TOTES AND COMMENTS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 77, 24 December 1919, Page 8

TOTES AND COMMENTS

(PiY Gr.ENCOE.)

THE HOLIDAY RACING. On Friday next (Boxing Dn-y) Mioro will bo racing "at Ellerslie, Now Plymouth, Awapnni, Poriingahan, and Winsatui. EUERBLIE MEETING. , At the Auckland meeting racing -will commence at noon with the Shortland Plate, one ii'iie. The final acceptors include several Ihree-year-olds, and ns horses of this cpn have a big pull in the weights nn , . , of (ihcir nunibcr uviially i provides the winner, Included in this I year's field is the Mnrliaii colt Jlotnilii, : who has filled a place in good company I on scvcnil occasions. ; The l''n;il Stakes is generally rojarded as iv inalcli Iwlweon Aicorfowl and Huml>ug. When the pair met previously the filly won, but the. chestnut colt has gone on the riiht wpy in the interval, and ho may rever.e the Welcome Stakes placing tiiis linn , . He is a bi<j, awkward colt that requires to be well balanced before he. is put. ;it top speed, and in Gray's hands this part of the business is I likely to be well done. I Of iho liflrcn acceptors for tho 'Cup i nothing will etay better than Vagabond (H, Gray), Mascot (A, Iteed), Karfi (B,

Dccley), and Affectation (R. S. Bngby). Tlio tliroe-ycai'-old is very nicely handicapped with Gst. 131b., and when the crucial lest comes over the last two furlongs the fact that lie is well seasoned, combined will his big pull in the weights, should stand to him. Amongst tlio jumpers competing in the Grafton Hurdles is Step, who has received a lot of prominence of late. Another useful one about the'same murk is Sonnino. a winner, at li.icenrton, but Iho pair will be well tested by Multive, who raced prominently on the flat at Oisborne, and who is probably a bettor stayer than anything else in the race. The Railway Handicap lot is as yoo<l a field as could bo (jot together in the Dominion. Two very useful sprinter.! in Silver Link and lung Imnin ore at tho head of tho handicap, with 9st, lib., and well down tlio list are two cood three-ycar-olds in Miss Mimic. a Champagne Stakes winner, and Murihiku. The lastnamed will set a very fnst pace, and may find out the top weighta, but nnt so Miss Mimic, who can sret six furlowr.' well, and was noticed finishing very fast in tlie Juvenile Plate at Ricenriou.' The Chqkebore filly ha,s every right to the position she holds in public opinion.

MANAWA.I'U MEETING. Nearer home there is the Manawatu summer mretin.? to interest local sportsmen, and the Catherine will be largely patronised by Welliiistomans. A special train will leave Thormlon nt 7.18 a.m., and arrive nt the Avapuni course at 11.8 a.m. The return train will leave the racecourse at 5.15 p.m., and Thorndon will he reached by 10T4 p.m. Racing will commence nt noon with tho Hurdles, one mile and threc-ciunrt»rs The distance is a trifle far for the -■..Kv-ih- of tho-flolrl. Vint a°ninst this the weight may find out Gang A wa , and Maraetotara, and two likely ones at tho bottom of the handicap are tioldstreum and Ricnr.i. There is a very big fiold in the Tn'nl Plate, seven furlonrn, but cla.-s is not a strong'* feature. The two best barked mav be .Admiral Advance r,nd Hallowvonin, both of whom raced prominently at Woodville. / There, is an acceptance of 36 in Win Petrie Hack Handicap, six furlonjrs, but the field will probably be reduced considerably on the day. Early Dawn. Statuette, and Nursing Siste- can nil to fast, and should be handy at the finish. The Jtnnawatu Cup, one mile ami a half, bus brought out a good field. Kil.rush, Crenides, and First Salute have been in the market since the appearance of the accentances, and the trio are sure to race well, but the issue impea r s to be very open, and amongst the'light-weights with chances are Athens II and' Moutoa Ivmiova. For the Nursery Handicap, five furlongs. Woodville form points" strongly to All Ceri-e who is in' at the minimum, but the filly mil be well tried out bv Tessnrc-s, who has Taced with cxasperntinc fortune in her Inst two starts. If reserved for the Tannnin, Wclte.r Handicap, one mile and 55 yards, the Aiicklander Admiral Advance may be one of the favourite' us n. lot of support went his way at Woodville. He may encounter most trouble from Wanping.'who is coming back to form, and Festival, who finished on well at Feilding. Far the open sprint event the English horse Arrnwsmith may be at the shortest price. Since his runaway victory at Woodville the son of Chnucer lias been well in the public eye. He should strip a irreatly-improved horse on Friday, and will have to meet a lot of ill-fortune before he is beaten. He has a very light impost, and will begin with tlife best of them. Several of the acceptors in tbe Grandstand Handicap, o'ie mile and 55 yards, are also in the Fitzherbert Handicap, but their owners will probably pilfer not to bump up against Arrowsmith. Two horses nicely handicapped are Oratress and Goldshine. TARANAKI MEETING. Tho Taranaki fixture is practically a hack meeting, and six of the eight events on the card are reserved for horses of this class. Amongst the runners in the Stewards' Handicap is Sartorine, a place-, getter nt Woodville. j For the Ilnck Hurdles there is a useful field engaged. Njakanui ha.s been going to do something for a long time, and it niieht be his day on • Friday, but he will be kept going , by Te Toa, runner-up to Battle Tide at Takapuna. The Borough Handicap, five furlongs, has the biggest field of the day engaged. Two good sprinters are Kareao, who defeated Ruddy\ at "U'averley, and Generalissimo, n> place-getter in a big field at'Takapuna. l Alteration may be favourite in the Christmas Handicap, in which he will meet a lot of half-ready horses. Simon,, a place-qiotter several times, is the best known of those down to contest the Hna.toki Plate, seven furlong.;, and the conditions of the Tikorangi Hack Stakes, five furlongs, point to' Hie stakes going to the owner of Sweet Memory. ELLERSLIE TRACK WORK. By Telegraph-Press Association. Auckland, December 23. Work at Ellerelie this morning for tho most part was confined to steady pacing tho tan or the No. 3 gross track. Mill o Gowrie did six furlongs in lmin. Msec, and Rekanui took lmin. 20 l-s?ec. MuU/ive, Entente Cordiale, and Sonnino were in that order over four hurdles. Explorer did lihe same task and stopped twice, but got round eventually. Red Ribbon did stron? work on the tan, and milled up sound. Battle Song did steady work, and iapparently all right. TRAINING AT WINGATUI, By Telegrraph-Preas Association. Dunedin, December 23. Ihe weather was rather boisterous at mngntni this morning, but so far the rain h\s done the graw track more good than harm. Kilkee. Eleiis, and Rorke's Drift wero worked a mile on the course in lmin. Msec. Robert Bell led home Kilbrognn over six furlong..; in lmin. 23, Msec. Redshire ran over half a mile in sGsec. Adeline, and Vice Grand took 57sec. over the canto ground. Anh and Twinkle negotiated six furloners in lmin. 24« cc, and Dilatory and Resolution in lmin. 24 l-ssec.