Turf Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 702, 29 June 1929, Page 10

Turf Notes

CONDUCTED BY

"EARLY BIRD"

Wellington Acceptances Acceptances for all first day events, as well as for the Winter Hurdles (run on the third day) of the Wellington winter meeting, which opens at Trentham on Wednesday week, close at 9 p.m. on Monday next. Manawatu Secretary It is learned from private advices that Mr. J. M. Johnston, secretary of the Manawatu Racing Club, is at present seriously indisposed in a private nursing home, at Palmerston North, and his condition is such as to cause anxiety. Pakuranga Hunt Meets of the Pakuranga Hunt Club for the month of July have been arranged as foolow: —Tuesday, July 2, “Beachlea Downs,” Papatoetoe; Saturday, July 6, Hast Tamaki creamery; Tuesday, July 9, Clevedon: Saturday, July 13, Kelly’s Corner, Papatoetoe; Tuesday, July 16, Pigeon Mountain, Pakuranga; Saturday, July 20, Croskery Road, Papakura (for Opaheke); Tuesday, July 23, llowick; Saturday, July 27, East Tamaki Hall; Tuesday, July 30, Flat Bush School. The hounds meet at 11.30 a.m. each day. Brought Cragadour

Mr. John McCormack, the worldfamed Irish tenor, has purchased from Lord Astor the Derby favourite, Cragadour. The price paid is believed to reach five figures. Cragadour, though a strong favourite for the big English race, failed to finish among the leaders.

The Jockey's Speech Racing folks as a whole are born optimists, but probably the king of all resides in Tasmania, says an Australian exchange. After piloting the winner of rather an important event the rider created much amusement by acknowledging the presented trophy with a speech fi*om a type-written sheet. ‘‘Be prepared” is evidently this lad’s motto, and as it subsequently transpired his optimism was happily’ justified. Running Today In Sydney

Some of the horses that were taken to Sydney recently oy H. B. Lorigan and E. Yuille are apparently to start racing early, and they must have made a good recovery from the rough trip across the Tasman. Sneerer figures among the nominations for the hurdle race at the Canterbury Park meeting this afternoon. Royal Duke is in the Flying Handicap, six furlongs, Joy Bird and Oratrix in the Canterbury Cup, one mile and three furlongs, and Kilbronsyth in the Ashbury Handicap, one mile, and 75 yards. Other New Zealanders engaged during the day are High Disdain, Helotis, Hiata, Red Lion, Crown Area, Becalmed, Stormy and Mooregas. Horse’s Idiosyncrasies Bestman, who won both steeplechases at the recent Adelaide Birthday meeting, is an animal with decided whims. Rarely can he be persuaded to go past the judge to do his preliminary. He simply stands stockstill, and gazes at the crowd in the stands and will not move an inch. Strange to say there is no* mulishness about him at the post, for he always jumps away from the barrier and does everything asked of him in the race. But when his job has been completed and his rider wants him to take the salute from the judge his obstinacy again asserts itself. Bestman will obey only one man, and that is his trainer, Tom Keily. M. McCarten, Dead-heat Expert Expert jockeys seldom win by a big margin. If they are in front at the half-distance they are prone to “cut it line” rather than expose their mount to the handicapper by riding it all out in the last 100 yards. On the other hand, their good judgment and vigorous horsemanship often enable them to get to the front at the right end of a race with a dashing finish on a horse that looked to be well out of it at the distance (says the Sydney “Sun”). A rider who has had a rather exasperating tally of too-close finishes this season is Maurice McCarten,. who has been in no fewer than five dead-heats for first, to say nothing of one for second place. Three of the dead-heats for first were on horses trained by G. Price, two of these on successive Saturdays on Amusement, and the third on Killarney, when nothing but his vigorous riding in the last few yards enabled him to split the prize with Nolens Volens. All these races were at Rosehill. His other dead-heat firsts were at Randwick and Moorefield. With ail his close finishes, McCarten has a better percentage of wins than any other local rider this season.

Fairway and Felstead Lord Derby’s Fairway, winner of last year’s St. Leger, now four years old, with a fine career behind him, and probably a greater one ahead, was reintroduced as one of four runners for the Bur well Stakes, of a mile and uhalf, at Newmarket last month. A year ago it was won by the 1927 St. Leger winner, Book Law. Fairway, as a St. Leger winner, was merely following in her footsteps when he won by a length. One rather regrettable point in connection with this race is that it will probably prove to be the last opportunity of a meeting between Felstead and Fairway, the 1928 Derby and St. Leger winners respectively. Felstead will have his champions, but I have no doubt that those on the side of Fairway will always be in the majority, states an English writer. Nevertheless; one can sympathise with Sir Hugo Cunliffe-Owen in that troubles continue to assail his Derby winner, but for which we might have had at Newmarket last month the race of the season. Felstead will, of course, as a proved son of Spion Kop and a descendant of the mighty Carbine, bo a stud acquisition, but we were looking on him as a great English racing asset, when the Coronation Cup and Ascot Gold Cup came along. If he did not run again, he would join other post-war Derby winners in Humorist, who died shortly afterwards, and Cull Boy, whose nominator died soon after his triumph, in not seeing a racecourse again after Epsom. RACING FIXTURES JULY 10, 11, 13—Wellington R.C. 25—Waimate Hunt. 25, 27—Gisborne R.C. 27—South Canterbury Hunt. AUGUST 3—Christchurch Hunt 3—Poverty Bay Hunt 13, 15, 17—Canterbury J.C. 24—Pakuranga Hunt (at Ellerslie). ! 24—Hawke's Bay Hunt ; 2S—Dannevirke R.C. ; 29—Dannevirke Hunt I 31—Taranaki Hunt