RACING NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 19793, 17 February 1928, Page 9

RACING NOTES

[By St. Claib.]

RACING FIXTURES. February 18.—Wanganui J.C. February 18.—Canterbury J.C. February 22, 23,—Gore Racing Club. February 23.—Waiapu R.C. February 24, 25.—Woodville J.C. Febmary 25, 27.—Te Aroha J.C. February 29, March I.—Dannevirke R.C, March 1, 3.—Marlborough R.C. March 3.—Banks Peninsula 8.0. March 9, 10.—Napier Park B.C. March 10. 12.—Franklin K.C. March 15.—Waimate R.C. March J.7.—Opunake R.C.

TROTTING FIXTURES. February 18, 22.—Otahubu T.C. February 25.—Greymouth T.C. February 25.—KaRoura T.C. February 27.—Inangabua T.C. March 2.—Marlborough T.C. March 2, 3.—lnvercargill T.C. March 7.—Manawatu T.C. Marcfi 8, lOr—Timaru T.C. March 15, 17.—New Brighton T.C. April 7, 9.—Hawera T.U.

best results could, be achieved if they were always kept in semi-racing condition. Man o’ War, for instance, was a wonder in his first season, and Mr Brossman is of opinion that if he were put into light training he would again head the list of winning sires. He argues that a pampered, dabby-muscled stallion is not as likely to sire as rugged a set of foals as one that is hard, lusty, and vigorous, and it is difficult to gainsay that contention.

THE DUNEDIN GUP MEETING

With climatic conditions almost perfect and excellent nominations last week’s Cup Meeting should have been one of the most successful in the long history of the club. But it was not, and the executive of the club must look for the reasons.

The hard state of tho tracks, both lor training operations and the racing on the opening day was no doubt responsible for a large number of horses not fulfilling their engagements. Within seven weeks of the Cup Meeting commencing there was a lot of racing in Otago and Southland—viz., two clays at Wingatui, one each at Wyndham and Waikouaiti, two at Invercargill, two at Vincent, one each at Wairio and - Tapanui, one day’s trotting each at Gore and Winton, and two days at Forbury Park. Fourteen days in all, and with the two days last week at Wingatui, sixteen days in all, or nearly one every other day in the period under review. Too much for the horses and far too many days for the public, who not only get tired of so much racing in one short period, but also line! it far beyond their ability to spare either the time or money to patronise all the meetings. For oyer forty years the Dunedin Cup itself was one of the two most important handicaps in tho South Island, but conditions have changed since then, and it might be profitable to the executive to consider changing the date, as it is quite apparent that the present date is not a suitable one either to the owners or the public. Most clubs when they start changing dates have a difficulty in finding a vacant place in the calendar, but not with the Dunedin Jockey Club, for it has already four fixtures iu the year, and by changing the Summer and Autumn Meetings tho executive would not have to look for fresh dates. In taking Boxing Day and the following day away from two country clubs some years ago, the club secured a public holiday—days which every other club in tho dominion who races on thorn have found them a most valuable asset. The meeting held on these days by the Dunedin Jockey Club has never assumed the importance nor attracted tho attention that it should have, and since the Southland and Wyndham Clubs have increased their stakes they have made the local meeting, almost a secondary fixture, and unless sdme change is made the Waikouaiti Meeting on New Year’s Day will also leave it behind in the way of stakes. The Waikouaiti Club is wealthy enough now to do so without any risk financially, and its New Year’s Day fixture has become a most popular one. With almost as good a holiday, why cannot the local meeting, with all the good appointments, be made as popular? If the Dunedin Cup and the Publicans’ and Dunedin Jockey Club Handicaps were transferred to tho Christmas Meeting, and tho Otago, Federal, and St. Andrew’s Handicaps to the Autumn Meeting, owners would then have the finest circuit of meetings with big stakes in the dominion. Commencing at Wingatui on December 26 and 27, horses could follow' on to Wyndham on January 1 and Invercargill on January 2 and 3, and each club would then be helping the other. The local committee could roly on each of the Southland clubs rising to the occasion, and the good stakes they now offer would be increased to assist the Dunedin Jockey Club in attracting the best horses, and in tho course of throe or four seasons

there would be throe for certain, and probably four or five handicaps each endowed with £I,OOO or better stakes. The local club has yet to do something to attract flic best owners, and a number of big stakes arc the quickest and surest way of getting them. One of the big advantages of this idea is the excellent advertising that each of the three meetings would get. A booklet programme of five days’ racing, distributing £IO,OOO or more in stakes in the five days, would be an inducement to many owners in the country to consider, and each club would'bo advertising the others’ meetings.

