GOSSIP FROM ALL PARTS.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17964, 8 March 1930, Page 7 (Supplement)

GOSSIP FROM ALL PARTS.

x The Ohinemuri Club’s annual meeting will be opened on Saturday and concluded on the following Monday. The annual meeting of the Opunake Racing Club will be held;on Saturday. The Wellington Racing Club’s Autumn meeting will be Introduced on Saturday. On the following Monday it will be concluded. Gay Sonnet, who Is engaged at Trentham next week, showed up prominently for five furlongs in the Kinloch Handicap at the Banks Peninsula meeting on Saturday, when she faded out. She has not been Jn work long and she will improve rapidly. Paganelli, who has engagements to fulfil at the Wellington meeting next week-end, will leave Frankton for Trentham on Monday night. The local trainer, M. J. Carroll, may also take Gleua Bay on the southern trip. 'At the Mentone (Victoria) races on February 26 Pamona, a four-year-old mare by Paper Money—Minona, carrying 8.4, won the Newmarket Trial Stakes (six furlongs) by a length in lmin 14sec. Amongst the also starteds was The Wensum. Pamona was favourite. She was bred by Mr V. Riddiford, who raced her in the Dominion under the name of Chit. At the Helena Vale (Perth) meeting on February 22 the Bellevue Purse (one mile) was won by the ex-New Zealander Atum Lad, a five year old son of Autumn and Puia, who formerly raced in the Auckland district.

Arikitoa who came to his end as the result of injuries sustained when he fell in the Piako Hack Handicap at Te Aroha on Monday was a five year old gelding belonging to the Taumarunui sportsman, Mr R. H. L. Simmons. The Warplane chestnut was trained by F. E. Loomb. His record this season was three seconds from eight starts. Arikitoa had some useful form to his credit last season when he won three races and was placed on three other occasions for £530 in stakes.

A half-brother to the hurdle racer Gayoma displayed form on the opening day of the recent Dunedin J.C. Autumn fixture that may lead to success during the present season, writes “Sir M-odred.” The galloper referred to, who by the way, was for some time prepared on the Southland B.C.’s tracks, ranks as a four year old son of Balboa—Naomi, and races under the name of Ballance. Trained by J. Ruttledge at Wingatui, he finished close up in fourth place in the Trial Stakes behirfd Quinopal The Viscount, and Gay Crest, and appeared to be staying on well over seven furlongs.

'Lunette, who is now being trained by her owner, Mr G. Seifert of Hamilton, was started on a couple of occasions at 'Te Aroha, but the Nassau— Demona mare found the company beyond her. As she bad not had any racing since Christmas, Lunette will be all the better for her recent gallops. Paddon, who races in the same interest, is being exercised and the Archiestown—Lady Frisco gelding will come back to racing when the tracks lose some of their firmness.

Phar -Lap was ’the outstanding three year oldi of the spring in Australia, winning the Rosehill Guineas Craven Plate, and both the AJ.C. and V.R.Q. Derbies, and although he failed to do better than third in the Melbourne Cup, he was probably by that time feeling the strain. He returned to the public eye at Caulfield last month, when he ran third to Amounis and Parsee at weight-for-age, and this sharpened 1 him up for the St. Leger, which the cables record he won easily at Flemington on Saturday. Phar Lap apparently has nothing to fear from the opposition of those of his own age in Australia, and it will be interesting to see how ho fares later on if he is pitted against Amounis, Nightmarch, Chide and others at weight-for-age.

At the dispersal sale of the Noorilim Stud In Victoria last week, a number of purchases were made for New Zealand clients by Messrs Wright Stephenson and Co., Ltd. These is the dam of Epilogue, winner of the include the valuable -brood mare, After Glow, bred by His Majesty the King in 1915- After Glow, who is by Sunstar, is closely related on the dam’s side to The Tetrarch, sire of ■Chief Ruler, and the champion English stallion, Tetratema. After Glow V.R.C. St. Leger and .a number of other high class races, and also of other good winners in Eventide, Gleamlight and The Dimmer. She has a brown filly at foot by Spearhead, the sire of Spearfelt, and has been served again by the same sire. Another mare, which is to come to the Dominion, secured at the same time is King Cup, which was bred in England in 1021. This young mare is by Amadis from Flowerjug, who is by Florizel II from Amphora, an own sister to Sundridge, the sire of Absurd. The third dam, Sierra, is an own Sister to Sainfoin, winner of the Derby, and a half-sister to Black Sand, winner of the Cesarewitch. King Cup has a chestnut filly at foot by Crowdcnnis, and she is infoal to Gothic, a son of Tracery, who won ever £22,000 in Australia and who was retired' to the stud last year. These two highly bred mares should prove valuable acquisitions to the breeding industry in the Dominion.

