TURF TOPICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1444, 27 December 1917, Page 10

TURF TOPICS.

Pencillers have found the Auckland Cup an open race to do business over.

Desert Gold is engaged in the Newmarket Handicap, run on New Year s Day.

There will be racing at Auckland, Dunedin, Manawatu, Taranaki, Reefton, Thames, and trotting at Gore and Ashburton on Boxing Day.

Desert Gold is looking big and well, and has thickened out a lot since she ran last at Ellerslie, and, indeed, seems quite a big mare now.

It was a bit of hard luck for Mr. R. H. Carter when Dood fell at the last hurdle at Rosehill, when winning a hurdle race there recently.

Malt Mark, who won the Carrington Stakes in 1914, is back again on the tracks at Randwick (N.S.W.) after a season at the stud.

Catalogues for the coming sale of yearlings were issued last week by the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd.

Birkenvale and 80-peep arrived on Wednesday night from the south, and this means that Birkenvale will not race at Awapuni for the Palmerston North Stakes.

Owners and trainers are again reminded that nominations close for the Doncaster Handicap and Sydney Cup close on January 8 in terms of an advertisement which appears on another page.

A lot of very useful looking horses could be picked out of the crowd working at Ellerslie at the present time, and there are a number of fine two-year-olds as well as older horses. A morning on the tracks is quite a treat for horse connoisseurs and there are some about still.

A handsome trophy accompanied the Te Awamutu Cup this year, the gift of Messrs. Anderson and Main, and Mr. Frank Loomb, trainer of Cynic, received it on behalf of Mr. H. de Lautour, owner of Cynic, Mr. F. F. Hockley, pres'dent of the club, making the presentation.

In Hobart it was recently decided by the Tasman'an Turf Club Committee, that, as the military authorities had prohibited unregistered racing throughout Tasmania, all disqualifications of horses, owners, lessees, trainers and jockeys for taking part at unregistered meetings should be annulled.

The arrival of the Rarawa from Taranaki was delayed a day, and Toatere and Paraoa, expected from there on Wednesday, had not arrived at headquarters on Thursday. On the East Coast, the shipping was a bit disorganised, too, and the shipping of Multifual and Gazique was delayed in consequence.

It is not often that we get any long distance gallops before meetings, but Menelaus and Adjutant traversed a mile and three-quarters at Ellerslie outside the trestles on Thursday morning. The pace was moderate over the first half mile, but then was increased, with the New Zealand Cup winner going the better of the pair over the last quarter of a mile.

In Sydney, recently, it was decided by the breeders and auctioneers that at the yearling sales in the autumn no yearlings ineligible for the Stud Book should be catalogued. This is only right, too, as in the past a few buyers have been to some extent misled in their purchases. Other items in connection with the sales at Randwick are that in future none will be held on race days.

In the event of Hymestra winning the Railway Handicap on Boxing Day, having won £l5O in stakes at the Wairarapa meeting that would increase his winnings to £B5O and he would incur a penalty of 71b for the Royal Stakes. That would increase his weight to 8.11. It would, of course, suit Nanna’s owner best under the circumstances if the filly were good enough to win the Railway and thus prevent any increase in Hymestra’s weight, and she also looks to have a good chance with 7.3. Probably both will run in the Railway Handicap, though Nanna is also in the Xmas Handicap. Backers of either can be sure of a run for their money if they are both started. Their owner is a good sport.

A rider had not been engaged for Snub up to Thursday last for the Auckland Cup, and it was not then known definitely who would ride some of the Railway Handicap candidates.

Missland, w r ho came north with Hymestra, Snub and Nanna, was allowed to drop out of the Nursery Handicap on the first day, but will be seen out during the A.R.C. meeting.

Cherry Mart picked up a piece of an iron rake on Thursday morning in one of her hind feet, but though for a time it seemed to cause her to walk sore she appeared all right when she left the grounds for her training quarters.

American clubs provide stabling on the r racecourses, and a New York exchange says that a large percentage of the 1058 stalls at Belmont Park will be occupied before Christmas. Trainers make a practice of putting in the winter months at certain tracks, and Belmont Park (New York) is popular.

Mr. W. Kerr, the New Brighton (Canterbury) trotting horse breeder and owner arrived in Auckland with President Wilson during the week. The son of Wildwood Junior is one of the finest colts bred by Mr. Kerr, and will run in the interests of an Auckland owner at the coming meeting of the Auckland Trotting Club at Alexandra Park.

Waiuta’s gallop of seven furlongs on the morning of Tuesday of last week was the best registered on the course proper inside the hurdles from a time point of view this season.

Johnny Walker may be goingstronger at the end of the two miles in the Auckland Cup, but he did not impress very much in his gallop on Thursday morning last. Some of the most seasoned horses sometimes fail to do good track work, and a number of those at Ellerslie have done nothing to enthuse over up to Thursday morning.

Kilowatt, who has some fame because he happened to be a stablemate of Biplane before coming to Tasmania, has not yet lost h s maiden t’cket (says the Tasman'an correspondent of the “Referee"), but, judging from his form at Elwick the other day, when he finished third in a Trial Handicap, the son of Martian should be in the boom at Christmas and Cup time. Just now several horses in Tasraan'a are running a b t out of condition.

