TURF TOPICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1359, 11 May 1916, Page 10

TURF TOPICS.

B. Deeley’s suspension continues to be a topic in sporting circles. L. H. 'Hewitt is still in Australia, and recently rode Secret Service to victory. A. Reed rode three winners on the second day of the Hawke’s Pay J.C. meeting. Reputation was one of the lots to be offered at auction in Sydney on May 2nd. Mr. T. H. Lowry did not win a race at either the Canterbury J.C. or Hawke’s Bay J.C. meetings. Lord Derby is the owner of Canyon, the Chaucer filly, winner of the One Thousand Guineas. The defunct thoroughbred Blairgowrie is credited with being the sire of the dam of the trotter Amberite. Three favourites won on the second day of the Hawke’s Bay J.C. meeting and four finishe 1 in second place. There has been an all-round falling off in the totalisator turnover at South Australian race meetings this season. The “all cerise” of the Hon. J. D. Ormond was much in evidence at the Hawke’s Bay J.C. meeting last week. Not actually broken down, but a long spell is necessary. This is how Reputation’s case is spoken of. Marc Antony traces back on his dam’s side to Rauno. dam of Mata. Snub is another of the same family. Baron de Hirsch, who owned La Fleche. whose death is referred to in another column, was a noted philanthropist in his time. Kandos, winner of the A.J.C. St. Leger, comes of the great number o staying family in Australia, descendants of Evening Star. S. Reid is reported to have received over £lOO for his winning ride on Chortle in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap. Finland has had a larger number of useful representatives to act for him than in previous seasons, but no Bobrikoff is this year in sight. Auckland horsemen who were riding successfully at the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s meeting were J. Buchanan, J. O’Shea and C. Browne. It is a thousand pities that Carlysian, by Elysian, got a throat affection, though, notwithstanding, he is capable of winning races. He can gallop. Toatere, in a field of 'fifteen, was third at Sydney Tattersall’s meeting in the Cup to Karanaud King and Fantaire, and was giving away lots of weight. The consistent Blaque beat a field ■of sixteen others in the Goodwood Handicap at . Adelaide cn Saturday, Achernar and lownit filling the places. £12,040 represents Desert Gold’s winnings to date, and with ordinary luck her total will be increased next season and perhaps for several seasons. Jeanne d’Arc’s son Orleans did not win the Rangitikei Cup last month as given out by a number of our daily contemporaries. Rewi Poto scored in that event. The Hon. J. D. Ormond was down with an attack of bronchitis and was only getting about again last week after having been laid up for some days previously. Mr. S. Darragh’s disqualification by the New Zealand Trotting association is to be removed on his paying a proportion of the cost of the inquiry expenses.

Oxenhope is now racing like one who, coming back fresh from a spell, had not got seasoned enough to take on strenuous racing. His Riccarton and Ashburton form points that way. The recent one-day meeting of the Westland Racing Club contributed £305 Is. 2d. to the Treasury for Government taxation. The club’s profit was £lO6 3s. 7d. Lord Nelson, who is likely to be useful at the jumping business, is by Signalman from Horatia, by Bonnie Scotland from Lady Hamilton, full sister to Nelson. Although some of the proprietary clubs only license bookmakers for three or six months, it is understood that that point will not receive consideration from the Government in the collection of the betting tax, says “Pilot.” Each bookmaker will have to pay into the Treasury full fees for a year, no matter how short the period he intends following his calling.

The respective dams of Kilboy, Oxenhope, Ohiwai. Soltano, Marble Star and other winners were got by Cyrenian, who was not successful in getting any crack racehorses. Volodia, dam of Marc Antony, the C.J.C. Autumn Handicap winner, is by Stepniak and she could gallop some. He is the only contribution to the Stud Book from that mare. Young women have taken the place of men as receh ers of totalisator investments at recent race and trotting meetings in Hokitika, and it is said that the Westland Racing Club gave the lead. G. Jones, former trainer of Chortle, Multiply and Co. for the Messrs. Williams at Gisborne, was riding at the Waipukurau meeting on Easter Monday. He is now attached to “Paddy” Neagle’s stables at Napier. It is quite a mistake to suppose that Spalpeen, who is a chestnut himself, does not leave many of his progeny other than his own colour. Tararu Jack has been cited as an exception, but El Gallo, Spalfish, Waimai, Slang, Lady Lobelia, and many more by the son of Gosson and Windmill are bays or browns. The chestnut colour repeats itself more frequently than any other.

The brothers Stead supplied the winner and runner-up in the Hawke’s Bay Cup. Wilfred owns Eligible and Gerald Wishful. Wishful’s staying was questioned, but with him it is apparently a matter of weight. Mr. James Reid, the well-known sportsman from the West Coast, is now in possession of the Canterbury Hotel, Lyttelton. His many friends will join with us in wishing him success in his new sphere of activities. B. Deeley, who is now suspended from riding for three months, has ridden 360 -winners during the past five years, and his record of 91 wins last season stands as a New Zealand record in race riding. It was Multiplication’s turn to win a race at Hawke’s Bay, and had Chortle landed the Burke Memorial, which he missed by a head to Kooya. some double money would have fallen to backers, who were following the stable. The race between the two Hawke’s Bay Cup. winners Chortle (1915) and Kooya (1914) in the Burke Memorial Stakes, in which Eligible, the winner of 1916, did not appear, will be remembered for a long time by those who witnessed it. Chortle, with all his weight, was found disputing supremacy over the last furlong, and though defeated by a head, the honours were all his.

