired to the stud shortly he is not .likely to be given a chance of reaching the much-sought-after mark. \ ,,."■- A. new five-mile world's record, was ■ recently, established in America by the five-year-old gelding Lambra. The previous reoord-was 12min 30|sec; made in 1893,\ and the latest champion reduced those figures by 6|sec, the times for the different miles being 2min oOsec, 2min 26£s-c, 2min 26i_ec, 2min 25sec and 2min 36sec. All the horses which topk part in the race looked very tired at the finish* but- the most remarkable part of the contest lay in the fact that none of the competitors . had been specially trained for a long-distance journey.' The " Spirit of the Times " remarks thafc the fastest trotter in America.' that has no record and has never started in* a race is, the 1 hay niar,e Lou Dillon, by Sidney Dillon, in the statihMf the Californian trainer, Mil T lard, Sanders.- He 'brought her East' with .him las-t spring, but early in the, -season ■concluded to keep her over for next: year. He kept her in training, and at Memphis he drove her a- mile in 2min Bi_ec, last half in lmin Usee, after Avhich he offered ■ to wager lO.OOOdoI with E. E, Smathers, of New. York, .that she would, nest season beat Lord Derby. Owing. to a .difference regarding thf forfeit money, the wager was not made. Horsemen generally regard } . Lou Dillon as the brightest prospect for championship 'honours now in sight. When the question of horses competing at ■; unregistered meetings was the Trotting Association last week, '-'Mr Myers said they should not be too easy with persons who ran horses afc these gatherings. They had been given plenty of latitude, and the Association- was. gradually getting these sports meetings registered, but the Association- should be more strict now than it had been in., th© ■ past. ' Mr. •Clarkson tiiought^hey might carry this kind of -thing; tor a ridicukras length. y^iCov_ld not , see «the^ necessity for regfeia^t-^^or some of theevents >yhich were /$jm "■ at these ! meetings. . At' some of these meetings milkmen's- trots' and farmers' trots were heldi and he could not see what objection could be raised to them, or what need there was for registering these races or-the horses taking part in them. After sdme desultory discussion the subject dropped. . Writing of the trotting outlook in Australia, " Lightfoot." of the Melbourne V' Sport-man," says:— My suggestion that a syndicate, of breeders and sportsmen should secure a registered course, to give a couple of race meetings every. year for good stakes, is being discussed amongst those interested, and I think will bear fruit. From' a financial standpoint, if the promoters can only get Fritz, Owyhee and Bibbonwood, tto. meet in a "free for all" for, say, a 100 soys a )llrse > ie would undoubtedly prove a complete success. In order . to , make it worth the while for intercolonial horses to i^ome here. from XW,Z^o^^sm_/ South Wales, I would also fcuggesTUhafc Tp Australian Trotting Association promote a race meeting for, say, a 150 soys ptograuune within , a fortnight afterwards. I have also been in communication with the proprietor of. one of the unregistered racecourses, who is prepared to put up a purse of 50 soYs, udth a 10 soys sweepstakes for starters, for a "free for all" race about the same time. A few months back, in reply tp a communication from the New South'*" Walks Trotting Club, the secretary of the Australian Jockey Club - intimated that there ._ was nothing in the rules to prevent registered bookmakers plying their calling at the former club's fixture. At the opening meeting a few " pony " books, as well as the registered men, were doing business, but, on its being understood t'haifc Australian Jockey Club took exception to this state of affairs, the Trotting Club returned the licensing fees to the ""pony "men, and at the next meeting only bookmakers oh the Australiaa Jockey Club's roll) were in 'cvid'ence. Since then, however, the ruling body has potified that its registered bookmakers must not bet at. racecourses used for pony and galloway racing! Seeing it was known that the Trotting Club's meetings were to. be. held a)b v pony tiack, it was unfortunate tl^ Austrav Han Jockey Club Committee did "not decids at firpfc riot to allow registered bookmakers to bet there, instead of, as has been bhe case, putting the Trotting Club to a lot of inconvenience, to say nothing of loss in the way of returned fees, etc. The Trotting Club was formed with a view to giving that branch of sport a much -needed- lift, and, under the circumstances, it is a pity the Australian Jockey Club s-hould put obstacles in its way. v A strong agitation has been raised in America, of late in favour of abolishing the heat system, and substituting straight races, and the authorities afc Memphis'have decided to give the new plan a trial. Referring to this matter, the San Fmncisco ''Breeder and Sportsman" says.-r-It may "'■J&'.'that the Memphis people will devise some plan by which they can compel the horsemen to act honestly in every race, bub I think it will require a, tremendous lot of hard work and watchfulness. There is a temptation to cheat where dash; races are trotted and booking is done, that does not exist- under the old plan. To my mind the "dash system is an ideal one for harness. Ljust as it is for running racing, bub under .the present conditions on our tracks I caftnot see how it can be made popular unless the European system of handicapping is adopted and rates held at distances over a mile. If the stretches of our circular tracks were wide enough to allow all. the horses to be lined up in one tier, and they were started far enough up the track to permit them to get- going and strung out before the first turn is reached, there_ would be two serious objections to dash racing removed. A second tier position and, getting cut off at the first turn v --ius^^yi-- a trotter to lose tlie first heat of : avrac*.' An innovation which was made toy the judges at the Memphis trotting meeting has carased considerable discussion in Amerk.au racing circles. In the Free-for-all Trot, Wy Chain ' Shot and The Abbot started; The .übbqt, , -who had much the bitter record, being made favourite. It was plain, however, when the first heat started, that he >as not' in good form, and Chain Shot won easily in slow time for that class of horses. The judges called on the driver of The Abbot to explain why his horse oould make