RACING

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 2, 24 March 1927, Page 6

RACING

(By ”EARLY BIRD.'’) Jockey Suspended The Otaki apprentice, F. L. Butterworth, who is attached to A. D. Webster’s stable, got into trouble at Bulls yesterday, and he will now have to view the racing for the next couple of months from the stands. He was on Bonogne, and his sentence was handed out as a result of alleged crossing and interfering with Lady Bentinck. While the action of the stewards in adopting such firm action is to be commended, there may have been something in the boy’s favour, for Bonogne is not an easy horse to handle. TV- leed, in the last 'fourteen months eree jockeys have struck trouble when riding this horse. For Whangarei The Taranaki trainer, E George, is due to leave New Plymouth. this weekend for Whangarei to take part :n the Waipapakauri, Whangarei, Auckland and Avondale meetings, and will take with him a team of half a dozen. Those engaged at the first-mentioned gathering are Alint Leaf, Oration, Te Monanui, Jazz Baby and Nastori, and some of these will get on the winning list during the trip. A Smart Sprinter Nastori has pace to burn, and although five furlongs will find her at her best, there is no reason why she should not go a great race in the Awanui Hack at Whangarei next Thursday. This mare made a reappearance at Woodville recently after a long spell, and the following week ran a second at Dannevirke. Little notice can be taken of her recent failure at Opunake last week, for she was unlucky.

A Cup Candidate Alint Leaf must be considered for the Waipapakauri Cup next Thursday, in which he has the nice racing weight of 8.2. The class is not over strong, with Day Guard on top with twelve pounds more. The recent form of the Catmint gelding has been stich that he will need only the right boy on top to make matters interesting for the opposition on the northern circuit.

Oration’s Engagement The speedy Oration figures in a mile event at Whangarei next week, but unless he has suddenly developed ability to cover a middle distance one could not honestly recommend him over this distance. He has won a couple of races at six furlongs this season, and he has hung on only long enough to win home by the narrowest of margins. If Oration is to do any good on the trip it may be at six furlongs. He is to be a rLinner in the All Aged Stakes at Avondale, next month; he won this race as a two-year-old, creating consternation by beating the brilliant Reremoana. A Short Respite Te Monanui ran badly in the Wanganui Cup last month, and it was considered at the time that he had gone sour. A spell was announced for the Potoa gelding, but this must have been very brief, for that annoLincerhent was made but a month ago. Although Te Alonanui has been engaged at the combined Whangarei meetings he will not be seen to advantage over sprint courses. Perhaps his outings in the far north will serve as a means of sharpening him up for the distance events at the Auckland and Avondale fixtures later on.

Smart Tea Tray Colt Jazz Baby is nicely weighted for the open sprint at Whangarei next Thursday, and on recent running the Tea Tray colt should do well up there, for the class will not be so strong as he will be required to meet at Ellerslie. Jazz Baby has acquitted himself well in the majority of his engagements so far, and like most of the Tea Tray breed he has the pace. The colt was not raced as a two-year-old, and he is young yet at the racing game, so that he should be a pretty useful sort of horse as a lour-year-old—if he suffers no ill-effects from a strenuous first season. To date, in his first year on the track, Jazz Baby has contested no less than 17 races for seven wins and a few placings. Already he has earned his winter oats. Hope for Rational Rational is included in the entries for the open sprint events at the Whangarei meeting, and althoiigh he ran a fair race at the Opunake gathering last week he cannot be improving. The Absurd gelding is now rising nine, and horses by the Koatanui sire do not as a rule last quite so long as this. It was stated at the end of last season that Rational had done with the racing game, but it was a true saying on the part of someone when he gave us the phrase relative to hope springing eternal in the human breast. Particularly is this the case with respect to horse racing. It remains to be seen, however, whether Rational ever gets as far as Whangarei. The Whangarei Fixture The combined "Waipapakauri and Whangarei meetings, to be held at Whangarei on Thursday next and the following Saturday respectively, promise to be most successful. Acceptances for the first day’s events close to-morrow at 5 p.m. The new secretary of the Whangarei Club, by the way, is Air. W. Webster, a popular sportsman, who for some time has been acting in a similar capacity to the Northlands Trotting Club. Under Air Webster’s guidance there is little doubt that the Whangarei Club will continue to progress. Entries for Ellerslie General entries for the Auckland Easter meeting on Easter Saturday and Monday close at 5 p.m. to-morrow, and at the same time forfeit must also be declared for the classic events at the fixture: G.N. Champagne Stakes, G.N. Oaks and G.N. St. Leger Stakes. This meeting is a popular one with sporting folk throughout the North Island, and it is expected that owners outside the province will respond in a liberal fashion to-morrow afternoon. One of the features of the fixture will be the meeting of the crack two-year and three-year-olds in the rich classic events.

