SPORTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11511, 6 October 1915, Page 5

SPORTING.

RACING AND TROTTING. NOTES BY "ARGUS." FIXTURES. Octoter 3—Hawke's Bav Hunt. October 8, fi-Duricdin -'oekev Club. Octooer -J—Australian Jorker Club. October 9-Pafcroi;c Tr,,.i:ns.< Carnival. October 9 Hawke's Bav Jockev Club. October 14—Masiort-'n Racing Cub. Ootober 20, Si—Auckl-md Trotting Club. October 21, 3j—South Can'crburv Jockey Club. October '23, '2s Vemr.-ton 'Racing Club. October 25—Waipuwa ~ Rucintr Club. October 23 Waverley-WaitopiU! Haciuur Club. October 25—WVkato Hunt." October 25—Kaikauru Tro'.ting Club. October 25—Oamaru Trotting Club. October 25. 2S—-Greymcuih Trolling Club. October 25, 26—Gore Racing Cub. October 26, 27—Greymouth Jockoy Club. Oc ober 28—North Cac.terburv Jockey Club. October 28, 20— Poverty Bay Turf Club. There will be a general feeling of satisfaction throughout the .Dominion! at the news that the "Wellington Racing Club will, after all, be in a position to hold its spring meeting thi* month. The club has come in for a, lot of well-deserved congratulation over the part it has played in the present national crisis. A great financial loss was involved in the taking over of Trentham racecourse by the military authorities, at a 'time, too, when tho "Wellington Racing Club was ju.st getting over tho difficulties associated with the laying out of its fine property. There may be slight inconvenience in .some ways in connection with the approaching spring fixture, but I have little doubt ~that the meeting will be f, success. Many North Island owners) 1 will welcome the resumption of racingat Trentham now, if only for the op j portunitv of racing their horses before coming on to Riccarcon. It would have, been specially a matter for regret had there been no "Weliesley Stakes this season, as it has frequently brought a 1 high-class two-year-old to light. One effect, of" course, will be that the Welcome Stakes field may once more include a penalised horse, but that need* not matter so much, after all, as it' will be the last time, the penalty con-> dition disappearing after this year. The Champion Plate may attract a gooct! field, though it may not be quite representative. I suppose Chortle will be' on the scene, and it will be interestino- to find him pitted against some of tho best three-year-olds. The Auckland Racing Club has received a great list of entries for the summer meeting. All parts of the Bominion are well represented, and it looks as if there would be plenty of hlpdi-class talent gathered at Ellerslie at the end of the year. South Island stables n Vr ure prominently in all the events. Warstep, Snub, Specialform, Wisebird. Adjutant, Wishful, Mountain Dream, Xanthos, Marc Anthony, Down and John Barleycorn are engaged in* the Auckland Cup, and Daytime, Encore, Wisebird, Wishful, Recorder, Halina, Bonny Dream, Bimeter and Nones in the Railway Handicap; while most of them are in one or both the weight-for-age races, the Islington! Plate and Auckland Plate, Flying Startand Battle Eve figuring there, but not in handicaps. The whole list, in fact, looks the best the Auckland Racing Club has ever had for the big summer carnival. It seems a pity that the* club should deem it necessary to take these nominations so early. At thid part of tho season, with the most important of the spring meetings still ahead of them, owners can know little about the form of their horses, the result being that they are compelled to make a shot in the dark with many of them. This applies specially to the three-year-olds, whose prospects are shrouded in doubt at present. It is certain that by the time the Riccarton November carnival is completed many of the nominations contracted for the Auckland summer fixture will appear quite amusing, though owners have no other course open, under pre- 1 Bent conditions, than to enter freely if they have even a remote idea of jroing to Ellerslie. _ By holding back the closing of nominations for a few weeks the Auckland Racing Club would enable owners to better siae up their prospects and might even gain a few fresh horses to make up in part for those who would be absentees. It is* intcrestins, in