Racing and Trotting

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18496, 23 June 1928, Page 9

Racing and Trotting

NOTES BY

"ARGUS.”

RACING FIXTURES. June 30—Ashburton County Racing Club. June 30. July 2—Te Kuiti Racing Club. July 11. 12. 14—Wellington Racing Club. July 19—Waimate District Hunt.^ July 21—South Canterbury Hunt Club. August 4—Christchurch Hunt Club. August 14, 16, IS—Canterbury Jockey Club. NOMINATIONS. June 26—Waimate District Hunt. June 29—Canterbury Jockey Club. July s —South Canterbury Hunt Club. July IS—Christchurch Hunt Club. HANDICAPS. June 26—Wellington Racing Club. July 3—Waimate District Hunt. July 11—South Canterbury Hunt Club. July 24—Christchurch Hunt Club. ACCEPTANCES. June 26 —Ashburton County Racing Club. July 3—Wellington Racing Club. July 10 —Waimate District Hunt. Julv 16—South Canterbury Hunt Club. August I—Christchurch Hunt Club. TROTTING FIXTURES. June 27—Auckland Trotting Club. June 30 —Ashburton County Racing Club. July 19—Waimate District Hunt. July 21 —South Canterbury Hunt Club. August 11. 15, 17—New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club. NOMINATIONS. June 26—Waimate District Hunt. , Julv s—South Canterbury Hunt Club. July 19 —New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club. HANDICAPS. July 3—Waimate District Hunt. julv 11—South Canterbury Hunt. July 24 —New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club. ACCEPTANCES. June 26—Ashburton County Racing Club. July 10—Waimate District Hunt. July 16—South Canterbury Hunt. August 7—New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club.

RACING NOTES. • Acceptances for the Ashburton County Racing Club’s winter meeting are due on Tuesday. m * * * Nominations are due on Tuesday for the Waimate District Hunt meeting. -ft * * * * . Twe next event of local interest will be the Ashburton Club’s ing, which will be held next Saturday. The nominations were disappointing but a good acceptance will ensure satisfactory fields and some interesting sport. * * * * The conditions were cold and unpleasant during training hours at Riccarton this morning and the tracks were soft from the effects of the rain, earlier in the week. With the Ashburton and Wellington meetings so near at hand, however, the trainers were anxious to give their horses some galloping, and a lot of useful work was accomplished. The No. 1 grass track provided fair going, but the work on it was not exciting, chief interest being provided by a few horses who were schooled.

H. Nurse worked Chickwheat and Gold Mint over six furlongs, and they registered a useful gallop, taking 1.21 for the journey. Chickwheat finished in front and shaped in good style. * * * * Bolero had Nincompoop as a mate in a half-mile sprint, run in 53 l-ssec. Bolero. who is engaged in the Novice Plate at Ashburton, gave a satisfactory showing. * * * * Gay Jim, who is training on well for hurdle races, moved freely in a halfmile sprint by himself. * * * * Grey finch, and .Lighthearted were associated in a useful half-mile. These two may race prominently at Ashburi.on. * * * * Toawai and Island Fastness, a couple of F. D. Jones’s lot, strode along in nice style over half a mile, and registered fair time without being ridden out. * * * * Zaragoza covered a mile in 1.50, Roscrea accompanying her over the last half, which -occupied 56 4-ssec. Roscrea was going well at the end. * * * * Solferite and Wreath of Myrtle sprinted half a mile up the back in attractive style. The former is coming on well and should be ready for a good race in August, provided he continues as he is doing at present. * * * * Killooh and Bronstell were associated over six furlongs, Bronstell winning very easily in lmin 21sec. Wormaid has Bronstell looking in capital order. * * * * Lancer and Despot were companions over half a mile up the back, getting through their task well in 54sec. They are to race at Ashburton, after which they may go to Trentham. * * * * Oriflamb (E. Shaw) was sent out alone for a school over four steeplechase fences. He jumped the sod wall and the brush at the top of the straight well, also the first of the stand double, but he ran off at the second leg. On being taken back he flew the stand double in good style. * * 4* 4r Hyperion (I. Tilson) and Rangiawhio were associated in a school over four steeplechase fences. Hyperion did not go well over the sod wall, but he outjumped his mate at the brush at the top of the straight, the pair both shaping very creditably at the stand double. ♦ * * * G. Murray Aynslev had Footfall, Paperchase, and Chide out this morning. Chide was given strong pace work on the sand. All three look big and well, in excellent order to start on a preparation for spring engagements. ♦ * * * Roscrea, the two-year-old half-brother to Limerick, will have his first race at Ashburton next Saturday. F. D. Tones has been rather handicapped, in having to stop his work lately, on account of the wet weather, and for that reason the gelding will not be at his best. He shaped all right this morning o\\t half a mile, accompanying Zaragoza over the last part of her work, and with a couple of sprints next week he should be in good enough order to make a decent show' against the moderate field he will meet in the Novice Plate. After Ashburton, he will have another race at Trentham, so that Jones should get a decent line on the youngster before he leaves for Australia.

