Turf Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1516, 15 May 1919, Page 12

Turf Topics

Jacaranda is one of the workers at headquarters. Patronymic is again in work down Egmont way. His is com:ng 12 years old. The date of the Waikato Hunt Club’s meeting has been fixed for July 7. The Auckland-bred Carbine is still referred to by writers in the Commonwealth as “the Australian horse.” Euripos was allowed to drop out of the hurdle race on the 'first day of the Egmont meeting. The hurdles at Ellerslie are fairly strong, and some people would like to see them give a little more. Mr. Chas. Levers, a steward of the Avondale Jockey Club, is joining the ranks of the benedicts this week. Thrace got back from his Wellington and Manawatu trip looking bright arid seasoned, and has put in nice work on the tracks since. Waimai was bowling along at Ellerslie on Tuesday morning and is looking well. He does some of his work away from the track. Te Onga, Cynic, Keystone and Tenacious were amongst those that got through serviceable tasks at Ellerslie on Tuesday. The outside of the course proper at Ellerslie is receiving a bit of topdressing in places at the hands of the staff, under Mr. Albert Hill. A box has been engaged for Sir Fisher at P. Conway’s stables at Ellerslie, where Carlysian is also to be located. Colonel Soult registered one of the best gallops done on the tan for some time, and is looking well, but has not done a great deal of jumping.

The tote turnover at the Kawakawa meeting fell a little short of that at the last meeting held the day following the Whangarei meeting. Crown Pearl is the oldest of the hurdle horses engaged in the Great Northern. He will be twelve years old next foaling time. The Waikato Hunt Club meeting has been fixed for July 7. This will give more time for qualifying hunters, and perhaps we may get some rain in the interval. Dependence, by Pendil from Design, won the Adelaide Cup on Monday, beating King of the Sea and Wee Goin in 2min. 49sec. for the mile and five furlongs. The Australian Jockey Club’s autumn meeting, postponed from Easter week, is evidently going to commence this week, and cables indicate with every prospect of being well attended and successful. On April 28 Mr. W. R. Kemball scratched Hymestra and Scornful for all engagements at the Australian J.C. autumn meeting, while Wishful was withdrawn from the First Hurdle Race. Snub remains in his A.J.C. engagements, and since winning the Governor’s Plate and King’s Plate at Flemington is reported to have retained his condition. He is engaged in the Sydney Cup with 8.3. A. J. McFlinn rode five winners and a second at the Kawakawa meeting on Saturday, and C. Coleman trained the double winners Scottish Knight and Mountain Gold.

Fred Speakman was on the course at Ellerslie on Tuesday morning, an interested spectator of the work after an absence of several years at the war, and will no doubt ere long settle down at Ellerslie. The Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s committee approved the increase of £7lO arranged by the Programme Committee for the winter meeting. The open hurdle races have been reduced in length by a quarter of a mile. Lingerie won a small race near Melbourne recently and started at a short price. The distance, seven furlongs, was reckoned beyond her when in New Zealand, but the company was not very good class. At Ellerslie on Tuesday morning a few horses were jumped over the hurdles, but nothing very special was registered, and trainers are still hoping for rain. There were two or three falls during the morning while green ones at the game were being tried. The following were the principal winning owners at the Manawatu R.C.’s autumn meeting:—Messrs. J. Goring-Johnston £645, K. S. Williams £645, T. H. Lowry £6lO, C. F. Vallance £385, W. G. Stead £3OO, A. McDonald £195, J. Bull £lBO, F. Armstrong £l4O, Wm. Ewart £l2O, J. Hurley £lOO. Veterinary Glover says it was tetanus that settled Revenue. Assuming that to be so, it was a most extraordinary case indeed. Tetanus arises from many causes, but in this instance those connected with the horse are at a loss to account for it. It is probable that Sasanof has run his last race in New Zealand, as the five-year-old Martian —Ukraine gelding is to leave for Sydney early in July in charge of his trainer, G. Jones, with a view to competing in events in the Commonwealth. Mr. R. G. Casey, a prominent member of the V.R.C. and well-known throughout Australia, and owner of the dual Derby winner Sylvanite in 1904, died at Honolulu on his way back from an oversea trip on April