Kilowen, one of the two-year-olds in Mr. T. H. Lowry’s team, paces naturally, and Kilhope did the same when he was first broken, but he lost the habit and is now a free straight out walker. We are told that a number of the Kilbroneys instead of walking have shown occasionally a disposition to move diagonally or rack. We have seen a few good horses do the same, and we have seen some very good horses that were very poor walkers indeed, but horses that walk well are usually the most useful as gallopers or jumpers.

“The Latest” (Durban) states that on October 25, at a meeting in committee, a deputation from the Durban Church Council endeavoured to entice the town council to take steps with the object of closing down Natal Tattersall’s. The council, however, appreciating the true position, decided by a considerable majority to take no action in the matter.

Mr. T. H. Lowry has a very fine looking team of seven horses at Ellersl'e under F. Davis’ charge, while another he bred, Grand Duchy, is also a member of the team, but is owned by Davis and is a big useful sort. Desert Gold, Egypt, Estland and the four two-year-olds, Finmark, Kipling, Kilhope and Kilowen, each look well. Kipling has not been broken long, but he comports himself well and is a rare nice colt. Finmark and Kilhope look ready to take on solid contracts, while Kilowen looks somewhat light by. comparison. Egypt looks more set and solid now than ever. Estland looks a Derby colt, though he has not met a crack one of his own age this season over a distance. Desert Gold carries a bit more body than she would probably do if she had to undertake a longer journey than a mile, and is evidently a contented good doer.

It is a great pity that such a particularly fine type of a thoroughbred as Simonides is should have what is known as a dead jaw, otherwise a mouth which has lost sense, which

puts him so much out of control that he can run about with his riders and

may easily get into trouble or get them into trouble. He and Elocution went out to do a five furlong sprint from the new five furlongs post on Thursday morning. Cantering along the back he swerved in and jumped the trestles. Jumping away belore Elocution was ready he ran along for a furlong or more before he was stopped, after jumping two trestles Gray pulling him up just as he reached the third trestle. Going back again he seemed to be yawing about, but they jumped off together and Elocution led him over the five furlongs. At the end of another furlongs he narrowly missed another trestle. A lot of people are condemning the gelding for being bad, but it is clearly a case of a really good young horse hav ng been spoilt or rendered almost useless because of a mouth and jaw trouble partly the result of an accident. It seems a great pity that he was emasculated, as he may have to be retired and it is hard to see what use a horse so hard to steer could be safely put to. If he had been all right there is no purpose that a thoroughbred could legitimately be put to that so fine a type as he would not fill with credit. Once horses are so troubled it is seldom that they are ever got right. Had Simonides been free from such a handicap he would have been worth a big price as a racing machine, for he was undoubtedly good. He showed that when troubled in a lesser degree than he is at the present time.

James Watson, an old-time Australian trainer, who for years trainer for the late Hon. Apcar, trained the winner of 14 races at the monsoon season of ten days racing in Calcutta. Heron, an erst Australian rider, had 11 wins, four seconds and seven thirds.

In New South Wales the Government revenue from the totalisator has fallen far short of expectations (once more remarks “Pilot”), but it must not be forgotten that most estimates made in this Stale prior to the machine’s leg slation, were based on the assumption that the bookmakers would be quickly put out of bus'ness. They are still flourishing, and have the advantage of giving credit where the machine does not. Even with them business is not as good as some little time past, and if racecourse betting were entirely confined to the mach'ne, the turnover would fall short of pre-war calculations. The bookmakers are contributing heavily to the State in the way of license fees and stamp tax, but as I believe, the idea obtains that the total return would be much greater if all racecourse betting were confined to the mach'ne, the members of the ring have cause for anxiety as to what the next year will bring forth n New South Wales. More elaborate machines than those now in general use will be working on all metropolitan courses within the next few months, and the fate of the bookmaker will to a great extent depend on the patronage accorded them.

Red Ribbon is the only mare in the Auckland Cup, and she had registered one of the best mile and aquarter gallops done on the outside of the trestles this season up to Thursday morning last and on which compared very favourably with the best done in previous years over the same ground. The course is faster now than previously.

“The Statesman,” a Calcutta paper, in referring to the retirement of the C.T.C. secretary, Mr. Hutchison, touched upon the strides racing had made in Calcutta during the past 12 years. It expressed the opinion that the class of horses competing at the various meetings had improved, and then added: “One thing that is very notable in regard to the racing is that English horses have in the years under review' almost entirely displaced Australian, so far as the bigger and more valuable races are concerned. This, Mr. Hutchison and others whose business it is to keep a close eye on racing attribute to the fact that the English horses purchased for India are better bred, and that they acclimatise more quickly and train better.” At one time it would have been difficult to get Australian racing men to admit that English racehorses were really better than theirs, but the remarkable success of the imported division at all distances in Australia has caused most to greatly modify their ideas on that point. Some have so far been converted that they now trumpet the superiority of the imported article at all distances.