RACING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 448, 16 March 1912, Page 6

RACING.

The declaration of the weights for the chief events at the Auckland Racing Club's Easter meeting will give rise to a great daal of interest in sporting circles. The Easter Handicap is always a very oven event, and is made the medium of a great amount of speculation. So many horses can gallop a mile that a big field ia always assured, and with the weights on anything like a reasonable scale, the contest is full of interest. Among the heavy-weight division the top weight, Master Soult can safely be written out, and it is extremley unlikely Los Angelos will make the journey. In placing Dearest within four pounds of her redoubtable brother, the handicapper has given the mare her deserts, and the recent victories of Dearest have evidently created a deep impression. On the whole the race is notable for the number of brilliant mares engaged, and there is every likelihood of one of the weaker sex scoring a win. In Dearest, Gipsy Belle, Kakama, Miss Winsome and Antoinette, there is a quintette that would be difficult to beat in any company.

The Wellington Times sporting authority, in commenting on tho suspension of H. Gray, says:—The suspension of Hector Gray for twelve months by the stewards of the Dannevirko Racing Club caused something of a sensation in the turf world. There can be no doubt that a very large amount of foul riding has been seen at many meetings of late, but stewards have either not noticed it, or else been unwilling to act, fearing that any finding they might have come to would b9 reversed by the Appeal Board. There is not a shadow of doubt that the last two decisions of the appeal judges have done an infinity of harm to the turf in this direction. The Dannevirke stewards, however, have had the courage of their opinions. After witnessing what happened in the Telephone Handicap they held a meeting at which it wa3 resolved that "Havng seen Gray's riding and heard his explanation of it, we find as a fact that he deliberately and obviously rode his mount not to win, we find as a fact that he deliberately interfered with Ladino's chance of winning. He 13 accordingly disqualified for twelve months." Those who witnessed the race could come to no other opinion, for the attempt to jostle Ladino out of any chance of winning was indeed obvious. Park Tide, the winner of the race in question, was only moderately supported on the first day and finished out of a place, but on the second day the chestnut mare was a red-hot favourite. It would be interesting to know why this was the case. In this connection it may be pointed out that a Rule of Racing states that "No jockey shall bet on any horse in any race in which he rides except on the horse ridden by himself, and then only through or with the permission of the owner." It is an open secret that this rule is broken in nearly every race that is run, and this is the main factor which accounts for the foul riding which is so rampant today. It is to be hoped that the stand taken by the Dannevirke Club stewards will act as a warning to other riders, in which case it wiTl have done much to remedy a very undesirable state of affairs.

The Fielding Jockey Club has appointed Mr R. H. Skipwith to act as starter in place of Mr T. Cameron, who has resigned. Since he first took up the duties of starter two or three seasons ago, Mr Skipwith has rapidly come to the front as a first-class man atthe barrier, and it is evident that his good work is appreciated, judg' ing from the number of important meetings at which the Wellington man new controls the lever. The big match at Flemington on Saturday between Wolawa and Tadanga for £SOO a-side seems like a whiff of old times. Nowadays a snorting match at a race meeting is a great rarity, but time was when it was a very common occurrence, and the old chronicles are full of descriptions of events of the kind. Wolawa, the winner of Saturday's match, must be an exceptionally smart two-year-old for he was credited with running the straight six furlongs in 1.12g. He carried 8.5 and was not pressed at the end. Had he been ridden right home it is quite possible that the colt might have equalled the Australasian record of 1.32J put up by the Auckland-bred Soultline at Randswick in 1908. Both Wolawa and Tandanga are grandsons of Carbine.