this connection, to note that seven South Island three-year-olds have been nominated for the Auckland Cup. and in not one case is there public form to demonstrate that they are equal to a two-mile journey. A delay in taking the nominations would doubtless result in a smaller list, but the club is in a sound financial position and does not require to bolster its funds up in this way. The corresponding evfents at the New Zealand Cur> carnival will not close till Fridav, though the Canterbury Jockey Club'si .fixture will be held seven weeks before that of the Auckland Racing Club. The Auckland jockey, J. CShea, fell foul of the stewards of the Napier Park Ptacmg Club after the Juvenile Handicap on Saturday, the result being that he was fined £SO foT boring. This, at anv rate, is the information available b" telegraph, but it is somewhat difficult to credit that such a penalty Would be imposed. That there may be no room for misunderstanding, I would just like to say that I have no sympathy to waste on any jockey who is adjudged guilty of foul riding. I have always regarded this as one of the most serious offences a jockey can be convicted of. To deliberately pull a horse is bad enough, and it is rightly met with severe penalties, but, after all, it doe 3 not endanger life or limb, us is the case with foul riding. For that reason, I have always thought that there was a tendency to treat offences' under this heading rather lightly. Judging by the of the fine, O'Shea must have offended badly, and if so it was surelv a case for other treatment. Even such a substantia! fine as £SO can scon be recouped by a successful jockey, and more good would be done dv depriving him of the opportunity for repeating his offence in future. With several novelty events to be , got off, in addition to the ordinary race programme, there will hi no wa>te time at the patriotic trotting carnival on Saurday. There are. in fact, so many items that the commitee has found it necessary to cut the intervals between the events down to twenty minutes. For the convenience of country people who may desire to be present at the patriotic carnival at Add'ngton on Saturday, the Railway Department has arranged to delay the of all the evenincr trains, from Chrivtchurch. I | Reputation appcreiitly be f ouml i racing at the Victoria spring ia. et;:i;i>. ! as he has b.vn ncrr.irvtcd fur the i weight for a tie ovonr.s -st Ou* Molhouviie j Cuo fixture. ' .,i. The i Pole, Tim T)fc:an "ne? Scot'' Guard figure in thy jumping race;:. , Tho hurdle race_ at the .Melbourne I Hunt Ciiib's meeting last month was | 'ought out between tiro two New Zea- | and* RciigaTu ''Conqueror- i Punawai), ridden by It. Cemjron, win-j ciing bv a. ::ead from Troublesome | (Spalpeen—Laod' c \>. i Field Trix. by Fi -'d Battery—Trix. ! von the Trial .Handicap et fln'om, Md- j bourne, on September 20. Sue is a t,;>- I ter to Adrenv, a useful galloper on j Korth Island courses. Di Cama h evidently getting into his best form r; r an, in view of important spring engture-'iontj in Victoria. At '■

the Edsoiu meeting last month ho carried lOst, and won the Epsom Handicap, one mile. The Now Zoaland-brod mare Quecnie Soult, by Soult--Guidwife, earned <Jst lib and* won the Fournteen Hands. Handicap at Kv.usiuj4l.on, Sydney, last month. Valhalla, hv- liieraroh -IVaeo. was seain prominent ar. tho Kensington i.nnv mooting. Sydney. la*t month, when lio won the first of the Konsim-ton Handicap, oarryuig i'st l'jlb and covering a mile in limn 43Js»>c Mr Sol Green, of the Shipley Stud, Victoria, was a buyer at the yearling Mies, in' England last month. He secured a rills' bv Koi Herode--Nicola, by Symington (son of Ayrshire) from Vahren, bv Bona Vista (son of Betid Or) from Castania, by Hagioscope. Ihe lillv is eloselv related to Tho 'lotrarcn, who is by Uoi Herodo from Vahren. I am prepared to give tho officials of the Forbury Park Trotting Club credit for a desire to see the best horses racin?