RACING AND TROTTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12687, 8 July 1919, Page 2

RACING AND TROTTING.

ARGUS.”) \ FIXTURES, July s—Waikato5 —Waikato Hunt. •.nly 8 io^2— WeUirrgfon Racing Clue, T U ‘^dt~Waima.te'Hunt. •uly 2(s—Christchurch lirint. , ' August 12, 14, 16—Canterbury Jockey Club NOMINATIONS. July 11—Ohrisichurch Hunt. June 25—Canterbury Jockey Club. HANDICAPS. July 18—Canterbury Jockey dub. July 18—Christchurch Hunt. August I—Canterbury Jockey Club. ACCEPTANCES. dj 2.3—Christchurch Hum. aly 25—Canterbury Jockey Club, august B—Canterbury Jockey Oluh.

A large team of men is at present engaged at Riccarton, clearing away the debris from the grandstand, which was destroyed by lire on Saturday night. The work is well in hand, and already the ground is beginning to look in a little better order. It is 'apparent.- however, that the committee of the - . Canterbury Jockey Club is faced with a very difficult problem in making arrangements for the Grand National meeting next month.

Following on a severe frost overnight, tlie Riccarton tracks were very hard this morning. The number seven grass was open for fast work, but there was nothing doing till late', most of the trainers waiting for the thaw to soften the ground. Even then, proceedings were decidedly uninteresting, most of the horses being restricted to strong pacing.

R.. W. King has had an addition to his team, in the shape of Marvelite, by Bawiri —.Bronzewing. When trained by C. Giescler he was a useful performer on the Sat, and he should pay his way among the hunters, this being the class he is being qualified for at present.

R. Emerson ha-s taken in hand a couple of yearling colts, bred at Mea-dowha-nk. Eabroult, by Fabrikoff— Soult Athol, ownedby Air Harvey Patterson, is a particularly well-grown chestnut, with rather prominent knees, hut in other respects a fine-looking youngster. Fabrinade, owned by Mrs Harvey Patterson, is by Fabrikoff— Pasquinade. He is smaller than his mate, but is a neat colt, full of quality.

Cutts Brothers hare taken the two-year-olds. Macduff and Miss Mimic, in hand, while they will make, a start on Heathercote and Stepliolm in a few days.

Most of the hunters in Bicearton stables • were absentees from the tracks yesterday, being out qualifying for hunters’ events to be decided later on.

The news that the Manuka was to leave Sydney to-day for New Zealand would be welcomed by more than one trainer in the Dominion, With the steamers taking up their running again there may be a prospect of getting horses to Sydney before long. _ R. J. Mason is anxiously awaiting information regarding his chance of leaving shortly with his team. >

Tt is probable that Will Comfort started favourite for the Victoria Grand National Hurdle Handicap, which he won on Saturday. Srnna, who finished third, was another fancied candidate when the last mail left Melbourne.

Mr Reginald White; of Merton. Muswellbrook. New South Wales (writes Mr Allison, in the London “Sportsman”), was anxious to have had the brood mare Clovelly sent out along with Night Hawk last year, she being in foal to that horse and herself coming of _ a breed with which Air 'White’s family had done well. Moils Meg being Hie first of them to make a. big mark in this country after being imported from Australia. However, the difficulties of shipping proved insuperable, except for Night Hawk himself, and Clovelly had to remain in England. She is by Chaucer out of that good mare Fisher Girl, by Trenton; and she foaled, on April 25 a good bay colt by Night Hawk.

Some fifteen years ago (writes the American correspondent of the English “Sporting Chronicle”) I was strongly advocating in America the necessity of placing stands on the inner rail of our racecourses for what 1 called “ patrol judges,” placing one at each furlong, those judges to watch the jockeys as the contestants approached and passed, for any crossing, undue bumping, foul riding, pocketing, etc., so that they—the patrols—could at once report to the stewards before the “ O-K. ” sign was hoisted for the winner. I believed tills wonld wipe out our notorious rough riding within a week if suitable penalties were landed on the first few offenders.. The late .William 0. Whitney agreed with, me to the extent of building the stands at the (Saratoga course he then controlled, but, for what reason I was never able to learn, the stands were removed the night before the month-long meeting opened.

Not many colonials probably know how the Derby earned the appellation “the blue riband of the turf.” The story is ancient, but it can be perused even at this stage with a deal of interest, for two great men, Lord Beaconsfield and Lord George Beutinck, were involved. The story, as told by “ Thormanby,” is as follows: —“Atthe Goodwood meeting in 184.6, when Lord George was at the height of his fame as a turfite, the .sporting world was astounded to hear that he ■ had parted with the whole of his racing stud, at an almost nominal price. He disposed of it, in fact, for a word. ‘ The lot, Payne ’ said he to George Payne at Goodwood, * from Bay Middleton to Little Kitchener ’ (his feather-weight jockey) ‘for 10,000? Yes or no?’ ‘I will give £3OO till breakfast-time to-mor-row to consider the matter.. Bentinck,’ replied George Payne- ‘ Give me till then and I will say yes or no.’ ‘ With pleasure, my dear fellow,’ said Ins lordship, with, nonchalant acquiescence, apparently n’ot giving the matter a second thought, till reminded of the circumstance by Payne handing him a cheque for £3OO over Ids muffin, refusing the offer with ns much nonchalance as .it was made, and returning to his morning papier without further comment. Then Mr Mostyn, seeing the negotiation concluded, said very quietly. from the lower end of the table, lifting his eyes for an instant from his letters: ‘I will take the lot, Bentick at 10,000 and will give you a cheque before you go, to the course.’ ‘ If~y'ou please,’ replied Lord George, and the bargain was concluded-

