Turf Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1470, 27 June 1918, Page 12

Turf Topics

Bon Reve “some” horse still. * * * * Wapping is a payable cast-off from the Highden stable. * * * * Kauri King is making good at the hurdle business all right. * * * * The going was fast at Napier Park for a winter meeting. :P * * * Ben Deeley will journey too Sydney after the Wellington meeting. * * * * In America last year a horse named Opportunity ran in 47 races, and was placed 33 times. * * * Bimeter is said to be doing remarkably well at Victoria Park, near Sydney - , Duchess Eudorus, racing at meetings near Sydney, is now owned by Mr. C. M. Emanuel. ■' * * * * Kauri King is quite a second day horse over hurdles, and he was a bit that way on the flat. * * * * Sylvasco was a non-winner at Gisborne, but got there at Napier Park and paid some. -. * * * Mr. H. H. Hayr, secretary, is to represent the Avondale Jockey Club at the Racing Conference. * * * * There are more poor jumpers than usual racing this winter in Victoria, according to the “Austra’asian. * * * * Yellow and Black is voted the best hunter hurdler and ’chaser seen out this season. * * * Irish Princess, winner of the Bris bane Cup, was offered at auction but was passed at 450 guineas after the meeting. * * * * F. Bullock’s riding display on Sauci at Sandown Park was particularly good. The N.Z. gelding won by a narrow margin. * * * * At Wallsend, Newcastle, only £BSG 10s. was passed through the totalisators at a recent meeting, and there was a large attendance. * * * * Happy King, by Comedy King from Gladsome, won the Welter Purse at a recent meeting at Morphettville, Adelaide. $ * * * The nominations received for the Melbourne Cun and Caulfle Cup from other States far outnumber those from Victoria. * * * * Petruvia, dam of South Australia s crack two-year-old, Stagegirl, is a sister to Indian Queen, dam of Maori King, King Billy, and Aborigine. * # * * A half brother by Bunyan to Bluestone figures in the list of nominations for the Avondale Guineas of 1919. He, like “old Bluey,” is a grey.

Bon Reve, the dual Derby winner and Great Northern Hurdle Race winner, captured the Park Steeplechase at Napier Park on Saturday.

The tota’isator turnover at Napier Park was £41,489, as against £27,314 last year, an increase of £14,175, or over fifty per cent.

Lady Louisa, by Carbine’s son Campfire, is an ever-green. She won the chief flat races at Napier Park on each day. She has been going longer than the ordinary run.

Marble Slab, the name selected by Mr. Frank Marshall for his colt by Marble Arch —Miss Dix, dam of Bedford, Master Dix and others, should fit the youngster.

Mr. E. J. Watt’s brood mares Concordia, Blacking, L’anishen, Perseis, Culprit, Hazel Witch and Persic arrived in Sydney from New Zealand in excellent condition.

The death of the old-time horseman Joe Carter, who rode in New Zealand and in the different States in the Commonwealth, is announced in Australian papers. He was in his 86th year.

Hopfield bids fair to pay his way over hurdles, judging from track exhibitions he has given over a few obstacles.

Hector Gray has put up a very fine total of winning mounts for the season, and may add still further to the long list.

Meltchikoff is pleasing the work watchers at Ellerslie, and though he has only jumped a few obstacles he may be taken to the Wellington meeting, which opens on July 10th.

Lord Ainslie, Bon Reve, Yellow and Black and Kauri King were all favourites for the respective jumping races they won on Saturday at Napier Park.

Hiero, when he just missed the ’bus at Napier Park by a narrow margin, would have crumpled up a few of the starting price merchants had he won, as it was he caused a few some pain.

Banian, stable mate to Art, who was second to Kauri King in the Poraite Hurdles at Napier Park, and who was coupled with the Sarto gelding on the machine, broke a fetlock before going a quarter of a mile. This made the second casualty at the meeting.

Lanius must have given Brisbane racegoers a shock when he won the Royal Stakes, after his previous poor form at the meeting, says an exchange. He evidently raced short of a gallop or two to help him along.

The Canterbury Jockey Club received increased nominations for their classic races last week as compared with previous years. This does not look as though breeders were drop ping out of the game in New Zealand.

The nominations taken for the V.R.C. Derby of 1919 number 360. Last year they numbered 402 and in the two previous years 404 and 397, and in 1914, the year before the war, 380. The entry has only once been less during the past seven years. The average is a splendid one.

The two-year-old New Zealand (half-brother to Briseis), another of McGrath’s lot, has finished his holiday, and is again in training. He is going on the right way, says “Pilot, ’ and during the coming season may prove that his joint-owners made m mistake in giving 1000 guineas for him.

Almo’s first start over hurdles since his arrival from Australia was at the Napier Park meeting, though he was entered for the Wanganui meeting and for the Auckland and Gisborne meetings in turn. He was coupled with his stable companion Golden Glade and finished last, and is reported to have been very sore. The ground there was on the hard side for the time of year. With St. Elmn not ready to take a hand at any of the meetings lately and Almo infirm, Mr. Richmond is not having a good run with this pair of jumpers.

