TURF NEWS & NOTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 February 1939, Page 11

TURF NEWS & NOTES

CURRENT TOPICS FROM STABLE & COURSE

Views on Racing Facts and Fancies

another easy one for old bill

(By

“The Cynic.”)

Old Bill appears to have another easy race ahead of him in the Kumeroa Hack Handicap at Woodville next week and this event should throw further light on his prospects for the St Leger to be run at Trentham in six weeks’ time.

Since he won the Trial Plate at Trentham, Old Bill has trained on very nicely under Luke Wilson’s guiding hand at Awapuni, and there is every reason to believe that he is a better colt now than he was at the New Year, when he ran a .slashing race in fourth place in the Great Northern Derby. There would have been much interest in a meeting between Old Bill and Coronation at Woodville, but the Limond colt will be racing next week at Te Rapa, and so these St Leger aspirants will not clash yet awhile. However, Old Bill may have Boatsong for one of his opponents next week, and that greatly improved gelding will see that there is no loafing on the trip.

Might Have Drawn Them. Royal Chief, Wild Chase, Smoke Screen, Gay Son, Peerless, Beaupartir, Amigo, and several other good three-year-olds and older horses who are showing form will be doing their autumn racing in New Zealand, and it seems a pity that there is not a weight-for-age race like the Ormond Gold Cup on the programme for the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s autumn meeting. As the fixture at Hastings will be held a week before Easter, there is every possibility that most of the abovementioned horses would have been accorded nomination for the race, while most of them would also have entered for the £550 Hawke’s Bay Gold Cup. They would have found the meeting an excellent opportunity for trials for the Great Northern Oaks and St Leger, as well as the w.f.a. races at Riccarton, and there is no doubt the presence of Royal Chief at the meeting would have been an outstanding attraction.

Boost for Sire.

The Wairoa meeting was certainly a boost for the Gisborne sire Mimetic, whose representatives won six of the eight races in which they were engaged, and also filled three minor placings.

Boatsong and Mimicry each won a double for Mimetic, while Black Thread and Gay Mimic were his other winners, and Tu Rahiri, Minnow and Hinepit were place-getters. Boatsong is not engaged at Gisborne this week, but the other six are, and all are liable to keep their sire well in the limelight. Though bred in Australia', Mimetic is practically an English-bredhorse. His sire, the Persimmon horse Comedy King, was imported to- Australia, where he won the Melbourne Cup and sired a host of high-class horses. Joyeuse, the dam of Mimetic, was an imported mare by the St Leger winner Bayardo from Joie de Vivre (grand-dam of Lackham and Grand Knight), by Gallinule.

All of the stock of Mimetic appear to be hardy types that improve with age.

Silver !Sight as’Chaser. Silver Sight is once again a regular track attendant at Riccarton. It was decided a few months back to retire him from racing, as he had reached the stage as a hurdler when he was being asked to carry heavy burdens. He did so well in the paddock, however, that his owners thought fit to put him into training again with a view to steeplechasing. He has always been a proficient jumper, and he should be a decided acquisition to the ranks of crosscountry horses.

Not Long A Maiden. The Australian-bred White Rajah ran well enough at early summer meetings to suggest that he would not long remain a maiden. He is still eligible for that class. Two more failures were recorded against him at Pahiatua, and his owner, Mr J. Jameson, intends to put him out for a while. It was quite obvious from his recent efforts that he refuses to do his best.

New Trainer.

Formerly raced in Auckland by the Takanini trainer, F. Smith, Ebb and Flow is now carrying the colours of the Hastings trainer, W. H. Corlett, holds him on lease. Ebb and Flow had his first racing for some time when he contested the highweight events at Pahiatua. Although he had some trouble negotiating the sharp turns on this course, he ran well enough to suggest that there are still possibilities for him in the highweight class. He is a big and solidly made gelding by Tidal from Kahu Ariki, who was a half-sister to Head Serang. Blue Shirt and Copper nob.

