NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXIV, Issue 17733, 5 December 1919, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By "Early Bird.")

• Racing at Woodville on Wednesday and Thursday next. •R, J. Mason will possibly take Bossini, Gloaming, Afterglow, and perhaps Falstaff to Auckland. ■It is not generally known that 'Weary Willie was under offer to •a sportsman prior to winning the AR.C. Welcome Stakes. The figure, quoted is stated to have been in the neighbourhood of 1500 gns. The fact that Acre has been left in the Palmeraton North Stakes? ■lends colour to the idea that he will drop out of the A.R.C. Railway Handicap, in which he has incurred a 5 lb. penalty, making his Aveight 8 st. j *The Auckland Cup candidate i Vagabond is to carry silk at the! "Woodville meeting, and will then be brought North in company with; Makepeace and the two-year-old Humbug. _ ~ F. D. Jones will journey South during the Christmas season, taking with him a team of seven, including Burrongong, Mantua, Mandrake, Mustard Pot, and perhaps Amythas. Such a strong combination should pay its way. ■ Fred Ellis, the popular hurdle horseman,; who received such a nasty-looking fall at Riccarton at Cup meeting, refuses to develop all the serious injuries that have been credited to him, and will probably be well enough to leave the hospital very shortly. Rewi Poto, who broke down while in Sydney, was brought back by the Riverina and was railed home to New Plymouth. The black gelding is still lame, and it looks as if his racing days are over. 1 • The New Plymouth trainer R. Johnson, who has been in Sydney • for some months, returned to Wellington on Monday. He went to Masterton, where he will pick up a couple of horses which he will in future train at New Plymouth. There is a .tendency to make Dusky Eve favourite for the Auckland Cup. Snub and Battle Song are a, brace.whose chances are not be- ' ing overlooked. In regard to the Railway Handicap, Hymestra, Silver Link, Surveyor, Onslaught and Simonides appear to be the quartette at present much in favour for the six furlongs race." The first acceptance for the Auckland Cup and Railway Handicap, first forfeits for the Great Northern Foal Stakes. Great Northern Derby, and Twenty-fifth Royal Stakes, together with nominations for the whole of the minor events at the A.R.C. Summer Meeting, close with the secretary, Mr W. S. Spence, on Friday, December 5, at 5 p.m. It is worth of note that the Auckland Cup candidates, Red Ribbon, Battle Song, Battle Array, Punka, Tressida, Marqueteur, Uncle Ned, War Star, Client, Rose Pink, Snub, *?:& Dusky Eve, have also been nominated for the Manawatu Cup, run at the same time. It is stated that Mr G. L. Stead gave 2000 guineas for Right and Lift, which, if correct, is a big price to pay for a two-year-old which has yet to win a race. The son of Merry Moments is to go North for the Great Northern Foal Stakes. The Haliowmas-Crucinella gelding Festival, one of the Fordell team, -was heavily supported for both maiden events at Feilding, but he failed badly. It may be that^estival, -en-'hr) cnq'ms^s^B'^l^^^fiM^j^^Mßfet, Will

each of his races at Feilding he was galloping on at the right end. Acre showed himself up as a very smart sprinter by his two performances at Feilding. He had some good gallopers behind him on each occasion. Arrowfield, another winner, is a stable companion of Acre, both horses being secured in Australia as yearlings at the same time by F. Tilley, on behalf of his patron, Mr W. A. Duncan. According to "Glencoe," Mr T. H. Lowry lias been considering for some time the question of taking Desert Gold home and having her stinted to The Tetrarch, but the difficulty in this case would be to get the owner of the grey horse to consent to mate his horse, to New Zealand time, so the proposal may be rejected, and the mare will probably go to the imported Martagon horse Buckwheat, whose owner is most anxious to have Desert Gold visit his sire. Gay Lad's career in New Zealand has provided something of a sensation, and with the few reirlly good performances to his credit it is hard for the average person to understand just why hp earned such notoriety. While trained by W. McDonald at Riccarton he won a minor race, and paid a substantial dividend. Afterwards he went into M. Hobbs' stable, and after winning a couple of minor races he ran a good second to Kilbrogan in the Easter Handicap. His 1 next big appearance was in the New Zealand Cup, and people tumbled 1 over one another to back him. He. 1 had never previously shown any pre--1 tensions of running out two miles, > yet he was a warm favourite. How 1 much poor horsemanship accounted for his defeat is open e to question, • but there are many who would like 'to have him in the Auckland Cup " at the same weight under which he " was defeated at Riccarton. Though " personally I do not like his breeding, • Gay Lad was a good racehorse, and with better luck would have proved 3 this. Gay Lad previously served a " few mares at Longbeach, and his 3 foals show much promise.