THE KING’S CUP.

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 147, 12 September 1927, Page 13

THE KING’S CUP.

HIS MAJESTY AS DONOR. TO BE RUN FOR ANNUALLY. His Excellency the Governor-Genera) of Victoria (Lord Stonehaven) made the following announcement, recently: “His Majesty the King intends to present a £IOO cup annually, to be run for in each State of the Commonwealth, once in each six years. The distance and conditions of the race and the years in which each State will have the cup for competition his Majesty is leaving to the Australian racing authorities to fix at their conference in November next.” Mr L. K. S. Mackinnon, the chairman of the Victoria Racing Club, expressed the thoughts of the whole of the racegoing public of Australia when he said that racing men would be keenly appreciative of the King’s action, says the “Australasian.” It is doubtful whether the Australian turf has ever received a greater fillip, and certainly the sport has never before been paid such a compliment. It is a compliment to the sport of horseracing, and also a unique compliment to the men who conduct our turf affairs. It demonstrates in a practical manner the keen interest taken in racing, not only in England, but in the British Dominions, by his Majesty. The King’s desire that there should be a King’s Cup run every year is possibly the result of conversations he has had with the Duke of York, who doubtless told his Majesty of the wide interest in and success of the Ring s Cup run at Flemington in April last, when the Duke and Duchess of York honoured Flemington with their presence. It is indeed hard to estimate the value of a race like the King’s Cup to the Australian turf. Every owner will be eager to win the coveted trophies, quite apart from betting considerations and the amount of added money. In this way the best that is m the sport will he brought to the forefront. .. _ The Indian Cup.

For many years one of the most portant events of the Indian turf has been the King Emperor’s Cup. That race, which is run over a mile, at set weights, carries more than £3OOO in added money, and a 100 guinea cup presented by the King. In Canada the King annually presents a trophy valued at 50 guineas for the King’s Plate, which is run at Woodbine, Toronto. The King’s Plate is a race for three-year-olds and upwards the property of a British subject residing in Ontario, foaled, raised and trained in Ontario,! that have never won a race other than one for two-year-olds, have never left Canada, and never more than a month out of the province of Ontario. The race, which is run over nine furlongs, was last year worth $7550 to the owner of the winner. Strangely enough, the winner has some interest for Australians, as the winner was Haplite, a three-year-old gelding by Hapsburg from Letty Lind, by Quantock. Quantock is now at the stud in New South; Wales. The conditions of the Canadian race are no doubt framed in such a parochial fashion to baulk Americans who may have designs on the trophy presented by the King. It will not be necessary to surround the King’s Cup in Australia with such stringent conditions; in fact, the principal racing clubs will no doubt make every effort to encourage inter-State and New Zealand owners to compete. It will be interesting to see the class of race that will be decided on by the conference of principal clubs to be held in Melbourne during Cup week. At first it would seem as if a. weight-for-ag© event would be the ideal class of race, but if the race is run over a distance of ground that would mean that the field would be small, and while an unwieldy handicap field is not desired, it may be possible, by fixing a maximum weight, to avoid overloading the good horses and at the same time restricting the race to horses with reasonable prospects of success. The Moonee Valley Racing Club has an evQnt on its September programme called the Quality Handicap, the maximum weight of which, is 9st. The race has been an unqualified success, and has attracted the best class of horses, and the same conditions may serve for the King’s Cups. Order of Running.

Another matter that the conference will have to decide is, the order in which the King’s Cup will be run for by the; States. Whether the conference will also decide the amount of prize-money to be given with the trophy is difficult to say, but possibly tlaat will be left to the discretion of the committees of the clubs concerned. Obviously, the Tasmanian Racing Club could not be expected to add the same amount of prize money to the King’s Cup as the' Victorian Racing Chib or the Australian Jockey Club. Another point that may be left for the clubs to decide is when the race will be run. Each State has its carnival race meeting, but ever/ effort should be made to avoid a clashing of dates with the King’s Cup mee:ing. It is not likely that the Victoria Racing Club will hold the King’s Cup at Melbourne Cup time, but perhaps the committee may substitute the race for one of the weight-for-age events at the Australian Cup meeting. At presort nothing has been decided, and it may not be necessary to come to a decision for years.