Turf Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 731, 2 August 1929, Page 12

Turf Notes

CONDUCTED BY

'Early BIRD'

Pakuranga Nominations. j Entries for the Pakuranga Hunt j Club's annual race meeting at Ellerslie 1 on August 24 close with M.r. W. S. I Spence.-Sbortland Street, at five o’clock j this afternoon. Doing Well j Overhaul was allowed to drop out of j tomorrow's Longbeach Hurdles at Rie- : carton. This did not come as a sur- ; prise after his two hard races at Wellington. His connections have adopted the right thing in not starting him with 11.13 on his back, but it is very probable that he will be seen in action on the opening day of the Grand National meeting. By all accounts' Overhaul has done well since he last raced, and according to private advices from the South he is in excellent health. Between Two The field for the Lawford Steeplechase at Riccarton tomorrow will be small, and as Waitaunaha and SilverLight are outstanding the chances are that this pair will dominate the betting on the two-mile race. Waitaunaha delighted visitors to the Riccarton track oh Tuesday morning with a briJI liant school over the steeplechase course and gained many friends for Saturday’s race. Silver Light ar- ! rived at headquarters on Wednesday ! from Washdyke, and she looks none j the worse for her racing at the South j Canterbury meetings. Schooled Well Aberfeldy schooled so well prior to leaving Riccarton for Wellington for the Wellington meeting that it was expected that the Quin Abbey gelding would show his best form in the Winter Hurdles, but he did not perform up to expectations, though he ran a solid race in the High-weight Handicap on the middle day, gaining second place to King’s Jest. Since his return home Aberfeldy has not been set any hard tasks, but he looks well, and the way in which he schooled yes- ; terday suggests that he may run a decent race in the Longbeach Hurdles i on Saturday. At Last! Woden gave Mr. C. E. Twist a welldeserved win on Saturday, tor it is a long time since Mr. Twist’s colours have been seen in front at the finish of a race. It is to be hoped that he has something good coming on. Form! A sound judge who was at the Timaru meeting last week writes that , the form displayed there should not Ibe accepted at its mere face value. The track conditions were very bad, | and this fact, together with other con- ! siderations, mainly the “other con- • siderations.” may cause some apparent 1 changes of form before very long. Warwick Farm Tomorrow j Racing in Australia from now on ! "'ill become more interesting as the 1 horses are beginning to make : their appearance. For the A.J.C. Warwick Farm meeting next Saturday, Aussie and Gay Ballerina, have been ; entered for the Denham Court Handicap. which also includes First Acre. Stormy. Philipic. High Disdain. I-lelo-tis, and Royal Duke. Papatu and Tidal : appear in the Warwick August Handicap, while in the hurdles are Penman. Bonhomme. and Kilperon. Four Figures Refused It. is reported from Sydney that an j offer of over four figures has been , made and refused for Royal Duke. According to private advices from H. : Lorigan, the Tea Tray colt has improved a lot and on the day he won i had to be good to get there, as he got anything but a good passage. With 7.r> in the Epsom Handicap. Royal Duke j might be a possibility. Lorigan says ; that Concentrate lias had one run. and he expects him to go well later on. j Oral. Cimabne. and Martian Chief have ' been troubled with colds. The last- , named was giving every indication of < oming good. Ran Amok ! One of the strangest occurrences on a racecourse in South Australia for j many a day was that at the Port i Augusta meeting recently, when Burl. , one of the favourites for the Tennant j Cup. galloped off the course and beI came lost in the bush. Burl was heavily backed in a good betting race. | As he was doing his preliminary, he ! struck the rails. In recovering him- | self, he threw his head up, partially j stunning his jockey, who fell out of the saddle. Burl galloped away ■ at i a great rate, and, clearing a couple jof fences, disappeared in the huge | sandhills to the north of the course. | Attempts to catch Burl were of no : avail for more than an hour, and the ! field went, away without him. Eveni tually his trainer found him wandering among the sandhills five miles from the course, and little the worse for his 1 experience. Loves It i There is no keener jumping rider in Australia than R. Inkson. Riding over ! obstacles is his means of livelihood, j , but he also loves it. He must, statesI the “Globe.’’ On the Friday before J the concluding day of the V.R.C. rneet- | ing, Inkson followed the hounds on his pony hunter. Grey Girl, and it is esiii lated that he jumped 60 fences in the course of the hunt. On the ►Saturday he had mounts in each of the four jumping races at Flemington, and. completing the course in all of them, ho jumped the following number of obstacles:—Doutta Galln, 12; Trial Hurdle, 11; G.N. Steeple. 23; Foot scrap Steeple, 15—total, Cl. Therefore Inkson cleared about 120 fences in two days. After the races on the Saturday, someone vsked him what he intended to do on Sunday, and he jocularly remarked:—“l think I’ll take my pony over a few fences, just to keep my hand in.’’ May Be Best Friend Trainer T. F. Quinlivan has got Best | I Friend in hand. This line looking tvo- | year-old suffered a misha > at the Well- J ington meeting some months ago and ! I was put aside for a time, writes “Her- i ; mit.” Perhaps it was just as well, tor | j it gave the youngster a chance to grow '' i solid and for his bone to set. He is a j I big topped youngster with great gal- 1 I loping quarters and with a great burst j of speed. Me is likely to be above . the ordinary if he stands up to his ! work and he is in the right hands to develop the best that is in him. for in the past trainer Quinlivan has proved the equal of any in his profession at training for classic engagements, or | for hack company, according to the | calibre of the horses in training. In ! fact, he is an adept at the art of i piacing. and that means much to an owner. Two eases in point have been I his recent successes with Mountain ; Heath and lloyal Elm. who both won j a tail* amount on a very light preparation. Notwithstanding that M. J. MeOarten has done well with Royal Elm. he may find that Best Friend is , truly his best friend, from a stake winning point of view, when the totals I . for the next racing season are added I up -

