SPORTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11153, 11 August 1914, Page 5

SPORTING.

RACING MDJROTTING. NOTES BY "ARGDS." FIXTURES. Angast 18 and 15—C.J.C. Grand National. * There was not anything like the attendance that was expected on the opening day of the Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting at Addington, and the totalisator turnover showed, lor once in a while, a decrease on the pie- : riotxs year's. The war scare must have been the reason for thp drop in attendance and totalisator revenue, because the meeting promised, m every way to be on© of the most successful the club Ms held. The public, however, failed bo treat the meeting m the oidmaiy ■wav, and there was an absence _or enthusiasm and go about the racing that was most pronounced. W the various perfonnance and the prospecta of the horses were at times closely discussed by those mterested, the general public in riew •he momentuous question of the how, and failed to bring themselves down to the business on hand. K y though the first day a racing at Ad dington might provide an indication at what will take place later in the week. Jt is almont certain that the attendance and the betting will be , seriously effected during the week a racing. s

The meeting was conducted m tho Usual excellent manner, and everything passed off satisfactorily. There was some delay in the totalisator paying out and the declaration of the dividends, but it must be remembered that the betting is by payment of sovereigns. The holding of the gold, and the continuous pavment of notes must hav* hampered those workup in the machine, and all things considered, Mr Efacdongall and his staff, got through Hjeir work in a most creditable manner Jrader the altered conditions'.

The racing ffas capital, and a largo cumber of horses went very fast >specially in the slower classes. Ihe track was in capital order and the weather most favourable for fast work. This combination of favourable conditions, coupled with the fact that the <veather has allowed trainers to their charges a solid preparation, without interruption throueh bad weather, resulted in nearly all the horses racing in far better condition than is usually found at this time, of the year.

The mile harness race was won by Goldwood in good style, but a protest ■ was lodged by the owner of the second horse, on the ground that the winner was nominated Dy the wife of a licensed trainer. I Vve on previous occasions referred to breaches of this rule. In awarding the stake to horse the cluV only carried out the rules that hare been framed dealing with the subject. It is only a few months ago that j drew pointed reference to the rule and again quote it for the benefit or those* owners who are occasionally reBponsible for breaches. It reads as follows: "Rule 167—N0 horse m which the wife of any licensed trainer or jockey'or driver or rider has any interest shall be entered or started for ' any race, and any such horse, if he shall start, shall be disqualified for the race." Goodwood, the winner of the Speedway Handicap, was entered m the name of Mrs A. T. Lake, and the trainer's name was shown m the race book as A. T. Lake. The club, before disqualifying the horse for the race, cave careful consideration to those who had backed him, and, showing good * judgment, decided that the money invested on Goldwood should be returned.: No doubt the club was influenced in coming to its decision by the fact that those who backed the horse had no chance of winning.

Tha southern-owned mare Lily F., trained by A. Pringle, who, owing to & mistake of the Railway Department, «ms prevented from starting at the iast ineetmg of the Canterbury Park Trotting Club, was made a strong favourite for the first race, but was easily beaten by Antonio, though she managed to get into second' place. The mare, who has been known to be capable of doing a good deal faster time than what she ■was handicapped at, has now the pool* satisfaction of having beaten her handicap time by a good many seconds without winning. The winner, Antonio, is a six-year-old stallion by Harold Dillon from that good mare Ocean Wave, and therefore is closely related to Oceanic and" Muricata. The horse has not been in work very long, and was slightly troubled with soreness, but he has received every attention from R. R«ay, and he paced a sound race throughout. It was his first appearance, and he must be accounted one of the best maidens seen out for some time, as lie speedily went to the front, and going solidlv"all' through, covered' the mile and a half in 3min 37sec. He is one of the best-mannered Harold Dillons seen out, and provided he goes on the right way, shou.d be found in the best class of race in the near future. Antonio was worked at first at Addington, and created' a favourable impression. His preparation for this meeting was done on a private = training track, but evidently his ability was well known, as he started a strong second favourite. Succeed, who finished in third place, commenced badly, through the reins becoming entangled in the harness, and it was some time before her driver got her together. She paced' very strongly over the last halfmile, but Antonio, who was in front ail the, way, stayed on surprisingly well, and Thomas's mar 9 had all tiie dash taken out ox her in making up the ground she lost at the start. Hal Boiock, the" scratch horse, never got near the leaders, and showed none of the pace with which lie is credited. Tne Oamaru mare Dalwhinnie, who was well supported, went soundly, but had no chance with the front division. Resurrection, who is much improved, looked like being in the firing line, but faded out at the end of the race. Muriel Dillon went a better race than her tra<ck form led one to expect. Muriel Dillon wa3 driven by C. James, the American trainer, who was making his first appearance in a race on a Jvew Zealand track.

There was a large field for the Maiden Handicap, for unhopped' trotters, ■ but the favourite, Gardenia, soon had the race well in hand and she won easily. Gardenia is an imported American mare by Starn B. from Perza, and is therefore half-sister to Perzaiine, another imported rriaxe wlio was raced here, but died some tirue ago. Gardenia does not show much quality, and has a most suspicious looking foreleg, but she trotted in good style and pulled tt.p after the race quite sound, despite the r act that she had been going badly in her work. Tony Robbins, a good looking sort of fielding by Frank Hobbins, trained by ('. Willetts, trotted Into second place and was somewhat unlucky in meeting such a good ono BS the winner. Tony Robbins looks capable of a good deal of improvement. Frank Wilkes, from the back mart, went a sound race, but had no chance with the front division. Hirokigave a poor showing, but went unsteadily, finally finishing in third place. The time for tho mile and a halt, omin 4/ i-Ssec was fast for maiden trotters. Kaikanui finished strongly in fourth place and looks as though he will make » caoable trotter when thoroughly seatoned, whilst Rio Grande went his best race to date.

