Turf Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1504, 20 February 1919, Page 21

Turf Topics

Housewife ran like a jade at Te Kuiti.

The fields at the Te Kuiti meeting averaged half a dozen per race.

Killard is a frost, and something easy will have to be found for him.

Lieutenant’s success in the Waikato Trotting Cup made his second for that race.

Taiamai is a slippery little lady. She again demonstrated the fact at Te Kuiti.

Geo. Price will shortly, be training the “Highden” horses again. He has to get out of khaki first.

How many horses are there in New Zealand that can beat Silver Link off the mark?

D. Morris was not injured when Croesus fell with him in the Egmont Stakes last Wednesday.

The presence of Gloaming and Desert Gold at the Egmont meeting helped it along a lot.

Gray’s luck was a bit out on the opening day of the Egmont meeting. Deeley’s luck a bit in.

It is very pleasing that the Waikato Trotting Club escaped the rain on Wednesday of last week. Gloaming has beaten every horse, mare or gelding he has met, and of every age, English-breds included.

The rain that fell on Wednesday and Thursday near about Auckland eity was very welcome indeed. Gray and Deeley have each added well to their winning list at recent Taranaki meetings.

Punka’s win in the Hazlett Memorial Stakes at the Dunedin J.C. meeting was creditable to the Cooltrim filly. J. Vincent (“Carbine Jack”) started at the Te Kuiti meeting, and got through a somewhat difficult task very well. He had to deal with a few bad ones. Explode, who won the Te Kumi Handicap at Te Kuiti. is a four-year-old gelding son of Elysian and Lyddite, and about the sixth winner from his dam.

The evergreen Rose Pink won the Dunedin J.C. Handicap, but Rorke’s Drift, the Dunedin Cup winner, was conceding 291 b.. and Glendower was giving away 131 b. Golden Petal, who won the Maiden at Te Kuiti, was one of the shortest priced winners this season. The div. was a Desert Golder, so solidly was he supported.

It is somewhat of a coincidence that Afterglow and Dusky Eve should be first and second in the Egmont Cup, and that later in the day Gloaming and Perfect Day should be returned winners. The Waikato and North Shore stables got away with more than half the races at Te Kuiti. Friends were pleased to see Bob McMiken get a decent win with Munster, who secured the Te Kuiti Cup. He is trained at Hamilton.

Hector' Gray is a hustler all right. He got through by car from Egmont to carry out some riding engagements at Te Kuiti, about twenty-two hours later, and just missed adding one more to his list of wins when Lord Kenilworth went under to Hyllus. Lord Kenilworth’s form is very moderate still. Gray got beaten a head on him in the Welter at Te Kuiti, in which he only had 8.9 to the 10.11 on Hyllus. Fancy backers making Mill o’ Gowrie favourite with 11.1, which included a penalty. She interfered with Lord Kenilworth, or he might have won.

Gloaming has run twelve races and has won ten and been second twice. His total winnings to date amount to £10,219, This is over £2OOO more than Desert Gold won in her fourteen successes at the same age. If the Islington Plate had not been run on the same day as the Royal Stakes he might have had one more win and a further increase in prize money. Just as Munster was proclaimed as a spent light, the ten-year-old son of Spalpeen showed that he had more than a kick left by squeezing home in front of Royal Irish, the favourite in the Te Kuiti Cup. Royal Irish lost about half a dozen lengths through getting into the tapes. Housewife finished a close third after doing some of the leading. She may perhaps yet do better.

The Wanganui J.C. autumn™ meeting commences on Thursday. The Auckland Racing Club’s caretaker, Mr. A. Hill, is on his annual holiday, and is doing Rotorua. Some Auckland sports intend being present at the Wanganui Jockey Club’s autumn meeting. Lionskin and Miss Mimic, two daughters of Counterfeit, were winners at the Dunedin meeting. Mr. P. Nash, who purchased Birkenvale from Mr. “Highden,” has had no cause to regret it, as he has got a bit of the purchase money back. Kilboy’s yearling sister was sold for 360gns. at the dispersal of the Elderslie Stud. Mr. E. Riddiford was the purchaser.

Killard, Don Patch and Newlant were withdrawn from Te Kuiti engagements on Thursday by telegram from their trainer at Hawera.

The Egmont course was not so fast on Wednesday of last week as it has been on occasions. The Cup, Egmont Stakes, and other races have been run faster. The horses of Mr. W. R. Kemball arrived safely in Sydney after undergoing a week in quarantine in Sydney Harbour.

The Waikato Trotting Club’s meeting showed an increase of £132 over the investments on the tote last year. The sum of £15,129 was put through. With Afterglow Mr. Greenwood won the Taranaki and Egmont Cups, and has thus further advertised imported Demosthenes, her sire, for Mrs. Perry. Birkenvale’s win in the Flying at Egmont was the first since he won the Avon Welter at Riccarton fifteen months ago. He had just changed hands.

In commenting on the inaction of the stewards at a meeting held recently, a country paper remarked: “Some day the stewards will wake up and paralyse a jockey or two by really disqualifying someone.”

Gloaming started a strong favourite in the Taranaki Stakes. Desert Gold was a little better fancied for the Egmont Stakes, and had £l4 more invested on her chance in the Hawera Stakes.

