NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8348, 7 February 1913, Page 9

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By “The Judge.”) East season Heatherbrae showed form of a very attractive description, but this season she has been somewhat disappointing. However, Sir George Clifford’s mare managed to score at Hawera yesterday, beating a number of rather speedy sprinters. Now that Treadmill’s bay daughter has proved to be back to form it may not be long before she wins again. The Aucklander Goldsize. ran a much better race at Hawera- yesterday than was the case on the opening day, as he was only beaten by a neck by Heatherbrae' in the Waimate Handicap. Perhaps his turn may come at New Plymouth. Ngatiruanui, who was very nicely treated by the handicapper in the Eltham Hurdles yesterday, won that race quite easily. A quick jumper and with plenty of speed on the flat, it looks as though he will prove a particularly useful addition to the hurdling brigade. Bobrikoff was very sore when he contested the Hawera Stakes, but, as the race was run exactly to His liking, ho managed te defeat Masterpiece and 00. It was a case of a stake very easily picked up. Undecided’s time for the Egmont Cup, viz., 2mia 35 2-sseo, constitutes a record for the race, beating Milan’s previous best by 3-sscc. T. Long, who has had a team in work at Feilding, is going to Wanganui to reside. The unlucky Coromandel is once more in trouble. This time a contact with barh-wire brought about some nasty outs. The Now Zealand-bred Gunboat (Calibre— Ripple) beat a field of nine in tbe Macpherson Cup at Calcutta on December 28th. Ho was a good deal fancied for the Emperor’s Cup. to be run Shortly after the mail left. Lady Winsome, the two-year-old sister, to Kakama and Miss Winsome, is still turned out as the result of injuries sustained in the spring, and it is more than likely she will never race again. This is a great pity, as she gave promise of turning out a good one. There appears to be no lack of jumpers in the Auckland province. No less than twenty-five are engaged in each of the hurdle events at the South Auckland (Hamilton) meeting this month. Kakama, who resolutely refused to bo shipped to Sydney the other day, is in steady work at Ellerslie. She will be entered for the A.R.O. Easter Handicap, which event she won last year. Quite a number of the horses which competed at Takapuna got badly out about. Whether this was the result of foul riding, or good fields on a narrow, track, does not clearly appear. Mr Thomas Barr, of Onehunga, purchased Makura (Wairiki —Idas) for 100 guineas after the Takapuna meeting. * Winsome, the dam of two good ones in Kakama and Miss Winsome, missed last year, while this season her foal by Bozeman died. : Worcester, who claims an engagement on the first day of the Taranaki meeting, is a full-brother to Jolie Fille, winner of the Takapuna Cup. He la looked after by the veteran trainer, H. French, who has him very well. A singular fact in connection with the prominent two-year-olds of last season, including Autumnus, Winning Way, Ermengarde, and Prince Soult, is that they have ail failed to win a face oo far this season. A write? in the “ Canterbury Times” throws doubt ou the accuracy of the Imin ISseo said to have been accomplished Tiy Emperador in the Middle Park Plate. “ I am prepared to think” (he writes) “that the field was on the way before the * official * was aware of the fact. Private watches in the trainers’ stand recorded Imin 13 2-sseo, and as the official timekeeper, in almost every instance, is usually from two to four-fifths or a second slower than the private watches, it is reasonable to suppose that upon this occasion he was late in observing the start. Had the race been run in Imin ISseo, 1 do not think that the first four horses would have finished so close together.” It may be interesting te point but, says a Writer in the “Winning Post,” that betting is on the increase in France. Putting aside the clandestine business done by the bookmakers (and goodness kilows that must be enormous, for their number is legion!), the official figures of the Pari-Mutuel prove my statement: in 1907 the receipts amounted to £12,865,000, and though they dropped to £12,159,000 in _ 1908, they have since been steadily rising, thus; 1909, £13,116,000; 1010, £14,980,000; 1911, £16,369,000. And when it is remembered that 3 per cent, of these colossal sums goes to “works of .benevolence,” WO humble punters may justly claim that we are of some practical utility in this mundane sphere. Pari-Mutuel machines are not gambling devices, ruled Magistrate Thursh.of Denver (U.S.A.) recently; and ordered fourteen machines seized by the sheriff at Overland Park, te bo returned to their owner. W. J. Rosemire, of Moscow, was recently in America purchasing trotters for export to Russia, and in addition to Baden (2.051), the greatest money-win-ning trotter of 1912, will take hack to the country of the Czar the season’s leading sire of 2.10 trotters, Jay McGregor (2,071). BLOOD STOCK DEPLETION. The blood stock of the United States is being depleted at such an alarming

rate that the opponents of racing, who were responsible for tho passing of the anti-betting legislation, are beginning to sit up and take notice (says an English paper). Recently the Minnehaha left New York with Peter Pan, by Commanda, and Ort Wells, two of Mr J. R. Keene's stallions, valued at about £20,000 each, and they will in future serve in Franco. Those wholesale shipments of thoroughbreds across tho Atlantic weekly have made tho anti-bet-ing section of tho community realise that if the present rate of exportation is maintained for another -year there will not be a horse worthy of the name of thoroughbred in the whole of tbe States. Messrs Keene, Belmont, Vanderbilt, Duryea, Madden and Kohler have all founded studs in France, and evidently Mr Keene intends to cease breeding at his immense stud in Kentucky. Tho anti-betting legislation has completely wrecked the good work of four or five generations of breeders, who have been spending time and immense amounts of money in trying to raise tho class of thoroughbreds in tbe States. Many good horses have been lost to the country through the stoppage of racing, among them being Rock Sand, Tracery, Sir Martin, Sweeper 11., Colin ana other performers of lesser note. It is believed now that there is a chance of the obnoxious legislation being repealed, and that when tho repeal does come about, anti-gambling legislation will be kept out of tho statute-books for all time. If the Act is repealed, it is likely that all the big breeders will again establish studs in the States, .but it will take many years to recover from tho blow dealt to breeders when racing became impossible at tho big centres of America. During the past two or three years, America has been the cheapest market in tho world for thoroughbreds, and their stock has distributed in all parts of the globe. Many horses bred there are now in Australia, and the Russians have been good buyers of late, and of course France and England have absorbed many more.