Turf Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1485, 10 October 1918, Page 14

Turf Topics

At the Elderslie Stud, Cyre has produced a full-sister to Kilboy. Mr. G*. D. Greenwood has had two wins in succession in the A.J.C. Derby. Interest on war bonds brought the Wellington Racing Club in a sum of £406 last year. Margerine has not been nominated for the Auckland Cup, but is an acceptor for the New Zealand Cup. Blue Ribbon was the surprise defection from the New Zealand Cup, in which she looked well treated. Twenty-six is a good first acceptance for the New Zealand Cup a month before the race. The Takapuna Cup for the first time in its history has been raised to the value of lOOOsovs. Since 1898 the Sydney Cup winners Merloolas, San Fran, Wakeful and Trafalgar have won the Spring Stakes at Randwick. Desert Gold has been nominated for the Auckland and Summer Cups and the Auckland R.C. Handicap and Islington Plate. Last year’s Auckland Cup winner, Fiery Cross, has not been nominated for the A.R.C. summer meeting this year. The brood mare Consuello, dam of Gold Soult, died recently at Porirua while foaling. The foal, a chestnut colt by Bezonian, also died. Having obtained the necessary clearance from the V.R.C., jockey W. P. Burn, who has been standing down for some time, has left to fulfil a riding engagement in India. Norbury, who was beaten in the Epsom Handicap on Saturday, came into favour last year for the same race, but did not show prominently then. Warmth and Livland, which pair are owned by Mr. H. W. Brown, are now being trained at Trentham by J. W. Scott. The former is to be given a trial as a hurdler. Poitrel is the first A.J.C. Summer Cup winner to win the A.J.C. Spring Stakes. In the first-named event he only carried 6.10, but has improved out of sight in the interval. Gloaming is the second Australianbred, New Zealand-owned colt to win the Australian Jockey Club’s Derby. Bob Ray, who won in 1895, was owned by the late Mr. Dan O’Brien. King Star, who created a surprise by capturing the Winter Cup last year, is said to be making splendid progress in his schooling displays at Riccarton. Two-year-old full-brothers to Fiery Cross and Glendower, bred at Mr. D. H. Roberts’ stud farm, at Ashhurst, were shipped south last week, and go into F. Christmas’ stable at Riccarton. They are two of the last batch of the progeny of imported Gienapp. At the conclusion of the Geraldine Cup, the Judicial Committee held an inquiry, the stipendiary steward reporting that Rose Pink crossed Sedd-el-Bahr at the entrance to the straight. The committee cautioned A. Reed, the rider of Rose Pink, to be more careful in future. During an interval between races at the Geraldine meeting, S. Trilford, with the permission of the stewards, sprinted two three-year-old colts down the straight. One was a chestnut, by Masterpiece—Petrovna, and the other a brown, by Cronstadt —Pensive. It has been suggested that R. J. Mason made a mistake in not having Gloaming in the Craven Plate. Seeing that he relied on having Biplane to do battle and that Gloaming has plenty of hard work ahead of him, the latter’s absence from the Craven Plate is to his advantage, though it would have been interesting to see him and Desert Gold meeting in that race with other cracks. Rebus is one of the good English horses and can win at any distance. He has a Sydney Cup (two miles) to his credit and now the Epsom mile, and he is the horse that ran second to Mr. Greenwood’s three-year-old gelding Gloaming in the Chelmsford Stakes a fortnight earlier, eight lengths away, and the distance a furlong further. Kennaquhair was third in that event.

The A.J.C. spring meeting commenced on Saturday, was continued on Monday, and was to be concluded on Wednesday and Saturday. Kilmoon’s win at Rosehiil and his third in the A.J.C. Derby have more than assured his owner the expenses of his trip to Sydney. Kilboy, Biplane and G’loaming are three successive A.J.C. Dery winners to get home in the ownership of New Zealand sportsmen. After the victory of Gloaming in the A.J.C. Derby we shall no doubt hear the same old cry that geldings should not be permitted to run in classic races. A football match in aid of the injured player V. Morrison was held at Otahuhu on Saturday, and was won by the Ellerslie jockeys’ club. A dance was held at Ellerslie the same evening for the same purpose. The defeat of Desert Gold by Poitrel on Saturday must have been as big a surprise as was the defeat of Estland by Bonny Maid in the St. Leger at Ellerslie and the defeat of Biplane at Wanganui by Estland. They will occur. New Zealand-owned three-year-old geldings will be held in respect when they go over to compete in future Commonwealth races. Two good unsexed ones in three years is coming it strong. Sasanof and Gloaming have done well. This reminds us that at the yearling sales next month to be held at Riccarton quite a fair number of the lots are geldings—and what a 'fine class the 62 lots are taken all round and on pedigree.

The rain on Monday night would do good to the Ellerslie course and tracks, but it interfered with the work of trotters .and pacers at Alexandra Park, Epsom. Finmark’s defeat in the A.J.C. Derby cost someone a good sum of money. He was heavily supported before he ran at Rosehill. From the cables it appears that he twisted his fore plates and got galloped on in the race. Kilhope was not a starter in the Epsom Handicap, for which he was backed a month before. Killowen showed pace, as he did in New Zealand in each of his engagements, and beat Almoner and another in the Clibtorn Stakes on the second day over a mile and a furlong. Biplane got galloped on when he ran in the Spring Stakes at Rosehill, and on the Monday following wore a bandage on the injured hind leg, but it appears that one of his fore joints was causing trouble afterwards, and he was a rare legged one. Poitrel beat Desert Gold on Saturday over a mile and a-half course at a difference in actual weight of lib. In the Melbourne Cup she has 111 b. more than Poitrel and 161 b. more than Kenniquhair, who finished third to her in the Spring Stakes. Unless she can improve marvellously on that form her chance in the Melbourne Cup must be discounted, and the probabilities are that she is now at a long price.

