Turf Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 796, 17 October 1929, Page 12

Turf Notes

CONDUCTED B'i

"EARLY BIRD

Whangarei Fixture The popular spring fixture oi the Whangarei Racing: Club is to be held on Thursday and Saturday, November 0 and 13. Splendid entries were received, and first day’s handicaps are due to make their appearance on Tuesday week, acceptances closing on November 3. Waikato R.C. Entries for all events at the Waikato R.C. spring meeting on November 16 and IS are due on Friday week, October 25. Waikato Hunt Acceptances Acceptances lor the Waikato Hunt Club’s annual race meeting at Cambridge on Labour Day are due with Mr. Walter Stopford, Cambridge, or with Messrs. Blomfield and Company. Auckland, at 5 p.m. next Monday. I nteresting Two exceedingly interesting entrants for the Whangarei Cold Cup next week are Paganelli and Delightment. Matamata Notes Prince Val, owned and trained by Mr. J. Clothier, is again in work on the local track, looking none the worse for his Auckland trip, and astute followers of the game pick Valkyrian’s son to win a good handicap before the season is far advanced. Rumour has it that a four-figure offer was refused by his owner after the Auckland meeting. Sports King, an older full-brother to Prince Val, who went amiss last spring, is in work again. If he trains on he should yet make good, as he showed pace when tried last year. Sports Queen, the dam of Sports King and Prince Val, is owned by Mr. G. Carolan, who lias two more of her progeny, a tliree-year-old gelding by Lucullus and a two-year-old filly by Lapidary. Matamata trained horses for the Waikato Hunt meeting on Labour Day are as follow:—The Jack Jumper, Star of the East, Raiti Hiki, Unoeo, Gold Rain, Vulroe, Oscar, Welcome Boy and Ruby Dawn. C. Garment is taking Raiti Iliki, Gold Rain, Ruby Dawn and Unoeo to Cambridge, and all are in good fettle with the last-named perhaps the fittest of the bunch. Valroe is showing plenty of dash in his work and as the leg trouble has disappeared he must be nearly ready for action. W. Egan’s Valreina, a three-year-old by Valkyrian—lrene Bruce, is doing light work. Patiently handled she should make a good filly.

Zircon Injured Only one race was got out of Zir- j con at Randwick. This was on the ; opening day of the A.J.C. carnival. : in the Hurdles. He jumped badly and j was nearly down at a flattened fence, pulling up with a bad leg. Night Raid Priced The successes of Nightmarch anu Phar Lap at Randwick recently induced an Australian sportsman to make inquiries about their sire, Night Raid, and a cable was sent to his owner,

Mr. Roberts, asking him to put a price on the horse. Mr. Roberts did so; the figure was £12,000, with certain important contingencis that practically precluded any deal. Good Winners Sydney files to hand show that Phar Lap’s Derby and Craven Plate successes were respectively worth £ 6,735 and £2,205, a total of £5,940. Nightmarch won over £7,000 on the trip. His Epsom win and Metropolitan second netted him £4,372. Holus Bolus in the West Holus Bolus, a Boniform gelding who has won races in New Zealand, was thought to have been thrown in the Beagle Purse, at the Perth Hunt Club's meeting last month, and was backed to odds on. He won by six lengths. One bookmaker yelled: ‘Til pay Holus Bolus,” before they had gone a furlong. N.Z. Cup Riders | Riding engagements in the New Zcaj land Cup are:—F. Voight, Rapier: B |H. Morris, Historic; IT. Goldfinch 1 Prince Humphrey: J. Barry, Hoylake; A. Eastwood, Chide; T. Metcalf, Amen R. Coveny, Prickles ‘(if started). Outspoken Comment Captain J. Gage Williams, who had charge of Mr. E. Riddiford’s horses at Trentham, and left for England about a year ago, is at present in Montreal, Canada. Ho is in that Dominion attending to some business interests of his father. He sends along a copy of the “Canada Daily Running Horse,” which to a New Zealander strikes a new note in Turf journalism. A close finish has the heading “Three Whiskers on the Line.” “Might Come to Life Here” requires no explanation even to us, nor does a collection of names under the heading “{Sleepers That are Ready.” There is nothing new in the question, “Account for tlie improvement if you can,” as applied to the win of one horse in better class after being a bad fourth a few days earlier. At the same time obviously speech and criticism is allowed more scope in Canada than in New Zealand. Under Orders Again Nearly 12 months have elapsed since Avon Court sported silk, and her owner-trainer, F. Gilchrist, has now deemed it time again to make a start on the four-year-old mare. The daughter of Lucullus and Avon Park looked very robust when brought to Ellerslie the other morning, and it will be several weeks yet before she is anywhere near racing trim. Avon Court was a consistent winner at two years, and as the spell is expected to benefit her considerably, her mentor may have a further profitable experience with her. Striking Form Toxeuma, who is trained at Greenmeadows, is reported to be going along satisfactorily, in view of a probable trip to Trentham for the spring meeting there at the end of the month, and seeing that he is striking form—he ran second in the sprint at Napier Park recently—he may be worthy of attention in his next few starts. Last season Toxeuma proved to be one of our best three-year-olds, and he should be just as good this term, too, for the pair which beat him in the G.N. St. Leger (Concentrate and Prodice) have since shown themselves on a plane with the best handicap horses in the Dominion. Toxeuma is in the six furlong race on the first day at Trentham. and this engagement is expected to key him up for the Harcourt Cup, one mile and a-quarter at weight-for-age. the principal event on tHe second day’s card. The Rest “Nowhere” The origin of the term “Nowhere” is discussed as follows by a correspondent of the “National Review,” in connection with an article on Eclipse: Eclipse did not win tlie Derby. He was foaled in 1764, and the first Derby—a race for three-year-olds—was run in the year 1780. Do you know that the term “Nowhere” in your quotation is a technical one? “Nowhere” in the rules of racing means 200 yards or more from the winning-post; and if a horse beats his field by over 200 yards the other horses are not named by the judge, who returns them as “Nowhere.” The famous quotation occurred thus. Eclipse’s owner was so confident of his horse’s ability to win bis first race—a 50gn plate, at Epsom on May 3, 1769—that he made a very heavy wager that he would place all the horses in the race. When asked to name their order, lie pronounced the famous sentence: “Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere.” as he was convinced that all the other horses would be “distanced,” i.e.. beaten 200 yards by Eclipse and', therefore, would be “Nowhere” and not “placed” by the judge. The owner won the bet easily, ! the margin of 200 yards being exceedf ’’ and the jockey unable to hold the j horse. NIGHTMARCH SCRATCHED Press Association CHRISTCHURCH. Today. Nightmarch was scratched for all engagements at the Canterbury Jockey Club meeting at 9 o’clock this morning. He was among left in the New Zealand Cup after the first acceptance.