TURF TOPICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1359, 11 May 1916, Page 25

TURF TOPICS.

Amongst horses that have been schooled at Ellerslie over hurdles during the past few days are El Gallo, Ulster, Dewy Morn, Genevieve, Lady Lobelia, Tragedy King, Soultikoff, Brookfield, Tirau and Delaniar, and over some of the steeplechase jumps on the flat country Te Onga, Taihape, Lady Sabretache and Waimai. « * * The scratching of Merrimax and Spalfish for all engagements at the A.R.C. winter meeting has been announced. * s * * With £1533 war tax, £1758 tote tax, and £79 tax on stakes the Canterbury Jockey Club’s meeting panned out well for the Government, while patriotic funds get all the profits, which will exceed those for any other autumn meeting of the old-es-tablished club. The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club anticipate paying over £4OOO to the patriotic funds, and it is estimated that considerably over that sum will be paid by the C.J.C. There was racing at a recent date in Egypt and amongst the winners were some New Zealand horses. One of them, Rototawai, bred in the Wairarapa and called after Mr. W. E. Bidwill’s estate, won the Barrage Hurdle Race in a field of seven from end to end. The Rod El Farag Handicap, described as the best race of the day, was won by a short head by Abu Tamam and was ridden by Sir G. Beaumont. The winner will be remembered as a very excitable little mare when in Auckland that ran as Alma Rose and she could not stay. The daughter of Menschikoff and Golden Rose has run several good races, and in the one in question competed as a maiden Arab pony, so says our informant. Sergt. Pearson, a returned soldier, who saw her racing.

When Balboa was a foal he got one of his legs in a fence and a scar on one of his shins was a big eyesore when he was purchased by F. Davis for 35 guineas at auction. That was one reason for his going so cheap. The leg has always caused a fear that he may go wrong, but the injured member has stood some severe tests in the past and may see him through some further good battles. He is just a trifle straight on his fore legs. A relative called Leinster, that raced down south some years ago, was very straight and proppy, but for which he might have proved a good horse. Little Inez, another of the family, was a genuine bit of racing material, but Balboa is undoubtedly the best of the back number family to which he belongs and his genuineness is his chief asset. • « * .» Woolloomooloo, called after a suburb of Sydney, was brought to New Zealand seven years ago by the late Mr. F. Douglas, and is by Definition from Farthingall and will be 13 years old next foaling. The fact that he had only won a jumpers’ flat race as long back as 1910 at the C.J.C. Grand National meeting, and had been off the scene until the recent Waipukurau meeting for nearly three years would not have encouraged anyone to look for him as a probable winner at the Hawke’s Bay meeting last week. In securing the Hurdle Race on the opening day and running second on Saturday it shows that the grey Australian has some form left though he never demonstrated that he was a good one here at any time. His being able to win so late on in life does seriously detract from the present form of the horses he met, but Braeburn beat him half a dozen lengths on Saturday. » * * * The turnstiles showed that the attendance on Easter Saturday at the Randwick meeting was 3000 below the record for that day. “Milroy,” in the “Sydney Mail.” thus discourses

there anent: —The crowd on the lawn afforded an interesting study in heads, hats, and expressions, and very generally the people were joyous and carefree. Khaki was the most noticeable colour among males. There were thousands of soldiers, returned or in training, present, and quite a Irage party of convalescent wounded from the Randwick Hospital, among them a few splendid young fellows and true sports who were unable to walk, but were wheeled in thiough the crowd in invalid chairs. These were all guests of the club. I met scores of young fellows I know personally in uniform, and several who intend to get into khaki next month. * * * * Some first-class colts, geldings and fillies have won the Hawke’s Bay Stakes since it was introduced, 21 years ago. Bloodshot, Daunt, Screw Gun, Royal Artillery, Porcelain, Bobrikoff and Boanerges are those that won outright at three years old, and two years old Multiform, Rosella, Cruciform, Boris, Sir Tristram, Elevation, Provocation, Royal Scotch, Bon Ton, Rinaldo, Desert Gold and Sasanoff, while Sauci at three years old and Pariform at two years deadheated. Royal Artillery holds the time record (lmin 20sec) and he carried 9.2. Most of the winners have carried penalties. Last year Desert Gold carried 181 b in that way over her w.f.a. This year, by the conditions of the race, she would have had a similar penalty, but next year the extreme penalty will be 141 b. By the conditions of the race Desert Gold would have had to carry 9.11. Hyttus, our believed best two-year-old, was sent out carrying the extreme penalty, and only just suffered defeat. Mr. Lowry elected not to let Desert Gold attempt a task of the kind, one that may never be asked of a competitor in the race again. A good opportunity was missed, however, of giving Desert Gold a chance of doing what no other three year old has accomplished in connection with the race.