SPORTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11254, 7 December 1914, Page 5

SPORTING.

RACING AND TROTTING. NOTES BY "ARGUS." FIXTURES. Deoamber 9, 10—WoodviUe Jockey Club. December 12—Bay of Plenty Jockey Club. December 16, 19—Neil Brighton Trotting Club. / The Hororata Racing Club is one of the ■ oldest of tho country racing «astitutiom in Canterbury, meetings na"ing been held there regularly since le early days of tho settlement. It is «* typical country gathering. Local residents ronstor in fair force, but Uio hulk of the attendance is usually clrawa from Christchurch. This was certain.y the case last Saturday, when «..e special train was liberally patronised, Ail© a large number also journeyed out bv road. Tho motor-cars made _in imposing display or. the course being lined along the inside rail, nearly *no whole length of tho straight, with the overflow finding impromptu garages in the shade of the trees that surround the course. It is not only m the ter of. attendance that the meeting is mainlv dependent on city support, as most'of tho competing horses were drawn from Riccarton stables. During recent vears there have been frequent outcries against the concentration of racing in tho centres, country people complaining at the curtailment of their privileges, but my experience arrived at after regularly* attending meetings in all parts of the province for a number of years, is that none of tho countrv fixtures could be carried on .at all without the support that is obtained from city sportsmen. In that ' respect, however, Hororata is no ditferont from many others, so I neei not further enlarge on tho 'subject here. The club has made fair progress in recent years, stakes having advanced, and though they are still insufficient to attract a good class or horses, there were plenty of competitors for all events on Saturday. Th« 3 appointments at the course were improved some time ago by the erection, of a new grandstand. It has plenty nt accommodation for the public, Mt the arrangements in it for running J ho meeting might be a good deal better. The secretary is provided with an office, ; hut while it is ample for all require- | merits if it were reserved for his • e use,- it is quite inadequate, under present conditions, with the Press representatives also crowded round the same table, added to which it is the only room available for the stewards, m their official and social capacities. The nrrangenient of tho weighing room and jockevs' room is also open to objection, and altogether it is a matter or regret that the club did not plan +ho details of the new stand on more suitable lines. Another matter which might well engage early attention is the shape of the- course, tho home turn being very bad, as was clearly shown on Saturday by the difficulty experienced by a number of horses m negotiating it. The club cannot be congratulated on the control exercised in 1 some directions, there being quite a crowd of people in tho paddock who are not considered desirable patrons on most courses in these days. On 'ho whole the meeting was very successful. The finishes in seyeral of the events were nbt particularly exciting, but the racing; was of an interesting character. Mr T. W. Price, jun., made his first appearance as a starter of gallopers, and he acquitted himself fairly, especially when it is borne in mind that he had some nasty fields to control. Mr A. Bovle figured in the position of judge, blit having horses engaged in two events he vacated ths box for those races in favour of a deputy. Speculation, was brisk throughout the day. ; Mr W. H. Macdougall and his staff handling £5777, compared with £5015 \ast year.

