TURF TOPICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1465, 23 May 1918, Page 12

TURF TOPICS

Hard luck is a polite name for the sleeping sickness. :>s * * * Hector Gray has the fine record of 56 wins so far this season. # * * * Flash Lady arrived at Ellerslie from Gisborne on Friday. Wanganui Jockey Club’s winter meeting, Thursday and Saturday. * ♦ * * B. Deeley had five winning rides at the Marlborough meeting last week. * * * * J. Roach is to ride Te Onga in his engagements at the Great Northern meeting. * * * * J. O’Shea had no riding engagements when he left for Wanganui this week. * # * * The Auckland Racing Club’s Great Northern meeting commences on Saturday of next week. * * * * The Waikato horses Flying Gowrie, Munster and Companion were taken to Wanganui last week. . :1; * * * Mahzoltov is one of the quickest jumpers at Ellerslie and holds a record over a mile and a-half. :>s * * Two boxes have been engaged at Ellerslie by George Jones, presumably for Almo and St. Elmn. ❖ * Munster, who is now trained at Hamilton, has been sent to Wanganui for the meeting this week. * * * * The Auckland province will be well represented numerically at the Wanganui Jockey Club’s winter meeting. - * * * * Red Pennant was an • odds-on favourite for the Rockton Handicap, which he won in Tasmania on May 6. * * * . A partnership in Persian Prince was not registered, and so that gelding had to drop out of the Cornwall Handicap. * * * A well-known owner-punter of Caulfield (Victoria) backed every winner at the recent Epsom meeting, and took £3OOO out of the ring. * * * * Two extra drinking fountains have been erected at the main entrance to the Auckland Racing Club’s property on the Greenlane side. ♦ Swynford, the sire of Ferry, the One Thousand Guineas winner, is by John o’ Gaunt, sire of Mr. J. Patterson’s One-tree Hill sire Thurnham. sjc ❖ 4: A number of Australian-bred yearlings were offered at auction at the Haymarket, Auckland, on Friday last, but the reserves were not reached. * * « * Bore and Charley, who are engaged at Wanganui, are also nominated for the Great Northern and Otaki meetings, which take place at the same time. The Auckland Racing Club will take nominations for their classic races on Friday, June 16. There are nine events requiring attention on that day. * * * * Quite a number of Comedy King’s progeny have been winning lately in different parts of Australia. He will stand well up in the sires’ list over there this year. * * * * Frank Flynn has journeyed up from Wanganui twice recently purposely to school Waimai at Ellerslie. Waimai has jumped best when being led by some other horses. ❖ * & * Astor, who was sold for 100 guineas after the Marlborough meeting, where he won two races, cost about eight times as much at an earlier stage of his career. ❖ * Mr. H. R. Mackenzie, president of the Otahuhu Trotting Club, will represent the Pakuranga Hunt Club at the Racing Conference, to be held in Wellington in July. ❖ * ❖ * Silent Way, who is owned by the Sydney auctioneer, Mr. Chisholm, beat a record field when he won the Newcastle Cup recently. No fewer than 37 started, a number rarely exceeded.

A Marble Arch — Princess Alice gelding has joined Norman Cunningham’s stable, while a Marble Arch — Lady Clare filly has gone into Koss Heaton’s hands at headquarters.

The schooling work at Ellerslie during last week was of an interesting character. Some of the horses would have been all the better for it if they had been started a month earlier.

Almo claims engagements in both the Great Northern Hurdle Race and Cornwall Handicap. St. Elmn, in the same stable, is engaged in both the Great Northern Hurdles and Steeplechase.

The once round over four hurdles and once over the hill schooling essays witnessed at Ellerslie nowadays before meetings would not have done the old school of riders and trainers.

The position of racing is again to be reviewed by the Federal Cabinet in Australia, but there is thought to be little chance of further reductions in the number of meetings for the coming year.

Totalisator betting in Adelaide has not reached to pre-war dimensions since the outbreak of war, but on the first two days of the recent Cup meeting the investments exceeded those of last year.

Hyllus and Campfire Jack are two country-owned horses that have put in an appearance at Ellerslie. Hyllus won the Great Northern Guineas and ran several good races last year, but has done no good since.

The Otahuhu Trotting Club have invested £5OO more in the War Loan, and with £lO per month going out for patriotic funds can be said to be doing their bit, and a bit more than some other trotting clubs.

Lady James Douglas has cause to feel pleased that she did not accept an American sportsman’s offer of 2300 guineas for Gainsborough, the Two Thousand Guineas winner, when he was put up at the hammer as a yearling.

Charley, a horse owned by Mr. Collins M. Calvin, a rural mail carrier of Nashville, Indiana, U.S.A., has made his 1800th trip. The horse is 27 years old and has travelled 60,000 miles during the 13 years he has been in the mail service.

In Melbourne a doubt obtained as to whether the sweepstakes in cases of dividend races —resultant on large fields — should go to the respective winners of each, or be decided among the three place-getters. It has been decided by the V.R.C. that the sweepstakes shall not entirely go to the first horses, but shall be shared by the place-getters in the same proportion as the original stake. This applies to races for which the added money is less than £5OO.