The local trainer, A. Tinker, will leave for Trentham on Wednesday next. He is taking Valuation and Ruling Chief, but at the time of writing it had not been definitely decided whether Mervctte would go, as the Lucullus mare had not been quite herself of late.

Rapier is reported to have run into «• lot of trouble in the Peninsula Cup, an I this settled his chance. The Grtyspear horse only has to remain sound to win a good race very soon. C. Emerson has been engaged to ride him in the balance of his season’s engagements.

Panola, who won at Moonee Valley last month, draws attention to the great success of her dam, Pansy, one of the few Polymelus mares at the Australian stud, as a producer. Pansy, Who was purchased as a brood mare at the dispersal sale last year of the Kingsfleld stud by Mr Harry Taylor, was specially Imported by Mr J. E. Brien for the stud, and was not raced. In addition to Panola, she has produced the Wellington Gup winner Vertigern, the Oakleigh Plate winner, Royal Thought, and the V.R.C. Hopeful Stakes winner, Pannikin. Pansy will be represented at the next Easter sales by one of the finest yearling colts of the season in a bay yearling by Rossendale, and therefore he can claim full relationship to Vertigern and Panola. He was acknowledged to be the finest foal at the Kingfleld sale, and has since then grown l the right way, and will be a most commanding yearling (says a Sydney writer).

Chide put up one of the best efforts on the -Randwick track on the morning of February 25. Carrying about 7st., he was associated with Anambah for seven Turlongs. The New Zealander had the outside berth, and appeared to be going comfortably at the finish, recording lmin 31sec foF the trip. A Sydney w'riter had the following remarks after Chide’s previous sprint at Randwick. —“Hide a pound from the wife the day they produce the ex-Enzedder Chide. The liver chestnut went four in 50 at ■Randwick-yesterday morning, and did the job like' an ace-high horse. When he hit Sunny N’oo South, Chide looked a cross between a blackl’ellow’s dog and an Indian famine victim, but now, though he'll never take a prize for good looks, he is much thicker and seems the making of a really good horse.” i

Tenakoe, the winner of the Elstow Handioap at Te Aroha on Monday, was also successful In his only preceding start, which was on the concluding day of the annual meeting of Te Kuiti Club In November last. The Marble Arch —Queen Elizabeth three year old gelding, who is in'A. Cook’s team at Te Awamutu, is a young galloper of more than average -promise. He put up a good performance on the latest •occasion w ! hen he ran round several horses to reach the front at the half journey, three furlongs from home. From that -point he was able to readily keep the opposition at bay. Tenakoe is a half-brother to Ruapapa, who was a capable performer in this province a few seasons back.

For a long -period Victoria was well ahead of New South Wales in the matter of prize-money, but the latter now leads. Though the Australian Jockey Club has not any race to approach the Melbourne Cup in value, the general level of prize-money is considerably higher at Randwick than at Flernington. As an instance the A.J.C. contemplate distributing £43,000 added money for its Autumn meeting, apart from breeders’ premiums, whereas the V.R-C. total for the Australian Cup meeting is £26,150. Both have 24 events listed for the four days, the A.J.C. average being £1792, against the V.R.C. average of £IO9O. In addition, the lowest prize for a flat race at Randwick is £IOOO added money, against the £SOO of the V.R.C.

