THE CLUBMAN

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1289, 7 January 1915, Page 6

THE CLUBMAN

It is twenty years since a mare won the Auckland Cup. Warstep makes the third to succeed in forty-one years. The previous winners were Lottie in 1894 and Anita in 1895. Nestor, in 1896, was the last three-year-old to win. Welcome Jack, St. Hippo, Pegasus, and Crackshot are the only other three-year-olds that have been successful. In St. Michael’s year Nonette put up a good performance. Four-year-olds have won fourteen times, but only three have carried more weight than did Warstep, and they were Templeton 8.11, Wairiki 9.8, and Mahutonga 8.12. Warstep holds some records in connection with the event. She carried weight-for-age and did what none of her sex have done and won in record time. She gave Emmerson his first winning ride in the event, and is the first of the Martian’s to win the race, and was the first of the Martian’s to score in the New Zealand Cup when she deadheated with Indigo. When that pair met it was at a difference of 131 b. She had 7.11, or 121 b. under weight-for-age, and Indigo had 51b. under weight for age. In the Auckland Cup Warstep carried weight for age and Reputation 61b. over. Thus on actual form and collaterial form Indigo would be assessed by some people as only 111 b. inferior over two miles to Reputation. The 'first half-mile of the New Zealand Cup was very slow, as a matter of fact three seconds slower than that for the Auckland Cup, at which stage, however, Vladinoy was at least 2secs. ahead of Warstep, who led in the New Zealand Cup at half a mile.

The last mile and a-half of the Auckland Cup and the last mile and a half of the New Zealand Cup were run in precisely the same time, 2min. 36sec., and the finishes were very similar. Warstep, after being momentarily headed by Indigo in the New Zealand Cup got her nose in line again, as she did again after Reputation had got his head in front in the Auckland Cup. As Reputation carried 61b. over w.f.a. the honours of the race were with him. There was £9679 10s. invested on the New Zealand Cup, while the amount put through the totalisator on he Auckland Cup was £11,973; in the Stewards’ Handicap £7893, as against £9223 10s. in the Railway Handicap. In the Stewards’ Handicap Downham (7.13) finished fifth, only a head away from Bimeter (7.4), who received 91b. It was a true run race, and Downham had 81b. the best of the deal in the Railway and none the best of the luck. Bimeter ran right up to his Stewards’ Handicap form, as did Downham, and the last-named only had to do so to beat Mr. Greenwood’s colt again at the weights. Taking another line, Sauci was jhst beaten a head by Downham in the "Stewards’ Handicap giving

away 31b. In the Railway Sauci had 111 b. the worst of the weights by comparison with Mr. Watt’s gelding. How people could back Sauci in preference lor the Railway, and also Postillion, Merry Roe and Crown Pearl, all of which he beat and was meeting more favourably, is passing strange, but it was no doubt because he was not asked to show anything exceptional on the track. The best handicapped of. the runners won without doubt, and should have been favourite. We saw some excellent racing during the meeting, and a lot of very consistent form, some also that was remarkably inconsistent, and a little hat looked suspiciously not all right, but it was not in every instance that the best planned schemes ended up profiably for those who were patient. Luck was with some and luck was against other owners, but it was very pleasing to note; that good horses won right through, wih perhaps one or two exceptions.

It has been customary with sporting writers year after year to refer co the totalisator returns of the many racing clubs of he Dominion, and to make comparisons with the returns of previous years. It is not many years since there was betting as to which of three clubs racing at Easter time would do most business over their meetings. Eeilding actually headed Auckland and Canterbury at the time referred to, which was only a little over a decade ago. Since the Auckland Racing Club installed the Julius totalisator, or, as it is now known, the Totalling Mechanisms, Ltd., totalisator, it has succeeded in handling more money on a given number of days than the Canterbury Jockey Club, but this has been quite recently, and though investments continue to increase in Canterbury at meetings all round, the Auckland Racing Club has taken a decided lead in ihe way of speculating per medium of the automaton. Its course is contiguous to the Queen City, which contains much the largest resident population, and has a larger floating population than any other of the four leading cities. It has these and-other advantages. In Canterbury quite onehalf, if not more, of the population put the American sport of trotting and pacing before that of racing, and i is not to be wondered at that more money should be found in Auckland tor speculating on, racing than in Canterbury for the same branch of sport. In making comparisons it is therefore fair to take into consideration both racing and trotting evens. This has been done, and up to the present year has been in favour of Canterbury, but for the first time in the history of the clubs the Auckland Racing Club and Auckland Trotting Club combined for their summer meetings concluded last week are in a position to quote

figures which show that they have at last taken the lead.