Aberfeldy (I. Tilson) and Cynelli (E. Shaw) were schooled over four hurdles. Aberfeldy slipped with the first hurdle, but shaped all right over "the other three. Cynelli jumped well, and looks like making a useful hurdler. * * * As soon as the Ashburton meeting is disposed of, attraction will centre on the Wellington Racing Club’s winter fixture. It will attract nearly all the best jumpers from all parts of the Dominion, and will arouse special interest in view of the near approach of the Grand National Carnival, to be held at Riccarton the following month. Upwards of a dozen Riccarton horses are booked for the Trentham trip, nearly half of them being jumpers, and with & strong contingent from further south, the meeting will attract plenty of South Island interest. The only regret is that Wharncliffe will not be on the scene, to have a real try-out in good steeplechase company, before he tackles the Grand National. * * *• * Sir George Clifford has sold Centrepiece to Mr G. Wishart. This enthusiastic Chatham Island sportsman has a few mares in the North Island, where the son of The Ace and Equipment will join them, the intention being to use him as a sire. * * * * Limerick has started on his preparation for next season’s racing. He was allowed to stride along freely in useful half-pace work this morning. * * =*e * The Thurnham—Madrid gelding has not done well lately, and F. D. Jones has sent him home, to be spelled for a few months.

Fresco has raced badly for some time past and it has been decided not to persevere with him. He has left F. Christmas’s stable and has been sent to the West Coast, where his owner, Mr D. H. Roberts, resides.

Chickwheat won the Mayfield Handicap at Ashburton a year ago, when Taboo gave him a good race, and he has an excellent chance of repeating the performance next Saturday. He is partial to winter conditions and the chief obstacle may be his disinclination to show his best from, rather than his ability to beat the lot who will oppose him. * * * * Philanderer showed smart hack form when he ran second to Crossbow at the autumn meeting at Ashburton, early last month, and he should show up well in the Novice Plate next Saturday. . * * * * Of the Riccarton horses who are engaged in the Dromore Steeplechase at Ashburton, Oriflamb will attract most attention. llq has had no previous racing experience over country, but he was a fair hurdler, while in his schooling at Riccarton he has shown promise of developing into a good steeplechase performer. Provided he shapes well at Ashburton, he may be worth keeping in mind for hack steeplechase engagements at Trentham. ***** Mainspring, who is engaged in the Dromore Steeplechase at Ashburton, is a fair performer, over cotintry, though he has nothing to place him in the same class as his half-brother, The Babe. lie is in the hack steeplechase at Trentham. * * * * Pnor to the commencement of the -Hawke’s Bay meetings this week, T. Green was leading R. Reed by two in the race for premier position on the winning jockeys’ list for the season. Reed had one win on Wednesday and two on Friday, when Green scored once. As a result, thev are now level. * * * *• Gaze outclassed the opposition in the Hawke’s Bay Hurdle Handicap. Unsoundness has kept him in retirement for some time, but he is a good horse, and having struck form he will have to be taken into serious account for important jumping races during the remainder of the winter campaign. 4c •* =}: * Maunga damaged his reputation very considerably by his performance in the Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase. He fell at a simple brush fence, but he was remounted to get third place. His jumping was not good. His failure must have been a great disappointment. His admirers have urged for some time that he only required a capable pilot to show himself off as a good steeplechaser, and with A. M’Donald as his pilot on this occasion, there was no room for excuses. * •* * * The Trentham trainer A. Goodman contemplated taking a small team to Australia shortly, but the idea has now been abandoned. * * * * The last mail from Australia had the complete list of entries for the big spring events, and apparently W. Donovan’s entries were in order after all, for Tea Miss, Lysanias, The Earth and Amplifier are in the Epsom Handicap and Greengrocer, Lysanias, The Earth and Amplifier in the Metropolitan. * * * * Subject to passing a veterinary examination, Eden Hall has been sold through a Hawke’s Bay agency to go to Australia. The price is a satisfactory one, in the region of four figures. * * 4c- * Patuki is a real veteran, for he won the Parliamentary Handicap in 1923. At Hastings on Wednesday he showed himself one of the evergreen brigade. In both of his races he was a little stiff and sore until really warmed up, but over the concluding stages he fairly buried the opposition. Patuki’s class on the flat was as superior in the amateur riders' event as Mr J. Morris’s ability in the saddle is rated superior to other amateurs. Patuki may not stand up to a great deal more, for he was more “ proppy ” before his second race than his first. * *4i * V. H. Colello will have a team of four for Trentham, in Mixed Heather, Braeman, Good vSport and High Heather. Colello declares that Mixed Heather is a better horse than most people think. Braeman, with a light weight, may have a more than outside chance by sticking on in the Winter Hifirdle Race. Good Sport still looks rather burly, but he should be right for Trentham. * **!?: George Jones stated at Hastings that the effects of the blistering of Commendation had not totally disappeared, and that was the reason why the big gelding had not been sent to him at Awapuni. It seems certain now that Commendation was in a really bad way when he was brought back from Australia, and the poison he picked up worked with deadly effect. * * *■ * The early form of Black Watch in England this season was not encouraging. In his first run he did nothing towards upholding his Derby hopes. The race in which he completed was the Nonsuch Stakes, a thtee-year-old eigbt-furlongs-and-a-half race, run at Epsom on April 24. He carried 9.0, but, though after commencing indifferently, he showed , up entering the straight, he only beat four of the dozen runners. The winner was Sir A. Bailey's Guards Parade (Grand Parade—La Gorgue), who beat the Aga Khan’s Ranjit Singh (by Crusader > three-quarters of a length, Camell'ord, a Devizes colt, was third, each of the place-getters carrying 9.0. Guards’ Parade, was not nominated for any of the classic races, a fact now lamented by his owner, who gave 630 guineas for him as a ycarliii2 :

