TURF TOPICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1508, 20 March 1919, Page 21

TURF TOPICS

Moneymusk was a double winner at the Waimate R.C. meeting.

The Wairarapa course at Tauherenikau was very fast, judging from some of the times made —indeed, from all of them.

All Ready, one of the first of All Red’s stock to win, is still in winning form. He won the Stewards’ Handicap at Waimate.

Housewife did not leave the barrier in the Ohinemuri Cup. Mr. Keith did not have the same luck with her as Air. O’Connor.

Only one leg of the “royal” double at Ohinemuri was got in. Royal Irish won, but his stable mate Alossman put out Royal Chef.

Escaped had a moderate lot to run against when he won the Komata Handicap at Paeroa on Saturday. This was his second win.

Don Patch should be tried at the jumping game, at which so many of his family were au fait. He is not good enough on the flat.

Of the twelve horses nominated for the Southland Cup all are owned in the home province with the exception of Royal Star and Glendower.

The present racing season has been remarkable for the large number of race and track records put up on different courses in the Dominion.

Alakepeace, who has been shaping so well since being sold by Mr. T. H. Lowry, is from The Hague, who was got by Hierarch from Peace.

British Arch has been nominated for the Brighton Hurdle Race at the A.R.C. autumn meeting, but that does not mean that he will be brought back to New Zealand.

Blue Cross has been a long time strung up. He should make a good hurdler, as he stays, but is hardly brilliant enough for mile and a-quarter races on the flat.

Affectation is a slippery two-year-old. The son of Kilbroney and .Simper covered the half-mile in the Nursery Handicap at the Wairarapa meeting in 47 V2 sec. Active, a three-year-old, had hard luck to be giving away so much weight to other maidens of all ages, and then to be topped off by a four-year-old receiving 281 b. in weight.

Shining Light showed a bit of his two-year-old dash on Saturday, and his second in the Karangahake Handicap was pleasing to many backers who were looking for him to win outright.

More money has been sunk by persistent backers of Gray’s mounts at recent race meetings than they are ever likely to get back, though he is the leading jockey in the Dominion and is triyng to increase his record.

The New Zealand-owned Lingerie was amongst the starters in the Oakleigh Plate at the V.A.T.C.’s meeting at Caulfield. Her owner, Mr. W. Richmond, recived a cablegram from J. M. Cameron, stating that the black mare would run well.

Demagogue scored his first win this season in the St. Patrick’s Handicap at Napier Park. His last success was on the same day twelve months ago, when he carried 9.5 and won the Kuao Handicap. He also won as a two-year-old the Spring Nursery Handicap at Riccarton and the Great Northern Foal Stakes at Ellerslie.

Old Gold is a fast hack, as his double win at the Wairarapa meeting indicates. He is by Hymettus —Fiorigold.

Lady Middleton (half-sister to Loyal Arch) will be eleven years old next foaling. She won a double at the Westport meeting. The Gluten mare wears well.

For the four events for which the nominations closed on Friday, the Auckland Racing Club received 124 entries, an increase over last year of

Hector Gray has been just beaten this season quite a number of times by apprentices and lightweights when riding well-backed ones, but a bigger favouritei than Active has seldom been just beaten by a bigger outsider than Elyan, who is by Elysian from a mare called Elizabeth. There were twenty-one runners in the race, which was the Maiden at Ohinemuri.

An owner whose horse had just run last in a race went to the horse’s head as he was brought back to the paddock. The 6.7 rider on dismounting, addressing himself to the owner, said, “He ran a real good race, sir.” The owner seemed quite cheered up, but there were few who could have held the same opinion as the boy. On the trip to Nelson, Mr. F. S. Easton made a present of a three-year-old 'filly by Advance —Cecile to some friends. The youngster is a half-sister to Lady Moutoa and Wonder. She will shortly join J. McLaughlin’s team at Trentham. The trainer named has put up a good winning record recently with Red Signal and Rebekah.