Last year at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s spring meeting—which had a setback through the strike —and at the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club’s meeing, the totalisator workers handled for the seven days £283,793 1 Os. This year the same clubs handled £280,854 10s., or for the two years for these particular spring meetings alone the sum of £564,648. The Auckland Racing Club and Auckland r i rotting Club last year got within str. king distance by together putting £283,708 10s. through, but this year the total is £244,614 for the Auckland Racing Club and £65,515 for the Auckland Trotting Club, giving a combined total of £310,129, or £26,420 10s. more than the Canterbury clubs. The total for the two years for the two Auckland clubs is £593,837 10s., or £28,189 10s. more than the two Canterbury clubs. The Auckland Racing Club’s turnover for this summer meeting as compared with the last one shows an increase of £19,204, and the Auckland Trotting Club’s increase amounts to £7225 10s., which is proportionately better than the Racing Club’s big business. These comparisons are instructive. Both clubs have done well financially, and yet both worked very cautiously in the spring. There were no book programmes brought out for the year by either club, as the committees of both preferred to feel their way.

We do not propose to go into further comparisons just now, but we assume that the Auckland RacingClub will next season g-ve a larger sum in stakes than the Canterbury Jockey Club, which has always been in the lead as a stake-giving club in New Zealand, and has in that respect set a fine example, the prize money in proportion to tote revenue having been exceptionally good. For many years we were furnished by turf statisticians with figures showing the amounts given in stakes and the amount of totalisator revenue received, and it was in consequence of what was revealed that a rule was brought in making it compulsory for clubs to give in proportion to their totalisator receipts. The Auckland Racing Club always stood very well up, but other clubs cut a sorry figure, even when in receipt of a lot of money in bookmakers’ fees. The Auckland Racing Club’s tote receipts over the meeting just closed have just about increased by the amount the Canterbury Jockey Club’s spring meeting fell short of the previous year, but unless the Auckland Racing Club very largely increase their stakes for their autumn and winter meetings the Canterbury Jockey Club may still lead as stake distributors for the current season. The gate receipts of the Auckland Fac ng Club under the new policy, or

the altered policy of the Club, should be larger chan ever, and it can only be a matter of time when the Club will take a strong lead; indeed, if so much money had not been spent on the upkeep of the grounds and in improvements the stakes could easily have been more largely increased than those of the C.J.C., which, however, has a solid reserve fund, whereas the A.R.C. has a comparatively small debt on its valuable freehold estate which report says cannot be paid off before the date of expiry of the loan. There will be a huge profit over the meeting just closed.

The class of horses which competed during the four days at Ellerslie, taken all round, was never quite so good. The fields averaged very well, the handicap races giving an average of a little under thirteen per race, which fell short of the average of the handicap events on the Canterbury jockey Club's programme and short of the average of last year, which was a fraction over thirteen per race for twenty-seven races. The average was short also tor the fixed weight events. Altogether racegoers have cause to be satisfied with the sport that was shown, and the Club can be congratulated upon their luck in ever so many directions. Nearly all the best horses that competed at the meeting also ran at the Canterbury Jockey Club’s spring meeting. Tins is invariably the case, and that there were a lot of horses in every department much above the average in the matter of class goes without saying, though we did not have a monopoly of all the good ones. A large number of meetings were in progress at the same time, and at some of them there were good and promising competitors. A few of the proved good ones of different ages were resting on their laurels, or were in enforced retirement through previous exertions, but some of the cracks and the best of two, three and four-year-olds and older handicap horses were at Ellerslie. The valuable prizes and money to be won is the great attraction. Visitors got away with the lion’s share of the stakes—quite a customary thing this.

The Auckland Racing Club and Auckland Trotting Club did remarkably well in the way of increased receipts from all sources, but we must not be too local in our judgment respecting the progress made. With a few exceptions the same thing has been experienced all over the Dominion. The Manawatu R.C., Hawke’s Bay J.C., Taranaki J.C., Stratford R.C., Wairarapa J.C., Westport T.C., Reefton J.C., Taratahi-Carterton R.C., Ashburton T.C., Gore R.C., Dunedin J.C., Canterbury Park T.C., Greymouth T.C., Thames J.C., and other clubs had more or less substantial returns and increases from the public investments.