Mr. G*. F. Bishop, secretary of the Rangitikei Hunt Club, was killed by a goods train at Marton station at the Wellington Road crossing on Saturday evening. The deceased was a well-known solicitor and a much-liked man. The doings of Desert Gold remind us that Croesus, that filly’s brilliant brother, who is disqualified for a term, won eight times at three years old, was third once and twice unplaced at that age, and once unplaced at two years old, his only start. Mr. Angus Keith, -who acted as Mr. Skipwith’s substitute at Feilding as starter on the second day, met with a motor car accident a few days before and was not seen at his best, which was unfortunate for several owners and many backers. A sign of the times at the racing and trotting meetings at Hokitika was that young women have taken the places of the men as receivers of investments in the silent totalisator. The Westland Racing Club’s meeting was probably the first where the change has come into force. The West Coast has been to the fore for months in sending men to the front, hence the shortage of suitable male employees.

There was a falling off in the totalisator turnover at the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s autumn meeting of £2439. A total of £39,575 was handled. They don’t speculate heavily at Hawke’s Bay meetings at any time. At the South Auckland Racing Club’s meeting, held last week, it was stated that a prominent handicapper was against the adoption of the 7st. minimum by the country clubs of Auckland, though every club represented at the recent conference favoured the sensible suggestion. Merrimax, in scoring another hurdle race for Mr. W. Ryan, his Auckland owner, at Sydney Tattersall’s meeting on Saturday, beat St. Medoc, a horse for which 900gns. was paid about two years ago by “Mr. Birks,” who had little luck with him, as was his experience with Cherubini The Two Thousand Guineas Trial Selling Plate was run at Newmarket on Wednesday of last week and was won by Clarissimus, with Kwang-Su second and Nassovian third. Clarissimus won the Clearwell Stakes last year. Kwang-Su was second in the Dewhurst Plate, and Nassovian was third in the Soltykoff Stakes, all three races run at Newmarket. The Two Thousand Guineas Trial Selling Plate is a substitute for the great classic event, the Two Thousand Guineas.

Hector Gray was present at the Auckland Racing Club’s and Avondale Jockey Club’s meetings. He would get plenty of riding if he were back at the game this winter. It does not seem long since he was twice at the head of the list of New Zealand’s winning riders. The One Thousand Guineas was won by Canyon, with Fifinella second and Halamnadra third. Canyon was second in the Dewhurst Plate to Atheling last year, and Fifinella was second in the Bibury Club Stakes, won the Cheveley Stakes and won the Fulborne Stakes at two years old. Camp Kettle, who won at Feilding, is a well bred one, being by Campfire, son of Carbine, from Kateland, by Finland from Catherine, by Phaethon dam Catherine Wheel, by Maxim. son of Musket, from Miss Kate dam of Prime Warden, Sultan and Antelope (dam of Bluejacket). When a club makes the mistake of paying out too much money to the extent of some hundreds of pounds that does not affect the interests of the State partner —the Government — which takes its “cut” of the percentage on the turnover all the same, whether the club makes a loss or a profit. The improvements affected on the hill in the Auckland Racing Club’s course at Ellerslie should make the steeplechase races a little faster since the runners will not be hampered at that stage, a clear path, so to speak, being ahead of them after they reach the top of the rising ground. A Manaia (Taranaki) correspondent desiring to know the breeding of Blackstone, by Crafton, is informed that his dam Consistence was got by Melos from Constance, by Cheddar from Barbara, by Barbarian from Adeline, by Kingston from mare by William Tell from Lucy by Marquis from mare by Nimrod.

The ’chaser Morning has been sold by Mr. Armstrong to “Mr. Raw r don” and has been shipped to Australia. This piece of news will come as a surprise to those who have been expecting Morning to figure at coming meetings in New Zealand. His form when at his best made him a pretty good horse over country. The weight carried by Kilboy in the Challenge Stakes at Riccarton gave that colt every chance to score as he only had 6.10 as against 9.3 carried by Emperador. The lastnamed does not represent top class weight for age form, and at weight for age the difference between the pair would be 281 b instead of 351 b in the race in question. Royal Arms is not likely to race again, judging from the way he pulled up after competing and going about once round in the hurdle race at Ellerslie on Easter Saturday. If he does it will be as one of the patched up brigade. We never saw quite the best of the son of Royal Artillery, mainly because he was none too sound when put to the jumping business. Fancy Achilles being passed at auction at £lOO at the Australian sales at Easter. Winner of over £9OOO m stakes and sire of winners of upwards of £25,000 in stakes in six years in New Zealand, seventeen years old next foaling, with a good constitution, splendid conformation, and legs as sound as the day- he "was foaled, he was surely worth more than that. Three recently ran second in an important race at Randwick, his first time out after returning to Australia from New Zealand. His win in the Denman Stakes at Sydney Tattersall’s meeting, running the six furlongs in Imin. 12%sec., shows that he retains his brilliancy and consistency, and he may do well in the spring of next season.

The attendances at Randwick spring and autumn meetings continue to grow, and where to put the people is what the club will have to consider. Already increased exits from the saddling paddock to the tramway platforms is being asked for, especially in the interests of ladies. It is reckoned that on Easter Monday 53,000 persons were present. In referring to the suspension of B. Deeley and the accident, which ended fatally for Thoolomi probably nothing would have been heard of the matter had not a valuable horse owned by a prominent Auckland owner, Mr. E. W. Alison, been killed, w r e may say that Mr. Ernest Alison owned Thoolomi. With Mr. MacMahon. stipendiary steward, acting at the meeting an accident of that kind would hardly have been passed without an enquiry, no matter to whom the horse belonged.