It is estimated that over 55,000 people witnessed the six races .at Randwick on Saturday. Though beaten, Desert Gold received as good a reception as Poitrel, who won the Spring Stakes at Randwick from her by a narrow margin. There are 57 nominations for the Auckland Cup, 67 for the Railway Handicap, 78 for the Summer Cup, 66 for the A.R.C. Handicap, and 42 for the Islington Plate, an average entry of 62 and a record for the five events. The defeats of Fin mark in the Rosehill Guineas and A.J.C. Derby, of Biplane in the Spring Stakes at Rosehill, and of Desert Gold in the Spring Stakes at Randwick, are something to set against the two wins of Gloaming, first favourite each time, and Kilmoon when he got home practically unbacked. Gloaming is the best gelding three-year-old that ever won so early in the spring of the year in the colonies. He can go fast and stay. Bon Reve was another great one at the same age and the best that ever ran in New Zealand up to his time. Then Sasanof came along. He was the best gelding two-year-old we have had and a Melbourne Cup winner. Two years in succession the 250sovs. given to the breeder of the winner of the A.J.C. Derby has gone to Victorian stud masters, who have to thank Mr. G. D. Greenwood and his trainer, R. J. Mason, for their share in the business. A lot of people call it luck to get hold of two such representatives as Biplane and Gloaming. There is a lot in training and developing the good ones when they are got.

Before being put to hurdle racing at the end of last season, Lord Nagar, who lowered the two-mile hurdle record to 3min. 40%sec., carrying 10.5, was reckoned a fair handicap horse on the flat, and was entered for the leading spring races as late as last year. Two-thirds of the horses accepted for in the New Zealand Cup have been nominated for the Auckland Cup, and of the total entry for the lastnamed race there are nearly half that were not nominated for the southern two-mile event. This includes half a dozen horses in Australia and fifteen Auckland-trained horses that were not nominated for the New Zealand Cup. Colonel Soult beat Bedford pointless in work on Saturday morning. He represents the best of the seventeen Auckland horses entered for the Auckland Cup, and while nothing beats him on the track has apparently forgotten the way to win a race in public, and something easier than an Auckland Cup will need to be found for him. Who will say that horses to-day are not as good as the old-timers? At Randwick on Saturday the two-mile hurdle race was won by Lord Nagar in 3min. 40%sec.; the Epsom Handicap, one mile, in Imin. 38sec., by Rebus, carrying 9.0; the Spring Stakes, a mile and a-half, in 2min. 31sec., by Poitrel, 4yrs., 9.0., with Desert Gold (9.1) a short head away. The Derby was won in 2min. 33 l-ssec.

by a three-year-old gelding, Gloaming; the Trial Stakes, for horses that had not won 150sovs. in one stake, one mile and a-quarter, was run in 2min. Bsec. by Redburn, within Isec. of what was Carbine’s record for some time on the same course; and the concluding race, the Kensington Handicap, over seven furlongs, was run in lmin. 26sec. by Baltic Sea. How many horses in Australia forty years ago would have galloped the distances as fast at any spring meeting? For the first time in the history of the A.J.C. Derby four New Zealandtrained horses, in Gloaming, Finmark, Kilmoon and Almoner, were placed 1,2, 3, 4. Nordenfeldt, Bonny Scotland, Noctuiform and Kilboy were winners bred in New Zealand. Sungod in the same ownership, ran second to Noctuiform, and Biplane, trained in New Zealand, won last year. The A.J.C. Craven Plate has been won by Carbine, Nordenfeldt, Gladsome, Solution, Carlita, and Biplane. Those to run second since 1895 were Cruciform, Master Soult, and Reputation, and third Gladsome and Isolt. New Zealand mares have thus played a strong part in the race, and the Musket blood has been in evidence in each one of those bred in the Dominion, whether horses or mares. Spring Stakes form at Randwick has been confirmed in the Metropolitan Handicap a few times in 16 years, San Fran, Mooltan, Duke Foote and St. Carwyne—the two last-named ran dead-heats respectively with Aurofodina and Reputation—being the ones to score. Apologue ran second in

both, and Malt King won the Metropolitan after running second in the Spring Stakes. When Biplane won the C.J.C. Challenge Stakes last autumn, Mr. G. D. Greenwood donated the stake to patriotic funds. That was Biplane’s last win, and if he had won at Rosehill, his first race this season, the stake was to have been given in the same way. In deciding to give out of Gloaming’s winnings an amount equal to what Biplane was expected to win, Mr. Greenwood once more showed his generosity. The balance-sheet presented to members of the Waipa Racing Club at the annual meeting showed gross receipts totalling £3338 Is. 9d. The year had opened with a credit of £B9B 19s. 10d., and these figures were supplemented by grazing fees £B7, booth receipts, books and sundries £144 6s. 7d., gate receipts £245, totalisator £1503 16s. 10d., nominations, etc., £2Ol 175., and subscriptions £256. On the expenditure side the principal items were: Taxes £686, stakes £658, interest £4ll, depreciation on buildings £ll4, advertising, etc., £lO3, donations £5O, and general and sundry expenses £465 leaving a credit at the close of the term of £836 17s. 2d. The assets and liabilities account showed total assets to the value of £9303, the chief items being land and buildings. The surplus of assets over liabilities was £836 17s. 2d.