Sauci, by Charlemagne 11. from Hope Diamond, therefore full-brother to Parisian Diamond, won the Sandown Park Handicap, run over a mile and a-quarter, on June Bth, by a short head. There were only four runners. * * * *

A. Langford, whose success on Exford in a two-year-old race at Birmingham was recently recorded, served about three years with the Australian force in Gallipoli and France, and was invalided out of the army in November last.

Multiplane, who was purchased by Mr. J. H. Edwards, of Greenlane, at the Gisborne meeting, with 9.2 on his back was amongst the “also started” division in the Newstead Hack Handicap at Napier Park, in which Wapping (10.12) and Retard (10.5) were first and second. Multiplane will need to improve on that. He is big enough for a jumper.

It is considered not unlikely that Desert Gold may be run for the next Melbourne Cup, in which, by reason of her two failures over two miles at weight-for-age, she cannot well be loaded down with weight. It is certain, however, that she will get a substantial impost in the Caulfield Cup, as also will Biplane, and Estland is not likely to be forgotten in the apportionments.

There are over SOO bookmakers’ clerks licensed by the Victoria Racing Club, and the number licensed in New South Wales is larger perhops. It would be interesting to learn how many totalisator clerk there are in little New Zealand and totalisator odds layers as well.

The Australian horseman “Brownie” Carslake rode Eaton Hero (by Polymelus) to victory in the Slough Maiden Plate at Manchester on April 6. Carslake has had some stirring experiences. In Austria when the war broke out, he drove 400 miles from Bucharest to Roumania. From there he made tracks for Russia, and after the vessel he was on just escaped being torpedoed arrived in England. He is now with Atty Per.sse at Stockbridge.

Sylvasco, who paid over a score of the best at Napier Park, showed more than one good gallop at Ellerslie before the A.R.C. winter meeting, but he is a wind-sucker and caused his trainer some trouble. Other owners got rid of him in turn until he was sold for less than the amount of the dividend he paid on Saturday. Garment, who trained him, advised his Te Awamutu friends not to let him go unbacked, but they deserted him after his first miss.

Sanacre, who was the largest dividend payer this season at Ellerslie, is out of a mare by imported San Francisco, who has just been sold to go to the Chatham Islands. The brother to St. Frusquin left a few useful dams of winners in Australia and in New Zealand. The Derby winner Gainsborough and the Oaks winner My Dear while each having the Musket blood, have a strain of St. Frusquin.

Four Steps, by Stepniak —Cresson, who has won a few minor events in Australia, won in the second division recently at Richmond, Victoria, over 7% furlongs, giving weight to all but one of those behind him. He was bred in Auckland.

The name of Prince Charleroi has been claimed for the General Latour —Alicia coming two-year-old gelding in J. Chaafe’s stables, near Greenlane. Prince Charleroi was not one of those in the recent parade, but is doing well.

Marmont, the one-time useful performer on the flat and over the obstacles in Australia, is still alive at the age of 23 years. It was thought that the New Zealand horse Westerly would have beaten Marmont when that gelding won the National Hurdles had he had a race or two before in public.

Though entered in races up to a mile and a-half in Australia and likely to be engaged in most of the weight-for-age events over there, there is every reason to expect that short courses rather than the longer ones will be selected for Biplane, but Mason will no doubt do his best to get him ready for the middle distance weight-for-age races. Biplane has developed into a very fine young horse.

It is extraordinary that so many of the horses trained by Mr. Frank McManemin before he took on handicapping have been big dividend payers since they got scattered about. Sylvasco is the latest. Fabriquette and Meltoino were also owned at one time by Mr. Harvey Patterson, and they have each paid fine div’dends. Independence, bred by Mr. McManemin, at first leased and then sold to her present owner, has to be included. Hiero was for some time in his stable.

An English writer thus described Gainsborough, the Derby winner, and who also won the Newmarket Stakes last week, thus adding to his a’ready fine list of successes:—“When I first saw Gainsborough he struck me as a big, coachy youngster who would want a lot of training. In his second race he revealed the benefit of his earlier outing by a much shapelier contour. He will always possess more substance than any Bayardo we have yet seen, but his chief attraction lies in the strength and neatness with which he is put together. Exceptionally truly balanced at present, he is as sturdy as any two-year-old I have seen for many a long day. Good to follow, his wide quarters are only in keeping with fine depth of girth and underlining a back as level as a billiard table. A shade long in the pastern, there is still no suggestion of weakness in this direction, an ample bone is a 1 lied to legs as clean as a smelt in every respect. Nicely sloping shoulders, a’most of the hunting type; into them runs a neck of perfect proportion, and set at an ideal angle for ease of respiration, while a sensible, old-fashioned head gives the index to what cannot be otherwise than a most tractable and docile disposition.”