THE TURF.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1500, 24 July 1912, Page 7

THE TURF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS, [By Glt.ncoe.l Theru is no notable dcfccliou from the big Iticcal'lou troblo, oiul the; whole of the well-supporteil hor.sus liavo stood their ground. .As tho ritreplculiaso is tlio firtt event which will be decided, 0110 naturally takes it up for discussion first. Sonio sui'iu'iso has been expressed that Continuance was not ffiven a run at Trontham but in such goiuij, and in the case of a horso wliicli has been slninj; up so lonf;, a rnco might liaVo dono more harm than good. Antarctic has gone homo to Wanganui and (according to his owner) is a sure I'imner. It will be quickly judged by this statement that Mr W. R. Tuck is au optimist. No doubt ho is right, for, in (he case of the crack 'chaser, it would not do to becoino pessimistic, for, if so, tho horso would surely be turned into the paddock In tho past we have seen enough of tho Salvadau gelding to know .that he is good, but lu's performance at frenUiani was a real eye-opener. There ho was practically, unable to walk, and quite unable to gallop, but lie nevertlie- I less showed tho heart of a lion. He was nearly down three times, and his rider must at-times have had serious thoughts of pulling him up, but on they went, and, in ■ the end, after a heroic struggle, lie got second place. This was entirely due to his. pluck and perseverance, assisted, ! to a large extent, by tho fact that horse after horso dropped out of the contest. It is to bo hoped that, by some magic means, tho hor.se will bo landed at the post fit and well next month. If sueli proves to be tho case, it will be bad business > for the other horses, for Antarctic's performance at 'lVeutliam shows that, lit and well, ho could concede a lot of weight and still beat anything that he met at Trentliam. • Hautere has been discussed in this column before, and there is not much to add. He is either not the horse which we were led to believe, or else his showing at Trentham was not his true form. But -why should the latter supposition bo the case? Tho going at Trentliam was similar to that at Eilerslie, and the Williamson-owned horso was then boomed as a great "mud lark," but, in the Wellington Steeplechase, he was tailed eft, arid had to no pulled up seven furlongs from homo, Certainly lie was performing better on the second day, when ho toppled over at, the last fence, but ho needed to do so, for he was meeting Captain Jiligle on no less !han 171b. better terms. ' Moreover, a horso that falls at a hencoop—a small one, too—has little claim to be classed as a good jumper. A hencoop is tho easiest of fences to jump. Black Northern lias a great private reputation as a jumper of big fences, but, as he will be making his first appearance in a race between the flags when lie starts at Biccarton, he is not likely to be preferred to the older horses, wlio have had experience in this line. ■

Sir Lethe is a peculiar horse. Get him right, and ho is a champion, but, unless I he is absolutely right, he is nothing more than- moderate. Paritutu is at present dividing favouritism. with Captain Jingle In the words.| of one '.well-known judge, "Paritutu is the horse that is going to cause the trouble to the others." At Trentham 'last iveek he was schooled over six f'enens, and jumped perfectly. As showing the difference between him and Hautere, it may be mentioned that each did the same task at a few minutes' interval, and there was no less than eight seconds difference, between the two gallops, the margin bciny in favour of Pnritutu. Last year he won under 10st'. 21b., and . why not this year, witli 141b. more on his back ? It was stated yesterday that Captain Jingle had been sent home to Hastings, but this prqves incorrect. Tho horse is still at Trentham, and it was Julian which was sent liome. Tho Wellington and July Steeplechase ' winner camo, through his ordeaMn a most satisfactory manner, and if lie keeps on his legs--there is just a doubt about this—he will gottsal'ely to the eud of tho trying Hiccarton course, for he is at once a proved jumper and an undoubted stayer. ; .Compass was disappointing at Trentham, but,, after getting round safely.-on tho second day, he may be much, improved for thai race. In the Wellington Steeplechase he was going as well, if not better, than' anything else in the race when hq met with mishap. On the second day ho was sore, and was also nervous. He did not exhibit the form in the race that he did when schooling, but ho may be a much-improved horse next time lie rncea. Hawick's acceptance comes as a surprise, for it was stated that he would go south to race in minor hurdle events only. If he does see the .post, it will bo his first public appearance in a steeplechase, and that consideration will, not onhanco his prospects of victory. , Armagh has been supported by his owner for i considerable sum, but ho will have to run better than he did at Trentham if ho is to lmvc a chnnco of succcss. Taking a lino through his form with Teiaha at Gisborne, he does not soem to have been well treated Of the others there is not much to say. The writer agrees with the oftrepeated statement that the winner will come from the division carrying list, and over. Tho Paris Municipal Council is discussing a tax to be imposed on the different vehicles which aro parked in the Bois de Boulogne on each race day. It is computed that ,tho extra Tcvenuc .accruing to the city of Paris will amount to something like ifili.OOO per -annum. Tho stewards of tho English Jockey Club havo given notice that tliey require tho Qlerk of tho course, _ before tho commencement of each day's racing, to obtain the correct time, and they direct tho starter, the judge, and tho clerk of the scales to set their watches to this time. . It is said that Guncap, winner of tho V.H-.C. Grand National Steeplechase, ha.-, never yet fallen in' a race. A Melbourne exchange stales that Mr. Tyo, of Uhe Allendale Stud farm, has received a communication from M. Cheri. E. Holbron, of Paris, w<ho is the principal salesman of blood stock, in which he asks Mr. Tye to put a price on Planudes—recently .imported from the United Stales, and got by St. Simon, from Lonely (winner of the Oaks). Mr. Tye replied, putting ft price 011 Plamulcs, v:ith deliver/ in January. '

Tu mentioning that the V.R.C. Grand National Stecplccl-asc winner, Gtincap, yn.% sold at miction many 'months aso .-n Mr. P. K. Koam for 121 guineas, a Sydney writer says that this'is rather a different experience to what the late Martin l.onglin and odious had iu the early history of the Grand National Steeplechase. They were not above giving-many hundreds of pounds for horses with the view of winning that big event, and. keeping them for a couple of rears until (hey ire re thoroughly educated before producing them in ' anticipation of . a big betting cc.up. which usually cama oIF.

SCRATCHED. (By Telegraph.—Press AESoeie.tlon.: Christchurch, July 2:1. Kildonan lvas been scratch'.'.':! tor all ongagements at the National meeting. Sea King has bceu scratched for the Winter Cup