Beaumont's Return to Form An instance of a winning horse being left off the card was again recorded yesterday, the horse concerned being Beaumont. It is extraordinary how this sort of thing keeps on cropping up, despite the efforts of those responsible to turn out a correct list. Beaumont showed winning form at the recent Woodville meeting, and his subsequent efforts at Dannevirke left a whole lot to be desired. His success yesterday points to the Boniform gelding having recovered the form he lost so suddenly, and the return made to his investors showed that the improvement was anticipated. At his best Beaumont is a useful sort, and where the company is not too strong he can be relied upon to run well. Perhaps in the near future he will be seen taking on the best handicap performers, for at present he is at the head of the lists in the class he has been racing in of late.

Improving With Age Euchre is racing much more consistently over the sticks than he ever did on the flat, and it therefore cable as no surprise to find the Taranaki representative follow up his Opunake success last Thtirsday by captLiring the jumping race at the Rangitikei meeting yesterday. It was at this fixture twelve months ago that Euchre sprang a big surprise in tli£ hurdles on the concluding day.

Racing at Tauranga The Bay of Plenty Racing Club races at Tauranga on Saturday, and with the excellent acceptances received, keen sport seems assured. Several Auckland horses are engaged, with a leaven of Waikato and Gisborne representatives. The steamer Alatangi will convey passengers to Tauranga from the Central Wharf to-morrow night, departing for Tauranga at 7 o’clock, and leaving Tauranga after the races. Always Stops Quickly Erin-go-Bragh added yet another second placing to his name yesterday. This was in the race *it Blills won by Vast Acre, and it followed many minor placings recorded in the Taranaki province and adjacent centres. The Irishman has so far this season started thirteen times for three seconds and three thirds, and although he must surely win before long, by that time even his most sanguine supporters will have tired of following the Lord Multifid gelding. Erin-go-Bragh has a lot of early speed, but over any distance he is raced the story is invariably the same—he stops to a walk over the last bit.

Smart Acre Filly Scores Wanganui running pointed strongly to Vast Acre as the likely winner of the Alaiden event at Bulls yesterday, and the filly duly scored. This filly is three years old, and runs in the colours of Mr. Jas. Morris, more widely known as the trainer of such good jumpers as Ngata, Omahu and others for the Hunterville sportsman, Mr. James Bull. Vast Acre is one of the Acre tribe, who are doing so well in the south, and she has so much speed that further wins may be expected from her. On her first appearance this season at Wanganui the filly went very fast for five furlongs, and it was probably the want of a gallop that enabled Rising Star to get to her on the post. The subsequent form of Rising Star goes to show that Vast Acre is a good sort.

