NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 109, 11 May 1933, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(By “Kestrel.”) The Marlborough races will be held to-morrow and Saturday, as will also the Southland meeting, but there will be much more interest to North Island turf enthusiasts in the Wanganui Jockey Club’s winter meeting next Thursday and Saturday. Wanganui Acceptances. First day events at the Wanganui winter meeting will have to be attended to to-morrow, as acceptances close at 9 p.m. Though a few defections are already indicated, it may be taken for granted that the percentage of acceptances to nominations will be higher than usual. Not For Wanganui. Earlier in the month it appeared probable that Aladdin would be seen in action in the Century Hurdles, for which he figured as topweight with 11.3. Reports from Christchurch are to the effect that Aladdin’s proposed trip to the North Island will not be undertaken. The opinion is held by his connections, states the Press, that owing to a recent accident in the paddock he has not been able to undergo the testi intended for him, and under present conditions it is considered inadvisable to enter upon an expensive tour to the North Island with the risk of his going amiss on the trip. It is now proposed to try him out nearer home, and if he survives his first few races to travel with him then. In the meantime Alad din is progressing quite favourably, and his pastern ailment has given no trouble. Why They ar® Missing. Had it not been for the Te Kuiti meeting clashing with the Wanganui fixture it is likely that British Columbia and Alloy would have been among the contestants at the local fixture next week. As it was, the pair were taken straight back to Te Rapa from Hawera. Here Next Week. Both Lalla Quex and Jen are stated to be certain starters at next week’s Wanganui meeting. The pair will remain at Hawera until the Taranaki contingent comes through on Wednesday. It is anticipated that A. Corner will be able to ride Jen in the steeplechase events here, as he has made satisfactory progress in hospital. Otherwise W. Grindlay will have the mount on the ’Bay ’chaser. Will be Topweight. Now that Alladdin’s connections have signified their intention of not continuing that gelding’s Century Hurdles engagement, Consent is left to head the list of hurdlers. With 10.12 opposite his name, Consent is asked to concede weight to proved hurdlers in Easterly and Callamart. the last-named a winner of tho Grand National Hurdles. The Acre-Lucky gelding has one race in less than half a dozen starts over battens, but he has enough pace on the flat to account for many of those opposed to him in next week’s mile and three-quarters race—provided he again takes kindly to the game.

Pomp in Winter Oats. When the field for the Winter Oats parades next Thursday it is more than likely that one of the fancied cand' dates will be Pomp. This Aburd gelding is in great heart and showed that he has not lost his speed when he sprinted over four furlongs in 49sec ion Tuesday morning.

Steeplechases Deleted. It is an interesting development in connection with the winter racing campaign that the steeplechases which hitherto have been the principal feature of the Gisborne winter meeting, have been deleted from this year’s programme on account of the difficulty experienced in securing sufficiently attractive fields. Otherwise the programme will closely follow the order in which it had previously been arranged by the defunct Gisborne Racing Club. There was a time when the Gisborne steeplechase was regarded as a trial for the Grand National horses, but latterly interest has been diverted elsewhere, and the small entries forced the committee to tho conclusion that a continuance of the event was not warranted. The steeplechases have been replaced by two hack races of a mile each. For Hurdle Honours. Three years ago, at the Trentham yearling sales of 1930, Mr. A. Louisson purchased Static, by Hunting Song from Eerie, for 700 guineas, but the gelding was raced only once owing to contracting lameness. He has been turned out for nearly two years, and as ho has shown signs of being sound again Mr. Louisson has decided to put him into work again, with a view to trying him out as a hurdler. F. Holmes is at present hacking him about preparatory to schooling him. Static is built and bred on jumping lines, his dam Eerio proving herself both over hurdles and country, her victories including the Wanganui Steeplechase, Westmere Hurdles, Feilding Hurdles, Napier Park Steeples, Waveriey Steeples, Canterbury Jockey Club Beaufort Steeplechase, and Wellington Racing Club’s Fleet meeting Admiral’s Steeples, and she was also third in the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Grand