26. He was a partner in' Maharajah with Mr. J. M. McNiall when in 1916 that colt won the Caulfield Futurity Stakes. Robur, who is owned by the wellknown New Plymouth sportsman Mr. J. Harle, is making her final appearance on the race track at the Egmont meeting this week, it being her owner’s intention to utilise the daughter of Rokeby—Teacup as a stud matron in the future. S. Henderson, who was engaged to ride Thrace in the Karere Hurdles on the opening day of the Manawatu meeting at Awapuni, was prevented from taking his place in the saddle owing to a breakdown of the car in which he was journeying to the course. J. Deerey was entrusted with the mount on the Auckland-owned gelding. The non-inclusion of Coalition’s name among the list of acceptors for the Great Northern Steeplechase came as no little surprise in view of the fact that Messrs. E. and V. Riddiford’s representative has been responsible of late for some attractive displays over the steeplechase course at Trentham. It transpires that Mr. V. Riddiford missed the first acceptance for Coalition in the Great Northern Steeplechase, but there is every probability that after fulfilling his engagements at Wanganui next week the Patronus gelding will be sent north to compete in the Winter Steeplechase at Ellerslie, an event he won last

A welter-weight match is on the tapis, the respective owners being well-known sports who wish to settle a friendly dispute. They will at least have the satisfaction of testing, and well testing, the merits of their horses, which have not yet figured under welter weights. It will be some little time before the match comes off. Mr. R. E. Fawcett, late of H.M. Customs, who is well-known in hockey and sporting circles in Auckland, was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court last Tuesday. He has been taken into partnership by Mr. Robert B. Lusk, the prominent racing judge, and the practice will be continued under the name of Lusk and Fawcett, solicitors, 28 Shortland Street, Auckland. The Auckland horses Mullingar and Canzonet were not paid up for at Egmont, but Spalperion, who came in very lame at Avondale, was left in the Hack Steeplechase there. Tirau, who was ridden over the fences by a bystander after he fell, was evidently too knocked out to be raced at Egmont on the first day. At all events he was allowed to drop out, and perhaps may not now be sent to Dunedin. An important part of the finding of the appeal judges in what is known as the Thrace case was not telegraphed to the press when the appeal of the Hamilton stewards was disallowed. It can be quoted for the benefit of all clubs. It is.as follows: “The judges consider the evidence at the enquiry by the Hamilton Racing Club was carelessly and inaccurately recorded. They consider it most essential that a competent shorthand reporter should be employed, if possible, at all such enquiries, and, further, that the evidence of witnesses should be signed by them.” The judges were Messrs. Wm. E. Bidwill, E. A. Campbell and O. S. Watkins. When a mistake has been proved to have been made in the taking of evidence, and the evidence of witnesses has not been signed, there should be no cause for wonder that a portion being wrong there is cause for doubt concerning the reliability of the rest. Leave to amend evidence does not always meet the case. There should be lessons for clubs all round in the finding quoted. The Chaucer four-year-old Arrowsmith is on his way to New Zealand at last, after a six months’ wait for a ship in England, when he was purchased by Mr. J. N. Heslop, the importer of Polydamon. He will arrive by the Port Pirie, and will have a protracted trip, as that vessel, which left England on April 17, has calls to make en route in Australia, and after reaching Sydney will come to Auckland, where she is not due until about the middle of June. Mr. Heslop has arranged with A. Asprey, of Ellerslie, to take charge of Arrowsmith on arrival. As stated some time after his purchase, Arrowsmith won one race at two years old, and at three ' years started in some of the leading events in England, including the War Derby won by Gainsborough. Analysing the form of different horses he met and which met Gainsborough, he would appear to have been quite outclassed by that colt, who many good judges considered one of the very best of his age that has ever raced in the Old Land. The late Mr. J. W.. Larnach, who owned and raced Arrowsmith, was a steward of the English Jockey Club at the time of his death, and ran his horses in the best races. He was the possessor of the 100 to 1 chance Derby winner Jeddah, but had many useful horses, none more highly-bred than Arrowsmith, who is to be raced if deemed advisable in New Zealand, as he left off racing a sound colt. As is now well known, his sire, Chaucer, has proved a first-class horse at the stud, and his dam, Sagitta, is a fullsister to John o’ Gaunt, who has proved a good sire, Swynford being one of his gets. La Fleche, his granddam, won £34,585 in stakes, and was sold when at the stud at seven years old for £13,230, the highest-priced mare sold as a brood mare in the world. When Sceptre was sold for £25,000 she was a four-year-old with racing engagements ahead of her. La Fleche was unexpectedly beaten in the Derby by Sir Hugo, to whom she ran second. Subsequent form proved her a lot better than that colt. Her luck was like that of her son, John o’ Gaunt, in the Derby, but the Oaks, One Thousand Guineas, St. Leger, Ascot Cup and Cambridgeshire fell to her. Her dam, Quiver, was a halfsister to Musket, so we are getting some more St. Simon, well back, with strains that proved of the best we have had in New Zealand.