TURF TOPICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1395, 18 January 1917, Page 12

TURF TOPICS.

Ngaruawahia races on Saturday. ♦ ♦ * •

Erroneous won three races at the Whangarei meeting. ♦ * ♦ *

Efforts are now being made to get the totalisator in Victoria. * J. O’Shea rode four winners at the Kawakawa meeting on Saturday.

No Auckland horses were entered for the Egmont meeting this year.

The Wellington Racing Club’s summer meeting starts on Saturday.

The well-known handicapper Mr. J. E. Henrys visited Auckland on Saturday, and is looking very fit.

Soldier was sore after winning the Whangarei Cup, and was only produced once at the meeting.

More than two-thirds of the horses that ran at the Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings went north from Auckland.

Desert Gold is not to start for the Egmont Stakes, and so ihere will be no meeting between that mare and Bisogne.

The John o’ Gaunt horse Thurnham has gone amiss. Unlucky for his owners, who have not had a run with lrm since they purchased him in Sydney.

Owing to an oversight, eight hurdles were jumped in the first hurdle race at Whangarei instead of seven, as per programme.

During Wanganui race week seven yearlings by Hallowmas, the property of the Bushy Park studmaster, Mr. G. F. Moore, will be sold by auction.

Coleraine, who won three races last year at Whangarei, won only one this year during the three days, and was the only last year’s winner to succeed.

Merry Roe and Bleriot, Mr. Fred Hall’s pair of Soult mares, represent the only Auckland-trained horses accepted for the Wellington meeting.

Dolly Clements fell in the County Hack Race on Saturday at Kawakawa, and her rider (Hawkins) was somewhat severely shaken.

Gold Fran, who did not win a race last year, was taken to Whangarei and won the Kawakawa Cup on Saturday.

Probably three successive days of racing on one course never resulted in such small average fields as were seen out at Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings.

J. Lambess placed Soldier, Kauri King and Lightning to advantage during the holidays, winning with the two former at Stratford and all three at the Whangarei meeting.

E. Cotton rode five winners at the Whangarei meeting, but failed to add to his record at Kawakawa. J. O’Shea also rode five winners at the two meetings.

The Waterloo Stake s, w.f a., at the Wellington meeting a three-horse Desert Gold affair, or if Mr. Lowry should elect not to start her, a match between Chortle and Egypt.

Independence ran twice on Thursday and three times on Friday at Whangarei, and twice on Saturday at the Kawakawa meeting held on the same course.

The Auckland District Committee on Thursday administered a severe caution to an apprentice in one of the Ellerslie stables for an alleged act of larrikinism.

Te Onga, at his best, never was much good over a short distance, but was in his element at Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings amongst the roughies.

Luperin, who broke his neck at the Whangarei meeting, was bred and raced in the South Island for several seasons before coming North, and was in h’s twelfth year.

Mr. H. Hayr, senr., has gone over to Newcastle to superintend the installation of the totalisator for the leading club there. The veteran knows the business from A to Z.

Though Independence won one race out of eight starts at the North Auckland meetings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday last, her owner got a bit of place money as well.

Weights for the Taka puna meeting were declared on Monday by Mr. Geo. Morse. Recently there has been a distinct shortage of money at South Wales meetings, so say the pencillers. # * * * Three-horse fields up north were noticeable. It looks as if there will be at least one at Trentham. ♦ » ♦ * Worcester has been turned out for a spell up north. One of his legs was a source of trouble for some time previously. * ♦ * • *» Wedding Day, winner of the Villiers Stakes at Randwick, is from Wedding Present, a Trenton mare bred in England. The Elysian—Lady Gwen filly purchased by Mr. McArdle, of Mangere, has been passed on to Mr. O. S. Watkins, of Wellington. Mr. E. J. Samuels, secretary to the Waipapakauri R C.. was in town during the week, helping to engineer the Parliamentary northern tour. * * * « A few owners, horsemen and trainers are amongst those in the ballot. Some that have escaped this time are said to have been full of glee when they read the lists last week. * * * * Amongst the victims of an hotel robbery in Auckland were Mr. De Costa, secretary of the Poverty Bay Turf Club, and Mr. F. Hall, the wellknown horse owner of the same place. * * * * Twelve months ago a useful cut of gelding called Dewy Mcrn, by Vai Rosa, made his debut in one of the minor races, and his owner refused 100 guineas for him. He was raced at a number of meetings without success, and was returned to his owner last week by E. Pope, who has trained him for twelve months.

Watta, by Achilles from Stepina, won the Novice Handicap at Sydney Tattersall’s meeting on December 30. He is three years old, and beat a big field, starting at 20 to 1.

Monorail, formerly owned by Mr. de Latour, of Gisborne, then by Messrs. Collis and H. Hayr, of Auckland, and more recently by a northern settler, won two settlers’ races on the Whangarei course last week.

