THE KING'S CUP

Evening Star, Issue 19659, 12 September 1927, Page 5

THE KING'S CUP

HIS GIFT TO AUSTRALIA His Excellency the Governor-General of Victoria (Lord Stonehaven) made the following announcement recently “His Majesty the King intends to present a £IOO cup annually, to be tun for in .each State of the Commonwealth once in each six years. The distance and conditions of tin; i ace and the years in which each State will have the cup for competition His Majesty is leaving to the Australian racing authorities to fix at their conference in November next.” Mr L. K. S. Mackhmqn, the chairman of the Victoria Racing Club, expressed the thoughts of the whole of the race-going public of Australia when he said that racing men would bo .keenly appreciative of the King’s action, it is doubtful whether the Australian turf has .ever received a greater fillip, and certainly the sport has never before been paid such a compliment (asys the ‘Australasian’). It is a compliment to the sport of horse racing, and also a unique compliment to the men who conduct oui turf affairs, it demonstrates in a practical manner the keen interest taken in racing, not only in England, but in the British dominions, by His Majesty. The King’s desire that there should bo a King’s Cup run every year is possibly the result of conversations ho has had with the Duke of York, who doubtless told His Majesty of the wide interest in and success of the King’s Cup run at Flemingtdn in April last,'when the Duke and Duchess of York honored Flemiugton with their presence. It is indeed hard to estimate the value of a race like the King’s Cup to the Australian turf. Every owner will be eager to win the coveted trophies, quite apart from betting considerations and the amount of added money. In this way the best that is in the sport will be brought to the forefront. For many years one of the most important even’s of the Indian Turf has been the King Emperor’s cup. That race, which is run over a mile at set weights, carries more than £3,000 in added money, and a hundred-guineas cup presented by the King. In Canada the King annually presents a trophy valued at fifty guineas for the King’s Plate, which is run for at Woodbine, Toronto. ,The King’s Plate is a race for three-year-olds and upwards, tbo property of a British subject residing in Ontario, foaled, raised, and trained iu Ontario, that have never won a race other than one for two-year-olds, have never left Canada, and never more than a month out of the province of Ontario. The race, which is run over nine furlongs, was last year worth 7,560 dollars to the owner of the winner. Strangely enough, the winner has some interest for Australians, as the winner was Haplitc, a thrcc-year-old gelding by Ilapsburg from Lotty land, by Quantock. Quantock is now at tbo stud in New South Wales. The conditions of tho Canadian race are no doubt framed in such a parochial fashion to baulk Americans who may have designs on tbo trophy presented by the King. It will not be necessary to surround the Xing’s Cups run in Australia with such stringent conditions; in fact, the principal racing clubs will no doubt mada every effort to encourage interslate and New Zealand owners to compete. It will bo interesting to see the cass of race that will be decided on ly tbo conference of principal clubs to le held in Melbourne during Cup Week, it first it would seem as if a weiubt-or-age event would be tbo ideal class if race, but if tho race is run over a distance of ground that would mean that the _ field would _ bo small. and while an unwieldy handicap field is not desired it may be possible, by fixing a maximum weight, to avoid overloading the _ good horses and at the same time restricting the race to horses with reasonable prospects of success. The Moouec Valley Pacing Club has an event on its September programme called the Quality Handicap, the maximum weight of widely is 9.0. Tho race has been an unqualified success, and has attracted the best class of horses, and tbo same conditions may servo for tho King’s Cup. Another matter that the conference will have to decide is the order in which the King’s Cup will bo run for by the States._ Whether the conference will also decide the amount of prize money to be given with the trophy is difficult to say, but possibly that will bo left to the discretion of the committees of the clubs concerned. Obviously the Tasmanian Pacing Club could not bo expected to add the same amount of prize money to_ tbo King’s Cup as the_ Victorian Pacing Club or the- Australian Jock'-- Club. Another point that may bo left to the clubs to decide is when the race will be run. Each State has its carnival race meeting, but everv effort should bo made to avoid a clashing of dates - with the King’s Cup Meeting. It is not likely that the Victoria Racing Club will hold the King’s Cup at Melbourne Cup time, but perhaps the committee may substitute tho race for ono of the weight-for-age events at the Australian Cup Meeting. At present nothing lias been decided, and it may not be necessary to come to a decision for years.