NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1625, 17 December 1912, Page 9

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

[Br Glencob.j .: .■'' Acceptances for the first day's events at the Manawatii Racing. Club's meeting close to-night. - Final payments for the falmerston North Stakes are'due at the same time. - ..-.■•. The tracks at.Trentham would be benefited by a good downpour of rain, so-the trainers say.'-.''. In the published-, weights for the Grey; .mouth. Cup Seraphic's impost, appears as Bst. 121b. Hiscorrect weight is 9st. 121b. Semaphore, has,:.been - slipping along smartly on the tracks at TrentJiani of late, and she is not likely to lack anything on the score of condition when she races at Christmas. She is engaged in tlie Fitzherbert. Handicap, at Awapuni, but it is quite likely that her; owner will let this go by,- and race her over a longer distance on, the second day. Royal Marine is' to. be shipped. to' the West Coast "by the Mapourika, .leaving this aiterjQoon. The half-brother to Culprit is in great condition to undergo the Christmas. campaign.. His first appearance will probably be in the Graymouth Cup, in which he has 9st. slb. His new owner is Mr. E. Stratford,, of Greymouth, who.has registered, his colours as white body, brown sleeves, and green, cap. As indicated elsewhere, the Hon. J. D. Ormond's horses have' been scratched for their Auckland engagements. This will give Jockey W. Ryan a free hand for the Christmas" racing,, nn'd he intends being present at the Awapuhi meeting. A number of Trehthain.. horses will go through to Awnpuni on Christmas. Eve to fulfil engagements at the Manawatu meeting. New Zealand-bred . horses finished. first aid second in. the Ivcstone Handicap (one mile and a quarter) on December 7. These were Puaka (St. Ambrose—Nada), who ran in the nomination of Mr. C. Ixsinox, and John; by Cuirassier, who carried Mr. G. Brethcrton's colours. Tie former is trained,;,by. JI. T. IfGrath,- and the latter. by.J. Stewart; ..Punka ridden by P. M'Grath, a younger brother of the woll-known trainer.

A local sportsman has drawn Warman in a big Tattersal's sweep for the Carrington Stakes, to be Tun at Randwick on December 28. The horse is weighted at 6st. 121b., but so far ho has not figured in tho market. Ho was amongst the unplaced division in tho Pace Welter at Warwick Farm on December 7. After a couple of days' racing at Newmarket last month, King George inspected his horses at Egcrton House, and is understood to have expressed; himself well satisfied .with : the season's' results. . bo far from contemplating retirement from the turf, his Majesty will probably be represented by.a larger team nest than was the case this. . ' Acceptances for several .race, meetings close on Friday next, which is also entry dny for tlie Trentham summer meeting. The John Wren stewards decided, alter a four hours' inquiry, that tho pony Ladylike is Truelove. After a hearing extending over some weeks (says a Melbourne exchange) the.Victorian Supreme. Court'has arrived at the same conclusion. • The services of J. Conquest have been secured for Monoplane in the Auckland Oup (says the "Star"). Ho will probably ride the daughter of Monoform a couplo of pounds overweight. • • ~*. In .commenting on some of the salient features of the English racing season just brought to a close, a leading authority eays:-"The international flavour_ which has characterised this year's classic races .is a point worthy of notice. Sweeper 11 is by Broomstick, an American horse, but was foaled in France, and was ridden by Maher, an American, when he won tup Two Thousand Guineas. Tagahe, the One Thousand Guineas and Derby winner, _is out of the French-bred mare Tagale. the was ridden in the Guineas by Hewitt, an Australian, and in the Derby by oelm Reiff, an American, domiciled ;m paiice. Mirska, the Oaks winner, though .bred and trained in England, is owned by a French sportsman, and was ridden by Childs, an Anglo-French jockey. And i,i;w wc have Tracer}-, owned by .an American, bred in America, by an English torse, but of an English mare, trained at I\cwmarket, and ridden by Bellhouse, a native of Birmingham, but who has.done all his riding in France.". . . ... .....,.., „..-. At a meeting of the English Jockey Club on October 30, Lord Villiers moved the following addition to Rule 12fi: "No * low: ante of weight shall be made to a horse for being the first, produce of a mare., .Lord Villiers remarked that he would 1 Ke fii-'st of all to say that tho motion was not brought forward' from any desire to vary or multiply the Rules of Racing, but it was brought forward entirely in the -insimplicity. It seemed a very easy thing to decide what was the first produce of a mare, but iti reality.it was rather difficult. The question which first occurred was; Did a foal born dead count 0.6 .produce, and was the next produce entitled to the allowance? Then supposing a foal born dead at the right time was to oount as.a foal, what was to happen in the case of.a mare who might slip her foal? Was: that'to count?. Many healthy foals vcro bom before their right tibae, and vh:it margin .of .time were they to allow beyond which tho premature produce did i.et count as the first foal ? There were many intricate questions which arose in that connection. Either those,problems must be settled or: else some such rule.as that proposed must be passed. A. case had b?en brought,before the stewards that yew on that point for their decision,.and they had decided that Rule 51 must govern the question. He must admit that at the lime they gave the ! decision they did hot think .'it altogether., satisfactory if it was to bo a . precedent. In their, view it was the only possible .decision-.at, that, time, and it was a perfectly safe'jdebisibn, becansV there was no other rule'which dealt.with tte question;, but they had at the same lime, agreed that they wbuld ask the-club to pass the rule which they were now:proposing. Presumably, the allowance was Iwfwl on .the idea, which .ho doubt was \ery often correct, that a first foal was smaller or weaker .than later produce, In th-yw caßes the.3lb. .'usually allowed would, prob-.j ably riot'make much difference, and,,en . the other,hand, there were very many good first foals.: For those reasons, and ty cbyiate any pbssible.,dilsc,ulties in.the iu,tnre„ he proposed the'.motigh'frip.hich; he ready.read. The motion was"carried'. 1 ...