National Steeplechase. Sensational Dividend. It is many years since D.O.D. caused a sensation by winning the Goodwood Handicap and paying a dividend of £839, which still stands as highest paid by a single horse for a£l investment in Australia. D.O.D. was owned by the well-known Adelaide identity, Dan O ’Dea. He took out the solitary ticket on his horse and collected the full amount. Dan has been dead a few years, but evidently collecting big dividends runs in the family, as recently at Victoria Park (S.A.), his daughter struck the winning double, and for a humble investment of 5s received back £254 2s 3d, or odds at the rate of 1015 to one, a little better than her father received. When the result was posted Miss O’Dea wag the calmest person on the ground, and states that she intends to bank her money against future possibilities. A Good Jumper. Mr. S. W Ferry, one of the stipendiary stewards, in South Australia, was telling a group of friends some of his experiences when he used to ride over fences, and he recalled an incident concerning the Mullins brothers. One oi them worked at Werocata for Mr. Stephen Ralli, and he was a rider of some ability. His brother was not so expert in the saddle, but he excelled in horsebreaking, and he had a horse in tow which he thought had a great chance in the Amateur Steeplechase at Oakbank. Accordingly he asked Mr. Ralli whether he would permit Jack to pilot him. Mr. Ralli wrote and asked a few pertinent questions, one of which was whether tho horse was a good jumper. The letter was shown to Mr. Ferry and his advice sought. “Now,” said the elder Mullins, “why would I want to ask him to ride it if it were a good jumper? I would ride it mesclf if I wag sure.” Southdown’s Size. The Rampion colt Southdown, which A. McAulay is now training for Mr. J. M. Sampson, at Riccarton, did a round of the plough on Tuesday morning at half-pace, putting on a little more speed for the last two furlongs. He is a nice mover, and McAulay reports him to be a great “doer.” When he has finished developing, Southdown will be a very big colt. He stands over 17 hands. Southdown is engaged in Australian classic events next season, as well as in those of New Zealand. Stallions at Auction. Silverado, the sire of Silver Scorn, was offered at auction at Bathurst, New South Wales, recently, but he was passed in at 3000 gs. At the same sale Archery was passed in at 350gns., Air Balloon at 250 gs, Leighton at 225g5, and East Tor at 75gs. Au Ovedue Win. True Shaft recorded his first success of the season at Amberley on Saturday. He had to be put aside during most of the spring and summer seasons owing to oft-recurring leg ailments, but has shown indications during tho past few weeks that ho has thrown off his trouble. He is a galloped above the ordinary when right, and if he continues in his present order, he may be given another trip to Sydney should his trainer go across with Southdown for the spring meetings. A Genuine Defence. The defeat of Hurlingham in the three-horse race at Amberley on Saturday was in the nature of a big public surprise, comments the Christchurch Press, and many racegoers were under the impression that the judicial enquiry held immediately after the riders weighed in was in relation to the favourite’s performance. According to the result of the enquiry, it concerned mostly the failure of D. O’Connor to ride his mount out to endeavour to obtain second money. The owner satisfied tho stewards that his case was genuine by producing £5 worth of tickets on the horse, while the rider explained that his mount narrowly missed falling when negotiating the bend into the straight, and he went some distance before becoming balanced. O’Connor considered that at tho time of meeting trouble Hurlingham was under a pull and would never otherwise have surrendered the lead to True Shaft. There seemed no ground for any further complaint against tho rider, as the horse was never properly settled down throughout the final stages, and it is not likely that any rider would miss the chance of collecting second instead of third prize for his patron if the opportunity offered. As for the owner, it could hardly be considered probable that he would not desire to win a useful stake when there could be littlo monetary gain otherwise, and when the horse’s weight for future engagements would not be affected to any serious extent. The position, rightly summed up, was that Hurlingham did not have tho luck of the running, and that he would have required everything in his favour to concede .successfully nearly a stone to a speedy galloper like True Shaft, who, if he had been sound, would have built up a much higher class record than Hurlingham is likely to attain.