The master of Ilawke’s Bay Hunt, Mr G. D. Beatson, was not long the owner of Locarno, after the Elysian gelding had won on Wednesday. Locarno is now the property of Mr F. Armstrong, and will be trained in future by Miss G. Maher. Locarno has been hunted, and is qualified, so that probably* he will be racing over fences scon. At the same time his finishing effort on Wednesday suggested that he would be useful if kept to flat racing.

Among the horses engaged in hack hurdle events at Trentham next month is Beaumont. This horse has a good deal of pace, but has yet to make his appearance in public as a jumper. He is the right type, however, and has proved a good weight carrier. Some, time* back C. Christie, private trainer to Mr R. Acton Adams, made overtures for the purchase of Beaumont, as he took his eye as just the sort to make good over fences.

TROTTING NOTES. Acceptances are due on Tuesday for the two trotting events at the winter meeting of the Ashburton County Racing Club, to be held next Saturday. * * * * Mr 11. F. Nicoll has gone north to witness the racing at the Auckland Trotting Club’s winter meeting. He has a special interest, as on the second day his two-year-old trotter, First Wrack, will meet the Auckland juvenile, Koro Peter, in a special match race. Before he left, Mr Nicoll discussed the prospects. He was not sanguine, in fact he said his filly was not at her best, as it had not been possible to give her the work she required. Having made arrangements to race her, however, he felt that it was only right to carry out his contract. * * * The following team will represent Addington in a football match against the New Brighton trotting stables, to be played at Mr 11. Walker's farm, New Brighton, at the week-end: —R. Bailey*, D. Carrodus, B. Gibbons, D. Archbold, A. Rowe, W. Edwards, W. Prime, R Kennerlev, C. Pepper, J. R. Kennerley, A. Carmichael, R. Gibbons, A. Chetwin, A. Bench, T. Campbell, F. Nelson and D. Johnson. * * *■ * The receipts of the New Zealand Trotting Conference for the past year included stipendiary stewards’ levy £1747 16s, racecourse inspectors’ levy* £1076 ss, the expenditure under these headings being £1721 10s Id and £lO7l 10s respectively*. * * * * Five trotting clubs figure on the bal-ance-sheet of the New Zealand Trotting Conference for outstanding levies. They are Greymouth £B2, Mangahua £lB 15s, Marlborough £l9 ss, South Wairarapa £37 and Ellesmere £lO 10s. * * # The Provident Fund account of the New Zealand Trotting Association has assets totalling £5757 ISs lid and no liabilities. During the past year sums totalling £671 4s lOd were paid out to twenty-three claimants. * * *• * The New Brighton Trotting Club contemplates holding four race meetings, each of one day*, next season. The dates decided on are September 8, December 1, March 16 and April 27. * * * * There is quite a good proposal from the Marlborough Trotting Club, for consideration by the Trotting Conference, to the effect that no alteration in dates shall be allowed unless three months’ notice be given. The Dates Committee practically arranges the dates for the season. It is not always an easy matter to fit in all the meetings on suitable dates. Changes are sometimes legitimately . necessary, but more often those wishing to change only do so because of some particular benefit likely to follow. If the rule were passed in its present definite form it might occasionally cause trouble, but on the other hand clubs should not be allowed to change their dates except under extraordinary circumstances.

