RACING

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 73, 17 June 1927, Page 7

RACING

By “EARLY BIRD.” ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS In reply to “Inquirer”: In the decision of the Great Northern SteepleC l ias ? Peter Maxwell finished in front °f r? ick * Peter Maxwell was placed sixth and Dick seventh, there being daylight between the pair. “Curious”: Maunga was scratched for the A.R.C. Winter Steeplechase at 11.10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8 (the morning of the race). Old-Fashioned Idea In England they still adhere to the old-fashioned, idea of disqualifying a horse for a race if it wins after interfering with the second horse. At a Chepstow meeting held just before the last mail to hand left England, a mare.named Perm led all the way in a race and was subsequently disqualified for boring after, according to report, winning comfortably by two lengths. Promising Hurdler Bonena is ticked off by Southern critics as likely to win hurdle races against stronger opposition than he beat at Dunedin, and Captain Sarto is also noted as one who will be improved by the racing he had there. H.. McSweeney has always declared that, but for getting badly interfered with by a horse falling in front of him in the Grand National Hurdle race two years ago, he would have won on Captain Sarto. Preliminary Outing F. D. Jones, who will leave for Sydney at the end of July, intends to race several of his horses at the Ashburton meeting early in the month, while he may also take some of them to Trentham. Philanderer has come on nicely since Jones put him into work recently. He is a probable starter at Ashburton and Trentham, and he may be found in the team for Sydney, where he may pay his way if carefully placed. Off to Suva The well-known Auckland jockey, T. Williams, is under orders for Suva, and he sails to-morrow. He has been promised some good mounts there, for they have races in Fiji as well as New Zealand. It will be remembered that the'racehorse Adi Vunivola came from Fiji to Auckland with something in the way of a reputation, although she was never seen here at her best, for she apparently failed to become acclimatised. T. Williams expects to sojourn in Suva for three months, and no doubt he will find the climate there very congenial as compared with this corner of the world at this period of the year. Got It All There has been some talk (writes “St. Clair” in the “Star”), about the sentence meted out to B. H. Brodie by the T udicial Committee

on the concluding day of the D.J.C. winter meeting being too severe. From the Press stand the interference to Paris looked to be enough to send him back four or five lengths, but not to nearly knock him. down, as stated. When Brodie took Equerry across him he appeared to be dodging Dubious, who was dropping back, and Brodie did the only thing possible to save his own horse from interference. Without knowing anything of the evidence tendered at the inquiry it would seem that Brodie, who is one of the best horsemen in the South Island, certainly got all that was coming to him for the offence in question. Want Same Dates Next autumn both the Rangitikei and Manawatu Clubs have applied for March 21 and 22. The Wanganui District Committee has declined to be in the argument, and, it will be left to the Dates Committee to decide. The autumn date for the Manawatu Club is listed to follow the Wellington meeting', and in the past there has been some friction with Rangitikei, comments “The Watcher.” This season the Rangitikei Club secured the March dates and the Awapuni meeting was put back to the end of April. From all points of view it is highly desirable that these matters should beset-

tied with a minimum of argument and ill-feeling, but surely a major club which caters for the best class of horses and has no fewer than three classic events on its programme should be entitled to prior consideration. The arrangement in the past whereby horses competing at Trentham were transhipped direct to Awapuni to race the following week is undoubtedly the best from all points of view. The country clubs have claims, certainly, and these claims receive du' recognition, but the fact should not be overlooked that if it were not for the clubs and the status of Manawatu and the main centres, the standard of racing in New Zealand would be very low indeed. Rampion Not for Spring Lovers of a fine colt will regret the omission of Rampion’s name from the Spring Handicap nominations. He was sent to Kingsfield a few weeks ago in the hope that he would t recover from the injury which put him out of action in the autumn. Last week, however, the colt’s trainer, F. Williams, stated that there would not be time enough in which to fit Rampion for the spring meetings, and that it was improbable he would race again before next autumn. No More Races There was something missing at Randwick the other day, records a Sydney writer. One of the most familiar sounds in the trainers’ stand — the cackling laugh of trainer Bob Bailie —was missing. Since his trouble with the Rosehill Racing Club, when Bailie was ordered to cease training at the Parramatta course from June 1, Bailie has not bothered to visit a racecourse. On June 24 all his horses, including Don Moon, winner of the Challenge and Doncaster, and a yearling full-brother to that horse, will, be put up for auction.

Birkenella’s Form Birkenella was one of the many disappointments that raced at the Dunedin winter meeting. He looked well enough, but in his schooling efforts prior to the meeting he showed a dislike for the Wingatui fences. He was never able to foot it with the leaders in either of his races, and in the Otago and Wingatui Steeplechases he came to grief. In the Dunedin Steeplechase on the Saturday the local horseman, C. Dawson, was put up instead of McBrearty who had ridden him in the other two starts. Dawson got him round the course safely, but he was always toiling along in the rear. Perhaps it was the heavy going that stopped him, but when he won the Wellington Steeplechase the going at Trentham was much heavier than it was either day at Wingatui. His owner, Mr. F. A. Jensen, was present to see his horse run each day. Down Ellerslie’s Hill So far as the jumping season has gone Maunga stands out as the horse with the greatest possibilities (comments “Vedette”). He ran particularly well in the Great Northern Hurdles and as usual was finishing better than anything else in the race'. In the big steeplechase he was unlucky enough to strike an experienced horse on the Ellerslie hill, for it was there each time that Beau Cavalier won his race. The way he sailed down the hill was something of a revelation, and another Southerner in addition to Maunga in Comical was not by any means at home op the down grade particularly. Maunga. if he goes on the right way, is a decided possibility for the big jumping events ahead. Hfe has had no experience over the big fences at Riccarton, but he is such a good jumper and solid stayer that a Grand National at his first attempt is not beyond him. It must be said that A. Griffiths, an unexperienced rider, over fences, did not shape at all badly at Ellerslie.