Turf Notes

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 138, 7 December 1929, Page 25

Turf Notes

By "Veostte"

Next Week. The WoodvilJo Meeting on Wednesday and ihursday and tho Waipa Meeting ou Saturday are uext week's racing fixtures .Nominations for the Taranaki J.C. and btratiord Meetings close on Monday dominations for the Marton New Year Meeting close nest Friday. . Handicap's for the Manawatu R.C. Meeting are due on Friday. Acceptances for i;lie Kgmont Bucins Club's Meeting close ou Friday. Ready for Action. The three-year-old Tobaccoland -is engaged m the maiden events at Woodville next week, and he is in good order. His owner Mr HP. F. Blundell, returns troin abroad on Tuesday, and lie will have a representative all ready to carry his colours prominently. Those who noticed lobaceoland at the Levin Meeting will have aim on their side in future. Woodville Acceptances. +J,l^7 ao je^an?es for tha opening day of light up to expectations, and the cnsto Sm y fnU? bf rvS £ g°°d CIaSS hol'ses with important holiday engagements will be l? S e r^fk4 aSand bViOtnf <%*»s£■ iT'%n° S}?r h>?V> reads 'very well in fnd Jh t Ha"dlca P' a>'d in this field, judged on her Kiecartou form, she should tie hard to beat. She may find Mountain Heath who was unlucky at Levin, the most troublesome. Star Stranger will ■hardly be considered in the Oete HaudiCaii ?If , SIX furlo"gs- Admiral Drake and Atholspear should both bo well suited by the course, and Royal Duke is another entitled to some consideration rM/T P°S tS xt° Admiral Drake, decently lidden. The Nursery Handicap should be one ot the most interesting events of the day. Princess Betty has the winning torm, but Cylinder, Kahikatoa, and Ta jean have all shown galloping ability, and there will be some notice taken of the first effort of Tenterden. The hack races and other remaining events measure urj well with the principal handicaps. Manawatu Nominations. r-T^u. 6 P°Pular% of Manawatu Racine Club s Summer Meeting is once again" emphasised, by the lengthy list of nominations received for the fixture. The Managatu Cup list contains the names of Eabbi, Cashier, Great Charter, Concenti ate Shrewd, SJver Paper, Kick Oif, J3nght Glow, Arrow Lad, Piuthair, Seatoivn, Spearmiss, sufficient in themselves ior a good class field. Paganelli and Cimabue have both been left in the Palmeretoiv North Stakes, so they will be able a°, ? , S. ut agaiu theil' Gilding battle. Admiral Drake, Hunting Cry, and ChryBology are also in the race after first forfeits were paid. Taken all through the prospects for another successful Christmas gathering at Awapuni seem certain. iThe Auckland Classics. Honour has not frightened owners of cither three-year-olds in the Great Northern Derby, and Count Palatine and JSaglet, who followed him home at Riceartou, have had then- engagements continued ior them in the Northern classic. Hunting Cry, Duellona, Jaloux, Taurua, Vali, and .Royal Parade have all shown improving form, and they are likely to form a worthy complement to the other three. With Praise, Royal Ruler, Gesture, Cylinder, Chrysology, and Tenterden engaged" in the Foal Stakes, Boxing Day at Ellerslie should see some finality reached as to the jmality of . the juveniles of the season. Praise, Gesture, and Royal Ruler all have their admirers, and as they have not met to date, their respective merits is solely a. matter of opinion. On the day all three may be beaten by one of the .others who are doubtless improvers. Tha Royal Stakes, decided late in the meeting, is usually a very good race, but earlioy form has so decided a bearing on this event that any early comment on the. prospects is quite impossible. It has sees some rare upsets. There is plenty of quality represented by those left in this race. Eemont Handicaps. The weights issued for the Eginont Racing Club's first day make a brave showing, and to judge by the booking of accommodation the club should have a good acceptance. ■ Star Stranger, of course, is in pride o£ place in the Egtnont Cup, and ■ the race should be of great value as part of his Auckland Cup preparation. At 9.4 he is not badly treated, and Rabbi is now assessed as a good handicap horse witliin •-lib of him. Paganelli at 8.12 can be regarded as a doubtful runner. Concentrate is another Auckland Cup candidate who should he all the better for his racing at Haw-era. Seatown at 8.2 on his Riccarton and Trentham form reads very well, and it will be- interesting to see how Silvermine shapes at 7.12 over ten furlongs. He iias a luxurious weight, and may go really well on this small course. First Acre, Yoma, Atholspear, Shrewd, and Spearmiss must all bo included amongst the possibilities at this stage. A smart field looks likely in the Flying Handicap, with Auckland Railway Handicap, candidates engaged in Cimabue, Lady Quex, Havering, Llanorc, and Royal Duke. This is the type of race which may be selected for Ridgeraount, and Gold Dawn lias only to improve a little on Feildin" form to hold her own. Dolomite appears to have caught his share ot weight in the Nolan Gold Cup, but looking back at his last win, in the Otaio Plate at Riccarton, the handicapper had an awkward task with him. That good hack Richfield no doubt will be one of the favourites, and real improvers in Vali, Austerity, Wake Up, Imateagirl, and Chopin will all have friends. The juvenile handicap and the remaining races all look like providing good racing. A Hundred Per Cent. It is seldom that a race meeting is completed without use being made of the scratching pen. It was matter for comment at Caulfield on Saturday, 16th November, thererore that the whole of the 79 acceptors -for the various events should go to the post. Another interesting fact is that not one of the nine starters in the Tara Steeplechase met with mishap. "Very unusual, if not a record," was the comment of the secretary of the V.A.T.C jpl?- a'-A- Tabart) when clisciissiug these tacts after the last race. The Next King's Cup. The King's Gold Cup race, established by King George in ]927, when the Duke and Duchess of York were in Australia, will be run in Adelaide on 17th May next year The King, who each year presents a gold cup worth £100, asked that the cup race be run in the capitals of the States m rotation. Already the Cup lias been Melbo"rne» Sydney, and Brisbane. -■it.tJie last meeting of the committee of th .° S-A.J.C. it was decided that the race would be run at Morphetville on the third ™y °£ the Adelaide Cup Meeting of 1930 J.he Governor-General and Lady Stone- ;? VeU h, a\ e informed the S.A.J.C. that tney will be present to see the race run and Lord Stonehaven will present the cup to the winning owner. Under the conditions iramed at a conference of the principal racing clubs of the Commonwealth m^November, 1927, the value of the stake than lYnn 6n Cv, P ™S fixed at not less tnan £1000, and not more than £2000 The maximum _ weight to be allotted is S.o, and the minimum 7.0. The distanr« I will 8??* bV ne mfle a£d a Edf! HinYli! tak\. tle, P^ce of the S.A.J.C Handicap which has always been run on Thp a'i n-7 n tU? AdelaMe Cl 'P fi^ Racing into Form. Because of place-betting there has been a revival of discussion o( the riZs-m rule and also as a corollary therichinto form ot unlit horses ViS° Far•too, many owners allow their hereto be started in. races when they are in no condition to give anything like their true form. The average racegoer has lit He time to look over the horse? beForo they go to the post and satisfy themsclws regarding their condition. Many of them would not know whathor a hov«e w-ts li or not, says "The Leader." They the, fore tKKe it for granted that the horsf jnußt be Ml i-igJit, otherwise it would not bu started, so tney bet accordingly, some

