NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 422, 3 February 1909, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

..The Takapuna .Jockey Club's, meeting concludes to-day; the principal event to be de-cided-being the Summer Handicap. : '';" Five pf the-seven flat races- to.be: decided at,.Takapnna this afternoon are run- over courses-of : less'than;,sbr furlongs. '■>■■'■' ■ 'Acceptances' for the two 'principal event's at.ther.Wellington.PonyandjGalloway' Racing Club s meeting'on February 13,; are due next Friday at 4 p.m. V Chopping Block-is..the new\name bestowed on; the brown hbrse : Probable. 'This horse, who, won five races at thespring.meetings in the South'lsland, is again in workat Riccarton.'- •:; ... .■:•■■

Hiro ran ; second.in the : principal: event at the Tapanm races last week; and won a.mile race on the second; day of.the meeting.

■ Tho imported horse Obligado had quite a good, record;at the.' Tananni .meeting last week, asthree. of his'-progeny got'on' the winnpg list durihg'the two days; • '

.At] the Gisbome, . races.. to-morrow . the' hurdler Te Kaihui will, make, his;reappear■ahce after ; a spell'of'sixmonths.' Prior 'to leaving .Hastings, the.Tasman gelding had been .doing fairly, satisfactory work.. l -.-.

'.. Jookeys riding under, the rules'of the Wellington Pony and Galloway Racing; Club are notified by" advertisement that ',they must apply for a renewal of their licenses- on or 'before-February 5.',---.--:-'•.

,Of the.nume'rousrh6rses!:ih..wbrk'on' the .Eiccarton tracks; none is .looking better than the' chestnut horse Grand; Slam;' who/has not i won'a race since being owned in:the,South .Island/:':' ...'•'•■ .:; ■"-■''-■ .. .:'•- ■'■•'

• 'The-Sydney trainer,'J. Bryan,' has'arrived in sChristchurch; with •■ the; two •:-.- trotting horses,; Britannic- and' Lady: Owhyee; which; .will compete"at the next meeting of the.New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club.'

A'' Southland '■ sportsman' has been 'inquiring the price of Sweet 'Lethe, and it is ''probable :that the -little daughter of Lethe - w'ilfshortly 'Snd'fii He »• 'owner.'- '..F.' fliggdtt has several young 'horses, coming,on, and for! that reason : he is thinning out sbine of the older members .o'fhis team. '■ ''' '■'•"''']■■ ■ '•'.'■ ■'".'".";■'■'■■ "■■'

, . J. Camerbn-has St: Albert; Needlework,' iand-Merriwai in'work at Hastings, .and when Mr.;A; .F. Douglas]makes a trip'to Austra-lia-in.'the autumn, the three. hOrqeß named .will probably be taken over to carry'. ,his colours. ■,-'■.-

; -The Turquoise gelding. The Seer, was run- |; nin'g] atjhe' Tapanui meeting in : Otago last ■week.; JBfe won a race, on ]the'first'day, and ran second in two events'on the second day. ;';.,As timejgoes,;on.:thq (Wejlingtdn,Ponyand .Galloway" Raoing Club: intend to make several improvements at the '.Miramar racecourse, :and thus have, all'the appointments thoroughly -up-to-date.. -Before", the next', meeting' ~takes.place,the stewa'rdsV room', at the south ]end of.the grandstand, will be converted, into la ladies' .cloak-room,. and an attendant: will ,be in. charge of;the room atfuture'meetings/

•: ] At a' meeting of the Dnhedin jockey Club stewards, held'last;'week,' the disqualification imposed, on - the horse Flying Spark, '■ (Clanranald—Catherine WheelV in 1905 was Aremoved. .It was explained to the Dunedin Club that . the' horse- had -changed -hands :seyeral times .since the: disqualification was imposed, and that: the present owner was an linnbeent' sufferer. . - :.-',:•; .;.-•••'.•

'Flying. Spark, after -being disqualified, went to' Victoria and 'won -several- races in the unregistered ranks. . During the. past two'seasons '.he has "been: in-.Western- Australia, where he showed exceptional brilliancy and carried all before him in' the unregistered! (ranks. ■: -,r.-'- .'. :'\'••;:., .-,-:;■:'. ~-;■ ' ;

■Prim, who won tK& Selwyn Handicap at 'the -Grand. National meeting in August, ;is '.doing splendid track work at Riccarton, and on morning 'she easily beat' Pro-, bablein a gallop,over'a mile.; Prim' will;be .racing at the Canterbury Jockey* Club's meet- : :ing'.on Thursday and Saturday, and will be given a chance to make up for" her.,failure at : the'New-Zealand'Cup'meeting. , ' ■■" ' ' ■Moral is topweight in .the Woodville Cup with 9st. 1.31b. •'. The big' bay horse has got over the soreness which, troubled him ' after■ the Da'nnevirke meeting,, but .as Mr. A. F. Douglas "has; another representative in the Wooaville Cup, in.the shape of Ikon,' Moral may. riot -be started. With Moral out 'of the way, the field would be only a moderate lot. Ikon'did very fast gallops on'.the. track prior to; the Cup, arid' again prior to the Wellington Cup, ' but she failed to produce 'winning'; form.' at ■ both -Ellefslie arid Trentham. " ' "';; "" ,

: The. Egmont. Cup. usually gives a good line for.the, Wanganui Gup, but,since 1901 (Nobility's, year), no horse, has succeeded in annexing the tworaces;.. The-likely starters in this year's Egmont Cup will be known next Saturday, when the acceptances;,are due to appean <;Bourrasque,' ParitutuV : arid'. Mahuta, who .'are engaged 'in .this year's race, have each won -the event_ in previous years. Paritutu,rin. spite of his increasing 'age, -hasr been,performing well;of late, : but he has never -.been• good enough-■ to -win since ■ the season commenced. Nor. ;have Bourrasque !and'' Mahuta'done any-better this ■ season! ,This"year!s field'.for- tWEgmorit-Cup, however, is-not a'Very brilliant one,"and-Bour-rasque ,;arid if 1 sent to the 'post, might not have to' register any exceptionally ■ good performance! to equal the records of Dridu and-Coronet, both of ! whom won the' Egmont • Cup on' two- occasions.; '' -" : '

■ r Nautiform. has been withdrawn .from .the Middle' Park Plate,' and the; Stead, will' be represented Ofmulu.' .This is the imported'two-year-old' filly., by. Orrtie—Hey .Presto, for.which 1550,' guineas was.bid at,the. "Deeley,.'it is.said, has, been, engaged 'to '.r'ide'.her,. so '.that, she willbave every chance of showing': her pace.

■ .Appeals" seem .to-be., the. natural .-sequels' to: '.disqualifications, but, 'according tp the; Rules' of Racing,, appeals' are.inadmissible in certain cases, for Clause 7,;.PartXXXli" says tb,at. "the finding of the stewards as; to any question of'fact shall'be;conclusive." • However, .the stewards of .small!clubs are.generally, not well enough versed : in' the law of racing to finish off inquiries in amanner that will : admit of no appeal, and, even when the matter has been endorsed by a Metropolitan Club it frequently comes back in the form 1 of an appeal,. and as often as not has to be determined by. an appeal .bp?rd: set; iip by the ißacing Conference. :./'■■;'