THE TURF

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19786, 9 March 1927, Page 4

THE TURF

NOTES AND COM.T.”* (By “Early Bird.”) The weather was again all that could be desired by trainers on Tuesday morning for training operations, and number one grass track was in fast order. Thaw, who is to race at Trentham next week, was sprinted over a couple of furlongs in 25 4-5, and Great Day came home over three furlongs in 37 4 5. Civility, with J. Head in the saddle, performed smartly in a spin from the live furlong peg. She cut out the first two in 23sec, the three furlongs in 34 2-5, and she came home easily in 26sec for the final quarter, the full distance being run in 60 1-5 —a dashing effort. Lysander, ridden by a lightweight, was sent six furlongs without being pushed along. The colt ran the first '• couple in 24 3-5, the half mile in 50, and the full distance in 1.17 4-5. Royal Elm (J. McDonald) had little difficulty in beating Gold Jinks (P. McGuire) at the end of six furlongs, covered in an easy 1.18 2-5, the first four occupying 51 1-5. The Thorn (W. Rayner) and Deluge (J. Barry; sprinted three furlongs in 36 3-5, both hitting out freely. Left and Attractive were galloped separately six furlongs without going; for time, Left running the first four i in 52 3-5 and Attractive 51 3-5. Star Area (J. Walker) and Pal eta I -(D. (X Watts) went from the six to the | two furlong peg in 50, and Star Area 1 went on to run an eas;- six in 1.18 3-5. i "Walter Rayner leaves on Monday for . Trentham with half & dozen horses, i Mask being the only one to stay at . home. Mr Currie’s team will bt cem- ■ prised of The Thum, Deluge Lysacder, Coveat Garden, Damario and . Thaw. Autobiography the Motukarara Handicap or Saturday in attractive style bat his task was made much eas- i ier through Royal Tractor failing to i jump out at the start. Autobiography ■ is a three-j ear-old by Sutaia from Egotism, by Demosthenes from Coned*., by ; Boniforw from Lady Wayward 11, the • dam of Emperadur. He has a good tarn of speed and he should soon work Ejj way out of hack class. The stew ar do of the Banks Peninsula . . . Lag Club on Saturday held an in- ■ •; . ry into the running of Jolly Glad. I and Flaming Esy in the Tern we ra Hs-m- • dicap. They decided that they were not altcgtehcr satisfied with the man-: ner in which these two horses were rid-' deii but the evidence did not warrant ’ any action being taken, beyond cautioning A. H Warmaid (Jody Glad) j and G. Salt (flaming Ray) as to their,: future tactics. The success of Spearmint’s sons,; Spearhead in Australia, and Catmint; in New Zealand, has led Mr Percy Mil-! ler to secure a rtu of thy English Derby j winner for Kia Ora stud, N.B.W. His, choice hao /alien on the five year-old ‘ Spellthorn* out of the William the [ Tiara marc, Dutch Mary. SpellthcTne, ■ as might bo expected from his breed- . ing, wat a good stayer, anc in his third ' year alone won £64BS in stakes. He: beat the sensational Picaroon, who [ etarted at odds on it the Dube of Plate, and also won the Liverpool St.: George Stakes of a mile acd a half. Reports are in circulation to tke ef- ■ f oct that the distances of the various : races wore not correct at the reeeut i meeting of thu Kalkouia Trotting! Club (writer “ Argus.”) It is assert-f ’ ed that the starting posts were moved i back, with the rescl: that the horses! covered an additional twenty-four; yards in each half-mile- the effect being: to make the times of all the races slow-: er. In view of the rcaa:?, it appears ' to be a subject for iuqiiLry by the New i Zealand Trotting An ixoportant sale took place at the end of last week, through the agency of Messrs Pyne, Gould, Guinness, Ltd., Mr F. Holmes, the well-known Riccarton studmaster, purchasing from Mr I. G. Duncan, of the Elderslie Stud, the thoroughbred stallion, Kilbroney. Kilbroney is an imported horse by The Wag. He has been one of the leading sires in the Dominion for several years past. Last season he was third on the winning list, his progeny winning £20,372, while in the previous twelve months they won £24,623, a total .which gave him second place. Kilbroney has been in North Otago for a few seasons, and reports from that quarter credit his latest crop of foals with being a particularly good lot. The small amount of the unclaimed totalisator dividends which Mr Lang will be able to divert from the hospitals to a distressed Treasury, suggests that the Premier could not have been fully seized of its dimensions when he took the trouble to insert the clause in the amending totalisator bill comments a Sydney writer. During the year ended June 30, 1926, the unclaimed dividends from clubs in the metropolitan area amounted to only £4214, and those from country clubs, if in proportion to the sums invested, would not exceed £5OO. It is not easy to imagine that even so much money as £4OOO is not claimed by holders of tickets on winning horses. Of course, a few investors, especially at the end of an exciting, hot day, carelessly lose their winning tickets, and when a protest is successful there are many tickets torn up, the pieces of which cannot be found, but there are always some people who, rather than wait to collect a last-race dividend, go to the club’s office for the money several days later. An illustration of the imount thus in suspense was given a’few days ago when the secretary of the Moorefield Club, a week after his Gold Cup meeting, had £lOO still unclaimed. Claims for small amounts dribble in for a month, after which the small unclaimed balance is held in a suspense account for a few weeks before it is handed over to a hospital. Last year’s percentages of amounts unclaimed from the different courses are curious in that they are generally heavier on 11 pony” than * ‘horse” courses, and that the figure is lowest for Rand wick, where five times as much money is handled as on any other course. Following are the percentages: Randwick, .08; Moorefield, .10; Rosehill, .12; Canterbury Park, .12: N.S.W. Trotting, .14; Kensington, .29; \scot, .32; Warwick Farm, .37; Rose>ery, .38; Victoria Park, .42.

