RACING & TROTTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 31 March 1926, Page 13

RACING & TROTTING

On and Off the Track.

Racing. April 3 —Tuapeka County J.C. A April 3,'5 —M'airarapa li.O. April, 3, s—Auckland ICC. April 3, s—Eoildiugs—Eoildiug J.C. April 3, 5 Riverton R.O. April 3, .5, 7: 10—Australian J.C. April s—Beaumont ICC. April'S—Waipukurau J.C. April s—lvuinarn5 —lvuinarn Ji.C. April 5, G —Canterbury J.C. , ; .April 29, May I—S.C.J.C. Cy.'. 1 - r "' Trotting. -April 3. 7—Metropolitan T.C. April 21—Ashburton T.C. . April 29, .May I—Forburyl—Forbury Park T.C. May 22.—Oaiuaru T.C. Metropolitan trots open .on Saturday. Croat Castor on .Monday. Croat Autiinm on 'Tuesday. Nominations for the S.C.J.C. autumn mooting arc duo on the lltli April. Reremoana and Lady Cavendish are .booked for Auckland' at Caster. Croat Bingen's share of the stake 1)1 the Trotting championship at Perth wak £1250. Taraire credited his owner with £IOSO. 'The track on which the championship was held at Perth is less than half -al mile in circumference. Moorland has been purchased by Ah; R. Campbell, ami the Finland gelding is to join Deucalion and Baudalero in D. Campbell’s, stable at Riccarton. At least two jockeys contracted double engagements at Oaniaru, and probably were fortunate that the. aggrifivbd owners did not Jay a complaint with the stewards. • Like many other good performers in Australia, the unbeaten three-yearold filly Valicare traces back to New Zealand stock. Her dam, Courantc, is by Alaister from Cross-step, by Stepniak— The. going did not suit The Harp at Oamaru, and after his failure on'Tuesday, he was not asked to race again at the fixture. 'The Our King gelding is very well, however, and his win at Hororata will not he his last this season. Coastguard registered three seconds on end in the AYainmtc-Oamaru trip, and on that account, can ho regarded as unlucky. The Soldier's Chorus gelding is a useful galloper, but he is an indifferent fencer, and his lack oi size may always tell against him over hurdles. .Moratorium .showed very little fight at the business end of liis. race at \Y«iimatOj and curled up quickly on the first day at Oamaru. On Wednesday, however, lie'struggled along under pressure, and it may be too early to write him down as one of the bad .Bonilorms. Moratorium lacks noLhing in looks or condition, and may be one of the sort which requires time. Sporlsmen will have plenty to occupy their attention during the next week or ten days. There will he. .six race meetings and one trotting fixture in the Dominion on Saturday, and seven race meetings on Monday. Jn addition the A.J.C. meeting will he full of interest, with Pilliewinkio, It iiimy mode, Te Alonanui and other New Zealanders claiming engagements in the principal w.f.a. events.. On Saturday there will be racing at Ellurslie. Peil'ding, Masterton, Riverton, Tuapeka. and Kumara, and trot--ting at Addington. The racing fixtures for'*Monday Include Riccarton, Auckland, Podding, Riverton,- Masterton, Beaumont and Waipukurau. 'Hie O.J.C. meeting will be concluded on Tuesday, and the Metropolitan Trotlmg Club s gathering on Wednesday. Fairy Tidings was reported to have changed hands two ■ or three weeks ago, but the deal fell through. The Washdyke mare is now a member of P.T. Hogan’s team. The racecourse trainer has had plenty of experience with relatives o f 'Fairy Tidings, two half-brothers in Golden King anti Osteriiiali having been through his hands. Practically all the progeny of Fairy Bennie, dam of the three horses named, as well as of Mythology and Aguola, have been in either the Hogan or Trilford stable.

Snatcher seemed to be very unlucky on the second diiy of the Oamaru meeting. At the last turn lie was running on the outside and just, behind Zaragoza, the ultimate winner. Then his rider, apparently fearing that he was too wide out, pulled right across and sought, an opening nearer the rails. This did not come until thirty yards from the post, and the dash the AVaslidyko trained gelding put in to get fourth place convinced most ol his backers that lie would- have won had his rider come the shortest way homo from the foot of the ir.li. In Hawkes Bay this brother to Anomaly had the reputation of training off quickly, but lie looks a solid enough sort, and one of the type which might do well over fences.

