TURF TOPICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1481, 12 September 1918, Page 14

TURF TOPICS

The successful riders at the Marton meeting were: A. Ward, C. Reed, A. McDonald, A. Reed, Stan. Reid, Corlett, P. Rayner, and H. Gray.

Mr. Herb. Birch, mine host of the Waikato Hotel, Hamilton, has gone into camp. Mr. Birch has no horses in training at the present time.

Polycrates’ first foal has made its appearance in Australia, and is a brown filly out of imported Flightiness (by Matchmaker). The foal is stated to greatly favour its sire.

Kill’em, the gelding full-brother to Kilboy, who raced in Australia last spring in Mr. E. Lutterill’s nomination and was sold later on, won a welter at Williamstown over a mile course recently.

The Hamilton Racing Club gave £2OOO in stakes last season for their one-day meeting—a record for a oneday club —and they made a profit after paying £1382 as taxation to the Government.

It is probable that Mr. W. R. Kemball will send one of his two-year-olds north for the Avondale Stakes and A.R.C. Welcome Stakes, and perhaps an older one to accompany the youngster.

The Bill for granting an increased percentage of totalisator receipts to New South Wales country clubs has been drafted, and, according to the “Referee,” it is shortly to be introduced. It merely awaits the sanction of the Cabinet.

A. Taylor is fairly losing the other trainers in England this year. An exchange says that eight of his horses have won 14 races of a total value of £19,704 up to July 5. The Hon. G. Lambton, with 11 races and £BlB5 in stakes, was second up to the date mentioned.

The apprentice, J. Kelso, who has won two races on the speedy and good mare Poitrina, is also a smart schoolboy footballer. He was one of the Rugby team selected from the Sydney Primary Schools to play in Brisbane recently.

At the annual meeting of the Hamilton Racing Club the new committee, Messrs. J. Dalgleish, A. N. Dingle, E. Goodwin, F. R. Seddon and S. Tapp, were asked to consider the advisability of including longer distance races and a steeplechase in the next programme.

The Irish Derby, run at the Curragh meeting on June 25, was worth £3OOO to the owner of the winner, and was accounted for by Captain G. Loder’s chestnut colt King John, by Roi Herode from Miranda. There were only seven runners, and King John, starting at 3 to 1 on, won in a canter by eight lengths.

The ex-Victorian jockey, B. Carslake, was still going strongly in England up to the end of the first week in July. S. Donoghue was first with 38 wins for 143 mounts at, that time, but Carslake was second with 21 for 101, and in winning percentage the two named were well ahead of all the other riders. The other Australian, Langford, shared ninth place with O. Madden, each having won nine races.

It is probable that the last has been seen of Marton on the race track. He was out in front for two miles in the big steeplechase at Marton, but the pace was slow, and when Gladful and Merry Jack got going in earnest the veteran was soon struggling in the rear. He has evidently had his day, and it is understood that he is to be turned out. He was a brilliant hurdler when in his prime, and has kept going remarkably well, but it is little use going on with him now that he has lost his dash.

On Thursday, the third day of their annual spring horse sale, the Farmers’ Auctioneering Co., Ltd., will offer at Cambridge, at one o’clock, on account of Mr. Dan Barry, of Hawera, MH. J. McNicol, of Te Aroha, Mr. Jas. Twohill, of Thames, and other owners, about twenty thoroughbreds, including a number of young mares, with foal at foot and in foal again to Campfire, and fillies of varying ages by Glen Abbey, and a number of young geldings and two-year-old colts by Husbandman, who is leaving good stock. They should attract the notice of breeders and racing men.

Bon Spec, who won nicely at the North Otago winter meeting, is doing well in his work at Riccarton.

C. Reed has been retained to ride Matatua, Preparation, Kiltess and Revocation at Dannevirke.

The well-known trainers H. J. Jefferd, J. T. Jamieson and F. G. Carmont have been passed fit for active service. W. Bell, the jockey, also goes into camp next month.

Word from' Dunedin states that Kilboyne has built up well during the winter, and is big, but he soon fines down with galloping, and D. Henderson may have him ready pretty early.

W. Dwyer has set up as a public trainer at Marton, and has in work Amberine (Kilbroney — Ambrosian) and a three-year-old gelding by Hallowmas —Crucinella.

J. Bryce, the successful trotting mentor, is to have the training of Oxenhope, and it will be interesting to note if he can revitalise the old gelding and improve him in the same manner as some of the light harness brigade under his charge. The Dunedin mentor C. Gieseler has four horses in preparation for the Ashburton meeting—viz., Sedd-el-Bahr, Plastic, Royal Star, and Preludium. Thaddeus, in J. Rutledge’s stable, and Black Mountain, in J. Rae’s, are also Ashburton candidates.

On returning to his stall at Rosehill, after running in the Auburn Handicap, George Graves, a fancied Epsom candidate, lashed out at a horse in the next stall, and got both hind legs over the rail. Fortunately, he took matters quietly when he found himself in an awkward position, and was lifted off without apparently having done himself much damage. One of his hocks was injured, but it was thought not seriously.