Hautere, who won the Great Northern Steeplechase six years ago, took a lot of making and gave riders no end of falls. He is now doing fair work for one getting amongst the ancients, and at least knows his way round the Ellerslie course.

It is reported that several telephone connections have been cut off in Wellington at the direction of the Post and Telegraph Department there because it is alleged they have been used for purposes of betting in connection with race meetings.

Dr. Grant, who returned from active service in France on the invalided list a week since, was a visitor to the track side for an hour or two on Thursday morning, and that he met with a good reception from friends there goes without saying.

Gluepot’s owner lost no time in reaching Wanganui and getting in a solid bit of work there. He will only race on the first day at Wanganui, as was the case last year. If he can do as well W. Windsor, his owner-trainer, will have no cause to regret the trip.

During the week, P. Jones had two of the progeny of defunct Multifid added to his team from down Gisborne way. They are a full sister to Multiply and a gelding from Colleen Dhu, who was got by Merriwee from Mousqueterie, who died in 1909.

That mare was either by Jet d’Eau or Mousquetaire, the last-named the highest priced yearling ever sold in Auckland, or, as a matter of fact, in Australasia, up to his time.

Almo, who figures in the Cornwall Handicap and Great Northern Hurdles and who was nominated for the Wanganui Century Hurdles and Connolly Handicap, is by imported Antonio, who claimed an excellent pedigree, being by Prisoner, son of Isonomy and the Oaks winner Lonely (granddam of Maltster) from Padua, dam of eight winners. Almo’s dam, Puritan, was got by Positano, sire of Poseidon. Antonio and Positano were excellent performers, the first-named especially in England and Australia, while Positano’s progeny have won well on to £lOO,OOO in stakes, and Antonio has had a lot of useful winners to represent him.

Owners are hereby reminded that on Tuesday, June 4, nominations will be taken by the Australian Jockey Club for events of importance closing on that date. Owners who may happen to be in Auckland for the forthcoming meeting of the Auckland Racing Club can, if they desire, nominate with Mr. W. S. Spence, secretary of the Auckland Racing Club, or with the secretaries of the Canterbury Jockey Club, Wellington Racing Club and Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club, in addition to the leading clubs in Australia. Attention is drawn to the advertisement appearing on page 17, and also to “Clubman Notes,” on a preceding page.

Gainsborough, who won the Two Thousand Guineas, is trained by Alex. Taylor* at Manton, and it was that trainer who won the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby and St. Leger with Gay Crusader, also by Bayardo, last year. Gainsborough’s dam, Rosedrop, is a granddaughter of Trenton, as pointed out in these columns last week. Thermogene, second in the Newmarket Stakes, is also in Taylor’s hands.

In the V.R.C. Grand National Hurdle Race and Steeplechase only horses winning at two miles and aquarter or over after the declaration of weights will be penalised. In the steeplechase it is 71b for the winner of one race and 101 b for two or more, while hurdle race penalties are as follow: If handicapped at 9.0 to 10.0, inclusive, 71b extra; at 10.1 to 11.6, inclusive, 51b extra; at 11.7 or upward, 31b extra; of two or more such races —if handicapped for this race at 9.0 to 10.0. inclusive, 121 b extra; at 10.1 to 11.6, inclusive, 101 b extra; at 11.7 or upwards, 81b extra.

The imported horse Magpie, by Black Ronald from Popinjay, who beat Wedge over the last furlong of nine in the Elder Stakes at weight for age, at the South Australian J.C.’s meeting, won in Imin. 54%sec. —a good go. Imported Whitefield was third. Magpie is owned by the powerful Robinson and Clarke stable, and so is imported Elsdon, who won the

Adelaide Cup. Both were ridden by F. Bullock. Magpie may have to be taken into account when Desert Gold and Biplane are racing in Australia. It was feared that his wind was affected in the spring, but now he is apparently all right. The Queensland climate would suit him well. Escomb, another English importation of the same owners, won the Maiden Plate.

The profits for patriotic purposes in connection with a large percentage of the fixtures in Victoria have been so insignificant as to be hardly worth bothering about, according to “The Australasian,” but, adds that paper, the extra profits of the hotelkeepers in whose districts the so-called patriotic meetings have taken place are, it is safe to assume, of a more substantial character. It - the Defence authorities are earnestly desirous of reducing the volume of racing, let them say how many days’ racing there shall be in the country and in Melbourne, and then hand over the matter to the V.R.C. committee, a disinterested body of men in touch with the whole question. They have always satisfactorily managed racing affairs in Victoria, and could be safely trusted to cut out the least desirab’e meetings and leave those which are doing best in the way of helping patriotic funds and are most likely to advance the horse-breeding industry. The task, while being an onerous one, would doubtless be cheerful’y undertaken. The members of the V.R.C. committee have no axe to grind, and they are not susceptible to political influence.