There were several exceptionally fast races at the Wairarapa meeting. Bonnie Maid in the Cup ran the mile and a-quarter in 2min. which was only a fraction of a second slower than she won the Longburn Handicap in last autumn at Awapuni. Both were handicap performances and race and track records for handicap events. The Wairarapa Cup has never been run so fast, and 2min. sec. is the course record.

Weights for the Auckland Racing Club’s Easter Handicap, Brighton Hurdle Race and Autumn Steeplechase are to be declared on March 25tl>, and for the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Easter and Autumn Handicaps on March 28. It would be a better plan to have the weights issued for the St. George’s Handicap at the same time as for the Easter Handicap, seeing that so many gorses in these days are nominated from a distance. Owners would then determine what races to have their horses prepared for.

Mr. T. T. Ritchie was so much dissatisfied with the Royal Hopet-Hoy* metta decision at the last Forbury races that he resigned from the club. He was induced to withdraw his resignation, but he has asked the Trotting Association to inquire into the procedure of the Judicial Committee in regard to that race, and it is quite on the cards that he may retire from the sport altogether. If so. a good patron will be lost to the ranks of light harness racing in the Dominion.

In the course of a conversation, Mr. F. A. Price, the owner of Rorke’s Drift, mentioned to “Sir Modred,” of the Southland “Times,” that the actual winnings of the son of Calibre amounted to £6315. He said that published estimates of the gelding’s performances failed to record the fact that Rorke’s Drift had raced at Timaru and secured £7O, as the result of finishing second and third in two events, while several minor discrepancies made a difference of a few pounds, which should be added to the total.

Most of the best class horses in commission at the present time have been nominated for the approaching Easter meetings of the A.R.C. and C.J.C., and it will be interesting to note how some of the horses that have been battling round the country meetings of late are handicapped through them.

Horses for courses and for particular races. Mossman was the second leg of J. Williamson’s stable double at Ohinemuri when he won the St. Patrick’s Handicap for the second year in succession. Mossman is by Vasco from the Stepniak mare Mosca. and is in his seventh year and as useful as ever.

Scornful, one of Mr. Kemball’s team, got third in the Essenden Stakes, run over a mile and a-quarter at w.f.a. at Flemington on Saturday, and Snub was third in the Brunswick Stakes Handicap over the same distance, in which he was handicapped at 8.12. Scornful was beaten for second place over the concluding furlong of his race. Star Comedian had a very easy four lengths’ win. He is quite 141 b. below top-class form.

Bezonian is coming a bit more into his own now. 80-Peep and Rebekah are at least a couple of pretty good three-year-old fillies by the imported horse. The first-named is the best her twenty-year-old dam Shepherdess left after the colt Boris, and Rebekah is seemingly a pretty good representative of the Number 14 family. The sire of her dam Snowstell was got by Clanranald, son of St. Leger, and Bisogne’s dam, St. Evangeline, was by Hotchkiss from the St. Leger mare St. Evelyn. There have been very few superiors to what Bisogne was when he won the Royal Stakes at Ellerslie.

The ancient steeplechaser Golden Glow, now approaching his 16th year, was a starter in the Paeroa Steeplechase, as were two hunter ’chasers of very poor class excepting as jumpers. The fences did not take much jumping, however, which was all in favour of Tenacious, who has. had no schooling over other than hurdles for a long time. Warner’s luck was out, for when leading on The Channel at the last fence, as was the case the previous Saturday when leading on Gluterreno at the last hurdle at Te Arolia, a fa l resulted. Though still feeling the effects of his Te Aroha fall, Warner was determined on riding The Channel, and his shoulder was again injured. The best of jumpers fall at any time, but usually when they are rash and impetuous more often than when really tired. It was believed that The Channel was all out when he fell and left Tenacious to win .though the distance was all in his favour.

