SPORTING.

Shannon News, 27 February 1925, Page 3

SPORTING.

While working, at Trentham recently Last Crust broke down, and it may be some time before he is seen out again. Eonmark, who was awhile back trained in Palmerston North, won tire Hack Hurdles at the recent Kotorua meeting. Since being sold by Mr. W. J. Jorgenson, the Australian-bred gelding Tutankhamen has won four races for his new owner. Through meeting with a mishap at .Bulls, th'e hurdler Equitable was unable to accompany his stable companion Euphonium to Wanganui. J. Gray, son of H. Gray, rode his hrst winner when he piloted Mountain Bell to victory at the New Plymouth meeting. Both Brigadier Bill and Euiby Ring, owned.by Mr. Jas. Bull, are at present resting, as they have contracted slight colds. _

Needy, a three-year-old by Joculator, is reported to be able to mu3ter up pace. He is trained at Waiiganui by W. Dwyer. The amount won by The Hawk comes to £17,509, of which sum £10,809 has been annexed since he has been racing in Mr. J. M. Cameron's colours. Dialogue, by Demosthenes—Tet?-a-Tete, who was bought at auction by Sir Samuel Hordern for 1700 guineas, recently managed to win a small race at the Bathurst (New South Wales) meeting.

The Taranaki Jockey Club has paid in taxation in connection with its recent meeting the sum of £4498 lis id, made up as follows:—To talisaior, £ISOB 4s 9d; dividends, £2715 ss; stakes, £233 15s; gates, £4l 6s 4d.

Assert, the two-year-old colt by Gay Lad—Assertive, has been sold to Mr. O. S. Watkins, of Wellington. Early this season he was a member of P: T. Hogan's team at Wathdyke, but will now be trained by J. Lowe at Treuthain.

Mr. W. T. Hazlett's brilliant mare, Gold Light, has been nominated for the Sydney Cup, in addition to the weight-for-age races at the Australian J. C. autumn meeting. Gold Light will be taken to Sydney early next month. Drolatique, who ran second to Uraila in the Victory Welter at Wanganui, is an English-bred mare that can boast of a stout' pedigree, being by Black Jester—Menthol. So far she has failed to win a race.

The Auckland Herald states that one of the most improved hacks that has been seen on the country circuit is Gay Comet, who won his division at Rotorua in both the Hot Springs Handicap and the Electric Hack. Gay Comet is trained by H. Eva, one-time of Palm'erston North.

The Auckland Star's Wellington correspondent states that S. Reid had mixed fortune on his Taranaki trip. He lost the services temporarily, at least, of Merit and Anthem, while Quest's victory in the Flying at New Plymouth was rath'er unexpected. Merit will require a spell, as not only was her mouth torn by the barrier, but she was galloped on as well in the Taranaki Stakes. The injury to Anthem was rather exaggerated in some quarters, and there is no suggestion yet of retiring her.

A writer in the Dunedin Star says that one of New Zealand's keenest trainers recently remarked to him: ''My experience of the boys who ride is that the majority of them know two things about a race, one being that they got away and the other that they got home; but as to how they got away they can say very little until they refresh their memories by a glance at the daily paper. As to how or in what place they got home they are equally uncertain and as to what happened between whiles their minds are a blank." It is much the same everywhere. A writer in the Sydney Referee says that Australian trainers will tell you that very few jockeys can say anything definite about a race in which they have just ridden. Even if they have got away indifferently, some will say they were among the ' first to move, and I have heard jockeys claim they were "about fifth," when tenth was nearer the mark. When a jockey is Tiding his hardest at the finish of a race he has no time to look across at an opponent, and with only a head in it between two horses, hi s opinion is rarely of much account,' even though many race-goers are prepared to accept it as clinching any argument as to the correctness or otherwise-of a judge's decision.