RACING AND TROTTING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19850, 20 January 1920, Page 2

RACING AND TROTTING.

NOTES 5i T “ARGUS.” The Wellington Trotting Club will bold its annual fixture to-morrow. All the events have attract-d fair fields, in '■rmcn Osutcrlmry staPu* are well represented. 1

Flight. Commander. Tar Paix and Furling have gone to Trentham to fulfil engagements at the Wellington Racing Chib's meeting this week. T

The six-year-old mare Bclnir died recently through getting into a ditch after haying one of her legs over a wire fence. She was bred by the lave Hon J. 1" Ormond, and at the dispersal of the Karamu stud she was purchased by tho Riccarton trainer. J. M’Combe, for •s’2ogs- She won two races that season and was successful once last season, but she never realised early expectations.

People who saw the electric totalisu tor at work at Auckland at the recent lug meeting state that it showed a great improvement over previous performances and was almost perfect.

It is not often that backers of u horse who has gone out to start got their money hack. At the recent Marton meeting Warning, who was a competitor in one of the hack events, bolted for three laps prior to tho start of the race and was so obviously distressed that his owner was given permission to pull him out. The club also ordered the money invested on him to be returned.

The Hastings trainer W. Stone has decided not to take any horses to Sydney, hut he will Imre a'holiday in the New South Wales capital, and has booked his passage by the Moeralu, sailing on January 29.

Humbug did not do too well on the Ellershe trip, so J. -H. Jefford Ims decided to spell the Absurd colt for ,1 short term. The Xgatarawa team for tho Wellington meeting will consist of Vagabond and Tigritiya, and a couple of two-year-olds.

-Motorists who are in the habit of attending tho Awapnni races will be glad to know that a sub-committee, has been appointed to drhw up a scheme For improved road accommodation to obviate the congestion that takes place at tho entrance to the course, and to carry out further necessary and urgent improvements if possible before the autumn meeting.

Fun suggestion made by a member of the Manawatu Racing Club that a track inside the racing track should be formed and an electric motor supplied lor a stipendiary steward to follow Hie race in, will not surely be considered seriously by the committee, says a northern writer, for it- is quite impracticable. If a motor were to chase the laid round the track it would probahh I Tighten all the horses off the track, and a serious accident would ensue, while M the car was kept behind the held the stipendiary ..could not see the race as well as were he in an elevated position elsewhere.

The stable lads’ strike at Epsom. England, tell through at the end of a month owing to lack of unitv. Alanv returned to work, and it was diffic.uft or the others to carry on. though the leaders stated that if the lads had remained firm for another fortnight, at most, the trainers would hare been compolled to grant their demands.

n 1 ! 16 l. nsh Rnc,l, e Calendar ” states bat after the race ior the Ourragh Grand Prize, at the Curragh a few v.ccks ago. the stewards having observed that Mertoy, Cracknel. .Miss yrby, and Lady Orb were particularly hactions at the post, sent tor tho starter, who corroborated their view. File stewards consequently cautioner} the trainers of the above horses that unless iney find on subsequent occasions that tlioso horses are more amenable at the post the stewards will be compelled to take drastic _ measures with the trainers in question.

Mlicn Mr August Belmont received an offer of about £20,000 for the loading American stallion, Fair Piav (Hastings—hairy Gold), in October last, lie did not entertain it: but the following month lie sold the horse at a hioher figure to Mr 0. A. Cochran. Fair Plav is hfteen years old, and, though in his hrst season he sired Stromboli (a Suburban winner), lie had so few’ mares Irom 1911 to 1915 inclusive, that lie was represented by onlv II foals during that penod._ In 1816 lie sired 17 foals, and in 1917 a similar number. From bis foals of the last-mentioned two years came some of the best horses racing in America, these including the crack t\\o-year-old. Man-o’-Mar; the Latonia Championship winner. Mad Hatter; ami the Kentucky Oaks winner, Lillian dhaw.

