FROM TRACK AND STABLE

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18247, 7 February 1931, Page 19 (Supplement)

FROM TRACK AND STABLE

(By “ Martian.”)

FIXTURES AK£?2 February 4—Tapar.ui. February 5, 7 —Egmont. February 5, I —Gisborne. February 7 —Matamata. February 12, 14—Taranaki. February 12, 14—Dunedin. February 12, 14—Poverty Bay Turf C. February 14, 16—Rotorua. February 18—Clifden. February 19—Tolaga Bay. February 19, 21 —Wanganui. February 19, 21—Dargaville. February 21—Canterbury. February 25, 2G—Woodville D.stric.'. February 25, 26 —Gore. February 26—Waiapu. February 27, 28— Marlborough. February 28, March 2—Te Aroha. TROTTING MEETINGS. February 7—■N.Z. Metropolitan. February 14—Wellington. February 21—Kaikoura. February 21, 25—Auckland. CORRESPONDENTS. “Argument,” Hamilton.—'The Rotorua Racing Club held a meeting at the Claudelands oourse. “Light' Harness,” Tauplri.—Jewel Pointer won the Dominion Handicap at the Auckland Club’s Summer meeting last season. His time lor the two miles was 4.36 2-5. “Interested,” Paeroa. — (1) Skyrlder beat Master Lu in the Awapuni Steeplechase at the Manawatu Winter meeting. (2) Queen Arch raced on only two occasions last season, but was not placed.

“Rider,” Matamata. —The late A. Oliver Is the rider you refer to. The three winners of the Winter Cup at Riccarton he rode in succession were Penates, North East and Nyland.

Ball Dress is amongst the Riccarton candidates for the Dunedin Cup. She has shown more than once that she can run out a solid mile, and a mile and a half may not be any trouble, though she will be taking on much stronger opposition than she has met in the past.

Bernera, who recently joined M. J. Carrol’s stable, Frank ton, may make his bow to northern racing at the Botorua meeting. The Lord Quex — Perplexity gelding, who was in active commission prior to leaving Hawke's Bay, has been kept moving on the tracks at Te Rapa. Bernera has given evidence that he Is not lacking in pace.

Phar Lap’s two-ye'ar-old brother in A. McAulay’s stable at Riccarton has grown into a big and powerful gelding but a very plain one. Inclined to be coarse his best point is a well muscled back. Nothing but racing will prove if he is good or bad as he is much too lazy to do his best in private, says a home writer.

Honiton was raced at the Takapuna .meeting at which she ran third to Leitrim and .Refresher in the Suburban Handicap, the sprint event of the concluding day. The Marble Arch— Lacemaker filly will probably do her next racing at Riccarton. J. Paul has this member of his Te Awamutu team in forward condition. The company she will be among at the coming week-end should afford her an opportunity of extending her earnings for the latest season.

Mosque had his most recent racing In the principal distance events at the Takapuna meeting. The Feramorz — Marble Star gelding failed to get a prominent position in the running on either of the two days. His Summer Cup success at Ellerslie at New Year indicated better quality than his form last week would imply and if Mosque goes to the post for the Cup at Rotorua next 'Saturday his prospects will he entitled to respect.

'Gay Crest has been on the easy list since he arrived back at Riccarton from Trentham and he has freshened up with his short rest. With the return of his trainer he will resume work in preparation for autumn engagements. His future programme has not been settled yet. He figured as an entrant in the Dunedin Cup, but he may be got ready for a trip to Sydney at Easter.

Te Money is down for engagement in highweigh’t and hack events at Rotorua on Saturday. The Paper Money— Te Papapa mare was raced at the Takapuna meeting. While she did not reach a place there the racing will have benefited her and.in the company she will be engaged with next week she should be showing up.

The Stratford Racing 'Club committee has forwarded the following resolution to-the Taranaki District Committee and other Taranaki clubs, asking for their support;—‘That this club views with alarm the increase in the Racing Conference levy, and asks the Taranaki District Committee to request the conference to effect every economy with a view to reduction.”

