TROTTING

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 223, 20 September 1928, Page 15

TROTTING

WHEEL AND TRACK NOTES.

(By ORION)

October 13, 17—Auckland Trotting Club. October 22—Oaaiaru T.C. October 22—Northland T.C. November 6. 8. 9 —Metropolitan T.C. Kovember 17, 21—Otatauna T.C. November 24—Wellington T.C. November JW. December I—Forbury Park December B—Waikato T.C. December B—Cheviot T.C. December 15, 17—New Brighton T.C. December 26—Gore T.C December 27, 29, 31—Auckland Trotting Club December 28—Ashburton T.C. December 26, 27—South Walrarapa T.C. December 20, 27—Westoort T.C. December 29—W!»ton T.C. December 31—Inangahua T.C.

A novice by Gold Bell is the latest addition to N. Kinnamont's team.

Tho decision of the Otahuhu Trotting Club committee to erect a farrier's shop at the Otahuhu course will be appreciated by those trainers who have horses working there.

Koniniwood, who has been off the scene for some time, is being prepared for future racing by J. Nicholson. Koniniwood was previously in A. Dyer's team and showed a lot of pace.

There is a possibility of Warplane and Karo Peter changing ownership, but so fnr no deal has been made. If a sale is effected the pair will remain with J. Shaw.

G. Robertson has not been idle with his small team. Admiral Lock, honest as the day, is looking well, as is also the trotter, Billy Carbine. This gelding has a fine dash of pace and with a shade of luck will win races.

W. Clifton is paying a lot of attention to Halgana and Dad's Hope. The latter has pace, but it is a question whether his heart is in the right place and there have been times when he gave the impression that he could have done a bit better had he made an effort.

A. Cameron, who in recent seasons trained Aggie Bell, Jean Darliug, Gaza and others at Mangere, is now settled at Hauraki Plains. Gaza and Jersey Thorpe are two horses he has now who have raced, but, in addition, he has several young ones to try his hands upon.

C. G. Lee has his team all well forward to open the spring campaign. Colonel Thorpe is particularly well and if he could be induced to go as solid on race day as he does in his training, his popular owner, Mr. W. Winter, would gnt a stake or two. The Our Thorpe gelding is trotting with a lot of confidence and it may be that this season will fcje him doing his part right.

Bankhead has been allowed to continue his engagement in the Epping Thousand to be run on October 2, and the brother to Cardinal Logan will probably be shipped to Sydney this week.

That good trotter Betty Moko has been kept going through the winter and the bay mare is well forward to be finished off for early engagements. Betty Moko has been somewhat unlucky in big trots and several times has just been beaten by horses more favourably handicapped than her.

Two years ago a delay in the delivery of a letter saw Imprint miss the first acceptance for the New Zealand Trotting Cup, and last year the owner of Jack Potts missed the acceptance by a couple of minutes. It is to be hoped nothing like this will happen on Thursday when the acceptance for the approaching Cup falls due.

The racy-looking Whispering Dell has been pottered about all through the winter and the daughter of Blue Mountain King is shaping well in her work. This mare has a good turn of speed, but the only time she raced was at the Cambridge meeting in Slay last, and then she did not leave the mark right. She should lose her maiden status at the country fixtures this season.

S. Groat is working a fairly big team. It is a long time since Groat had any luck with one of his own, and should he break the spell this season no one would be more pleased than other trainers. Lady Joan threatened to come right back to her best form last winter and she ran one good race at Epsom in June. Tony Victor ia a useful sort Groat is now preparing and he is a likely sort to put a stop to the long sequence of outs down to the stable.

The Mangere owner-trainer. J. T. Paul has taken his champion trotter, Waikaha, in hand again. The gelding has been spelling since he raced at the winter meeting of the Auckland Trotting Club. With two Rowe Handicaps to his credit the chances are that he will be there again next Christmas when the rich stake is being contested. There has never been a more consistent trotter than the son of Gold Bell, and he is a great horse and equally great favourite with the public.

Bankhead, the only New Zealand candidate entered for the Sydney Thousand, has made the first payment, and from this it may be assumed that J. Bryce's present intentions are to send the brother to Cardinal Logan across to contest the event. Last season Bankhead won at Wellington at a mile and a-half in 3.30 4-5, and his last start was at Ashburton in June, when he ran second to Royal Serene at a mile, Bankhead's time being 2.16 1-5. These performances should make him a hard proposition off the limit in the Thousand.

Rollo i» penalised 12 yards in the Seima Trot at the Ashburton R.C. Meeting.

Reports of the New Zealand Cup Trial at Wellington show that Jack Potts, always a slow beginner, lost a lot of ground before he got properly under way. Over the last half-mile he was traveling at a great pace and rapidly overhauling those in front of him. He finished fourth, but with the solid work he will now get he should be at the top of his form by November.

In hoppled races more horses fail to leave the mark right in mile races than over any other distance, this remark applying, of course, to experienced horses and not novices. The reason is because drivers know that they cannot afford to lose much, if any, ground if they are not to settle their prospects, and the consequence is that they are anxious to get away, and very frequently when the tapes are released horses are bustled off their feet. Now the Otahuhu Trotting Club on each of its four days this season includes a saddle event, and the distance is the same each day, one mile. To go back a few years, one can remember when races were "optional," fields of mixed harness and saddle horses competing not only at one mile but up to three miles, apd the saddle horse frequently held his own. One would not suggest going back to the days of three-mile events, or even two miles for saddle horses, but a mile and a-half should be a good move, because any really good horse can go twelve furlongs, and, in addition, such a race would not see so many horses break up at the start because of the keenness of their riders to get away fast.

While running in the paddock recently, the American-bred stallion, Peter Chenault, fell and injured his baclf so badly that it has been deemed necessary to retire him from service at the stud for the present season, says the Lyttelton "Times." Peter Chenault, who, before leaving sired many good racehorses, including the champion filly Ruth Chenault, was being well patronised by breeders, and his injury means a big loss to the Wellington sportsman, Mr. J. R. McKenzie, and Mr. H. W. Aker, in whose charge the stallion has been for the past two years. Mr. Aker has been fortunate, however, in securing Native King, whom he purchased at a big price recently. Native King, a great racehorse in his day and winner of the Dominion Trotting Handicap, has had several seasons at the stud, and of the nine foals he left in his first season, no fewer than eight are winners. These include Native Prince, Native Queen, Native Star, all ffood-class performers. Native King, by Nelson Binjien, jg one of the progeny of a great brood mare. Norice (imp.), whose record as a stud matron is probably unsurpassed in New Zealand. Amonsrst her progeny are Nelson Derby (Auckland Cup and Great Northern Derb|f), Lady Derby (dam of Sister Derby Chimes (a successful sire in Australia), Queen Cole (dam of Colene Pointer and grandam of Kingcraft). and Nelson Fame, one of the most brilliant performers New Zlealand has known.

J. Shaw's team have not been asked to do much of late and the members of the stable have just been kept going steadily. All look well and will be at their best when the October meeting comes along.

The Abbey, who will most likely next be raced at the Northland meeting, where he should figure among the Cup starters, has not been asked to go fast since J. Shaw got him. The chestnut is a solid sort and a good pacer, while last season he demonstrated that he could stay. When right at his best he should be a handy horse to have in the country cups.