SELECTING YEARLINGS

Even the best judges of horses cannot select yearlings that are certain to gallop. At the instigation of prominent trainers, says “ Pilot,” in the Sydney ‘ Referee,’ 1 have seen high prices paid for yearlings that were never worth as many shillings as they cost guineas. It will always be the same When I see prominent trainers leading prospective clients round the stables of Messrs W Inglis and Son and Chisholm and Co. at yearling sales time, I often wonder what are the odds against any picking something that will develop into a first-class racehorse. They may select youngsters thiifc fill requirements in respect of breeding and conformation, but there is still the uncertainty of whether they will be gallopers. It would hurt the vanity of some of our trainers if I were to enumerate the high-priced “duds” bought on their recommendation, but it is the same the world over.

] The most carefully thought out mating will not always assure a satisfactory result—in fact, the exception is 'the rule. In 1926, the Harzburg Stud isent fourteen scientifically-bred youngsters from Germany to America for isale.

It was agreed they were all that could be desired so far as breeding, color, and conformation were concerned, and they realised good prices Between them they won two races last year—one of the value of £l4O, and the other of £2OO.

Commenting on this, the veteran American authority, Chas. E. Brossman, wrote as follows;

“No man can go into the paddock and select what will be the best racehorse out of a bunch of yearlings, neither can anyone tell which of the untried sires or brood mares will prove the ••■best producers of speed and gameness. All these different theories of breeding are all very nice, but. the great trouble is none of them will work consistently. The mare best liked may be a great disappointment, and another mare, little regarded, may turn out to be a great producer. I have seen it happen that way many times in my lifetime, and it will continue to happen as long as the horse-breeding business exists,”

_ Mr Brossman then had a dig at theorists, and pointed out that notwithstanding the contention that mares lost their vitality and produced inferior foals after they had reached the age of fifteen or sixteen. Some of America’s best horses bad come from mares of twenty or older/ Again, however, that would be the exception. Bearing on stallions, Mr Brossman points out that as so many got their best horse in their first season, when they were neither fat nor flabby, there was good reason for supposing that

JOTTINGS

Acceptances for the first day of the Gore Meeting close to-day. Nominations for the Southland Trotting Club’s Meeting close this afternoon at 5 o’clock. The midsummer meeting of the Canterbury Jockey club will be held tomorrow.

It is a conservative estimate in fixing the cost to the club of Limerick’s visit to Wingatui last week at £250. Countersign found the going on Saturday more to her liking than any track she has raced on this season, and she ran two good races. With softer tracks later on in the autumn she should get on the winning list again. The Gore Racing Club’s Autumn Meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

The fields last Saturday would have been larger had some trainers known before the acceptances closed that the

course was going to have the sting out of it.

The Nelson Meeting to have been held next week has been abandoned owing to lack of support from owners. The Gore course has benefited by the good showers of rain this week, and will be in first-class order for next week’s meeting. Rhondda, who is in E. P. Ellis’s stable at Timaru, is to be schooled over steeplechase country, and will probably be raced at the Otautau and Southland Meetings, which will open the coming steeplechase meetings. The long spell of exceptionally hot weather experienced this summer has •had the effect of making all the tracks unusually hard, and they have found out many weak spots in the horses in training. This means that the fields for all autumn meetings are likely to be smaller than usual. Had the Dunedin Cup Meeting -been held just one week earlier a very large number of country people who were in town for the wool sale would probably have gone out to Wingatui. The attendances each day last week did not include as many visitors from the country as are seen at the other meetings of the club. ‘‘.Courses for horses ” is a very old saying in racing, and it certainly applies to Black Duke at Wingatui. He has run some very bad races on other

tracks, but whenever he races on his home track he invariably shows his best form.

