DIVOTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 76, 16 April 1937, Page 8

DIVOTS

"The Delver."

Dug by

DON'T FORGET that nominations for the Dannevirke Racing Club's meeting, to be held on the Woodville eourse at the month-end, must be in with the Race Secretary, Mr W. A. Lyon, at Woodville, this (Friday) evening by 8 o'clock. • « * The Canterbury Jockey Club, consequent on the retirement of Mr J. E. Henrys, invites applications, up to 3rd j May, for the position of handicapper to j the club. • « m The best effort of Tuesday mornihg's programme at Te Rapa, says the Waikato Times, was that of Young Paddon, and on tho way he has been working lie should pick up a winning etake soon. He will probably be seen out at the Waikato meeting next month. • • « A New York cable in the Sydney Morning Herald states that the New York Jockey Club has adopted the Australian starting barrier for experimental use on all the metropolitan tracks during the coming season. If it is popular with the public and trainers it will be used in all races. * # » The Canterbury Jockey Club bas renewed the offer of a bonus of £5 for each hunter competing in a jumping event at the Grand National meeting. The bonus is paid to the Hunt at whose meets the horse qualified, and applies to all hunt clubs in the Dominion. * * • The "complete outsider" won a raee m South Africa Tecently. Eluctuation, the winner of the first race at Krugersdorp, was backed neither for a win nor a place, and the consequent dividend of over £90 for a win proved something of a windfall for the West Rand Racing Club. Their "tote" rules evidently differ from our own. • • # The Chief Ruler filly Marjory Daw has been sent down to Woodville, where she will be under the care of B. A. McKay. She was in good order when she left Ellerslie, says the Star, and it would not aurprise to see her make a return to the winning list at an oarly date. Present intentions are to race Marjory Daw at the approaching Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay meetings, after which she will be indulged in a spelh • # • The Kaitaia owner-trainer H. Maria evidently does not believe in even his two-year-olds eating the oats of idleness. His Australian-bred filly Airam has started on no fewer than 25 occasione during the current season. She has paid her way well, as she has earned £880 in. stakes. It will be interestiug to see how she shapes next season after all this racing. « • • • Auckland reports state that Eleetric Plash, who figures in the entries for the hurdle race on the second day of tho Whangarei meeting, has been getting through a soun'd preparation at Ellerslie. She has not had a race for soine time, but has been shaping well in her schooling tasks, and * should soon be back to her best. When this mare first commenced racing she displayed marked jumping ability in minor steeplechase events and she is a likely improver. * • * A Wanganui sport who had to make a business trip to Foxton last Friday morning in his car picked up a stranger who wanted a lift to Awapuni. Just as the car was setting otf from Foxton a friend of the stranger rushed out to him with £10 and asked him to put it on Golden Chest, telling the occupants of the car at the same time a wonderf ul tale and advising them to put a "fiver" each on the gelding. The Wanganui man risked a couple ofpounds and gathered in over £30 as the outcome oi giving a stranger a lift. This shows that it occasionally pays to be neighbourly. * * • For the first time since 1930 the Wellington Steeplechase, the big crosscountry event at the Wellington Racing Club's Winter Meeting wiil carry a Blake of four figures. Substantial adaitions have been made to the prizemoney for all the events, the most notable increases being: Wellington Steeplechase from £750 to £1000 ; Parliamentary Handicap, from £400 to £000 j and Winter Hurdles from £500 to £750. Many of the other events have gone up by £100, the total increaae being £2400. « * • Mr W. H. Gaisford has purchased privately from the breeder, Mr - G. M. Currie, the yearling brown colt by Limond from Jewel of Asia. The colt was oue of the Koatanui batch at the Trentham saies in January, but he was not olfered. He is a brother to the V.R.C. Sires' Produce Stakes wimier, Sir John, and to Farmer. Mr Gaisford has been very successf ul in his choice of yearlings by Limond, he having secured Coinmendation, Mandamus and Courtcraft, while Heritage, By Posterity, was also bought as a yearling. His new purchase comes from a great slaying family. » * • To sliniulate steepiechasing at major race tracks in the Now York area, 30 ' millionaire Turf enthusiasts pooled £18,000 for the importation of 30 French jumpers, On the arrival of tliese horses their names were tossed into a hat and each subscriber became the owner of the horse that was individually drawn, Only three tracks in the New York area, namely, Belmont, Saratoga, and Aqueduct, stage jumping races. The number of top-flight performers had become so small that liurdle fields usually pared down to four or five mounts • • # The Woodville trainer A. E. Russell ls making another trip to Australia, and is due to depart about May 11. The team will comDrise five horses — Maia, Golden Treasure, Brown Oak, Golden Flame and Sports Coat. The first-named pair have previously raced well in Aus-