The Forburv Park Trotting Club is bringing before the Trotting Conference a drastic proposal. It means nothing else but the abolition of the Trotting Association and the establishment of district committees to control the sport, together with a conference executive. The proposal will probably evoke a good deal of discussion at the conference but it is not likely to find favour with the majority of the delegates. * * * *

The New Zealand Trotting Association wifi again endeavour, when the Conference meets next month, to make it compulsory* for all owners to register colours and race in those colours. The idea is quite good in theory but the present system is found to be more workable and there does not seem to be any necessity for a change. Certainly the present system is much appreciated by trainers, who are usually busy men on race days, and the compulsory use of fresh colours for each owner would add to their troubles.

For some time past the Metropolitan Trotting Club has had a rule making it compulsory for the same rider or driver to control a horse throughout the meeting, and no change in rider or driver can be made at a meeting without the consent of the stewards. The rule has worked well and has come to be well recognised as a useful provision at Addington. It is now proposed to make the rule operative throughout the Dominion. There may be many difficulties in the way, especially at some of the smaller meetings. A few weiiknown trainers, who are most capable horsemen, attend these meetings and ’naturally* drive their own horses. Locai owners wishing to secure the best reinsmen have no chance when these men are engaged with their own horses, but when free they* are only too willing to ride or drive. As others have ridden or driven these horses earlier in the meeting owners will be unable to secure the men who are more competent to control their horses. At the large meetings, where there are plenty* of first class riders and drivers present, no trouble is experienced in this direction. Under the circumstances delegates will have to carefully consider all the points before agreeing to the proposed alteration.

A very good proposal will be introduced at the Trotting Conference by the president, on behalf of the executive, to try* and improve the quality of riders and drivers by placing restrictions on applicants. The indiscriminate licensing of riders and drivers has caused a lot of trouble in the past and there is much to commend the proposal that all applicants after July 31, 1929, shall have at least spent two years in a licensed trainer’s stable and also satisfied the Licensing Committee by certificates from well-known trainers or by other means. This is to aoply to professional licenses only. This, however, will not thoroughly deal with the difficulty, as an amateur holder of a license may be a most incompetent reinsman or rider.

Mr. R. T. Reid, following upon his appointment as stipendiary steward bis few horses in the orivate sale list. His half share in the filly Medusa has disposed of. but he still has the ♦wn-vear-old by Great Audubon —Miss T?r>l fe. The voune-ster. a chestnut, is Lping worked bv A. Lilian, and shapes rather well in what little has been aslo of him. It is the intention of Mr Reid to offer him for sale at the Auckland training track on Mondav morning. As he is well bred and claims an engagement in the Great Northern Derby, he should attract attention.

RACING CONFERENCE. TO MEET IN CHRISTCHURCH. For many* y*eara past the annual meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference has been held in Wellington, during the week of the Wellington Racing Club’s winter meeting in July, and it was intended to meet there as iisual this y*ear. A change has been decided on, however, and the meeting of delegates, fixed for Friday*, July 13, will take place in Christchurch, in the Canterbury Jockey Club's committee room.

The Dates, Licensing and Conference Committees will meet as usual in Wellington. on dates already arranged. The North Island representatives on the Conference will be able to leave Wellington on Thursday evening, July 12. and return north on Friday evening, July 13. The dates of the Wellington Racing Club’s meeting are Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday*, July 11, 12 and 14.