WINGATUI NOTES.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20101, 3 December 1930, Page 14

WINGATUI NOTES.

[THE PKESS Special Servlca.] DUNEDIN, December 2. With rain every day, the tracks at Wingutui nre too heavy to permit any fast work, and this morning any horse that ran round about 62soc Tor half a iriile was doing well. High Court ran four furlongs m (iOsec, and with Dunibiane will go to Ashburton, but owing first to log trouble and then a bruised foot, S. G. W'aro has not been able to give hira the work for a ten furlongs journey. Waving Corn ran five furlongs in lmin 15suo, and is a much-improved mare. . D. P. Wilson has practically decided to take Assemble, Black Duke, ICorbsido, and Wise Choice over to the West Coast holiday meetings, leaving Rin Tin Tin and Caterpillar to represent his stable at the Dunodin and Southland holiday fixtures. Battle Flag has been purchased by T. 1.. Wilson, who intends racing her at Waikouaiti on New Year's Day. The steeplechaser Star Tractor has been turned out, owing to the injury he sustained at the Winton Meeting. ' Silver l'aper and Aspiring have done well since joining J. liuttlcdge's stable, and look like coming to hand quickly when the tracks got firmer.

LIGHT HARNESS HANDICAPS. TO THE IDITOB O* TUB I'BSSS. Sir. —I would feel obliged if I may express my humble opinion as an owner through the medium of your columns of what I term the vagaries of some of the present-day handicappcrs. As every owner and trainer must by tiiis time know, some 18 months ago a new system of handicapping with allotted pcnaltiou was devised alter careful attention and thought, and finally adopted by the delegates to the Trotting Conference. This system has at times worked wonders and proved a boon to many an owner who otherwiso might have been forced to go out of the sport had he not had some protection in the way of specific penalties from a time basis point of view. While all aro practically agreed that the system is what is required by owners, some are far from satisfied as to the interpretation or application of the penalties imposd by the various handicappors in question, and many glaring comparisons could be shown of just where some of our judges differ. One has not to delve far into the question to ece how easy some winning owners' assessments are in comparison to some of the less fortunate owners in the application of the penalty clause. What pernio to m« to lio wrong with some handicappers is the manner of application of assessing the pen.ilty irrespective of performance bv time. Handicappers diffor to a marked degree. Some give the full penalty, viz., 48 yards, in a specified class of, say, 1i.2 for a mile and a quarter, even though on a time basis the race is won in .'!.7. Others give just 2-1 ynrds penalty in similar events. The dW-re-turn in assessing penalties which handicappers are supposed and expected to have remains dormant to a vast degree, and their deliberations give anything but satisfaction to the majorit-v of owners. 1 enclose a copy ol correspondence I am sure many renders will find interesting. I also intend to place my views before the Trotting Association for n riding to restrict the limitation of thb penalty clause being overridden. I contend that handicappers are not justified in going beyond these limitations as set out by schedule, for example, tho full penalty for winning a mile and fi ve furlong race is 60 vnrds j, a 4 j'"* 3 «"d for a mile and a half race 3.4r> class is CO vards also How then can thov exceed'this limit « tu RIVe 1 ya r ds or more penalty? ttoth aro at tho rata of 2.30 to tho mno.—lours, etc., • GEOBGE W. WATKINf>. Sprejqon, Docember 2rtd, 1930.

Mr M. J. Hannon. ° Ct ° ber 20th " 1630 '

n„ rre i i<,ent T ° amar " Trotting Club. L ar Slr ' —l entered my horso Silver Tttngon for your Trio! Handicap, but was romn»T». V surpr ' , to . *iotice the handicap i,n has beon allotted by your handicapper I havo only startod this geldlrig on threw o-ci t , n ;° days at tho Geraldine Baring Club g Meeting, where ho ran unplaced tho firßt day but won tho second dav the one mils and a quarter event, for what was, I presumed, for maiden horsos. I notice now that tho class was a 3min 2see milo and a quarter orent, and my horse won in 3min 6 2-Ssec. Now your class is, I notice, 3min 45seo for one milo and n 'half, and I am at a loss to understand why your handicappor should hovo placed my inrse on 90 yards, or at the rate of 3min 3' oc for the mile and a half, when ho ought to have only received tho penalty for winning, viz., CO yards for maiden events. But now I ain placed 90 yards behind, which to my mind calls for somo explanation on tho part of your handicapper. Incidentally then I am not accepting for him under tho circumstanced, but would feel obliged if I could have an explanation from your handicapper for what I consider unjust treatment. —1 romain, yours faithfully. G. W. "WATKINB. Oamaru Trottinff Club, November Oth, 1980. Mr G. W. Watkins, Edinburgh street, Ohristchurch. Dear Sir, —Referring to your letter of the 20th ultimo, addressed to Mr M. J. Hannon, president of the club. "Horewith enclosed please find copy of letter received from our handicappor, Mr Jardon, whioh we trust you will find satisfactory.— Yours faithfully. J. D. FORBES, Secretory. 1070 Colombo street, Ohristchurch, October 28th, 1950. Soorotary. Oamaru Trotting Club. Dear Sir, —"With reference to Mr G. TV. Watkins'h complaint regarding tho handicap of Silver Bingen in tho Trial Handicap nt your club's recent Meeting. Silver Bingen won the Winchester Handicap at tho Geraldino Racing Olub'a Meeting held on September 27th last. It was a milo and a quarter event, class 3min 2sec. Tho maximum penalty under the handicapping system (irrespective of tho tiino n horso registers for winning) in a 3min 2sec class is 43 yards. Silver Bingon was on the limit nt Geraldino, and therefore by virtue nf liis victory could bo assessed at 2min 58sec for a milo and a quarter. Won 2min 58sec for a milo and a quarter works out nt a fraction faster than 2min 23sec to the milo, so in placing Silver Bingon on 3min 37sec, in the Trial Handicap at your club's Meeting I made my assessment at the rate of 2min 23see to the mile; 1.e., 3min 34Jsoc for a milo and a half, plus an allowance of 2?isec for the extra distance he had to travel at Oamaru as compared with the distance ho vron oti at Geraldino, which was two furlongs. Perhaps it is well to point out to Mr Watkins on anomaly which appears to exist in his mind regarding tho application of tho handicapping system. In such cases as Silver Bingcn's, where a horse has one performance over, any., a milo and a quarter, that performance must be the basis of future handienps, whether tho horso is again en tered for a mile and a quarter or for other distances. As previously stated, Silver Bingon's win at Geraldine earned him a 2min 58sec status for ten furlongs, and wher he is entered for races over longer or shorler distances, then his 2min 58sec record must form tho basis of the handicap, subject to such allowances or reductions at the discretion of the handicapper. In short, the pen alty for one distance ha« no bearing on the penalty scheduled for another distance.— Tours truly, H. A. JARDEN.

J. MUNRO RETURNS. HIS SUCCESS IN GERMANY. (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION— BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT.) (Received December 2nd, 8.15 p m ) FREMANTLE, December '2~ A passenger on board the liner Chitral from London is the jockey, J. Munro. In an interview, he said that of 127 mounts he rode 42 winners for Baron Oppenheim in Germany, including the German Derby.