Paddington Green has been racing without success for a long time. Fourteen months ago he won with Hector Gray up at Woodville, and had run about twenty races in the interval until he beat Gray’s mount at Egmont. A yearling by Heather Mixture was brought to Auckland on Friday and has gone into E. J. Rae’s stable. A brown in colour, from Gazique’s dam, the youngster has possibilities. A visitor to Gisborne saw the English horse Polydamon when there last week, and states that he has filled out into an immense horse. He is a great doer. There were at least eight horsemen riding at Egmont who had intended being present at the Te Kuiti meeting but for the second day of the first-named meeting having been postponed. J. O’Shea has not gained in weight since he was riding last season in New Zealand; indeed, he informed the writer that he is walking lighter at the present time. Mr. C. O’Connor, who was starting at the Egmont meeting, was down also to act at the Te Kuiti meeting, but the postponement of he second day’s racing made it necessary to miss the Te Kuiti fixture.

At a meeting of the Auckland Racing Club Committee held on Thursday, seven new members were elected. Accounts totalling £l2Ol were passed for payment. Transfers were passed as follows: —W. Higgins to H. Hardman. No Mistake; A. J. Toxward to T. H. Lowry, Lucid; W. R. Kemball to F. J. C. Otto, Misslove; H. E. Troutbeck to H. Hassall, Night Time; H. Hassall to H. M. Campbell, Night Time. A number of applications for the position of totalisator manager were received, and will be further considered at an early date.

betting is thought likely to be a dead letter so far as the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup are concerned in consequence of the influenza scourge and the uncertainty it brings in its train. Wedding Day, who now holds the Australasian record for a mile and ahalf, viz., 2min. 30sec., has been a particularly well-treated mare at the hands of the Sydney weight adjuster, and has won over £4OOO in stakes. She descends from the same family as Marble Arch.

Sir Samuel Hordern secured the highest-priced yearling at the Elderslie Stud dispersal sale. This was the colt by Kilbroney from imported Flowery Speech, which made 1000 guineas. Flowery Speech, in foal to the same sire, at 880 guineas went to Mr. E. D. Clark, of Victoria, this being top price for a mare. Kilbroney, imported son of The Wag, who had been doing duty at the Elderslie Stud for six years and has been represented by a good average of winners, was sold at auction on Friday there for 4000 guineas, and has gone into the Waikanae Stud to join Bezonian and Boniform. Mr. lan Duncan purchased some of the mares there also.

The N.Z. Railways Department announce in our advertising columns special train arrangements to and from the Wanganui Jockey Club’s autumn and Wanganui Trotting Club’s meetings from as far north as Hawera and from as., far south as Palmerston North. This will please the followers of the sport. At a meeting of the Auckland District Committee, it was decided to recommend the application of the Matamata Racing Club for registration. Licenses were granted as follows: — Jockeys: L. H. Barton, R. J. Kelly, T. C. Williams. Gentlemen riders: A. Fenton, A. Waterson. J. H. Gollop’s apprentice jockey’s license was cancelled.

The sale of the Elderslie Stud would have been more largely attended on behalf of Australian buyers but for the drought. Mr. H. Chisholm, who had orders to make purchases on behalf of a number of breeders there, had cables cancelling them.

It is only fair to Mr. A. W. Gordon, the stipendiary steward, to say that he was at Gisborne at the races there and not at the Taranaki meeting. The very presence of a stipendiary causes some of the boys to be extra careful. Referring to a riding incident of a recent date, a horseman who has had probably more experience than any other in the Dominion was asked what he thought of it. “Well,” he replied, “Ned Kelly was reckoned pretty game when he came out with a kerosene tin armour and defied the police.”

Mr. Jas. Hand, of Hellensville, owner of Mullingar, was present at the Elderslie Stud sale and purchased the brood mares Martigues, by Martian from Everlasting, and Gambode, by Martian —Escapade, for 200gns. and 130gns. respectively. Martigues is a Number 2 mare, a winner, and sister to sister to Immer, a good winner. and is stinted to Kilbroney. Gambode is a 29 mare, dam of Kilflinn, winner of the North Island Challenge Stakes, s.ad recently in Australia. She is stinted by Sunny Lake. Mr. Hand intends using Muilingar as a sire later on. At the Elderslie Stud Mr. William Foss, of Auckland, purchased a chestnut colt foal by Sunny Lake from imported Orange Pippin for 200gns. Mr. M. Hobbs, of Christchurch, gave 400 guineas for a yearling colt by Kilbroney from the same mare, who realised '650 guineas, going to the representative of the Victorian studmaster Mr. E. D. Clarke. Orange Pippin’s dam. Field Sable, is halfsister to Mother Siegel, dam of Minoru, the late King’s successful racehorse.

The apprentices Downing and Johnson, -whose respective mounts Windbrah in the Takapuna Cup and Pad-dington-Green in thdi Whafefoa Welter at Egmont, beat H. Gray’s mounts, be proud, as they-were each ’on big outsiders.

A young horse w'e have not heard much of for a considerable time is Thrice, but he is getting a preparation for autumnal events in Australia, and if his feet, which used to give trouble, -continue sound he will very likely win some more races ere long. Those who expressed the opinion that the bad luck met with by Gloaming in the Taranaki Stakes would not account for his defeat, will, of course, conclude that Desert Gold must have won the Egmont Stakes but for interference through the falling of Croesus. There is no beg pardon about the Hawera Stakes' When the Maori reinforcements return to Gisborne and the hui is in progress in the Park at Te Hapara, the two local racing clubs of Poverty Pay will hold a special race meeting extending over two days (a day each) on the Makaraka course, to increase the attractions of carnival week there. The Hawera “own correspondent” of a-morning daily says H. Gray was caught napping on the favourite, Active, in the Whareroa Welter by young Johnston on the outsider, the Waikato-bred Paddington Green, the aptly-named son of Flagfall and Polly Perkins.