There was a simmer of excitement prior to the harness trot <ui ihe second day of the Oamaru meeting. As the. horses lined up on their marks, two or three reared, and one of them, Tennessee's Child (a staunch favourite) tipped her driver out oi tin l vehicle, and set off along the straight. Eventually she was caught by a Waslidvke trainer, and was driven back by the clerk of the course, with the trainer acting as 'pacemaker on the ollieial's horse. Foi'tiiniilely for Iris supporters, Tennessee’s Child sobered down anil gave a pleasing disp'ay all through the race. The Oamaru-traine.d gelding is one of the most promising green pacers seen out at a provincial meeting this season.

Scion must have resented tlie derision which greeted Ins eliort on the opening duy at Oiunaru, alder an absence ol iver eighteen moiif.lis from the race, track.' To the North Otago .Cup, the BrnTiforiii gelding, \vlu> claims the unique distinction of havin'' won the Near Zealand Cup and the Auckland Cup in one season, could not iollmv the. simrt pace set by the leaders, and,-.was soon •pluj'gii'Si along fifty or sixty yards behind the field. .In the Buckley Memorial, there was no speed on in the early stages, and this enable:! Scion to keep within .strikin'' distance. ITe was on ill!' SO well at the end that his rider could he pardoned if ho felt slightly disconcerted. Ike iior.se has diet been in work very lon*', and it will not require much further improvement to make him a likely winner shortly. All going well with him, the Birthday Handicap at Dunedin should he a race to suit him. The Dominion promises to be worthily represented at Ranclwick on Satur-

day. The principal w.f.a. event on the ."ard is the Autumn Stakes (I.V miles), in which the field will probably comprise I’iliiewinkie, Winding, . Heroic, Pantheon, To Alonanui and others. It Inis been suggested that the, right-hand-ed I rack mnv not suit Pilliewinkio, hut the Winkle gelding found no difficulty in accommodating himself to the reverse wav of running at Auckland, and is not likely to he'greatly inconvenienced at Randwick. Windbag, one ol Australia’s many ‘'best horses since Carbine.” defeated the New Zealander at Randwick in the spring, and -also in the Melbourne Cup, hut their last two jousts at w.f.a. resulted' in favour of Pilliewinkie, who will be more Seasoned by autumn racing than his rival. On paper the New Zealander’s chances, look to lie equally as good as those ol 1 lie Alagpie gelding. The three-year-olds, including Manfred, And.rare and Runnymede are engaged in this- St. Lcger, which promises to furnish* a most interesting contest. Manfred' was described as a super-horse, but lie hn.s so often disgraced himself at the barrier that he lias lost caste, and he will not he able to give away anything at the post to Valicare or Runnymede. Yalicare, however, may be started in flip Doncaster, for winch she was one ol the favourites when the last mail left Australia, and Runnymede is under a cloud. . F. E. Jones has been retained to ride Listening Post at .Riccarton. It is understood that the recent meeting of the Oamaru Jockey Club resulted in a. deficit of over £4OO. The Geraldine mare Edith Looanda is now among the paying guests at AJ. B. Edwards's stable. Gleutruin went to Auckland with Run Up anil Tarlcton, in charge of A. AlcAulay. There were only *2l tickets on Euchre when the Husbandman gelding won the. Sandou Hurdles at the Rangitikei meeting last week. The brilliant young purer Glenelg, who has enjoved a. holiday in the paddock, has rejoined W. AVarreii’s team of workers. Black Admiral is a better horse for the racing he had at New Brighton, and lie will be in excellent shape for Faster contests. Ills Majesty’s two essays over hurdles at Oamaru apparently did him no harm, as lie managed to win a.welter at Hororata three days later. Fairy Tidings seemed to encounter a lot of trophic in her .second run at Oamaru, and under the circumstances ran a fair race. <* It was reported that C. Emerson was engaged to ride (deiitruin in the. Great Easter, but it will be Set Sail who carries the crack South Island jockey m the big race on Easter Monday. In the spring Kilfane and Mountain Lion were handicapped, on practically level terms, in the Riverton Cup on Saturday, Mountain Lion is asked, to concede liis erstwhile stable-mate 261bs. Economist was scratched for the Canterbury Jockey Club’s Great Easter Handicap at ,i p.m. on Friday. His owner, Mr (I. B. Starkv, died in England a, few days ago. Bonny Slice added another to. the imposing list of successes by South Canterbury horses in uniioppled events this season. It was only by a brilliant finishing effort that R. Town ley goL her up to win on the post alter losing considerable ground bv a break. George Young informed a Sydney pressman that he knew nothing of theMinerva motor-ear and other gifts he. , was supposed to have received from the owner of Heroic. He hoped’ the story was true, but all he knew about it was what lie had read in the newspapers. The entries for the Trcntliam Gold Cup, to be run next month, include‘Rapine, Gold Light, Count Cavour, To Alonanui and Star Stranger, if this lot go to the post, the race should provide one of the most interesting eontests ever witnessed in the two-mile w.f.a. event. Two-thirds of the 1925-26 season have expired, and a very interesting situation is disclosed by the statistics in connection with the jockey,’s premiership. C. Emerson is on top with. 571 wins, then come R. Reed 5-.1, and J. J’arrv 52. in private, Set Sail can always hold Listening I’ost to run out seven furlongs strongly The Gore-owned mare lias done everything asked of her since her last appearance ill public. Oil Thursday morning she beat Listening Post comfortably over coven furlongs. Last year Siaosi and Civility, both running in the name of ’the AYaikato owner-trainer, H. L. Russell, finished first and second in the Great Easter. 'This pair both will be on hand to contest the race, but they will rim in different interests, Civility having, been acquired in the interval by a Wanganui owner. Pink Note must be added to the list of horses which have displayed special aptitude for climbing the Oamaru ‘■hill.” The Paper Money gelding was under pressure in. hold bis position at the tail of the field in the dip on the second day, hut went past them as it thev were standing when the rise had to be negotiated. . Apparently The Banker did not progress satisfactorily after his transportation to Australia, ior lie has dropped out of all autumn engagements, and it is stated that his owner, Air Otway Falkiner, lias decided to centre liis hopes on next season for a return of the sum he expended in ihe purchase of the New Zealand gelding. Pilliewinkie was not nominated for flic Warwick Farm meeting last Satuiday. hut Inis four engagements at Randwick —the Autumn Stakes, Sydney Cup, Cumberland Slakes, and A.J.C. Plate. The distances are Ti miles. 2 miles, Ff miles, and 2\ miles, respectively. Pilliewinkie was not nominated for tile Ali-Aged Stakes, one mile. Roman Archer, winner of the Buckley Memorial Handicap at Oaniaru, was purchased as a yearling in Sydney, by A. if. Fisher for 2(1(1 guineas. His sire. Bowman, who died some time ago, was a. brother to Arrowsmilh. His dam, Gaula, is by Gaulus, a Gozo horse who had it Alelbourne Cup among Ins successes. A brother ol Gaultis,’ I ho Grafter, also figured as a, Alelbourne Cup winner. An attempt was made lo excuse the lenient handicapping of Royal Tea, when lie won at Roseliill. by suggesting that the Auckland gelding had not been properly registered. The Sydney scribe “Pilot” disposes of this as follows: — “lioval Tea’s nomination for the two-year-old race at RosehiU was quite in order, and any objection against him would not have stood a. chance of being sustained.” Sun Up and Tarlcton have gone to | Auckland. Sun Up was handicapped I at 7.8 in tlie Great Easter, and was allotted six pounds less in (In' Faster {Handicap at Ellerslie. There is, how-