Good Jumper Tlie Grand National candidate Kawini appears to have done'-well since his arrival at headquarters, and if he runs at all well in the: Longbeach Hurdles tomorrow he is bound to firm for his more important engagements at the C.J.C. carnival. A Good One I When Honeycomb first raced in the i Dominion, he gave a glimpse of that pace characteristic of most English performers, but though his subsequent efforts were somewhat disappointing, he has done so well lately as to suggest that he is just coming into his own. Early in his career Honeycomb was not over-raced, and the wisdom of this action may become apparent in the spring. The Irish-bred gelding is only a five-year-old. according to New Zealand time, so that he still has plenty of time before him to make a name for himself on the turf. Honeycomb will contest the Flying Hack Handicap at Riccarton on Saturday, and despite his 10.9 he should take *a power of beating. May Bob Up Radiate was a popular fancy in the far South for the Wellington Steeple- | chase, and. despite the fact that his name has been seldom mentioned in the Grand National connection, he may come into favour if he shows up well in the Homeby Steeplechase toj morrow. Radiate, of course, is by no j means a sound horse, but he is a good jumper, and if he were not troubled by leg ailments he might have taken a very high rank as a cross-country performer. Waiting For Der Tag Two well-fancied Winter Cup candidates in Black Duke and Taboo were allowed to forgo their engagements in tomorrow’s Brabazon Handicap, but as both horses are reported to be very fit perhaps their connections arrived at the conclusion that they have had sufficient racing to prepare them for the big Riccarton mile. In the absence of this pair, King Balboa is now sure to be a staunch favourite for tomorrow’s big handicap, and though he has begun slowly in recent racing, he is the possessor of such a stout finishing run that he will take a power of running down over the final furlong. Gay Sonnet, on the same mark as King Balboa, is really a good galloper, but she would appreciate a lighter scale with her weight correspondingly less, as she is not a big mare. Will Go Fast Most dangerous of Riccarton horses in the Brabazon may be Overdrawn, who changed hands during the currency of the Dunedin J.C. Winter Meeting. The Paper Money gelding had only one race at Wash dyke last week, but he showed excellent form in Tuning second to King Balboa in the

Prince Edward Handicap. In that event lie set a solid pace in front, and though well beaten by King Balboa, lie finished gamely in second place. Prickles is another Riccarton-trained horse who may run well. She has not had a race since she entered R. King’s stable, but she looks exceptionally well and with an outing tomorrow she should be in good order for her more important engagement in the Winter Cup. Sportsmen Return Included among New Zealanders who returned to Christchurch from Sydnev this Week were Mr. P. Hampton, owner of Quickplunge, and the well-known trotting trainers. M. B. Edwards and E. R. Husband. Mr. Hampton has been holidaying in Sydney for a month, and visited several of the meetings. In his opinion Oratrix had made much improvement since she landed at Sydney, and her recent victory was not surprising to her connections. Not a Rascal Rascal seems none the worse for his racing at South Canterbury last week, and if produced in the Brabazon Handicap tomorrow at Riccarton he will have a fair following. It will be in his favour that he -can begin brilliantly, and under 9.4 he may show up for a long way. Missed At the annual meeting on Tuesday of the Waverley Racing Club, the chairman reported, in connection with the deputation from the Waverley Club which waited on the Minister of Internal Affairs with regard to the club’s application for a. permanent extra day. They waited about, lie said, from 10.30 a.m. until 4.30 p.m. before they were received by the Minister. Those closely connected with racing had told them that they were sure to get the extra day. but when they Were met by the Minister they were disappointed. Mr. F. Besloy said that they did not get the support of the member for the district, as did other clubs. They were in a “lovely position.’’ for they did not gu prepared. He could not understand the Racing Conference’s attitude, fur they had given them an extra day each time they asked for it, and led them to believe that they won: "home and dry.” and then at the critical moment somersaulted out of it. Taumarunui got their extra day because they were 200 miles away from any other club.