The principal event on the programme, the Hororata Cup, attracted a, -field of seven, Flower of the West having a decided call iu the betting over Briar Patch and.The Pole. The favourite jumped off smartly, and soon opened out a break of three lengths. Half a mile from home some of her opponents were in close attendance, but the leader was always going well and she had no difficulty in stalling off The Pole in the run home. The form shown by The Pole, however, was very attractive, especially from a horse who is regarded mainly for his ability as a jumper. He -has proved a great bargain to Mr G. L. Stead, and nest winter he should play &• big part in the leading cross-country events. Provided ho goes on all ri|ht in his schooling, his pace should, enable hirn to easily beat the average steeplechaser when it comes to racing on the flat. Briar Patch ran a. decent race m third place, and she must be set down as a very unlucky mare. Troon might have I been handier at the finish but she was ; very badly handled. She was a. long wav behind the leaders at the end oi two furlongs, and was rushed 113? to the leaders in a great hurry, with tho result that she faded out again in the straight. The winner, Flower of the West, has run several good races lately, though this was her first success since she won the Peninsula Cup, also decided over a.mile and a quarter, last March. She is an imported mare and she has proved herself a useful performer, while she should make a successful brood mare when her racing days are over. Her owner, Mr A. Boyle, scored later in the day with I'mdhorn, who was in front all the way in the Haldon Handicap. His win came as no surprise, in view of his smart iorm at Riccarton last month, when he only missed capturing a race through getting left at the post. Fmdhorn is susceptible of considerable improvement vet, as he is very light in condition. He is a three-year-old by Finland from De Murska, so that he conies from a r'amilv that has produced some great performers. His dam, who is by Gipsy Grand—llma, by Stepniak—Ranee Nuua, by St George—Watersprite, is a full or half sister to Obsono, who is by Obligado or Gipsy Grand from lima. Another full sister to De Murska, is Grand Opera, the diini of Soldier's Chorus, Tannhauser and Cherubini, while lima, in turn, is a sister to Indian Queen, the dam of King Billy, Aborigine and Maori King. It need therefore occasion no surprise should Findhorn develop into a good performer in the best company. Moddite had a comfortable win from a moderate lot iu the Farmers' Hack Handicap, in which he galloped in good stylo. Christmas Lily won the Bangor Handicap ftnd the Brackendale Handicap, showing a good turn of speed. She is by Euclid, by Sea ton Delaval or Soult from Problem, the dam of Solution. Her dam is by Son of a Gun, who appears to transmit his roan colour to n largo proportion of his descendants. Perby Day finished second to Christmas Lily each time and again showed himself to be a smart galloper. Andrea appeared to have the Coalgato Welter Handicap iu safe keeping half way down tho straight, but then tired, and Canterbury caught him on the post. The old Pilgrim's Progress gelding looked rough and his success did not 1 suggest that the field was a strong ' one.

The trotting events at the Hororata URUicinG Club's meeting last Saturday fiid not attract a very high-grade lot of horses, but the racing was movo exciting than is usually seen on the course. The mile and a half event produced a good finish between Lady Alma and Silver Prince, whilst &t various stages of the race other competitors had a chance of catching the lender*. Lady Alma finally iron a good route,-1 by about a couple of lengths, but the rest of the held was well strung

out at the finish. Tho winner is au aged maro by Tho Wood.' hy "Wildwood—Effio, the dam of Effie Wood, Franzie, F. E. Rolls and Miss Eflio Bells ; and was bred in the Mlesmoro district. Tho win nor has only been m M'Dermott's stable a low weeks, and although somewhat green has an attractive style of pacing, Silver Prince., who finished second, is a Prince Imperial gelding. He commenced slowiy and might have troubled the winner at the end ot' the race luuh lie been more judiciously driven. Winnipeg, wlio was well supported, failed to get going properly. Fox's marc did not seem to strike her gait at ■tiny part of tho journey. Early in tho race -die commenced to mix, while she broke very badly going out of the straight., and just before reaching the straight, coming to tho finish, she crossed her legs and fell on her head. Fox went right up in the air and looked as though lie was going to have a nasty accident, but luckily he got off wrh «. .shaking, the only damage through the mishap being a broken shaft. Boycott, who finished third, commenced very slowly; in fact, he must have 'ost seven or eighty seconds at the .start, but once into his stride he paced along ' ill attractive style. J. B. Pearson, a stew.ud of the club, drove Franchise, a three-year-old by Franzie, but he cannot be congratulated on the manner in which ho handled Mr Mcekan's horse. Franchise was in front in the early stages of the race, but his driver was continually looking round, .nid might have caused a serious accident, as there were several other horses in close attendance. The horso was eventually pulled up just before J he straight was. reached the last round, being at that time close behind Winnipeg. Lady Alma, was penalised IQsec for her win in the first race, but was «gain well supported for the two-mile event, the. Snowden Handicap! tho other fancied ones being Boycott, True ! Spec and Lady Lyons. Lady Lyons, who was ridden by Pringle, caught a good deal on the leaders after a. milo. had been covered, but she then commenced to tire, and finally finished in third position, a long way back. True Spec failed to show any pace at rll and was never near the front division Boycott commenced very well; and practically led all tho way, finally winning by a narrow margin from LaJy Alma, who paced an exceptionally good race and put time against her "that should have earned more money for her owner. Boycott is by Harold D'llon, and he has been responsible ior some good training work at Canterbury Park. He is a good-gaited pacer, who should be found in better company in the near future. Frontier, a good looking four-year-old gelding by Advance, and an evenly gaited trotter, troubled Boycott for over a mile and looked as though ho might beat the pacer, when ho broke up, and he veteran T. W. Cotton failed to get him into his gait again.

