NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10604, 1 June 1920, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By "Carbine.") Owners interested should not overlook the fact that final payments for the Great Northern Steeplechase close on Friday. Gisbome acceptances fall due on Fridaj. " The Dunedin winter meeting op9ng today, and will be continued son Thursday and Saturday. The Otago Steeplechase promises, to provide one of the best contests seen at Wingatm. Manawapango has already won twice this season, and his victory over the Riccarton country was an impressive performance. Served by his light weight and jumping brilliantly he ran awav from the field. To-day he- is much nearer the top-weights, and if he wins again lie will show that he is capable of meeting the good horses on about even terms. Master Strowan and Coalition are expected to run. 'well, and if back to his old form Master Strowan will be verr hard to beat over the ltst bit. The race between Master Strowan, Manawapango, and Coalition should be a good on* A field of seventeen has accepted for the Trial Hurdles. The top weight. Golden Prince, is good over twelve furlongs, but All Talk will be the hardest to beat. All Talk will be ridden by F. Flynn, and will nave a lot of North Island support. The winter meeting of the Dunedm Jockey Club, which opens to-day at Wingatui. is in several respects the principal of the four meetings held ia Dunedin each vear. It is a three-days' gathering, and, of the .£24,975 offered in stakes for the year, £8950 is allotted to it. The rise in stake money at the southern centre is interesting. Back in IS7O the sum of .£7BO was given as added money, and maybe it was looked en a» liberal enough provision for those who had to bo given an opportunity of getting back some of the cost of preparing their horses for racing. By the following year the amount was almost doubled. In ten vears it had jumped to J 23215. and in twentv vears to over £ 10,000. From then on there waa a decline till at the thirtieth year the £5Cm mark was touched. From 190-1 a steady improvement set in, and in 1911-12 tho club again announced a programme carrying ever £IO,OOO in stake money. Except for having its ' troubles in the war period the club has not since looked back, end this week the last of a series of programmes wnHli JK4.975 for the year is to be run off.