THE BIG DOUBLE.

GUESSING IN THE DARK BACKERS GET IN EARLY. The majority of those who take an interest in racing (writes “Centaur,” our racing specialist from London on January 20) are eagerly looking forward to the publication of the weights for the Lincolnshire Handicap and the Grand National, while certain restless souls have even at this stage made minor speculations in the dark. One can hardly applaud this latter step — unless of course it is taken advisedly and at the instigation of somebody in a position to know stable plans. So many things CQ.n happen between now and the late of the respective races • —two racesj by the way, which are vastly popular in their wide appeal. A good sportsman in Irish racing circles is Mr R. J. Duggan, and he is the owner of Vesington Star, who ran so well in the Lincolnshire Handicap last year. This horse has been earmarked as the likely winner of one of our Spring han’xcaps, but unfortunately he is none too sound of leg, in consequence of which Mr Duggan—who is, by the way, a bookmaker —has quickly taken him out of the Carholme race in order that the public may not lose money needlessly. This is a step that one can praise, and, were other owners to adopt the same line of action on occasions, the game of racing would be made much easier than it sometimes is.'

Little Jack Homer. We all know that some owners arc i only toe delighted to bamboozle the ■ general run of backers on every possible occasion—sometimes, perhaps, justifiably—but in no circumstances can an owner be praised for allowing a ; horse, which he does not intend to run, to remain in an ante-post betting race ‘ like the Lincoln cr the National. In the Nortfi of England I gather the hbrsOb principally enquired after for the- Lincoln race are Friar Wile and • First Edition 11, while from all parts • of the country there are reports of a : flood of Imall public investments on , Sprig ana Jack Horner for tho Na- ' tionax. At present I would not deign to listen to the cramped odds offered i against either of latter pair. ; Jack Horner, one ought to mention, | ran at Lingfield almost at the moment j of writing, and there is no doubt that • lot of .progress, besides putting on more ! muscle. There is rather a conflict of j opinion regarding the real merits of i this horse, even though he is already lon the roll of National winners. Some ! people that, had the race been run on harder lines last March, Jack 1 Horner would not have been able to j keep his place, but I know this is dii rectfy in contrast to the opinion of his i connections, who are hoping he will get ; into tho race with a fair weight this year, in order to prove, really, what he can do. Dark ’Uns. Silvo, invariably associated with top weight in recent years, has not been entered for it this time which gives I ’the official handicapper an opportunity ■ to exercise- a littlo ingenuity. Mr. W. H. Midwood’s fine horse has apparent ly ecnvincud his owner that ho is not, a “National” horse under the burden ho is usually set, and I consider a sensible policy has been followed in not entering the horse this year. Idle curiosity might- have led to the experiment of seeing what impost Silvo would be given this year, but that is all, for the horse has proved that he cannot “get” Aintree on the mark the handicappers put him. Up to date Silvo has not been sent to Whitaker for training as usual, but has remained at his owner’s place in Cheshire, doing work over natural country. The horse is entered in other races at Liverpool, and despite a mishap some time ago, is confidently expected to pull round in time to grace Aintree with his presence —and a win—at the end of March.

