A CHEAP HORSE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 441, 24 August 1928, Page 6

A CHEAP HORSE

EDEN HALL FOR £4OO WELL BACKED WHEN WON Unlike various of Mr. T. C. Traut- j wein’s purchases in the past couple of years, Eden Hall, by winning the August Handicap at Canterbury Park recently, justified his purchase, and ii is safe to say that the £4OO for which Eden Hall was acquired in New Zealand a few months ago has been returned with interest. But while Eden Hall won only narrowly, a decided improvement was evidently recorded, as a week previously the .ex-New Zealander, with only 6.12 on his back, failed to run into a place in the Maitland Cup. In view of Eden Hall’s failure at Maitland, when he was thrown into the handicap, it* came .as a distinct surprise to see him so well supported on this occasion, for he shared favouritisrh with Misty Lad. It was in only grudging style that some backers followed the money for Eden Hall, as they argued that a rise from 6.12 in the Maitland Cup to 8.5 in the Canterbury August .Handicap should have been sufficient to stop him. Cheap Horse Now But their reasoning was wrong, as Eden Hall, after remaining third to Fondant and Misty Lad for the best part of the trip, managed to get up and beat Fondant by half a head. As the prize money was in the vicin.ity of £l5O, an investment of £IOO would make Eden Hall a profitable purchase and now Mr. Trautwein has' a cheap horse, who may pick up another race, allowing, of course, that he will make improvement. When he contested the Maitland Cup he must have been in want of the run, and if this was the case then it is not unreasonable to predict he will register improvement. Other Failures While Mr. Trautwein had thus done nicely with Eden Hall, the same cannot be said of Runnymede, whom he purchased for 3,000 guineas in New Zealand. Runnymede has not since won a race. Tomatin is another horse whom Mr. Trautwein found expensive. He did not win a race. Aorangi won one race for Mr. Trautwein, but on the whole the Newmarket gelding was an expensive proposition. In raising Fondant from 7.0 to 8.5 for his win at Moorfield the previous Monday, the handicapper gave W. Kelso’s charge just a little too much But New Zealanders argue that Eden Hall was given too little weight. Among these are the connections of In the Shade, who point out that in New Zealand In The Shade would have been in receipt of a stone from Eden Hall, whereas the handicapper here made In The Shade concede Eden Hall more than a stone. This probably was the reason why he was scratched from the handicap. DOMINION RACING SOME OF ITS DRAWBACKS SYDNEY CRITIC KNOWS THEM It is not unusual to hear people who will talk, but know little of the subject, infer that because New Zealand horses come to Australia it is scarcely worth their owners’ while racing in their own country. If so, it cannot be attributed to poor prize-money, as in New Zealand during the recent season, there were 550 horses whose winnings ranged from £4,630 down to £2OO, says the well-known Sydney writer, “Pilot.” Only that taxation eats so deeply into stakes and totalisator investments, and travelling expenses are heavy, New Zealand horse-owners would have little to complain about. No matter what be said against the totalisator, there are few meetings in New Zealand where prize-money is so poor as to practically put a premium on wrongdoing. I am not losing sight of the fact that you will have that no matter how great the prize-money. In New South Wales meetings are numerous where stakes are so low that a win barely covers ordinary expenses, and naturally the betting market has a bearing on the actions of some owners. NONE LIKE THIS HERE Within 45 miles of Sydney we have registered fixtures at which races carry from £25 to £4O for first, and many owners cannot afford to race for such amounts and remain honest. They have to depend upon the betting market, and if their chance is a winning one, they have to find a lot of money to invest at a short price to make a win profitable, or else get a punter to do it for them. THE ATTRACTION It is pointed out that New Zealand’s best horses are sent over here to race, but it must not be overlooked that they generally come with a view to our principal meetings, and, in addition to a rich prize, the betting possibilities associated with a big handicap in Aus-' tralia are attractive. Those owners who stop for some of the minor meetings rarely find them as profitable as they would similar fixtures in the Dominion, and generally drift home again. New Zealand’s largest prizes do not approach those given by the Australian Jockey Club, but at the minor fixtures in the Dominion the stakes are on such a liberal scale that during the recent season 99 horses won amounts from £4,630 (Star Stranger) down to £I,OOO, their total being approximately £160,000. Then there were 153 winners of amounts ranging from £990 down to £ 500, and just over 300 whose earnings ranged from £495 down to £2OO. The number winning less than the last mentioned amount is not given, but I think the figures stated show that the Dominion compares favourably with Australian States in respect of stakes. However, as I have pointed out, there are drawbacks.

REMINDERS Nominations for the Avondale Jockey Club’s spring meeting, to be held on September 22 and 24. close at 5 p.m.. on August 31 At the same time final payments must be made for the Avondale Stakes and Avondale Guineas Entries for the New Zealand Cup are due on Friday, August 24 The stake money this year is £2.000 (£1.900 and n £IOO gold cup), and the maximum veight 9.6 Nominations for the Pakuranga Hunt meeting at Ellerslie close on Friday September 7 by 5 p.m Acceptances for the Marton meeting close on Tuesday, August 28 Weights for the first day of tlie Wanganui fixture are due on September 3. and acceptances close on Friday. September 7. Nominations for the Auckland spring meeting, to be held on October 6 and 8, are due at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 14.