It is reported that Mr J. E. Henrys, the well-known handicapper. was amongst the, many who telegraphed the club offering any assistance he ■ could give when ho heard of the fatal motor smash that caused Mr. Biggins’s death just before the Dunedin Cup Meeting. Fenham, who won the maiden race at the Clifden Meeting, is by the imported horse Fleetham from a mine named Miss Glen. The latter showed form herself before getting hurt in an accident, and was the dam of Glenham, a horse that won a stake or two in Southland, Fenham commenced his winning career at the Tokanui-Fortrose Hack Meeting the previous week, where he won a double very easily, and carried big weights. He is only a three-year-old, and looks like making a useful hack. ,

Gong, who got on the winning list at the Clifden Meeting, is a six-year-old gelding by Burrangong, a horse that won a number of races in Otago, including a Wyndham Cup, from Folicle, who was the dam of Jock. The latter won the Southland Cup and the Birthday Handicap in 1920, and a number of other races, and was sold by the Messrs Trail Bros, to Mr L. P. Murphy, of Timaru, for £SOO. For the latter he won a race or two on the flat, and also a hurdle race. Gong is not unlike him in appearance, and his owner informed me at Clifden that he is also a good jumper. It was originally understood that the appointment of two stipendiary stewards to fill the vacancies caused by the resignations of Messrs H. Davey and A. G. Mabee would be made on Saturday last, ItfJs now announced that the final selection will not be made till March. One Christchurch trainer was a penny foolisli and a pound wise at the Dunedin Meeting. On Friday ho started a well-performed horse on soft courses on the hard track, on which she did not have a dog's chance. On, Saturday she was engaged in an easy field, and on the softer going would hyVe been a racecourse certainty, but he would not accept, as the going was still hard at acceptance time. As her owner bad one good stake at the meeting given to him, an extra acceptance fee to the club would not have hurt him. Some members of the Dunedin Jockey Club have very poor ideas of belying their club, and, instead of boosting the meetings ; they go about the streets complaining of the accommodation provided for them, and generally condemning the club’s fixtures, yet they will go to other meetings in the province where there are no conveniences for them to see a race from. Loyalty, like charity, begins at home, and when the club is having a bad run, as it is at present, they should do all they can to help it along. There are many citizens in the town who should be, but are hot, members; but there are also many names on the present list of members who the club could do without. I refer particularly to those members who make a habit of handing over their members' privileges to outsiders. But, perhaps, they have not noticed that when doing this they are committing a punishable offence! In an effort to emulate the deeds of the Wootton brothers, Bullock, Carslake, Dempsey, and other Australian jockeys who built up a reputation on the other side of the world. W. Burn left Sydney for England last week. Able to go to scale at 7.0, the lad has done plenty of riding during recent months, and he is generally regarded a - one of the best apprentices about just. now. .Burn uses hfs head in running and vigor is not wanting when he is placed in a tight corner. He is a son of W. P. Burn, a great rider of veart gone by. His indentures with J. Donohoe ordinarily would not have terminated until January, 1929, but the trainer agreed to a cancellation so that Burn would not miss an excellent chance. The boy left under the guidance of E. T, O’Sullivan, an Australian, who has had experience as an owner and trainer in England. ,

Australia does not appear to have been represented among the buyers at the big New York sale of trotting stock

last December (writes J. S. Walford in the ‘Trotting Record’). European countries that bought extensively were Austria, Germany,' Bavaria, and Italy. Two English buyers were J. Topping and C. Smith, of "Blackpool. Australian buyers would not have competition from the Europeans, as the latter buy only trotters, while an Australian would prefer a pacer. There were comparatively few pacers among the horses sold, and in the majority of cases the males were geldings. A pacing two-year-old filly with' a 2.12 J record called Signal Speed was sold for £1,280. Her breeding was given by Signal Peter from Zoma Speed. She was bought privately Li- £4OO and resold in the ring for £1,280. The filly was sent to her new owner’s place in Buffalo, and it was aft wards stated her breeding could not be substantiated. Suits of various kinds were filed, including an injunction against the auctioneers for carrying out the terms of sale. Among the early American importations to Australia many fictitious _ pedigrees were given horses. In one instance a horse was purchased in America with a royal pedigree. The horse and the pedigree were all right, but that horse never came to Australia, another being shipped in its place. The horse tiiat came did not know how to trot, and, although he had every chance at the stud, he sired but one horse that showed any inclination to trot, and that horse was out of a mare that was one of the most regally bred in Australia.