tralia and should pay their way in the coming venture. Golden Flame is a rising two-year-old 'filly by Lackham from Megalo, and is therefore a fullsister to that brilliant galloper Golden Wings. Sports Coat, of similar age, is by Pink Coat from Jarretiere, by Clareneeux from Madama, by Minstead from Knight's Dame, by Sir Hugo, and was purchased at the yearling saies at Trentham last January for 200gns. # * » The Blandford stalli.on Baffles, who was bought to support Hunting Soiig at Mrs Gaine Carrington 's Hillcrest Stud, Hamilton, is due to arrive in New Zealand this week. This liorse was sold as a yearling for 6000 guineas, and six of the progeny of his dam, Waffles, sold for an aggregate of 30,000 guineas as yearlings. Baffles is bred on the same lines as Bahram, both being by Blandford from a uiare in-bred to St. Siinon. Buckwheat, sire of Waffles, was from Sesame, by St. Simon, and the dam of Waffles, Lady Mischief, was also a daughter of that great progenitor. The greatest racing eon of Waffles was Manna, who was sold as a colt for 6300 guineas, and won the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby, his stake winnings being £23,534. Manna has also been a great sueeess at the stud. # * # There have been many bargains in horses, but it is questionable whether any horse owner ever struck a better bargain. than did Dr. G. A. Vivers, who races the Sydney Cup winner Mestoravon in partnership with Mr H. Matthews, says "Musket." In 1932 Dr. Vivers purchased from Mr S. S. Cohen, a well-known city business man, the bay brood mare Clcely Gosling and three of her progeny. The first of the three offspring was a tWo-year-old colt named Pharanite, by . Pharan, the second was a yearling colt by Polymestor afterwards named Mestoravon, and the third was a filly foal by Backwood, who now races as Avonwood. And all Dr. Vivers gave for Cieely Gosling and her two sons and a daughter was £75. • * # Alunga,' beaten out of the money on che first day of the Manawatu meeting last week (says a soutfiern writer), improved considerably in winning the Lockwood Hack Handicap on Saturday most decisively from a similar field. Though he drew an outside marble, he was prominent from the start, and, after moving past Fossicker at the halfmile and then the leading Gironde at the three furlongs, he slipped elean away in the straight and won with the most consummate ease by three lengths. Alunga gained his first success unexpectedly on the course at Christmas and this was his third win to date, but he has been raeing only about four months in all, and he is one who should go on to the best company next season. A son of Spear Dance and the Waitiki mare Wee Rose, the dam also of Eager Rose and Sweet Rose, . two good performers in the Auckland district, and he is owned in Wellington by Mr J. L. Cheeseman, who formerly had Brown Pearl. He is a member of T. R. George's team and is one of the best gallopers on the Trentham track at present. * « « The three-year-old Gay Talkie has been purchased from Mr L. G. Abel by Mr A. D. Potter acting on behalf of the Maharajah of Idar, and will do his future racing in lndia. A substantial four-figure price was paid for viay Talkie, and he -is to join- the stable of tb.9 former New Zealand jockey, L. EL Hewitt, who earlier in the year won the rich Eclipse Stakes. with Heritage. Ihe date of Gay Tallde 's departure has not been definitely fixed, but he will probably be shipped to his new home about a month hence in the charge of I- Tucker, who has trained him for his raees this season. Gay Talkie is a good type of bay colt by Gay Shield from Picture, by St. Amans from Shower Gold, by Marble Arch from Merry Nif. Picture is a halfsister to King Lu, and Merry Nif was tbe dam of General Latour, who sired Karapoti, Te Kara, and Gallio. Gay Talkie has made steady improvement during the current season, and his most important success was gained when he won the H. O. Nolan Handicap, one mile and a-half, at Ellerslie last month.