Though beaten on the last day at Trentham in the event with which the meeting concluded, A 1 Jolson will keep. He is good—better than Is generally suspected—and he only has to keep right to pay his way handsomely. He went well in the early part of this race, drifted and came again but finally had no run left to gather up the leaders, and so finished out of a place, says a southern writer.

Our Te Aroha correspondent writes: One of the valuable additions to the already good team presided over by trainer J. 'H. Wallace is. the yearling colt by Hunting Song—Marchaway, ■bred in the Gisborne district. He is a black, of commanding stature, with a somewhat plain but nevertheless very intelligent head, neck well set on, good rein, splendid girth, and middle piece with exceptionally well sprung ribs, admirably coupled up and a faultless top. He has well let down quarters, powerful forearms and thighs, limbs of steel-like bone and first quality feet. This well grown and developed juvenile measures well in all points, and bids fair to 1 be a performer of real merit when the time comes for him to sport his owner’s colours in public. He is now being handled, but has not yet been ridden.

It Is understood by a Christchurch writer that any club deeming it advisable to cancel meetings, owing to the existing state of affairs, will not be in danger of losing its permits. This will probably result in a temporary shrinkage in the list of fixtures, as some clubs are faced with a sure loss, and a seriously crippling loss, if they carried out the usual programme. The Auckland Racing Club's example of curtailing their stake money is almost certain to be followed by nearly every racing club in the Dominion.

First Lap, a member of A. P. Brady's team, undertook her first racing at the Waikato Club’s Spring meeting in November when she was a winner at seven furlongs. The Lapidary— Frill filly had several starts after this but did not reach the money. She showed a return to form at the Ngaruawahla meeting this month when, in winning the Cup, she accounted for some useful gallopers. If First Lap keeps her engagements at Rotorua next week she will have some support.

Advice from Melbourne is to the effect that Phar Lap’s part-owner and trainer, H. R. Telford, has taken over the establishment in Booran Road, Caulfield, formerly occupied by R. Piper, who has removed to Mentone. Telford will keep Phar Lap and half-a-dozen other horses at Caulfield, while the remaining members of his big team —he has over 20 horses in work—will be put through their pacings at Braeside, Mordialloc.

Spoon at 8.1 is looked upon as being rather well treated in the Publican's Handicap at Dunedin. A speedy filly she is stopped very quickly with a little weight but even she should be able to carry such a weight as 8.1 to the end of six furlongs in fast time. There is one in the race however that will keep Spoon and everything else in the Publican’s Handicap very busy if he is back to his best form. This is Silver Paper. A ’Triton among minnows the big son of Paper Money and Silver Peak will never be off his bit to win if he is right. Up to a mile he has no peer in this Dominion when at his best, says a Christchurch writer.

When at Trentham with Dulen the Wash dyke trainer, P. T. Hogan, not only purchased a number of yearlings but he also got possession of the hurdler Perle de Leon. Hogan has a happy knack of patching up broken down jumpers, but most of those with which he has been successful have been considerably younger than Ills recent purchase and in most cases have not been broken down so often. The bay son of Polydamon—Perie D’Or was foaled in 1920. lie ran his first race as a two-year-old in 1922 and has been racing ever since. A good class horse on the flat or over hurdles in his day, he must be on the down grade now when rising eleven.

Ball Dress is to take her place in the Dunedin Cup field. She has done so well among hacks, during the last two months, and has won her races so easily, that it is impossible to say how good she is. That she will stay there is very little room for doubl. The question is have the hacks that she beat in the Douro Cup and other races been of good class? They may not have been. R. Coveny does not antiiepate haying any trouble in riding her at the correct weight at Wingatui.

