THE TURF.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1124, 11 May 1911, Page 6

THE TURF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS, HAWKG'S BAY RACES POSTPONED,. [By Gi.kxcoi:.] Giving to exceptionally heavy rain fabV ing early yesterday morning at HaslillffS I lie HiMi-fce's Bay '.Jockey Club's slcvarda met at !) a.i'n. and decided to postpone , the fixture till to-day. At a late hour la l -! night our special correspondent (elegiai.hed lliat il u'as still raining heavily, iind thill there was every probability of a further postponement.' Kei-n disap-pointnir-'it )w< ken i-xpres-eil on all sides, .mid (lie merliiie will assuredly suiter if it is not proceeded with 10-day, for large numbers of visitors, and horses will return home.

F. I.ind, formerly a well-known hurdle liorspnian, bill who lias been located ae a. public trainer /in Wangnmii for the la.si eight years,"intends shortly to sbtlle ; in ("iifbwnc, where he has boon promised ' ii. team of horses to prepare, for racing. : ■

• Formless is to be given a spell before goiiiß inlo work for .spring racing.

Mnnrinc and Coroniforni have finished ] racing for the present season, a.ud will > both bp treatcfl )o a spell. The New Zealand jockey, IT. Cairns, ' who lias not had much luck v incc going ' to Mellioiirne, got liis name on the winning list at the AYiirrnamliool meetinsj' list week when Golden Cairn (Clanran-1 aid—Golden Crest) won the T'ozer Wc'ler ' Handicap from five other runners.

Mr. .T. E. Henrys left for Jhc south last night in order lo be present nt the Ashburton County Hncing Club's meeting, which open? to-day.

A colt foal by King Billy from the Medallion mare Tupono died nt Longlands last week. If was Tupono's first foal.

Owners and trainers are advised that nominations for all handicaps in connection with the South Wnirarapa Troltiner Club's , annual meeting at Greyloivn will close with the secret m\v. Mr. W. Armstrong, at !) o'clock to-night. On .iccount of a possibly irregular' train service, the secretary advises owners to telegraph their nominations.

Unlrics rlow for the Auckland Racing Club's winter meeting nt the club's offices. Shortland Street, Auckland, on Friday, May 12. ' At the same time acceptances are due for the Great Northern Hurdles and (he Great Northern Steeplechase.

Owners and trainers are reminded thai; nominations for all evenl.', except tho Maiden Plat flace and the T'innl Hack Scurry, at.the Otaki Maori Racing Club.s winter meeting, close with Ihe secretary to-morrow.

A Proas Association tclecrnm from Hastings states (hat Gip.-y Belle has been scratched for all engagements at the Hawke's Bay .lockey Club's meeting. -

Tlio Novice Handicap, of 100 sovs., run nt the Fitzroy (Vic.) meeting last Monday week, resulted in an easy victory for the New Zealand-bred Merrigal, by i Mcrriwee—Cantatrice, who can-led lOst. 21b. and won by a couple of lengths from Red Jason (Sst. 51b.), with Bow Bells (7et. 71b.) a moderate third. This race was open only to horses that had never won a £'2h stake on ths flat.

When F. Burn failed to draw weight after winning the Onknparinga Hurdlo liacc on Kulcurna, one'of the owners of. the. liorse is reported to have made a. suggestion about weighing the plates on his feel. Though this was, of course, considered to ba'(says the "Arrow") out of the question, an Adelaide paper recills the fact Hint Mr. Seth Ferry once hud an argument with Ihe Hen. \V. B. Ilownsoyell at Morphettvijle as to wheiher boots and bandages'could 1» weighed, insisting that everything a horse carried could legitimately be included. Mr. Ferry wrote to "Bell's Life" on the subject," and the English authorities, in replying, asked His question; 'What (iboiit shoes and plales!'" ■ Mr. Ferry expl.iined that tho horse did not carry them all .the time, because he was continuously •ilaeilig them on the ground. In Iheir finil letter Ihe English people said they were inclined (o astree that: Mr. Ferry wa»' rieht in his contention. Those responsible for tho proper conduct of horw-rno ing are at limes confronted with some knotty problems. Tho Racing Commission ->nt at Napier on Tuesday night, after the arrival of the Wellington mail train (says our correspondent), but was unable lo finish its business, nnd resumed again last evening, when something approaching duality was reached. Though it is likely Hint Oninnril will be visited next week, the commissioners hope to report to the Government within a low days. With Ihe exception of the llutt Valley Trotting Club's cour-o at, T.etone, and the Whaugarei cows?, the whole of the racecourses in the Dominion have been inspected. Jlr. \\. T. Rowc will visit Whangarei on his re I urn to Auckland, whither he is bound to-day, nnd the P.ot.one track will be inspected bv Sir George Clifford oil Salilidnv. ({mil interest is being taken in the forthcoming report. :is everyone is anxious to know "which clubs arc to have their racin* dales curtailed. Few people have any idea how drastic was the amended Gaming Hill pJ.wl last /e-Pion. Hy killiii" the bookmaker, Parliament wiped, out all non-totnlisMor clubs, which means a decrease of no fewer than 180 days raoinc Now the commission has to cut out a Mxlh of Hie tolalisalor days, which is fifty-five. Of; these, forty-three will be taken from ga loping clubs, and eleven from- (rotting clubs, but who will be Ihe unfortunates? No one .uiows yet ad several small clubs am shaking, but perhaps Iheir fears are nraundless. dubs ii-e Levin Otaki, Marton, and Bulls have nothing to fear, for the coninns- ' oners recognise that they could not keep , nt on one day meetings, and can barelv exist on Iwo days, for -ill profits ° rr eaten up by the additional (.nvirnment tax i«W P(I U>t J '* a !"'■ lh(,ro "no likelihood of this tax being relnced and tho small clubs will lie put " heir Evils' ends to make a financial 'uccess- of their meetings without any c rtaiiment. The more the question is holed into, the more apparent it be. conies that the larger clubs may have to bear the l:runt of the pruning-not (ho iinallsr ones. FIXTURES. „ ~ ~j' 10-T-liwlipV Bav vT.C. Audinil S 11 "and iSbuAon County B.C. Jhv 20 »"d 2-1-Takapnna J.C. NVintcr. \Hv "1 and 25-Wanganui J.C. Winter. M« 24 25-Nortli Otago J.C. Winter. Northern Steeplechase. t oi n nA oi l-lnw'ko s Bay J**- ,, \\nner.