Lord Beacon&field, in his biography of Lord George Bentincb, thus refers to his sudden and startling abandonment of his favourite sport:—“ The world has hardly done justice to the great sacrifice which he made on tins' occasion of a high sense of, duty. He had not only parted with the finest racing stud in England, but he bad parted with it at a moment, when his prospects were never go brilliant, and he knew this well. Ho could scarcely have quitted the turf that day without a pang. He had become the .lord paramount ’of that strange world so difficult to sway, and which requires lor its government both a stern, resolve and a courtly breeding. He had them both ; and, though the blackleg . dnail before the awful scrutiny of his piercing eye. there never' was a man -so; acnipul'onsly polite to his inIcnors as Lord George Beutiheli., The turf, too, was not merely the scene dt the triumphs' of .his- stud and his bet*, png-book. He had purified its practice and had elevated its character,' and he was prouder of this adhieyement than of any other connected with his sporting life. Notwillistmulun: Ins mighty stakes and the keenness

tnfch which he backed his opinion, no one- perhaps, ever cared less for money.. His habits were severely simple and he was the most generous of men. Ho rained tfie acquisition of money on the turf because there it was a, test of - success. He counted his thousands after a great race as a victoridus general counts his cannon and his prisoners. Among the, stud thus abruptly and strangely disposed of was Surplice, the winner of the Derby and St Leger of 1848! It was a, cruel instance of the irony of fate that, after waiting and striving so long to crown bis achievements on the turf with the highest honour which the 1 sport dt kings 1 has to bestow, he should thus, at the last moment, in a fit of petulance, apparently, have thrown away, so to speak, the horse that would have enrolled his name on that immortal scroll of vic tors- How keenly he felt the blow when the triumph 'of Surplice came may be gathered from tile Followmg striking passage in Lord Beaconkfield s biography ,A few days before—it was the day after the Derby, May 25, 1848-the writer met Lord Ruitinek in the library of the .House o, Commons. He was’standing before the bookshelves, with a volume m-Jjti I, 'V K ' Ut l ills T eountenance was greatly disturbed. His resolutions in favour of the colonial interest, after f, hls , h-bours, had been negatived bv the committee on the 22nd and on the ; i a I '? rso ' &ur Phce, whom he had parted with among the rest of his *¥ h V- Pursue, distraction, his labours on berv ; I lterests * f the counts, had won that paramount and Olympic stake, to gain which had tbinr th f-, objeCt ' f ,ife - lle had n'o•JS Zj- c ?? sole him, and nothing to sustain him, except his pride whrtb deserted him before a heart W ' co,lld - vielcl hira sympathy. Ho gave a, sort of superb groan. ‘ All my life I have been trying i 1 5 ' 3nd or what have T sacrificed ~ ho miirmirred. It was in vain to the r DerK^'' » T ? U d ° not kaow f ? . ~l s' , moaned out- ‘ Tea, ■i do. it is the blue riband of the turf.”

ACCEPTANCES,

W AIM ATE HUNT GLtTB

[Pee Press Association.]

The foWiuHunt Steepleg?ic « * stojSsScSlsf akd hu^TERS' CTo AT^ l tj Hr ASE ’ of 7o sovs ; two miles— Handsome Boy iQst 9!!,. Qratomi lost 9lb. Tkaditor lOst 81b, Fairy Finn 10?t Sib. Luigi 10st 71b, Lawsuit 9st 131b, Six Cylinder 9st oit’vn' 9si 7,b > Wicklow 9st 71b, Pull Hand 9st 71b, Kritkia, Set 7lb.

WAIMATE STEEPLECHASE, of .173 nib l ti-Ti “’lf 12sl i,, b ‘ list lib, San Sebastian lOst 81b Lochella lOst Blb, Triditor 9st 71b, Rolling Tide 9st 71b. Golden Grape 9st 71b. WAIHAO HACK HANDICAP, of 75 eov s; ob wi° n M~ C ? o r cy o,l° B i n - lb ’ KiUi ney 10sf 'Si; 9st 91b ’ Rapid Eiver 9bt 51b Etta 9st 21b. Bonny Mack 9st, Red 9st Dina. Bold 9st, Red Jack 9st, Penola Bst i>arky Sam 9st.

HUNT CLUB CUP. of 100 sots; two mite? *nd a kali—Dardanelles 12st 131b, Handsome 4 21b ’ 2 ratonu 10Bt 32 1 b - Traditor lOst 111b, Pa«y Pum XOat lllb, Lawsuit lOst Wlb Wicklow fist 71b. Pull Hahd 9st 71b. Krithia 9st 71b, Vale Terrace 9afc 7lb.

MORTEN WELTER HANDICAP, 0 f 75 sovs; seven furlongs—Bellsbire lOst lllb Leaping: Bum lOst 3lb, Charley lOst lib’ Golden Prince 3st 13lb, 'Silver Shield 9st’ Stambdul 9at.

HUNTERS’ PLATE, of 73 sova; one mile and a half—Hardshot 12st 131b, Jack Symons 12st 11b, John Reilly 12at lib, Gay Light list lllb. Platinum list Sib.. Thruster list 41b, 1 Peru list.