NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8357, 18 February 1913, Page 9

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By “The Judge.”) The Woodvillo Jockey Club will make a commencement with the autumn meeting to-morrow, and this looks hko proving a successful function, as tner© are some useful fields engaged in nearly every ©vent, and there is the promise of some interesting sport. The chief event is the Cup, and this has ed the smallest acceptance. So many of our horses cannot stay out even a mile and a quarter nowadays. Lady Moutoa is top weight, and is a good deal fancied. If a strong boy is up on Mangaroa she will come in for good support, hut not otherwise. It is quite likely Bonnie Boy may start favourite. Distinction has a weight he will appreciate after that he has been accustomed to. If he can stay tho distance, which some people doubt, ho should be right in the fighting line all the way. It should be a good race. There are some smart sprinters engaged in the Telephone Handicap at Woodville. Old iNaumai is engaged, and he is sure to be acting as pilot to the field during the early stages, but seems unable to run the five furlongs right out in tho way ho was once wont to. Sanguinary has some good recent winning form, wtyile of tho others Vibration and Mon Ami can both go fast. Vibration is well, and is certain to put up a big fight. There are twenty-five down to compete in the Maiden Plate at Woodville, and it will require no little luck to sort out the winner in such a crowd. Mr George Morse will declare the weights for the A.E.C. Easter Handicap next Monday. Mr J. E. Henrys will not make his adjustments for the Great Easter Handicap known until March 3rd. Tho two sets of weights will be closely scrutinised, as a number of good horses are engaged in both races, ' It looks as though that fine horse Antagonist’s racing ■ career will be limited to one race, ’the Middle Park Plate, in which it will bo remembered he ran right away from such good ones as A ice-Admiral, Orton, Countermine, and Bronze. The latest effort to train him appears to have failed, as.he pulled up very lame after a gallop the other day. As the Messrs Stead have nominated Bon Eeve for the Great Easter Handicap it would appear the dual Derby winner has made a more rapid recovery than was expected from’the accident which befel him just prior to the W.R.C. meeting. '■% Cheddar is one of tho fancied candidates in tho Wanganui Cup. The five-year-old son of Merriwee and Brown Alico is nicely treated on tho score of weight, hut the Great Autumn Handicap winner has a lot of very moderate performances against his name, and would' seem to be unreliable. He, is said to bo looking well at present. Those who have seen the gelding speak very highly of a three-year-old soil of Maniapoto and tho Sylvia Park mare Crimson Lake. He was bred by Mr J. Goodwin, and is said to ho a very fine stamp of youngster, of groat size and quality, who is sure to do well., He is being looked after by George Powell, of Wanganui, who has resumed training operations after a two-years’ spell. J. Munn has leased from Mr G. P. Donnelly tho gelding Quartzite, who is a four-year-old son of Gold Reef and Strcsa. Ho is a half-brother to Equl■form, Ena, and White Crane. Tho name of Sansterro has been claimed for the two-year-old by Sah .Fran from Ladv Darling. The youngster is a full brother to Amato. , The Belgian trainer J. Neutes sent out 158 winners during last season. to say it constituted a record for Belgium. 'lndeed one cannot recall the fact of any trainer having such a fine record elsewhere. , Light Blue, who is a half-brother to that fine steeplechaser Antarctic, is being schooled over the hurdles at Elio rslio, and has shown considerable aptitude for tire game. He is expected to make a name for himself later on. There are twenty-five horses entered for the hurdle race at the South Auckland meeting, and it looks as though tlio field may be of almost record dimensions for a jumping event. Monoplane, who has run very indifferently since her return from Australia, is to bo treated to a spell. Tho Auckland rider B. Deeley, who headed the list of winning jockeys last season, hasi been rather out of luck of late, although he travels and rides a lot. He was unsuccessful at Egmont, but did rather better at New Plymouth. Kaiwaka is proving a bete noir to tho starters in tho north. This St. Clements gelding refused , to leave the mark in each race he Went out for at Te Kuiti, and is entitled to a prominent place amongst tho most unruly horses at the barrier. The Ellerslio trainer. J. Williamson, unearthed a very promising hack at the Te lCuiti meeting in Salvia, a four-year-old chestnut mare by Salvadan from Moira-ma-chree. She has plenty of pace and, ns she can be much improved, ought to more than pay her way. The chief public fancy for the Australian Cup is Piastre, while others who have come in for support are

lAlraissa, Cadonia, The Parisian and Txbridgo. At a recent Manchester meeting /there was an “odijs-on” favourite for each of the six races, and four of them were beaten. When the New Zoaland-hred made Advantage won tin. Shorts Handicap at the Tasmanian T.C.’s summer meet, ing she carried 9.11 and beat a field of twelve runners. Tho black daughter of Advance and Lady Spec now runs in tho colours of Mr C. T. Godby. Ou the second day of tho meeting she earned the welter weight of 10.5 into third place in the All-aged Handicap. Tho death occurred recently of Portsea, who in his day was a good horse over a distance, and put an Australian Cup and a Champion Stakes to his credit. At the end of his racing career Portsea, who was by Neekersgat from Lovelace, was purchased by Messrs Manifold Bros, as a sire of jumpers, but he did not earn much fame at the stud. He was twenty-four years of ago when it was found necessary to destroy him. Lanfranc, who is by Sir George Clifford’s sire San Francisco from Miss Liadys, one time one of the Sylvia Park mares, won tho Trial Handicap at the Tasmanian T.C. meeting on tho sth fust. Tho queerly named Nuwara Eliya is tho present favourite for the Newmarket ’Handicap. Ho recently broke the five furlongs training record for F’lernington, put up by Virtu some years ago. Nuwara Eliya ran tho distance in Imin 2sec. W. McLachlan will ride him in the Newmarket. In England last year the jockeys who did most riding over tho jumps were I. Anthony, W. Payne, ri. Avila, A. Newey, and E. Gordon. Anthony was an easy first in tho actual number of winning mounts, but in tho matter of percentage was badly beaten by E. Chadwick, who won 40 of the 95 races in which ho rode. Mr H. S. Harrison was first among the amateurs with 33 wins for 154 mounts, next coming Mr H. T. Usher, with 31 wins for 86 mounts. Fabric, who won a Tattersall’s Cup ,in Sydney and was afterwards taken to England, is now doing stud duty in South Africa. The record as to tho most successful, three-year-old in Germany has been established by Gulliver 11., who has this season (1912) won close upon £12,000 for the Graditz Stud, lowering the colours of Faust, who in 1908 claimed £10,815 for tho Messrs Von Weinberg. / Eeferrihg to the matter of the euro of roarers a, writer says: One of the best handicap horses over a Middle distance in My Lawyer was apparently ix pronounced roarer as a two-year-old. His sire was a roarer, and so was his grandsire. My Lawyer coule be heard a mile away when doing a gallop, but yet he went on, and from being at least a thick-winded horse, one never reads any reference to his respiratory organs nowadays. It is really the most remarkaWe case that the writer has heard' or read of, and probably stands alone. It is, of course, rather common for a roarer to get stock free from trouble in that respect, and no more notable instance could be supplied in the fact that Grafter, Bill of Portland, and Prince Charlie were all roarers, and yet their stock includes some very sound stayers. Prince Charlie got Lochiel, Grafton sired Melbourne Cup winners, and Bill of Portland got Treadmill, Quarryman, and Bobadil, the latter siring one of tho best stayers in The Parisian that has been seen in Australia during recent years. ,