- on their course, and under certain conditions the prizes the club has hung up tor record performances would ho an immense attraction all round. lam afraid, however, they do not quite appreciate the nature of the restrictions that have been put in, these, being ,;?o | irksome as to raako it extremely improbable that the full purse will ever I h> gathered in. To take first the proj po«al for a match over a mile, the lull -.take of £2OO to the winner and £oo to iho loser is dependent on one beating 2min 8 3-ssec and the other beating 2min lOsec. To cut the winner s prize to £IOO, after he had broken tho record of 2in:n 8 3-oscc, simply because his opponent failed to beat 2min lOsec, does not seem an equitable arrangement. In the event of no match, tho £IOO offered for a performance better than 2min 8 3-oscc is not large. Iho track and weather would have to bo perfect to give the horse a reasonable chance, and experience has shown that these ideal conditions are_ not often secured, the many disappointments ex- ! perienced in connection with Emmeline being proof on that point. If the club relaxed the time conditions for a match there might he a chance of getting two of the cracks to try for the purse. There is, however, a still better scheino which the club might try. I refer to a free for all, preferably over a longer journey than a mile. If a decent stake were provided for such a race, I feel certain it would attract the best horses, and tho club could choose no better method of popularising_ its own meetings, as well as advancing tho sport. The Horowhenua Racing Club is one of the few clubs in the North Island that includes trotting events on its programmes. The club has been Without a permit for five years, this being the first occasion on which the totahsator was in use on the club's course for the period mentioned. In the mile and a half trot there_ were eight starters, and the "Wanganui-own-ed horse Stone Beldon was made a hot favourite, with Si.rene nest best supported. Stone Beldon went to the front early and won with great ease in 3min 51 4-ssec from the pony Colleen Bawn, with Miss Havoc in third place, the rest of the field being very much strung out round the course. Stone Beldon is by Jay Beldon from Bed of Stone, a mare who was raced in Canterbury some years ago by T. Cotton. He is a level-headed, solid pacer, w4th an excellent gait, and was easily the best-conditioned horse_ in the face." He was driven a moat judicious race by his owner- Colleen Bawn, who is well known in the south, having raced frequently at Forbury Park, paced a fair race, but had no chance with the winner. Sirene, in D\ Nyhan's stable, is a three-yea-old filly by Dillon Beli, but is very much on the small side, and far from ready to .-ace. The Wellington trainer, E. Maidrnent, had the Havoc mare Miss Havoc looking fairly well, but she aid not show a great amount of speed. The rest of the field were in no condition to race, and' quickly faded out of the contest. The "Weraroa Trot only attracted a field of six. Stone Beldon, whose time in the previous race was equal to smin 9sec for two miles, was onlv rehandicappeti sscc, so that he was ask'ed to do omin 19sec. It is difficult to understand how Mr i'ollock failed to estimate the performance of the Wanganui-owned horse. He won very easily in the _ first race. Had he been handicapped at omin it would have given some of the other starters a reasonable chance, but to receive an advantage of at least nineteen seconds looked as though the adjuster quite failed to grasp the position. As soon as the rehandicap was known, Stone Beldon wa,s picked as a certain winner, and! was heavily supported. D. Nyhan provided the second favourite in Hymen, a four-year-old by Havoc. Nyhan made as much use of his handicap as possible, but Stone Beldon caught him at the end of a mile, and after waiting behind won a. well-judged race in the fast time of 4min 55 3-ssec. Stone Beldon, in winning the double event, created a v ery favourable impression, and hi? last performance stamped him as a horse that wiild have won a much better stake. Hyinen was unlucky. Had the handicappor realised the time Stono Beldon had done in the tint race Nvhan's horse would have been successful. As it was, Hvmcn, handicapped at omin 27sec, did the distance in omin •4 3-ssec, and was then unable to win. The rest of thu competitors in the race bad no chance with Stone Beldon and Hymen.