THE TURF

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 177, 16 April 1918, Page 7

THE TURF

NOTES AND COMMENTS [BY GMNCOE.I Tho Manawatu Racing Club's Autumn Meeting will talso place on Wednesday acd 'J.'liiu'siW. The principal itcin is, of cours,;, tho Ould Oup, but there is a lot i ol interact, in the biros' Produce Stakos, j as it will probably ueoido . which is tho i best two-year-old of tho season. Finmark and Heatliercote are to meet in the raco, I but the lattor will have 51b. the better j of tho weights, as hie dam had not proI duced a winner at tho time of entry, j A local sportsman who has boen on a I visit to Auckland states that from eyoryI whero ou the Main Trunk, and especially ! from Auckland, thero 'will be a largo I crowd of visitors to Anapuni to-inorrow i to sec Desert Gold and Biplane meet. Simi- | lar ' reports como from the other lines, J and it is expected that tho crowd in PalI uierstoii North will resemble that at the November Show. Reports from Auckland state that ticketsnatchers were in, evidence at the trotting meeting on Saturday. No doubt the bis ■meeting at Awapuni will draw some of I these undesirables, and it behoves the I police to keep a sharp look-out for them. : The general public can assist by not collecting dividends or purchasing' totalisator tickets for strangers. In what is known as "amongst tho hcade" Biplano is the choice for the Gold Oup, but it is tho general opinion that the weight of public support may niuko the Lowry bracket tho best liked on tho machine, as tho marc is such a staunch favourito with the crowd. Tho support for Biplano is doubtless based or. the old theory that a good thrse-year-old is practically unbeatable in tho autumn, but of courso ho must bo good when he ie opposed by one of tho calibre of Desert Gold. Supporters of the, latter, on the other hand, claim that the mare is nioro seasoned thau the colt and the gruelling paco is not likely, in tho circumstances, to find her out as Quickly as jj, w m tho threc-ycar-old. who can hardly be as forward a-s his keen admlrcre would wish. Ono good judge, in disoussing tho race yesterday, stated that ho did not think Biplane had dono enough, and his argument wae that snrinting five and six furlongs would not Jit an obviously gross colt for a severe ten-furlong race. As was fully anticipated would be tho case the appointment of secretary to the Auckland Racing Club has been conferred on Mr. W. S. Spence. for many years assistant to the lato Mr. Hartland. Bisogno is to bo a runner in the Awapuni Gold Cup, and will be ridden by It. Hatch. Tho Auckland horseman S. Henderson has been engaged to ride Lord Nelson in tho hurdlo events at the Jianawatu Meeting. As usual with tho Manawatu Racing Club tho profits from this week's meeting will go to tho Patriotic Funds. It is sale to say that if the weather keeps flno there will be a very largo sum td hand over, for tho crowd present to see the ' two Australasian champions iu action will he huge 3d.. D. O'Shea, a younger brother ol the well-known Auckland horsomau, had tho misfortune to iraoturo his. leg badly at Awapuni ou Saturday. Ho had just lliiished a round on tho track on Informal, who ran into the fence near tho entrance to th 6 scraping sheds, ile was removed to tho hospital, and is now doing as well ad can bo expected. Tho accident has hap- j pened at a bad time for tho lad, who has been riding particularly well this season, and had several good engagements. j The Welkin colt Outlook, who was recently purchased by Mr. S. P. Jlackay for sfoogns., won £7000 in stakes beforo Mr. Jas. Wilson sold him, so he proved a, very profitable sort of two-year-old.

The imported Half-a-Glass, who is owned in Jlelbouruo by a 'well-known ex-Welling-ton sportsman; won the principal handicap on both days of tho Bendigo Meeting. MANAWATU SCRATCHIMCS. By TeleEraph—Press Association. Palnierston North, April 15. Parisian Diamoud and Sea Lord laave been scratched for all engagements at the Mana/watu Eaciiig Olub'B meeting, and Arlington for tho Karero Hurdles.