It is somewhat of a coincidence that J. O’Shea, after being unsuccessful on Woodrow in the Flying Handicap at the Kawakawa meeting, did the hat trick in the next three races in which he rode.

Kilboy and Sasanof have both been nominated in Australia for autumnal events, but there is little chance of either being there. A large section of Australian racegoers counted on seeing Desert Gold entered, and are much disappointed.

Sea Pink has still a bit of form to recommend him, as his Moonee Valley Handicap win in Victoria goes to show. He, like Sasanof, comes of the 24 family. He ran the mile and aquarter in 2min. 7sec. and carried 8.9, top weight.

Sir James Carroll is on his way back to New Zealand via South Africa. Will the sports who forgot to give him a send-off be on hand to welcome him on his return? Sir James was a purchaser of bloodstock in Ireland, and besides the commission executed for Mr. de Latour had others, one being to secure a sire for Gisborne for Mr. J. G. Carrington.

To the credit of the North Auckland settlers, they supported the races specially provided for them at Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings very well. The successes of a few northern country horses in these and other events must have been very pleasing to them.

We cannot say “butchered to make a Roman holiday” because Independence was raced eight times in three days last week at the Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings, as we know that she would not be severely punished, but it is a long time since any racehorse was asked to race as frequently in a given time.

The Waikato Trotting Club had a good day, but the Whangarei and Kawakawa meetings took some of their patrons, who are useful at the totalisators as a general rule. Theie was a falling off of £541 in the turnover, but the club’s tote workers had the satisfaction of handling £6BOO during the afternoon.

When the Kawakawa R.C.’s course was adversely reported cn by the stipendiary steward, Mr. A. Gordon, it proved a good thing for the club, who were lucky enough to be permitted to race at Whangarei this year. Result, huge profits as compared with the stakes.

The value of Maltster mares for breeding purposes is now being talked of. Desert Gold is the best product of a Maltster mare to date, but Wolaroi and Baltic Sea are two good ones in Australia, where there have been half a dozen or more this season, and Malster and Bobadil, sons of Bill .of Portland, are running each other close for sire honours. According to “Milroy,” neither are big horses, and Bobadil, who is out of Stepniak’s sister She, is getting the better stayers and doing better than ever previously.

Mr. H. McKenzie may race the Elysian—Lady Hester yearling filly which remained unsold last week himself. On a previous occasion he was left with one on his hands and that mare, Monoplane, pa’.d ber way well.

“Milroy” says that the pick of the foals at Merton, in New South Wales, is a white-faced brother to Wolaroi, who was small as a foal, whereas th’s one, though too late to expect much from early next season, is well grown and likely to be a big colt. Kenilworth, his sire, is sire of Housewife.

For the first day’s racing at Whangarei the acceptance list, published on the eve of the meeting, numbered 104, but some of the horses were not paid up for by their owners, and on the day the scratching pen was at work. Thirty-nine horses ran, eight of them more than once. Of twentysix in the Maiden, only six stood their ground.

At the Moonee Valley races in Victoria, held on the last day of 1916, Mr. E. J. Watt’s representative. Sea Pink, won the principal event of the afternoon, the Valley Handicap (1% miles) from the favourite, Sir Diff, with Felim third. Sea Pink, who was ridden by G. Harrison, carried 8.9. to victory and defeated his five opponents in businesslike fashion. The son of Seaton Delaval started at 7 to 2.

One of the best known of our horsemen was recently obliged to stand down in consequence of the owner :.or whom he rode being warned by the stipendiary present that his riding was likely to land someone in trouble.

It is stated now that the Stipendiary Stewards’ Committee will be asked to adjudicate on the matter in order to test the point as to whether the stipendiary was within his rights in adopting the course he did.

Desert Gold is only tour years, old, but will have to do a bit more before she gets on terms with Carlita as a money earner, but her cwner, Mr. T. H. Lowry, is bent on vir.nng as many races as possible with her independent ■of their money value. Her chance this autumn of winning in Australia was such as she may not get again. It is generally agreed that top-class form is not represented in the horses of any age in Australia this season, unless it is in two-year-olds. Most of the best horses have excuses offered for them. As Desert Gold started striking one of her hocks some time back, she is another of the big list of good ones that are not altogether free from faults.

It was a bit of a boon to the Kawakawa Racing Club being allowed to race on the Kensington course at Whangarei, over forty miles away from their own quarters, as the tote turnover amounted to £5301 10s., as against £1564. Until the club got a totalisator permit no change of venue was considered advisable, but the course was adversely reported upon, and as no other has yet been secured and none was applied for at the annual Conference, those who engineered the change will be feeling on good terms with themselves, as with the profits of last year and this year the nucleus of a fund to obtain a good course has been provided. After all, the people like to hold their meet'ngs in their own district, and justify their existence. North Aucklanders will have to do still more in the way of. ownership if the northern country meetings are to be a success, and in th’s direction the county or settlers’ races should all be increased in value.