RACING NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20543, 19 February 1935, Page 12

RACING NOTES.

XIAN DICAPS for the Banks Peninsula Racing Club’s meeting are due on Saturday. RISKS OF SEA TRAVEL. Gallery Girl, a brilliant pony galloper, died from colic while travelling by sea from Melbourne to Sydney. ENGAGED IN lIERRIES CUP. Latest reports from Te Awamutu state that Knight of Australia is training on satisfactorily and is showing plenty of speed in his work. This gelding claims an engagement in the Herries Memorial Cup, an event he ran third in at the corresponding meeting last year. He also dead-heated for first with King March in the President's Handicap, one mile and a quarter, at the same meeting. If produced at his best for the Te Aroha meeting the prospects of Knight of Australia cannot be overlooked, despite the fact that he has not had a race for some months. TE AROHA PROSPECT. Mr P. A. Swney's Mungatoon and Lagoon are both executing satisfactory track work at Te Aroha. The former is looking especially bright, and now that the sting is out of the tracks he will be found galloping in quite his best style. With 7.5 in the Herries Memorial Cup at Te Aroha Mungatoon may be quite capable of keeping the opposition busy. VALPEEN IN LIGHT WORK. Although Yalpeen has not been on the Matamata track since New Year he is being given light work on his owner’s private track at Okoroire, and he is ready to be wound up at any time. His owner, Mr G. Campbell, is also schooling Prince Val. This horse is flighty at his jumps and it looks as though it will be some time before he becomes proficient. RANELAGH RETIRES. Ranelagh has been thrown out of work and he is not likely to start work and he is not likely to race again. He did his share as he started 151 times. He won 22 races, was second 21 times, and third on 16 occasions. In stakes he earned £3461. Ranelagh, now eight years old, was bred by Mr N. Rutherford, being by Arrowsmith from Chukka, by Nassau from Garston, by Birkenhead from Lullaby, a daugh ter of imported Hammock. HAS WON £23,000. Hall Mark has now run in 32 races. He has won 14, been second 9 times, third 4 times and unplaced in five races. In prize monev, he has earned £23,659. NOMENCLATURE. Great consistency is being maintained by Mr W. S. Glenn in his naming efforts for the offspring of his brood mare Fillette. The first he named Headmaster. then followed Headmistress and Scholar, and now he has claimed Housemaster for the yearling brother to Headmaster and Headmistress. These are the only four progeny to date of the mare who is a half-sister by Boniform to Piffle (dam of Wasteland), Miss Pat, Rotowherc and Youssipof. GAY BLONDE. Gay Blonde has had a comparatively easy time since racing at Ellerslie, says the “ Auckland Star,” but during the last couple of weeks she is being sent along in preparation for Te Aroha engagements. She is throwing all her former dash into her work, and as she has contested only eight events this season, she has not been overtaxed, so that she should prove quite capable of producing her best when again asked. It is questionable if the Derby winner ever looked better than she does at present, and she is sure to be a strongly fancied candidate at Te Aroha. At the time of writing no decision had been made as to whether she will contest the Cup or sprint on Saturday, although her work suggests that she will not be found wanting should she be required to contest the former event. HACK CUP CANDIDATE. On Parade is getting through a solid preparation at Ellerslie and will strip in the pink of condition for his Champion Hack Cup contest at Te Aroha on Saturday. This gelding has previously won over a mile and a quarter, scoring over that distance in the Waitemata Handicap at Ellerslie in DecSember. On Parade will be meeting some of the best hacks in commission at Te Aroha, still he has been improving all the time and is likely to beat more than beats him in the ten-furlong event. UNORTHODOX TRAINING. Though Cereal was one of the outsiders of the field and paid a good double-figure dividend in the Nolan Cup at Hawera last week (says a Taranaki writer), his success was very popular, as racegoers recognised that this son of Acre has seldom run a bad race, and that his Waitara ownertrainer, Mr E. Knight, w*as fully deserving of success. Mr Knight has his own methods of training, which, though unorthodox, have enabled his horse to pay its way. From the time that Cereal was first put into training * rj * Knight has ridden Cereal’s dam, -civ*, ana led Cereal, who has a great affection for his mother. Mr Knight has used this affection in order to '-ssist him in the training on the Waitara beach. His method is to tether Ceres to a post and then lead Cereal about half a mile along the sands. Cereal is then let go and will gallop back to his mother. Mr Knight has had many tempting offers for Cereal, but always steadfastly refuses to sell. Twelve months ago Cereal broke down badly in the Mokau Hack Handicap at New Plymouth and it was feared that he would never race again. However, his owner decided to givp him another chance, with happy results. STILL HOPE FOR HER. It is understood at Takanini that the brilliant filly Gay Sheila is being given exercise on a beach under her owner’s guidance. It would seem that hopes are entertained that the daughter of Gay Shield will again be found sporting silk, contrary to the general belief that her accident while running on her owner’s property would cause her retirement. Gay Sheila is an elder sister to Gay Blonde and Gay Sheik, and like Gay Blonde, won both the Avondale and Great Northern Guineas.