No penalties at All No extra penalties accuro to National horses after they have once been handicapped for tho race, so it can oe taken for granted that a good many of them will be putting up bright—or ought I to say brighter?—performances as soon as we reach the month of February. The great public fancy, Sprig, has, I believe, pleased his trainer, T. Leader, a lot since the New Year. The horse is not constitutionally strong, and therefore has to be rather carefully studied and managed. He is building up a bit and strengthening in consequence, but, even so, must always remain just a tiny bit doubtful where Liverpool journeys have to be undertaken. Some thought he was made too much use of by hrs pilot last year, but I do not agree wrth this. He had not a particularly “clean” passage at one stage, and got a lot of steam knocked out of him through bumping into another horse, and also getting slightly cut on oi*e of his legs. The position of all the-e National candidates will be more ocfinable in about a month’s time, and until then I shall not venture to speculate upon the race. Ths Classic Horses With regard to the classic colts of the season, I hear eulogistic news of Mr Frank Curzon Call Boy, and at this I am delighted, for if ever an owner deserved a slice of good Juck it is this theatrical magnate, who has always raced on straightforward lines. My impression of Call Boy was ever a good cne, and in no colt shall I continue to be so interested as in this one. Sickle is the subject of good reports from Newmarket, and one ought to mention that in certain directions therr is a rumour that the classic races of 1927 will be won by horses which at present are nothing more than “darz ’uns”—one in fact never having seen n racecourse. We shall see what wc shall see. Jennie Deans is, in my opinion, going to be one of the topnotchers amnnp- the “wenker” sex.

NAPIER PARK ACCEPTANCES NAPIER, March 8. [ Per Press Association. ] O MARA NUT HURDLES. (Of 150 sovs; 1% miles.) Waioeka Jack 11 3 Kalakaua ..9 5

Peneus 10 13 Westerner — 9 0 Many Colours 10 9 MAIDEN HACK SCURRY. (Of 15 sovs 5 furlongs). Hinekatorangi 9 0 Llama .. .. 9 0 Mastar Damon 9 0 Wilfrid .. .. 9 0 Piperenio 9 0 Martona . . .. 9 0 Welkne . . . . 9 0 Eloquent .. M 9 0 Unreasonable 9 0 Clavers .. .. 9 0 Baallyfarnon 9 0 ESK HACK HANDICAP. (Of 15€ sovs ; six furlongs.) Break o’ Day 8 ~5 Purseproud .. 7 3 Grand National 7 12 Hakuwai 7 0 Hathor . . . . 7 10 Perle de Rouge 7 0 Coot 7 7 Heather Blend 7 0 Addlepate 7 7 Hinekapua —. 7 0 Sandburr 7 5 • NAPIER CUP. (Of 400 sovs ; 1% miles.) Hynanna.. — 9 9 Queen’s Choice 7 7 Novar .. .. 8 4 Penman . . . . 7 5 Oreum . . .. 8 3 Opa 7 4 Merry Day .. 7 8 Vivo .. .. 7 2 SAPLING STAKES HANDICAP. (Of 150 sovs; five furlongs.) Polydectes 8 7 Brampton .. 7 7 Lady Orby .. 8 3 Lilock .. ... 7 4 Marsurd . . .. 7 10 Keddar .. _ 7 4 Rory More 7 10 Mon . . 7 0 Tatau Tatau filly 7 7 Knen 7 0 Excess .. .. 7 7 AUTUMN HANDICAP. (Of 15( sovs 7 furlongs.) T?oiiox 9 0 Morose .. .. 8 4 Decoy Bird . . 8 13 Road Hog 8 2 Royal Diadem 8 13 A rataura 8 0 Vivo . . 8 10 Mountain Top 8 0 Bennanee 8 9 Egyptian Flower 8 0 Hauranga 8 6 Serenade 8 0 FLYING HANDICAP. (Of 200 sovs; six furlongs.) Shirley . . 9 3 Kaiti . . . . 8 Royal Damon 8 11 Allmarimba . . 7 9 High Pitch . . 8 5 Ngawati .. .. 7 •0 Joy King. . . . 8 1 Gold Box.. 7 0 Plain Sailing 7 9 REDCLYFFE HACK HANDICAP. (Of 150 sovs ; one mile.) Bennanee 9 3 Lombardo .. 7 9 Atarerea . . .. 8 7 Hymill .. ... 7 7 Lovaband 8 0 Raukauponga 7 7 Calluna . . . . 7 13 Hinekapua 7 7 Sunliko .. .. 7 12 Radiate .. 7 7