times with disastrous results. Nobody would cavil at a green two-year-old being given an educational run. That is a necessity, but the position is entirely different when proved performers are sent to tho post in no condition to show anything like their real form. Good owners do not do that sort of' thing, as they will not allow their horses to run unless they are fairly fit. The late Mr. J. N. M'Arthur set a flue example in that respect. He would not allow any horse be-, longing to him to b 2 started unless it was really well forward in condition and had v reasonably good chance of giving its best. He had a strong objection to his horses being trained in races, and held that tho proper place to train a horse is the training track, and not the racecourse. Many other owners racing to-day adopt the policy of Mr. M'Arthur, and the betting public know that when their horses are running they can back them with confidence. If a trainer knows his business lie can get a horse fit without allowing it to run itself into condition ni races. James Scobie has given some I fine examples of that of recent years. He did not give Bitalli any preliminary traiuing in races for the Melbourne Cup *he won. Bitalli had not been out for months, before lie won the Melbourne Cup. King Ingoda was not produced until Derby Day" when he won tho Hothani Handicap, and three days later scored in the Melbourne Cup. Trivalvo was sent to tha post fit enough to win the A.J.C. Derby without any preliminary racing, and a similar policy was adopted with Carradale this year, as he had no racing between Easter and Derby Day at Randwiek. Yet he beat all. but Phar Lap. For years Holt lias been farming the weight-for-age races m the first two mouths of the racing season m Melbourne. He always had his horses fit to win. the Underwood Stakes ? r Memsie Stakes without previous racing They were made fit on the training tracks. If Holt and Scobie can get their horses, fat without running a few preliminary "Byes,", surely other trainers can do,i t) too. When they send a horse to the post for a race it is in a condition to stand riding out with hands and heels to get a place. If more owners would insist upon their horses, being fit before they were started in a race, racing would be much cleaner and more interesting than it is now. Few jockeys would be told the horses they are riding " are not ready, so don t knock him about." If the stewards saw that horses were judiciously ridden put for places there would be less incentive to start half-fit horses in races Uood owners do not start unfit horses. '