The way in which Snub was handicapped for the Bond Cup. run over a mile and a-quarter at Caulfield, would surprise New Zea’anders who have seen the son of Martian racing over that distance. Snub, who had 9.6, has shown staying form, but is lacking in the brilliancy to win over shorter distances than a mile and ahalf in good company. His head win over Kilmoon and two heads’ win over Sasanof in the Canterbury Cup, 2% miles, at w.f.a., did not entitle him to receive 8.6 or anything like that weight for the Australian event referred to. His form in the New Zealand Cup and other races just before, and his form later on in Auckland, seems to have been quite ignored by the weight adjuster. He has paid the penalty for that one fluke all right. In hurdle racing and steeplechasing the big fellow may prove useful, if put to that game soon. He was third with 8.12 in the Brunswick Stakes over a mile and a-quarter on Saturday, carrying 8.12.

Mr. T. Roe, owner of the dual Auckland Trotting Cup winner, Steel Bell, intends taking the grey mare south for the N.Z. Metropolitan Trotting Club’s Easter meeting at Addington.

It is the present intention of W. Hawthorne, trainer of Nanna, Snub. Hymestra, Gladful, Scornful and Wishful, to rail his team to Sydney after the Victorian autumn meetings in time to permit of them racing at the Australian Jockey Club’s big meeting at Randwick at Easter.

Among the entries for steeplechase events at the forthcoming meeting of the Southland Racing Club is the exKaramu jumper Peary, the ten-year-old son of Birkenhead —Norsemaid, whom F. McCabe piloted to victory in the 1914 Great Northern Steeplechase for the late Hon. J. D. Ormond. Following his win in this important cross-country event, Peary proved untrainable and was purchased at the Karamu sale for the modest sum of 18 guineas. An unsuccessful attempt to train him was made in Southland last season, and it will be interesting to note whether he reaches the post in the case of the Southland R.C.’s approaching meeting.

A bookmaker’s clerk ’who this month appeared in the Bankruptcy Court in Sydney admitted that the cause of his bankruptcy was betting on horse racing. He attributed his insolvency principally to his unswerving regard for the crack New Zea’ander Desert Gold. He lost about £lOOO last year. He had that amount to lose, because he was a good bettor if it came his way. He lost over £3OO betting at Rosehill in one day. “Whenever I was at the races at Randwick,” he added, “and Desert Gold started I nearly always backed her.” He lost money on Desert Gold the first time she ran. He thought that was when Poitrel beat her. He had £9O to £4O on her. He backed

Desert Gold after that, and she was beaten by Cetigne. He lost over £lOO on . the day. He had drawn £376 9s. 6d. from the bank. He went to the races, and that money went slowly but surely. He drew the monev out to bet with.

The success of old Royal Irish in the Ohinemuri Cup is another indication of the vitality of the Soult family, for the black son of Soult and Asthore is going on for his eleventh year and has been raced pretty often. He can still beat younger horses than himself when the conditions are to his liking, and that is when the company is not too select. The old horse was knocking at the door in the Te Kuiti Cup when he got caught in the tapes, and he only just got beaten in the Rotorua Cup. On Saturday so little was thought of his chance that he was allowed to go out a rank outsider, with the result that his supporters got the best dividend that ever he has paid, and the value of the stake is also one of the best. Royal Irish has ever been a dull-coated one, and a free sweater and more or less highstrung. It was quite appropriate that one of his name should win at a St. Patrick’s meeting, but for some reason he was more neglected than in the Te Aroha Cup the week before. He won that race twelve months ago carrying 161 b. more. This time he had 231 b. less than he had in the last Ohinemuri Cup, and was meeting Uncle Ned and Waiuta, who were placed on that occasion, on 311 b. and 251 b. respectively better terms. These things are too far back for most people to remember. He was meeting Housewife, Lady Energy, Killard and Mangamahoe each on better terms than he met them at other places, but his win does not say much for the class of horses that the old Soult gelding beat all the same.