J. Stewart has taken over Mr. Messant’s stables at Mosgiel, Otago, and will in future train Mr. Wolseley Kain’s team from that centre. At present only Marsa and the Calibre youngster are in active commission. The well-known mare Lady Louisa, by Campfire —Countess Cole, made her last appearance on the race track when she contested the big handicap at Marton last week, and she will in future do service as a stud matron. There were more three-year-olds than horses of any other age racing in the flat events at the Marton meeting. Thirty were paid up for, and nearly all ran. Twenty-five four-year-olds were accepted for, twenty-eight six-year-olds, and some fifty odd older horses, but many of the six and aged division were in the three races for jumpers. It is satisfactory to find so many three and four-year-olds in commission. Many of the three-year-olds claim engagements in classic races during the season, and some of them will be seen figuring in other than hack events as the season advances. It seems practically certain that some will figure in the Avondale Stakes and Great Northern Guineas. The winners at three years old, Penury Rose and Matatua, are not engaged, but Moutoa Ivanova, who was second to the last-named, claims quite a number of important classic engagements during the season, and is in the Great Northern Guineas and races run in Canterbury at the same time.

Mr. A. S. Tonks, whose death was announced last week from Hawera, was well known along the WanganuiTaranaki coast as a stock auctioneer in partnership with Mr. R. H. Nolan, who has been in England doing valuable service for New Zealand soldiers during the war. The late Mr. Tonks always took an interest in sport and was associated with the various racing, hunting and polo clubs of the district. Golf and bowling claimed his attention, too, but for some time he had been in failing health. Prior to settling in Hawera about a third of a century ago, Auckland was his home, and it was there that his funeral took place. It is needless to say that the deceased sportsman made many friends among the settlers with whom he was associated in business, and he will be missed at the A. and P. Association’s shows on the coast, as he was a breeder and exhibitor.

We are more concerned about our Dominion horses, but a Sydney paper asks: “How are the imported nags going to shape in the big spring handicaps? Last September - November the dark ones from England were more honoured in the breach than the performance. The previous spring was a great time for the foreigners. One of them just missed the Epsom, another won the Metropolitan, three filled the Caulfield Cup places, and two of them were only beaten by a Maorilander (Sasanof) in the Melbourne Cup. There is a stronger force of imported horses among the entries this season than ever before, so unless they make a great show in the results it will seem hardly worth while to bring horses all the way from Europe for racing purposes. At present a lot of them look very dangerous, and it would be interesting to hear the best price on offer against an English-bred horse winning the Caulfield Cup, anyhow.

The programme of the Auckland Trotting Club for the coming season will be the best yet issued by that club. The Auckland Trotting. Cup will be worth £1350, and of this sum £lOOO will be clear to the winner. A trotting race at the spring meeting worth 350sovs. is to be called after the chairman, Mr. J. Rowe, in deference to the wishes expressed at the annual meeting by the members in response to the suggestion offered by the new member of committee, Mr. E. R. Davis.

The jockey B. Towers, long time well-known about Ellerslie, has been wounded in France. He went away with an early Reinforcement, returned to New Zealand for a time, and then went away again to do his bit. Towers was for some years associated with the late J. B. Williamson’s stables, and rode over fences with success during several seasons.

Several members of the Porirua team are expected to make their debut at the Otaki meeting on the 23rd inst., among their number being Lisp and Stirrup Cup. Kipling and Grand Duchy, until recently trained by F. Davis, are now members of J. Coyle’s Bulls stable. Both competed unsuccessfully at Marton. Kipling is trained by Mr. J. G. Collins, of Rangitikei Line, who raced Lorelei and other horses some seasons back. Grand Duchy is owned by a Wellington sportsman, who will race as Mr. “G. Leslie.”

Auckland sent thirteen —unlucky number —horses to the Marton meeting. One of them, Tirau, managed to get third in the Hack Steeplechase, but he and the winner and others were disqualified for going inside a flag, and Dunrobin, another Aucklander, got a tenner of the stake money through being placed third, though there was no merit in his performance. The luck of the stables represented was in striking contrast to that of those represented at the N.Z. Grand 'National meeting, the 'first meeting of the new season. The victory of British Arch at Moorfield, on Australian soil, over hurdles, is the first for a son of Marble Arch so far as we are aware. Though not an important success, it is nevertheless one that may lead up to better things in the future, as the half-brother to Kauri King has only been at the jumping game a comparatively short while and was purchased to make a “stick” horse of. Several of Marble Arch’s progeny may be found scoring over the battens during the season, and it would not surprise us were more of them tried at the jumping game.

Bjorneborg, who ran second to Paraoa in receipt of 141 b. at Marton, may yet win a race over obstacles, but this five-year-old brother to Eslland and Finmark is handicapped, not by weight certainly, but by a trouble that prevents even the possibility of him ever being seen to great advantage. He was a gross youngster, unlike his brothers, and was gelded, and, as we all know, won twice at two years old and was second foui' times, third three times and unplaced three times. He left off at two years full of promise, and won the Wanganui Guineas shortly after entering on his three-year-old career, and was second in the Great Northern Guineas,-’Auck-land R.C. Handicap, A.R.C. Easter, A.R.C. and N.Z. St Legers, and Manawatu Longburn Handicap, and third in the Auckland Cup, Auckland Plate, Wellington Consolation, Wanganui Stakes, McVay Memorial and Awapuni Cup. Unfortunately, Bjorneborg became musical and won nothing for his Gisborne purchaser last season, only starting a few times. There is no doubt he was a good stayer, and might have become a really good gelding but for his wind infirmity—and what a hurdler or cross-country horse!