Consistent Hack. One of the most consistent hacks in the north is the Vaals gelding, The Trimmer. He has settled down in good stylq. and now that he is working more tractably, should show better condition. The Trimmer is a good beginner who can run out a mile in solid style, and he may repay watching during the next few weeks.

Was Finishing On. ; Among the likely improvers noted at Matamata the other day was Little Ruse, who was finishing on solidly over the concluding stages of the Railway Handicap. At his previous start Little Ruse was third to Footloose and Noitaro at Stratford and as he appears to be coming right back to his best he will bear keeping in mind for Rotorua engagements. Forest Acre. Forest Acre gave a solid performance in the Matamata Cup on Saturday when he accounted for all but Gay Rose in a fine finish. It was his best performance for some time and only slight improvement on his running at Matamata will be necessary to make him one of the hardest to dispose of in the Rotorua Cup. in which he appears; on the minimum,

Home-bred Sire. The first of Nightly’s productions to race appeared in the Lyttelton Plate on Saturday. These were Night Shift and Grey Night, the former being from Minehead, and Grey Night from Grey Lass, dam of Grey Honour. Both failed to show up prominently, but can be expected to be more prominent later in the year. Night Shift is owned by his breeder, F. D. Jones, and Grey Night is trained by D. Cotton for Mr J. Munro.

Attractive Galloper. Among the interesting entries for the Rotorua meeting is the two-year-old, Fils de Vaals, who on the latter day of the recent mid-summer meeting of the Auckland Racing Club, ran right away with the' Chelsea Handicap, after being well back at the straight entrance. The stablemate to Cheval de Volee will not lack an optimistic following on the machines in the Arawa Park Stakes.

British Banner. When British Banner won the concluding event at the Ellerslie mid-sum-mer meeting he did so in solid style and he should bear keeping in mind for pending engagements. On the first day of the Rotorua meeting he is to contest the Pohutu Highweight and will have splendid fitness on his side. In the event of rain falling to soften the track his prospects will be appreciably enhanced.

Chances of Maxam. Under the steadier of 9.5 Maxam will need to give her best to hold the opposition in the Mokoia Hack on Rotorua opening day. However, she is a smart beginner and on the turning Arawa Park track she will have that in her favour. Her record this season to date has been one of marked consistency, her ten starts producing four wins and three thirds.

On the Improve. Sergia drew attention to her future prospects at the recent Ellerslie meeting when she ran third to Cheval de Volee and Gay Rose and any improvement on that form would suggest a good chance for her in the Rotorua Cup this week. In the interim she has been working along pleasingly in her preparation at Te Rapa and promises to strip fit and well on the day.

Disappointing. Mr A. K. Firth, owner of Royal Chief, was represented in the Halswell Hack Handicap on Saturday by his four-year-old filly Elegy, by Posterity from Damaris. When trained by F. D. Jones, this filly ran second in the New Zealand Oaks to Brunhild, but failed to carry on, and was turned out. Last spring when Jones was in Australia with Royal Chief, she was handed to Mrs J. Campbell to train, but judging by her form on Saturday on top of her track essays she does not look likely to earn much distinction on a race track.

Takapuna Cup Winner. De Friend, who won the recent Takapuna Cup at Ellerslie, is one of the earliest of the Defoes. Now six years old, he is a bay gelding out of the Romeo —Dixieland mare Jeanette, who was a good galloper and won more than a dozen races before being retired to the stud, where her first offspring was Unexpected, also a winner. De Friend was bought as a yearling from his breeder, the late Mr F. Hall, by Mr F. Tolerton, of Gisborne, who passed him on shortly afterwards to his present owner, Mr E. Fitzgerald. Shortly after purchasing De Friend as a yearling, Mr Fitzgerald, a stock agent of Gisborne, was telling some friends about the grand youngster by the new sire Defoe whom he had bought. A Maori who was among the gathering interrupted: “You say your chap is by de foe? Then why not cal] him de friend?”