ever. an additional furlong to cover I in the Auckland race, and it is the i popular impression that this will trouble the Sunny' Lake gelding. He was stopping perceptibly at the end of a mile in the North Otago.Cup, and just struggled home trom The Cheat, when conceding only Gibs. Commendation duly carried his 10.5 to victory in a two-ycnr-okl handicap at Alarton. and the merit of the periormanee was emphasised by the fact that he was carried out at the home turn. His backers appear to have been fairly lucky, however, as ho gave a lot of trouble at the barrier, and' the starter was roundly criticised for the leniency lie extended to the Limond gelding.. It took twelve minutes to get the field away, a fact which docs not augur too well for his chances at Riccarton. Black Duke’s failure on the second day at. Oamaru need not he held against him. In the jump out the throe-vear-old was almost down on his nose, and had to he ridden hard to kohl his P.l ; < ce o:i the rails. A more experienced rider would probably nave allowed him more time to recover, which would have entailed going round the field, hut- would have given him better going to race on and more room to gallop in. Everything went against IT. P. \\ ilson’s given youngster in the race, hut he will win plenty of races if he remains sound. Mantua races best when on the lean side, and some exports considered her too “pretty” to show her best form at Oamaru. The wee mare, however, carried the confidence of her owner in the Buckley Memorial, and it was exasperating to see her chance extinguished through no fault of her own. The manner in which she galloped when her rider sent her on a hopeless chase of the leaders, indicated that she would have been particularly hard' to beat with an equitable despatch. She may he on hand at the finish of the Sockburn Handicap on Monday. J. Beale, rider of Royal Despatch at Hororata, was suspended until April 3 for crossing Bonatic. It is current rumour that the Oamaru Jockey Club will hold only a 'oneday meeting in October. The. rising North Island lightweight, T.-Green, who scales about 7.2, will be, seen at Ricearton next week, on Claildhu and Piuthair. Given is about the most promising of the joungcr apprentices in the north. Ngata promises to acquit himself with distinction in important hurd'e races during the.winter. There are not many proficient fencers who could have been capable of winning the chief j event on the second day at Rangitikei under 9.7. Gienross, who won the Rangitikei Cup (li mi'es), with 8.13, is by A* 1surd, but probably inherits his stamina from his dam Bronze, who won a Great Autumn and a. Wanganui Cup. Glenross cost Air W. Duncan 1175 guineas a.s a'yearling, but suffered from an ailment in the nose, and did not win lyitil he was lour years old. He has now' won eight races of a total value of £1825. There will, be a ferry steamer from AVeiiingtou on Sunday night, and this will enable North Island jockeys and racegoers to assist at Feiltlmg or A\ airarapa on Saturday, and attend the Riccarton fixture on Alouday. B. H. Morris, who is to ride Grand Knight at the C.J.C. meeting, will do the Eeilding meeting on Saturday, and Tl. Goldnch, Commendation's pilot, also has engagements for Saturday at Eeilding.

