NOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 15, 12 October 1918, Page 9

NOTES AND COMMENTS

• /' rBY GLBNCOS.I Tho Dunodin mooting will bo concluded to-day. Tho principal event 1b tho Ranfurly Handicap, run over a. milo course. Acceptances' for the- Wavcrley mooting close on.. Wednesday next, at 8 o'clock. To-day will see tho cloao of.the A.J.O. meoting. at Eandvrfek, when tho Randwick Plate (two mileß), "Waverloy Handicap (one milo and threo-quartere), and tho Grantham Stakes (olio mile), will be run. The Randwick , Stakes event haß only brought forth a. fair field, and as for out-and-out-stayers'tho field ia without one.' Lingle and Bursar are, perhaps, tho best.of tho field in that,line. Lingle was beaten by a short half head in the Melbourne Cup, whilo Bursar' won tho Stakes in 1916, and was third in 1917. Trafalgar won tho race four- years in succession, but thero is nothing racing in Australasia to-day to carry big weights and 'stay like tho son of Wallace. Desert Gold was nominated, but Mr - . Lowry may elect to lot the daughter of All Black remain in her box till tho V.R.O. meeting comes up for decision. With .Gloaming out of tho way Finmark should be-woll favoured for the Grantham Stakes. The first horse (Woorawa) and third horao (Princos's Clara) in tho Roschill Guineas aro engaged, and the meeting of tho trio should, decide whether Roschill form waa true. Tho Waverley Handicap contains Rebus and Arch Marclla, also .tho Spring Stakes winner, Poitrcl.

Tho Caulfield Cup meoting will be com- ; menced at Caulfield to-day, when the Caulfield Guineas, Stakca, and Toorak Handicap will bo dcoided. There is not a Now \ Zealand horse engaged in tho 'Stakca—a \ raco in which horses well known to Now Zoaland turf followers havo , been fairly succesßful. In 1904 Gladsome won tho Stakes, while Canteen was third., In 1906 Solution won. Lady Medallist is the next familiar name, she' having run third in 1911. In 1913 tho Soult maro, Anna Carlovna, raced by Mr. Hugo Friodlander, and afterwards by Mi - . E. A; Connolly, finished third, but alio mado amends tho following year by winning from Undo Sam and Philio. KTiuoy in 1916 ran second , to Laven'So, who was recently sold, and ia now at tho-, stud. . Last year thero was not" a candidate from this Dominion I for honours, and* tho raco went to tho imported Lanius. : This year tho imported pair, Magpie and Ooq d'Or, promise to bo tho favourites. -Tho Guineas is run over a milo course, and closed with a ' subscription of 284 horses. Amongst tho names noticed among tho nominations aro Steel Wings (aißter to Biplano), Northern Crown (a filly by White Star from GladBome), Tragic Star (a colt by White Star from Tragedy Queen, dam of Comedy King), a filly by The Welkin from Arniigera ,(a eister to the crack Australian sprinter Poitrina), and. tho colt Irish Guard -(Kilbroney—Prank), who was sold privately after Kilfiinn defeated Desert Gold in tho North Island Ohallengo Stakos at Trentliam in 1917. Outlook is also engaged, and may be the'' nick of the backers, though his form in the A.J.O. Derby was poor. Tho Toorak Handicap i is also run oyer a milo oourso, and has j drawn a good 'field. The hardest to beat appears to bo Rael Locin, who won tho race in 1916, and finished second last year. Ho has been allotted Bst. 71b., and cabled reports from Caulfield are to the effect that the Delaware horse has been working well on tho tracks there. As to tho extont that handicappers differ, the following table 61' some of tho horses in the Shorts Handicap at Trcntham and tho -Stewards' Handicap at Riccarton, is interesting... Mr. 11. Coyle was responsible for tho ' Trentham weights, whilo Mr. J. E. Henrys made tho Ohristohurch adjustments. Wgtn. ' Ohoh. ■■ ■ ■ St. lb; st. lb. Croesus 9 11 9 i Hymestra 9 6 9 6. Parisian Diamond 9 4 9.3 Waimatao 9 1 8 13 Acre 810 8 9 Nystad 8 10 8 9 Nanna, ;.., 8 5 8 1 Wrestler 8 2 711 , Demos 8 0 7 7 , Torfreda 7 12 7 10 It will bo seen by tho abovo figures 'that Mr. Coylo estimated his- adjustments on a higher acalo that Mr. Henrys, but both handicappers kept tho horses "pretty well together. The noticeablo difference is the weighting of Demoa and Torfreda. Mr. • Coylo assessed Demos as .two pounds better than Torfreda, whereas Mr. Henrys seta Torfreda to give Demos three pounds. As with' doctors, so with handicappers. H. Yonng has been retained to do the riding for the Ohokeboi'o Stables for tho present season. . 'There died in Australia recently the brood maro Sweet Nell (Haut.Brion—Novelotto), who won -tho Caulfield Guineas, Caulfiold Cup, and Y<R.C. Oaks of 1903. As a !,dain she was not very successful, but one of her progeny in Katiga won the. Ascot Thousand last month. \ How have the mighty fallen! "Biplane was passed in at 1700 guineas,"' stated a measago from Sydney yesterday. A year ago, when Biplane was sweeping all before him, several extravagant offers were made for the Oomody, King horse, and if ho had been put up at auction then ho would have fetched at least 6000 guineas. It now remains to be seen if R. J. Mason will epell tho brown horso and take him up after the spell anil try to got him fit for racing again, or retire him to tho stud. Truly Biplano has had a chequered career. The trip made to Sydney by Mr. W. Richmond's team cannot be said to be anything but a failure so far. St. Elmn Btarted in the Stecplechaso and finished third, winning 40 sovs. ' Ho then broko down. The other two members, Impediment and Lingerie, have, up to tho pre- | sent, failed to emerge from the aIBO i started" division, but there is-.still a chance left for the pair to .win stakemoney to-day. Tho defection of St. Elmn from the Dowling Steeplechase to be run at Randwick to-day, leaves New Zealand without an entry in thai race. _ Tho victory of Killowen in tho A.J.O. Cllbboru Stakes gave Mr. Lowry his second victory in that event, the Hawkos Bay owner having won with Soltano in King Lupin, who went off tho .sccno last summer after running unplaced in tho Newmarket Handicap, and who haß not raced in tho interval, would appear tohavo come round, for ho figures among the •entrants for the Railway Handicap, Islington Plate, and Summer Gun, to be run at th» A.R.O. Summer Meeting. Ronald Conway, tho Auckland jockoy, 'is returning to New Zealand shortly in draft No. 186. Conway won the Military Medal for an act of bravery whilst in Franco. A salo of aome of the Bus-yr Park yearlings will bo held at Feilding on November 30. '