NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10609, 7 June 1920, Page 3

NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By “Carbine.”) The Auckland meeting will be concluded to-day. The winter fixture of the Otaki Racing Club was a most successful gathering, and in some respects the club seems to have had a record meeting. Despite the efforts of those who endeavoured to dissuade workers from going to the course, there was a record attendance (made up principally of workers) and the totalisator registered an increase of over £7OOO on last year’s meeting. With few exceptions the running on the seeind day, is a. fair cort, and will cut with the first day’s form and most of the opening day’s place-getters were again in the money. In the Steeples, Gaekwar, who won on Thursday, ran second on Friday, ‘led Ribbon won the Cup easily, and on the second day led the field homo in the big handicap. Royal Exchange won her race each day, and so also did 80-Peep; and in the final event Chant Royal, who led for most of the tourney in the six furlong Maiden on Thursday, won over five furlongs. Several North Island lipases claiming engagements at the' Canterbury Park Trotting Club’s meeting had to forfeit their engagements through lack of transport facilities. A numher_ of southern horses also had to be withdrawn from the same cause.

Tho Digger, who won tho Alaiden at Otaki and ran second to Simon on tho second day, is fair sort, and will bo heard of again. Ho has a good finishing effort, and on the longer straights would ho hard for some of tho hacks to shako off.

Royal Star and Caverock are likely to ho raced at tho Wellington winter meeting if they do well in their work between now and July and if transport facilities aro available. Otaki was a costly meeting to Taranaki sportsmen, and the New Plymouth ' trainer, R. Barlow, was very unlucky. With Depredation, Generalissimo and Prodigal ho expected to pick up a fair share of - the plums, but he returns without a win. _ Depredation was heavily hacked by his parly for the Cup, hut he was unlucky in the running, and had the misfortune to strike a good- mare like Red Ribbon when she is getting hack to form. Second was the best the little grandson of Carbine could do. On the second day ho w<as again supported confidently, - hut ho ran unplaced. Prodigal was looked on as a good bet on both days, hut second on Thursday and unplaced on Friday was his fate. Then Generalissimo was relied on on Friday, hut suffered a head defeat from the speedy Hymarty. Altogether it must have been an expensive trip, when with a shade of hotter luck it might have been a very profitable one.

Tho Wellington owners and breeders, Messrs Dwan Bros., have received an offer from a Sydney buyer for their •brood maro Golden Ball. Golden Ball is a full-sister to Gold Treasure (the (flam of Amythas) and is a fine stamp of brood mare. She is tho ■ dam of Chrysostom, Damosel, and Sweet Tipperary.

There is no, difficulty now- in selling fair horses in Sydney or Melbourne. Tho black gelding, Carahost (Linacre —Paradisea), is far from a top-notch-er (says the “Referee”), despite his two recent suburban wins, hut his exowner, Air H. S. Rich, mentioned that when ho sold him recently he received £IOOO.