R. Reed, M. McCartcn, L. G. Morris and J. Barry will ride at Auckland at Easter Reed will steer Mr A. li. Williams’s horses, including Rapine and Star Stranger; Morris is engaged for Reiemoana. and Ly.saiul.er; AlcCarten. will ride Alotiey in the Easter Handicap; and Barry’s mounts will be ilipo amt Shirley. Morris is to handle The .Mask and others ol’ Air G. M. Currie’s string. One New Zealander who will bo missed at Randwick next week will be 'The Hawk, who is spoiling in Hawke’s Bay. The Ormond Gold Cup race on a rough track seems to have taken toll of , The Hawk.a.s well a.s of Gloaming. The AVelkin freak has not started since that ] day, and The Hawk has never been in ■ a position to show his line iorm since his strenuous chase ot ? the champion. Probably both li. J. Mason and J. aCmeron now regret their trip to Hastings last autumn. There were .several mootings of the judicial comimitteo at Oamaru la«st week, one of them being called for a rather unusual reason. After the last, race, three of the jockeys laid a complaint against starter AJcl.vor for using abusive language at the starting post. Air Alelvor said one of the boys had given a good tie,*. 1 of trouble at different limes, not being able to handle a horse at the barrier, while before the start in question several of thorn failed to hold their mounts up to the barrier. He admitted using strong language and felt that the occasion .warranted it. 'The committee decided to inform Air Alelvor that it deprecated such conduct in a starter, a.s tend ing to a loss of dignity ami control, and suggested that under such circumstance.s a line should be imposed or the delinquents should lie, reported.

The cloud of uncertainty concerning tilt' probable movements of (, leiitriti' 1 and Count Cavour was dissipated when the mare went to Auckland at the end of hist week ill charge of A. McAula.v. It was announced two or three weeks ago that the pair were likely to go ! north, but the usually well-informed . gentlemen who accommodate the public I with doubles, evidently had sized up I the situation diltereutly. No doubt they banked on the fact that Air J. S. Barrett, as a steward of the C.J.C., was unlikely to send the Count abroad, and naturally supposed that (ilentruiu would remain where her trainer was. 'ldle owners of the mare, who reside in ■ Southland, apparently desired to send her to TCllerslie and Avondale, and , early backers who .supported her double lat a short price for •;lui Master and Autumiii are left lamenting. | Windbag’s win in the Chipping Norton Stakes marked iiis first success since lie annexed,the Melbourne Cup. Just before he was soundly beaten bv Valicaro in the Raw-son Stakes, the -Magpie gelding was reported to be affected by a. severe cold, and probably was not at his best. His win at Warwick Harm will hearten his adherents, but it did not prove that lie is at his best. The Night Patrol, who is not so good at ten fur'ongs as at a. mile, thoroughly extended the winner, someI thing he could not have done with the Windbag of the spring. Svclnev people are very loval, and probably Windbag will start favourite for the Autumn Stakes on Saturday, but if the race, were run in Melbourne no doubt Pilliewinkie would be at the Miorter price.