RACING NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20539, 14 February 1935, Page 12

RACING NOTES.

J lIP ES BE is rn ® SIS HI SI 111 EE HI !U S 3 H! IF FI SI for all events at the Banks Peninsula Racing Club’s meeting on March 2 close tomorrow at 8 p.m. Nominations (of now yearlings) for the John Grigg Stakes, to be run at Ashburton on September 14, will close at 5 p.m. next Monday. * * * * There were not so many horses as usual on the tracks at Riccarton this morning, but this was to be expected with a number of trainers absent at the Dunedin meeting. The outside of the course attracted a few, while others worked on the plough, but there was little to arouse interest. * * * * Vintage and his half-sister, Lady Graceful, were exercised at Riccarton early this morning. _ They will leave this afternoon for Wellington on their way to Australia. Vintage will start his Australian campaign at the Victoria Racing Club’s meeting, to be held on March 2, 6 and 9. J. M. Cameron has Gold Trail, Maine, Sir Nigel and The Khedive engaged at autumn meetings in Australia. He will leave Melbourne with his quartette to-morrow. The Khedive may be shipped at once from Melbourne to South Africa, where he is now owned. RICCARTON TOTALISATOR. Mr A. M’Donald Smith, the totalisator manager of the Canterbury Jockey Club, will leave next week on a visit to Australia. He will go first to Melbourne, where he will study the working of the latest totalisators. He will start off with the Victoria Racing Club, at whose autumn meeting he will see the largest machine in Australia at work, after which he will witness racing at Caulfield and Ascot. He will then go to Sydney, where, at the factory of Automatic Totalisators, Ltd., he will see some of the work of assembling the parts for the Canterbury Jockey Club’s new machine. In this way he will obtain much valuable information, which will be useful when the new totalisator is installed here. The Easter meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club will be carried on with the present appliances, but immediately afterwards there will be great activity at Riccarton. The .first shipment of parts of the new machine is expected to arrive here soon after Easter, and no time will be lost in assembling the machine, in preparation for use at the Grand National meeting in August. STRANGE TOTE MISTAKE.

Win and place betting sees some remarkable fluctuations, but the wagering on Illuminate at New Plymouth on Thursday was possibly the most extraordinary incident that has occurred since the introduction of the new system, says the “ New Zealand Herald.” Illuminate was regarded by most racegoers as the best of good things, and so was more sought-after on the straight-out machine than on the place, on the assumption that it would not be worth while backing him for a place. The barometers, which are now in use at New Plymouth on the same lines as at Trentham, also indicated the general opinion, but, through some misunderstanding, Illuminate’s place dividend was wrongly displayed. He was backed down to much less than even money straight-out, and, according to the barometers, was paying even less for a place. In the balance, however, he carried only thirt3'-one tickets on the place machine, being the actual outsider. This state of affairs, of course, would not have lasted a minute had the true dividend been shown, and those who had so confidently supported him to win had the extreme mortification of seeing hint pay nearly three times the price they had accepted. STAGED COME BACK. P. Kelly, formerly a leading Melbourne jockey, retired to become a trainer. He recently took out a jockey’s license again, and landed his first mount a winner. It was his first race ride for over two years. Kelly’s successes in years gone by included the A.J.C. Epsom Handicap of 1922 on Rostrum and the Williamstown Cup of 1916 on Wishing Cap. “ TAKE ’EM TO THE FRONT.” Gordon Richards has now ridden more than 1612 winners. He still has a long way to go to reach the aggregate of either Fred Archer or George Fordham. Archer rode 2746 winners from 8084 mounts in England. Fordham rode 2576 winners. The late Mr R. Kelly Maitland, noted amateur rider, owner-trainer and handicapper, used to tell a story of a visit paid to stables where Fordham was encountered. Mr Kelly Maitland, then a small boy, accompanied his father, who, somewhat indiscreetly, asked Fordham, “ Do you ever pull a horse, George?” “No. sir,” was the answer. “ Never.” “ Well, what do you do when you do not want to win?” asked Maitland, sen. “ Take ’em to the front, sir, take ’em to the front.” NAMES OBTECTED TO. “ Smith’s Weekly ” (Sydney) objects to the name of Synagogue for a racehorse and after mentioning that he is a son of Rabbi contends that it is not exactly edifying that a racehorse should be named after places of worship or church dignitaries. It adds that a watch should be observed by racing registrars to prevent the use of such names. New Zealand racing also possesses a mare named Mother Superior VALUE OF W.F.A. RACING. At the annual meeting of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association at Newmarket (England) recently, the president (Lord Rosebery) referred to the menace contained in the policy announced by a racecourse executive, which proposed a reduction in the value of weigh t-for-age races and an increase in the value of handicaps. He said that such a policy was not in the best interests of thoroughbred breeders, who were striving to produce horses for classic and weight-for-age races. It would reduce the opportunities for the best horses of the year. The meeting unanimously agreed to make a strong and united protest against a policy that must be inimical to the best interests of the thoroughbred. I RACING FIXTURES. February 14, 16—Dunedin J.C. February 20, 21—Gore R.C. February 21—Tolaga Bay J.C. February 22. 23—Woodville D.J.C. February 23, 25—Te Aroha J.C. February 27—Opunake R.C. February 28—Waipa R.C. March 2—Banks Peninsula R.C. March 2—Napier Park R.C. March 2—Franklin R.C.