It is possible that Manilardo may next year be the best four-vcar-old in England (writes " Hotspur” in the London " Daily .Telegraph The only doubt J have is as to whether be, will stand the ordeal of severe training, especially should the season bo a dry one like that of 1919 has been. I am reminded when writing of Manilardo bow strangely lie takes after his distinguished brother, Cay Crusader, in many ways. Bayardo, the sire of these burses, used to have a curious habit in the stable of nodding his bead on the edge of the manger. Thus be would tap-tap on the manger for twenty minuUtcs or half on hour at a time, just touching the manger with his chin, and the lads at Manton used to refer to it as “Bayardo's drum.” Manilardo indulges in the same nodding movement, though without quite touching the manger. Gay Crusader at the post listed to run back rapidly from the tapes. Then be would pause, and when he had satisfied himself that his run back bad been accomplished be would come up again. Donophuc used to wait for him to do so, and never thought of interfering with the little idiosyncrasy. Manilardo. too, does exactly the same thing! Then, no matter what the distance of the race. Gay Crusader could always develop tremendous speed when asked to do so in a stride. Manilardo has the same virtue.

Mr William Allison, the “ Special Commissioner ’’ of the London “Sportsman.” is an uncompromising opponent of the tolaiisator. In view of the far' that it has advanced tho interests of racing in many countries, and of the further fact that it is not a whit more harmful in a moral sense than betting through a bookmaker, it is amusing to read this effusion of his under the. heading of "The Immoral Tolalisator ” : "J uso the word ‘immoral’ advisedly, for I cannot, conceive, any method,, to ho devised by the wit of man. for the immediate benefit of I Irse-breetUng and breeders, more utterly immoral'than this scheme to do it by exploiting the gambling instincts of tho poor. Let me commend this point most strenuously to the stewards of the Jockey Club. ”Xo reasonable mam wants to prevent a poor man having his trifle on a race when so inclined; but it is a very different matter when it comes to eucourageing him to do so, providing the totaiisator for this purpose, and—worst of all—centraling the racecourses, so that the volume* of the poor man’s stakes will provide sufficient pickings for breeders’ the Jockey Club, the State, and other odds and ends. Let us think for one irnment. of what would happen if the Jockey Club should stop down from its attitude towards betting, and not only recognise it, blit enter into the arena with a deliberate, view of participating in profits to be derived from backers' Is it, not clear that the whole pack of anti-sp-ort hounds would at once be in full cry on such iui attractive trail? Having we have always maintained is essential to horse breeding, and L>;

bound, like any other exciting sport, to give rise to betting as an almost indispensable incident, for in no way is it the essence of the sport. Now comes along this monstrous proposal that the base materialism of betting is everything, and sport an evanescent nothing. Let us corral up the populace into centralised racecourses amd afford them every inducement to pour their monev into the totes. Then, indeed, there will be a fat percentage for aid thd expectant vultures to batten on, and sport will have fled to find racing elsewhere under cleaner auspices. This L. no idle fancy of mine, for I have again and again Seen racing at Palermo, where Sunday after Sunday and Thurs. day after Thursday there is racing from year-end to The horses become little better than mere automata, always trained there o.- thereabouts, nud alwfiys running on the same course, which has no varieties like Newmarket.’ They become listless, spiritless beams rarely showing any excitement in the piddock or having energy enough io delay a star! They heat, one. another of course—what else can they do Pi”

East lost Buchanan before, a run had been scored, and three wickets were down for -IS, but Cunningham and \\ esion put an entirely different complexion on ilie game. Cunningham hit with groat vigour, and had hard luckin missing his eentury. The fourth wicket, added lid. and twenties and th • hu** y, u others brought the

total to 313. the last pair being still ui possession when time was called. Sydenham A. although away from their own ground, at last mustered a full 2 1 ’ . and started off against St imint S f \ n V'V a r That seemed to I In .i 0 % break ,n lheir long run of for Sv f i»nl omb f- a : ,ri Sl,criff opened before d -. laUl ‘ , S ' X bmvlm " Cl ' e Tried star W!>s offectc(l . Web. hr i U»g Coomher just as the hunSJ'S'W- KWf""»>hrwS. Sliprift. ln '' .C 1 ' 1 joined iiffriica. iieiore tins pnn* wero mrfpfl l? 5,°S ei S , h , nt i b^ n tnp(i 11,1(1 nnothcr , tuns added, three wickets beim/ m°r to V n° Sl,eriffs was r ’”> °U jJ ’ W n d r hkc - n tradesman hv god shots m all directions, hut principn v.nlrontof the wickets! Xoni of Vile, ?„W Mt *T n offered much resistance, gd the side were all disposed of for