New Zealand horses have been well looked after by the handicappers of V.R.C. and A.J.G., says a Christchurch Sun writer. Nightmarch has been awarded 9.13 in the Sydney Cup,.two miles, a weight under which he failed at Ellerslie and at Trentham, and is top-weight, with 10.2 in the mile Doncaster Handicap. With Phar Lap still lording it in the classics, an Eastertide trip to Australia by the local son of Night Raid is at least improbable. And not only Nightmarch, but all the other New Zealanders have been given imposts that do not err on the side of leniency. For that matter, it is hv no means certain that Nightmarch will have more Ilian a very light racing card in the Dominion during the autumn.

An interesting entrant for the hurdles on the second day of the Dunedin meeting is the Absurd gelding Radiac, who showed distinct promise of reaching the first flight among steeplechasers towards the end of the last jumping season. Radiac, who is now owned and trained by the Dunedin sportsman Mr F. J. Conn, won live cross-country events during the winter, his most important victories being In the Homeby Steeplechase at the Christchurch Hunt Club's meeting and in the Enfield Steeplechase at the Grand National meeting. On the second day of the Grand National meeting he was beaten only 'by Kapuna in the Beaufort Steeplechase and on the Anal day fell when going well in the Lincoln Steeplechase. He is a fine jumper, and he will probably prove one of the best of the South Island ’chasers in the winter.

Those people who have announced that Nightmarch is slipping may be forced to announce before long that they were rather premature in arriving at such a decision, says a Christchurch writer. His defeat at Trentham was certain as soon as a wet track was assured. He has never been good in mud. lie is going to Wingatui and, given that the going is dry and good, he will take all the beating his opponents are capable of giving him. In rare health, he never was better, whatever beats him in the Dunedin Cup will win despite his 9.13. This morning Nightmarch, with D. Cotton up, was sent out to dash over half a mile on the No. 6 grass under a pull. Keen to gallop, the brown horse kept ’bounding until he got his own way, and instead of cantering round he ran along at a sound pace although he did not seem to be going fast his action is so perfect. He ran the first three furlongs in 39 3-5, and the last three in 36 2-5. This tota.led 1.16 for the six furlongs, a time that was only beaten once during Ihe morning; First Sight did 1.15 3-5, with much less weight up. It is a pity that A. McAulay. had not decided to stretch the brown horse out. Had he done so the six furlongs would certainly have been run under 1.14 and perhaps under 1.13.

In Fred Archer’s time there was no draw .for post positions, and it is almost unnecessary to write that he always secured a good one. English writers agree that in these days Archer would find things much more difficult, but he must have been a wonderful rider. In chatting about other jockeys and their records, “Audax" delivered himself as follows in the “Horse and Hound” (London) : “Comparisons are odious, but when one compares these jockeys’ feats with Fred Archer’s it shows how he stood out as a rider, considering that between 1874 and 1886, inclusive, he was always the leading jockey, and in his most successful season (1885) rode no l fewer than 246 winners out of 667 rides, and this when unable to do less than Bst 71b; indeed, so early in his career as 1878 Fred could not ride under Bst 41b. Upon no fewer than seven other occasions Archer rode upwards of 200 winners, and no other jockey has ever reached the second century, except Loates, who, in one season, won 222 races of the 857 in which he rode.”

Once more European buyers have swooped down and taken the choicest aged offering of the Old Glory away with them (comments the American “Trotter and Pacer” editorially). Only the absence of probable engagements in the United States was responsible for the trip Legality will take to Germany. Had plenty of racing for good purses been assured him in this country, it is very doubtful if he would have gone abroad. As it is, Europe has gained a real star, one that should be able to meet those other'expatriated Americans, Hazelton, Waiter Dear, Sam Williams, etc., on even terms. For the sake of his bloodlines it is regrettable that Legality did not stay in this country, as he represented a fusion of the Axworlhy, Peter the Great, Moko, and Bingen strains, with the latter largely predominating and the others far enough back so that even exponents of outcrossing would not object to breeding him to marcs of those families. Horsemen who have aged trotters of the first class to sell, however, are fortunate that the European market exists and that there are horsemen in Germany, Denmark, France, Holland, etc., able to pay good prices for llic best kind of trotters. Without this market the value of many horses that perform well and by their earnings get themselves into a low class would be much less than it now i&.