Turf Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 584, 9 February 1929, Page 10

Turf Notes

CONDUCTED BY "EARLY BIRD

To-d*y's Racing There will be racing to-day at Rotorua, New Plymouth and Gisborne. Te Aroha Meeting Tha annual meeting at Te Aroha opens next Saturday. Acceptances for the first day close at 9 p.m. on Monday. Recovered Nassock, who sustained rather a serious cut on his near foreleg at the Christmas meeting at Ellerslie, has mado a rapid recovery, and it will not be long before trainer S. Hodge has a few races mapped out for him. The two-year-olds. Professor and Imperial Prince, are not being asked to do much just now, and although they may have a further chance to distinguish themselves this season, it is likely that the best of them may be seen in the next racing term. Not Being Hurried The full brother to Loraint and the defunct Chamour, Catoma, continues to grow, and without doubt he is the biggest two-year-old in commission at Ellerslie. He will be allowed to mature fully before entering upon a racing programme, and thus it will depend upon the way he furnishes within the next few weeks whether he is raced this season. Welkne, the other member of J. E. Thorpe’s stable, is coming to hand nicely, and providing he trains on satisfactorily should prove a useful proposition round about the province. In Good Order The three-year-old gelding Bulolo is having trouble with his teeth just now, and for that reason will not be required to race for several weeks yet. He is getting through sufficient work at headquarters to keep him well forward, and on Thursday morning was sprinted three furlongs on the course proper in 40 4-5. In Work Again W. J. Urquhart has recommissioned Eineroo and the Australian-bred gelding is again a daily attendant at Ellerslie. Eineroo has raced occasionally in maiden races, but has never been prominent, and will need to improve to pay his way. The same owner has Archeno doing steady tasks, anc. the running of this mare at Takapuna leads me to believe that it will not be long before her turn comes.

To Train Gallopers At a meeting- of the Canterbury District Committee last Tuesday, D. A. Withers, a well-known figure in the trotting world, was granted a provisional trainer’s licence. Withers, who , recently relinquished his position as private trainer to Mr. J. It. McKenzie, has shown in the past his ability as a ' trainer of trotters and pacers, and if he decides to permanently train gallopers there is no reason why he should not make a success of this branch of the sport, too. Piling It Up Limerick's stake earnings to date are £B,OOO short of Gloaming’s record total. Provided Mr. H. A. Knight’s champion keeps in good health, this margin will be considerably reduced on the approaching Sydney trip, and the spring campaign should see him striving for premier position as a money winner. Dunedin Cup Riders 6 Xightmarcli, who is one of the popular fancies for the Dunedin Cup, will bo ridden in that event by C. Emerson. The New Zealand Derby winner looks non© the worse for his trip up North, and he should strip a fit horso at Wingatui this month. Other engagements for the Cup are K. Coveny (.Beau Geste) and B. Brodie (Pink Note). A Worthy Opponent Gothic, who at present is the outstanding weight-for-age performer in Australia, has won the last two contests for the Newmarket Handicap. Last year he registered a phenomenal performance by carrying 9.10 to victory in the six furlongs race, and Australians are already wondering how much weight he will be asked to carry in the forthcoming contest. If the Sydney autumn meetings go according to schedule it is very likely that Gothic will oppose Limerick in the weight-for-age races, and the meeting in Sydney of this pair should definitely settle weight-for-age supremacy. Limerick and Gothic have met on two occasions to date, Limerick being the victor each time. But this season the doughty English horse lids improved out of all knowledge, and his 2.29 is for the mile and a-half in the C. B. Fisher Plat© at Flemington is likely to stand as an Australasian record for many a long day.