Owners’ Contribution to Stakes The flat racing season in Britain opened yesterday with the old established Lincolnshire Handicap. The German horse Weissdorn was allocated top weight for the event, and with the nine stone awarded he made the first acceptance. The race, which is run ovei* a straight mile, is a sweepstake of 20 so vs. each, with a forfeit of 5 sovs. if declared by February 1. The club added 1000 sovs., and with a good number of horses entered the total prize money for yesterday’s race was in the vicinity of 2040 sovs., the winner’s share being this amount less the 100 spvs. and 50 sovs. for the second and third horses respectively. It will be seen from these figures that owners contributed more than half the stake money, which is an anomaly in English racing that Dominion owners are fortunate enough to escape, even if they do pay indirectly through the very heavy taxation imposed on racing in this country. Severe Grand National Test The famous Aintree course at Liverpool will to-morrow be the st*ene of this year’s Grand National Steeplechase. Sixty-nine horses entered for the big cross-country event, and after the first forfeit no less than fifty-one remained in, and to be withdrawn nowwill cost the owner 50 sovs. for each horse. The Grand National is run over a trying course of four miles and 856 yards, and it is acknowledged to be the severest test for such an event in the world. As a rule very few horses complete the course, and generally a few are killed, and it is this fact that has been responsible for a good deal of opposition from circles outside of the sporting community to the contest being continued. It speaks volumes for the sporting nature of the British owner that he is prepared to risk a good or indifferent animal in such a race, and to pay £IOO for the privilege of starting each horse.

Lady Desmond’s Brilliancy What is there to prevent the smart Limond filly Lady Desmond winning the Great Northern Oaks at Ellerslie on Easter Saturday? This filly is now proving herself, although, of course, keen students of form have all along been cognisant of her ability. Early in the spring of last year Lady Desmond showed that she had retained her two-year-old form, but she was also as erratic as ever in her antics at the barrier. In the hope of overcoming this her trainer, Oney Cox, frequently indulged her in barrier practice, and in the meantime several good stakes which she might have won were ignored. The trainer’s efforts were not without effect, for though she still exhibits restlessness when lining up she is not so bad in her behaviour. Lady Desmond was badly left in the Nelson Cup last month and then she cut down her field in the straight to win very easily, and despite the fact that the opposition was weak it was an impressive performance. Raised five pounds to 7.13 for the Rangitikei Cup on Wednesday, the filly was" well supported a.nd went out a firm second favourite. She again got the worst of the jump out, and yet this did not prevent her playing with the field, and her winning margin, a length, could have been increased had J. Barry desired. The fact that Lady Desmond is engaged in the G.N. Qaks next month may induce Cox tci send the leading members of his team to Ellerslie at Easter, and should this prove to be the case the Limond filly will be in strong demand. Certainly the opposition will not be over strong, her most dangerous opponent probably being Phaola, who was generally conceded to be most unlucky not to win the N.Z. Oaks at Riccarton last November. Following on this, Lady Desmond may be allowed to take her chance with Commendation in the St. Leger a couple of days later, and while one cannot look to her to beat the crack three-year-old, she can be depended upon to run well.

Paving the Way Naos, by running second in the St. Ivilda Handicap at Caulfield last Saturday week, went one notch higher than he had in the same race last year, when he had 271 b. less on his back. The Alartian gelding has paved his way to rivalry with Limerick for early favoritism in the Sydney Cup, and, unless he goes wrong, he is bound to carry a lot of money in the two-miler. Naos has a strong Melbourne opinion behind him.

Bought as a yearling for Mr. Sol Green at 525gn5., Naos won for him £3,700 in stakes. It represented two wins, two seconds, and three thirds, and probably all his owner’s betting transactions over the gelding were reasonably covered. But that was not. enough. Naos is a solid stayer. When the fly-by-nights are scampering away in front he is lost in the ruck, and is consequently apt to catch trouble, but when the non-stayers are dropping out in the last half-mile he is nutting in a run which lands hin

among the leaders at the finish. In the Sydney Cup he has only 31b. more than he carried in the Australian Cup, and he is pretty sure to be in at the kill, especially if it is a fast-run racei For Naos to win the Cup would mean keeping the Sydney big staying handicaps of the current season in the family, as Star Stranger, who won the Metropolitan, being by Martian from Lady Lucy, is closely related to him, being by the same sire out of a daughter of the dam of Naos. Star Stranger probably gets his extra brilliancy, enabling him to be among the leaders early, through Demosthenes, who got his dam', Star Lady.