Australians have been lamenting the ■scarcity of ,-stayers and' the poor quality of the horses we have had in some of our important long-distance races during the last year or two. They seem to be in a similar plight in England,’ where the sprinter now seems to reign supreme (remarks “Chiron” in the Australasian). The last mail brought an interesting note from Sir George Grant Suttie on the subject. Writing from Cobbles, Sutton Scotney, Hants, lie says:— “Australia used to be the country whence our staying blood was -replenished; .as in the time of my friend, Mr Allison, who brought here Merman and Carbine, among others. Now we seem both in the same terrible condition. People are never content nowadays to waitThey are all obsessed with -the fatal craze for speed l and to get there quick. It is a dreadful look-out. My late brother-in-law, Sir Daniel Cooper, always maintained there were far too many useless entire horses from a breeding standpoint." There are few people who will not agree with Sir George that the craze l'or speed In •our horses has resulted in a serious loss of stamina. lOur horses, as a whole, have undoubtedly become more brilliant than they were in the days when Carbine and Merman were bred, but it has been attained’ by sacrificing staying ability. Our good stayers of this generation are no doubt quite as good as those in the country, say, forty or fifty years ago, but there are not so many of them.”

“■Having regard to all the circumstances 1 should have thought that the executors might have considered something beyond strict legality.” This observation was made by Mr Justice Wright in a London court in giving judgment with costs, against Henry Valentine Graves, jockey, of Wash Common, Newbury, who sued the executors of the late Mr Rex David Cohen, the millionaire racehorse owner, to recover a retaining fee of £IOOO. Mr Theobald Matthews, for the executors : What your Lordship has said will be communicated to the executors, and the question whether something can be done to compensate Graves will be considered. The judge added that it was with regret that he felt bound' to come to -conclusions of law in the executors favour, because a jockey had only a limited number of days open to him to ride, and a substantial part of his earnings must be retaining fees. This, however, was a personal contract which depended on the continued life of both parties, and was mot enforceable against the executors. Graves relied,* on an agreement of December 17, 1927, under which he gave Mr ■Cohen first claim on his services for the fiat racing season of 1928 for a retainer of £IOOO. Mr Cohen died before Graves rode any of his horses, and his executors contended that his death terminated the agreement.

For 'some time the committee of the Victoria Racing Club has been discussing ways and means of minimising the risk of accident in races, and one question that has -been under discussio for some time is the limiting of the size of fields in short distance races. Some years ago the stewards drew up a list in which was included the numbers of horses which would be allowed to start in races at the various barriers in Melbourne, but it has been felt that a further restriction of the numbers has been necessary. This view was supported by the committee of the Victoria 'Racing Club, and it was decided last .month that in future no more than 20 horses would be allowed to start in any race of a mile or less provided that race is run around a turn or turns. This action should greatly reduce the risk of accident, for it is in the shorter distance races that the greatest number of risks are taken by the riders, says a Melbourne writer. The rule will come into force on March 1, and it will not affect such races as the Newmarket Handicap and the Standish Handicap, for those races are run over a straight -course. The important races tha,t it will affect are the Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield, the Cantala Stakes at Flernington, and the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield, while in addition, there will be many races on the suburban courses that it will be necessary to divide unless the suburban clubs decide to increase the distance of a great number of their races. Under the new rule, where the horses left in a race of a mile or less, exceed 20, ancl the amount of stake added or given does not exceed £SOO, and where there is no sweepstakes provided the nominator of each horse sitting in each division will be called upon to pay a sweepstakes of £2 for each horse that he starts. j , _

The proposed 100,000 dollars (£20,000) International Race, planned by the directors of Arlington Park, Chicago, is as nearly assured as is humanly possible six months prior to its running, through the promised cooperation of three of the best known sportsmen abroad (says the Thoroughbred Record). These are: Mr Edward Esmond, of Paris; M. Jacques Wittouck, of Brussels; and Colonel Harold' A. Wcrnher, of London, the respective owners of Hotweed, Palais Royal, and Brown Jack, a trio of courageous horses with sterling victories to their credit in England and on the Continent. Each of these sportsmen recently assured Mr C. J. Fitzgerald, representing Arlington Park, that they would send their champions to Chicago following Ascot next June provided the horses wera sound and' fit to race to their best form. Mr Fitzgerald returned homo in the Berengaria last week and has made his report to the Arlington Park authorities. He is sanguine that the horses already promised will be on the scene, as they are all noted for their soundness. He has hopes that a fourth contestant will be forthcoming in Athford, brother to the Derby winner, Trigo, and winner of many hardfought races in the colours of William Barnett, of Belfast, Ireland. Mr Barnett also owns Trigo, now at the Cloghran Stud, near Dublin, which is •the property of that noted expert, S. R Dawson, leading trainer of 1929, who has both Trigo and Athford in his charge, as well as the extensive stable of the Aga Khan.