I horses went off in very straggling order in the chief harness race, &e August Handicap, and although there was only a handicap of five seconds between them, before a qnarter of h mi'o had been covered the field was /strung out in a long file, frandocia ji'iiiled to start wdjireeze broke at tho

commencement, losing his position, while although Cameos, the favourite, soon got to the front, she was tunica round the wrong way when the starting bell sounded. Win Soon began very slowly, and School Girl misbehaved herself at the post, losing all chance early in the race. Brown Bell, too, was one of those who helped to make the start a bad one, and it looked as though it would be a poor contest. Cameos led the field for some time, when Solo ran to the front, but Pearl Child was always near the leaders, and half a mile from home went away and won very easily. Win Soon put .in » .great last round and finished within six or seven lengths of the winner, easily qualifying for the New Zealand Trottine; Cup, by covering the two miles in 4min 47 l-seec. Brown Bell finished second, and, had she commenced well, might have troubled the winner. ■I 015 '" my C., who covered a lot of ground in the rice, paced really well a»d fmished fourth. The winner, Pearl Child, has been known to be a good mare for some time, and it came as a. great surprise when she was beaten for the Auckland Cup by Jewel Chimes, m 4mm 39sec- She was very favourably handicapped in yesterday s race, as she went 4min 40sec at Auckland .and was within one second of the limit in a 4nnti 44 r ec class race. «lingle, who wa-s raced without straps, went a. good, sound race, and the horse's trainer stated that he had done all his work without what the Americans call underwear, so it was decided to race him witjiout the hopples. Edith A. was the only non-start-er in the rice, her scratching being due to a slight injury in her training work last Saturday.

There was not a good field for the two-mile saddle race. Gee Whiz got to the front at the start and won very easily from another front marker, Minora. The time was not particularly good, in view of the excellent condition of the track, but it was the winner■ s best performance to date. Chngschud showed a whole lot of pace and at one stage of the race looked as though lie could not be beaten, but he broke badly and lost a lot of ground, which, however, he soon up when he got going again. The effort took all the steam out of him, and he faded away over the last quarter of a mile. Gee Whiz, tho winner, has been a consistent performer on Canterbury tracks for some time, and can usually be relied on to pace around about smin for two miles, but ho slightly improved on that yesterday, and was very lucky in not meeting any other competitor that was capable of more improvement. Wallace Junr., looking particularly well, and on the best of behaviour, paced a sound race, but did not have any chance with the front division.

Tho two-mile trotters' race was not a good one. Imperial Crown got to the front and trotted soundly till half a mile from home, when- Miss Vma,n passed Price's horse and went on to win eastJy, paying a good dividend. Tho American horse, Blkton Hall, driven by R. M'Millan, was a strong favourite, and although trotting in good style did not show enough pace to get to the front, eventually finishing well bohind the front division. The horse looked sound, arid may race better after a few more contests- Massey, driven by A. Pringle, _ wis a strong southern tip, but he failed to get going early and was never dangerous. Massey is a particularly fast trotter, and a few months ago won a "mile race at Invercargill, in a field containing a lot of fast pacers. Armamenter went a good race till h?Jf a mile from home, when he broke up. May Flower, who has been responsible for a lot of good work on went very unstead* i]y. Annie K, who won at Ash bur-tori, showed some pace, but broke repeatedly. St Omer went soundly throughout. The winner's time was 4min 53 sec, so a lot of those handicapped m front of Witte's mare failed to trot up to their best performances. Taken altogether it was not a good race.;

The Selwyn Handicap was an excellent contest, and was won by Our Thorpe, a four-year-old horso by 0.Y.M., and one of tho best of that horse's progeny that has raced. He was driven a careful and skiltul race by A. Fleming, and beat Ariadne, who some time ago was in the same stable. Ariadne was not driven as judiciously as he might have been, otherwise he would have given the winner more trouble. Proud Girl, in finishing in third place, stayed better than usual. Texas, who was in the front division, was going very well when she was badly interfered with by Sherwood, when half a mile from home/ extinguishing any chance Smith's mare xriight have had of winning. Sherwood paced a good race, but did not stay, and Grandee began too slowly to have 'much chance of success. This horse has not yet recovered from his accident, and it looks as though it will be some time before he gets back to his best form. Childsdale was prominent at one part of the race, bui Nordiea paced very disappointingly, whilst Jack Aeliore, the favourite, mixed it badly at the start and never got near the front division. Our Thorpe, who was a candidate for the New Brighton Derby, went wrong just before that race, and was not a starter, but he is evidently a good colt that can stay well. He improved lOsec on his handicapped time.

There was not a large, field for the Speedway Handicap, the mile harness race, which was won by Geld wood.. who was disqualified for wrongful entry. The ESectric Handicap, the mile saddle event, had a large field, but as usual it was a poor contest, and Hamapuka, a horae in the same stable as Gold wood, won very easily, paying a substantial dividend.