TURF NEWS AND NOTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 July 1940, Page 3

TURF NEWS AND NOTES

CURRENT TOPICS FROM. STABLE AND COURSE Totalkator Twsiover io New Zealand (BY ‘'THE GRAFTER.”) With less than one month of winter racing yet to come to conclude the 1939-40 season, the totaiisator returns indicate that the turnover at galloping meetings will exceed that of the previous season, in spite of the fact that we have been at war for 10 of those 11 months. The mainstay of July racing in the Dominion is the Wellington Club, which last year handled in excess of £197,000, and if this figure is approximated the investments for the season should be in the region of £5,850,000. compared with £5,802,871. Clubs of the Auckland district have already substantially exceeded the 1938-39 aggregate, the present figure up to the Waipa Racing Club's meeting being £2.241,723 10s, against £2,094,408 for the complete previous term.

Three small' meetings have yet to be held in the Canterbury district, which at present shows a deficiency of over £50,800, and it is unlikely that last year's figure of £701,881 will be reached. At the moment it stands at £717.057 10s. Wei fington district's total last season was £962.002. and the investments, if on a par, should enable those clubs to return an aggregate of close on £ 1.050.000. The present amount is £852.145 10s. Two hunt meetings are still to be held in the Wanganui district, which has witnessed a heavy' falling-off in betting, the existing total being £551.875 10s and the previous annual amount £635.064 10s. The same trend is seen., says the Auckland Herald, but to a lesser extent, in the Dunedin. Hawke's Bay, Southland. Taranaki and Greymouth districts, and as only two hunt programmes in the Hawke's Bay area and a one-day meeting in the Dunedin district have to be held the position cannot show any great improvement, j The incomplete totals for the 11 months under review, with the full amounts for last season in parentheses. | are as under: —Dunedin. £310,412 10s (£354.082); Hawke’s Bay. £261 390 (£311.083); Southland. £278.818 10s (£291,379 10s); Taranaki. £267.187 (£289,509 10s); Greymouth, £83.161 (£103,461). The position clearly indicates the strength and stability of racing in the Auckland and Wellington racing areas. Clinch on Easy List. The three-year-old Clinch, .who displayed encouraging form by winning three races in the hack class in the autumn, is at present on the easy list owing to a slight cold. Although he does not possess a great deal of size, Clinch gives the impression that he will stay fairly well and he should be capable of winning in open handicap company in the new season. Santoft Amiss. Santoft, winner of the Wellington Steeplechase in 1937, is unlikely to be seejT’out at all this winter, as he broke down during a schooling task with Nightbound at Washdyke. Trained by F. Trilford for Messrs W. H. and W. D. Orbell. Santoft is a splendid jumper, but an unsound one. and many of his preparations have been interrupted. He has not raced since August twelve months ago, when he finished out of a place in the Grand National and was runner-up to Erination in the Lincoln Steeplechase.

! Etzel. Trainer Robinson has Etzel in good order at Opaki and the Siegfried gelding should soon fill a place. Harbour Bar Injured. On the eve of -the Danncvirke Hunt Club's meeting Harbour Bar. who had won well at. the Manawatu winter meeting, poisoned a leg and it will be some rime before he will race again. He had been entered for racing at Trentham and was expected to add to his winning account there. However, he is only a six-year-old and has time to fulfil all expectations of his owner. Mr F. Donnelly. Kerr Injured. Concussion and abrasions were suffered. by C. L. Kerr when he fell from Ardsallagh while schooling at Greenmeadows. The mare rolled across Kerr, and he was taken to the Napier Hospital unconscious. He regained consciousness, but his condition was for some time reported to be serious. Heavy Mortality. There has been heavy mortalityamong former winners of the Liverpool Grand National Steeples in England this year. The fifth to be reported is that of Royal Mail, the winner at Aintree in 1937. His owner. Mr Lloyd Thomas, resolved to ride Royal Mail himself in the following year, but before the event Mr Thomas was thrown from another mount and killed. Royal Mail was then sold to Mrs C. Evans for 6500 guineas, -for he was comparatively a young horse, but although he won further races, and contested the National again in 1938 and 1939. a series of misadventure came against him. Trainers and Jockeys. The New Zealand record of 52 wins i for a season established by T. . R. George in the 1935-36 season is not likely to be surpassed this year. At the present time.l. Tinsley and H. Dulieu divide the honours among the trainers with 46 wins each. Both trainers have teams to race' at Trentham. Hastings and at the Manawatu and Rangitikei Hunt meetings, comprising six days of racing, but they will have to secure much more than their share of the spoils to gain seven victories in that time. The leading horseman. W. J. Broughton. broke a long period of non-success when he rode Squeers in the maiden event at Woodville, but there has been little change in the order of (he other | successful jockeys. The list up till I yesterday is as follows: —W. J. Broughton 55. B. 11. Morris 49. H. N. Wiggins 47. P. Atkins 42. W. J. Mudford 42, P. I Spratt 40. G. R. Tattersail 36. G. L. Dulieu 28, and C. T. Wilson 27. Night Scout Worth Watching. A horse that fills the eye as a possibility over jumps is Night Scout, but he is a long while in the making. Golden Wattle. A horse which has galloped well at Opaki lately is Golden Wattle, and the Cape Horn gelding should be worth keeping an eye on in future engagements. B. J. Kelleher is getting the best possible out of Golden Wattle.

Gallopinn Well. Larwood is plugging along solidly at Opaki and B. J. Kelleher has pul the Danilof gelding through some good gallops in readiness for future meetings. In Good Heart. Rose Mimetic is striding also nicely in her work at Opaki and trainer G. J. Johanson has the Mimetic mare in good heart. Interesting Juvenile. A recent addition to T. H. Gillett's team al Riccarton is Espionage, a chestnut yearling colt by Solicitor General, out of the imported Spion Kop marc Spionetta. This colt was bought at the January sales by Dr C. Nigel Smith, of Australia, for 330 guineas, and since then he has been at the Inglewood Stud, where he has been broken in and developed. The colt shows a lot of Carbine characteristics in his general appearance, and evidently has thrown to the double cross of the great New Zealand horse, which appears close up on botn sides of his pedigree. Spinalot, a half-sister by Iliad to this colt bought by Mr Ken Austin at the 1939 yearling sales as a prospective brood mare proposition, has recently been sent from Inglewood to Australia, where she will go into the stable of the successful trainer, B. Payten. Spinalot is bred on almost similar lines to the English horse Challenger, who headed the list of winning sires in the United States of America in 1938, and whose son. Challedon. is regarded as the best horse seen there for years. Challenger is by Swynford (sire of Iliad), from a half-sister to Spionctta’s dam. Spionetta was bought some years ago in England as a yearling for 2300 guineas, and was originally sent to New Zealand to be mated with Night Raid. She is now in Mr J. A. Alexander's stud at Maxwell. RACING FIXTURES July 9, 11. 13—Wellington. July 20 —Matamata. July 20—Waimnfc District Hunt. July 20 —Manawatu Hunt. July 27 —Rangitikei Hunt. July 27—Rotorua and Bay of Plenty Hunt. July 27—South Canterbury Hunt. August 3—Christchurch Hunt. August 13, 15, 17—C.J.C. Grand Nation-