[ _C. Emerson registered an attractive I riding performance at .Hororata on SatI urday. He started ofF by landing Cho--1 rale in second placo in the Farmers' Hack Handicap, after which he iron thenext three galloping events, scoring on Christmas Lily in" the Bangor Hack Handicap, Flower of the West in the Hororata Cup and again on Christmas Lily in the Brackendale Handicap. In the following event he was out of a place on Purseform, and, he wound up with a win on Find horn in the Haldon Handicap. His record for the day was thus four wins and a second out of a programme of six events. .Emerson has now won sixteen races for the season, being second on the- list to B. Deeley, whose successes so far total twentyseven. ' Some of the riding witnessed at the Hororata meeting on Saturday was decidedly mediocre in character, and it served to emphasise the difficulties which owners and trainers have frequently to face after horses haye been prepared for their engagements. At least one event was thrown away by incompetent horsemanship, while more capable handling would have enabled several horses to play a part in the finishes, instead of being unplaced. ( Purseform ran twice at Hororata on Saturday, but his form was a long way short of the Yaldhurst standard, and he is apparently not much good.

Olga Carlovna came in for considerable support in the Farmers' Hack Handicap and the Brackendale Handicap at Hororata. She showed some pace in the first event, but was unbale to see the journey out. The filly has been fancied more than once, and she must be proving somewhat expensive to her connections.

Androa found, four furlongs too short for him in Hie Bangor Handicap at Hororata on Saturday, while later in the day he Failed at the business end of seven. He is a full-brother to John Barleycorn, but is not nearly in tho same class.

Medley showed a good turn of speed in the Bangor Handicap at Hororata on Saturday, and with .a little luck might have won. As it was, after being up with the leaders three furlongs from home, she nearly ran off the course at the home turn, and was racing over everything at the finish. She should win a decent race before the season is much further advanced.

Trilby showed some pace in the Coalgate Welter Handicap at Hororata, uit seven furlongs proved too far for her

Sir George Clifford will probably have two teams racing during the liolida v season. Some of his horses are under for Auckland, but the destination of the second lot is apparently not settled yet. Quarantine, Court Martial, Hobday and Bold Stroke have been nominated for the Manawatu meeting, while Quarantine and Holiday rre also engaged at the Dunedin fixture.

Los Angelos, who has not raced since last February, figures among tho nominations for the summer meetin S of the Manawatu Racing Club. Tho son of San Francisco—La Valiere is now in his tenth year.

The nominations for the summer meeting of tho Dunedin Jockey Club total 249. compared with 223 last vear The hurdle races show a falling ;>ff, there being nine nominations eaclTday, whereas a year ago fourteen were nominated on the first day and fifteen on tho second.

The Auckland Trotting Club has received capital nominations for tho summer meeting, the total for twenty-four races reaching 391, and it looks as if there would bo a record gathering at Alexandra Park.

Teviotdalc, who is now in the sale list, w boino; ridden about remtiarly and is looking well. This useful son of Achilles has been a consistent performer and ho should not be long in finding a now owner, who is anxious to pick'"up a likely candidate for suburban racing

A rumour has been current that Bimeter has shown sijrns of unsoundness, the black son of Malster has been a daily attendant, on the tracks. Hi.s tasks have not been severe, but whenever I have seen him working he appears to stride out rVoolv and well.

G. Murray-Aynsley, with Warstep and Suub; H. Ciitts. with First Flight, Battle Eve, Adjutant, Don Francisco, Snapdragon and perhaps Court Martial; R. J. Mason, with Sutala, Bimeter, Carnulus and Banksia;' F. Christmas with Bee and Kilrneny, and G.Scobio with Fabrikoff and Silver Shield, are hooked to leave for Auckland during next week. ft. 1). O'Donnell is also leaving about the same time, taking Sauci. "Wishful, Mountain Dream and Bonny Ripe.

Quarantine is .showing sittns of soreness, and it i.s problematical whether