CHARGES MODERATE.

I I, Ttkgßfcuni ■_—_wist ___sag'Sd to, and a 'Bus » ___ __ K __x, __=, _r„_2,

_ am glad to see that the Hon. G. McLean ha« again determined to race, and with that intention has placed threo youngßters in the hands of Mr C. Turnbull, a sport well-known in Dunedin. Theso consist of St. Clair, a rising three-year-old colt by Musket - Pulchra; St. Ives, rising three year-old colt by Gorton -Legerdemain, and % two-year-old called St, Swithin. Report hath it that St. Clair has not grown up much since he was a yearling, and his hocks have a suspicious appearance.

Glancing through the nominations for the next Maribyrnong Plate and the V. R.C. Derby of ISB7, I notice that the three Musket colts belonging to Mr E. Mitchelson aro nominated for each, while the name of Niagara (Trenton's half-brother) appears in the Derby entries. Tho New Zealand entries for the Melbourne Cup aro Liverpool, Disowned, Tetford,Winchester, Trenton, Nelson, Torrent, Lochiel, and Moana. Tho Hon. W. Robinson's team and Trenton are also nominated for '•• Champion Stakes, while EnSllado (l.r. ifeldt's full brother), and Engagement (full sister to Martini-Henry), havo been entered for several of the juvenile races.

I have been looking over the performances of Cinderella for the past season, and I find that she has won thirteen races, been second three times, and third three times, while on a similar number of occasions she has been unplaced. This is an excellent record, but strange to say, tho three races in which the daughter oi Jav'lin failed to gain a situation,wero over 1| milo courses. The net amount won in stakes by Cinderella tots up to the respectable sum of £1,360 16s.

Judging from tho way the party behind Kangaroo supported him in the totalisator for the Great Northern Steeplechase on Monday, it was not hard to see tha^ they had a real good thing. The splendid manner in which the son of Tbe Mute ran showed that they made no mistake with him, and tho straightforward way they acted with the horse from the time he was landed here makes me express the wieh that they will be prevailed to pay us another visit on some other occasion. Kangaroo was most artistically handled by Edwards, and the patient way he rode him was a treat to witness.

Betting has commenced in Molbourne on the next Derby and Cup, and the double Volcano and Silvermine has been backed to win £2_,000 at 100's to 3. At prices varying from 1,000 to 8 to 1,000 to 5 Trident, Blairgowrie, and Chesham havo also been mixed in all sorts of ways with a score or moro of Cup horses, Nelson, Trenton, Commotion, and Malua being written as frequently as any, while thoro has beon a decided inclination to Dnck William Toll for tho Melbourne Cup.

Mr XV. Laxon, the owner of Lone Hand, tells mo that Mr E. B. Kinloch, veterinary surgoon, has been vory successful in the Otahuhu district with several bad cases of totanus lately. Old Lone Band was among tho number successfully treated, and as tetanus in horses is looked upon by many aa incurablo, he thinks it only right that tho matter should be publicly known.

The names of several horses which have been absent from tho turf for somo time appear in tho list of nominations for both the Melbourne 'and Caulfield Cups, notably The Plunger, King of tho Gipsies, Boolka, and Velocipede. Commotion ia also a notable absentee from tho Caulfield Cup, and a deal of disappointment has been occasioned in both Sydney and Melbourne by the non-appearance of Phillip Augustus's name in the Melbourne Cup nominations. He had been heavily supported in doubles.

Although J. Rae rode a couple of winners at the A.li.C. Winter Meeting on Monday, it waa hard luck for him that he had to accept the mount on Shotover in the big Steeplechase, or he most certainly would have been on Belle. The Messrs Duder wero anxious to secure his services, but Mr Leonard having first called on him ho had no alternative left him but to rido Shotover. What was Rae's loss waa gain for another, and Frowin signalised his re-appearance after his disqualification in January last, by riding Belle, while on Saturday last at Otahuhu, he steered home Rowdy in the principal Steeplechase.

From Melbourne comes tin news that Welcome Jack ia to be brought back to Now Zealand. It is stated that hia " leg " has become so bad that be will never stand another preparation.

"Augur" was in Sydney several days ago, and during hia visit interviewed Jacinth (Nordenfeldt's full brother), and this is what he says of him : - He is not so promising a colt aa hia relative, co far aa appearances go, but still thero is something of our last Derby winner about his quarters. It waa thought that he once betrayed symptoms of nasal disease, and it was considered advisable to lot him alone for a timo, but now he is quite sound, and Duggan hopes to get him to the post for his spring engagements. By far tho finesthorse of tho team was his relative Krupp, who is by Musket from Pungawerew<-ro, and, therefore, full brother to the grand colt in Mr W. E. Dakin's stable. He towered above everything, and if ho will only stand a strong preparation I think wo shall see a really good horso. The same authority also writeß :—I had a good look at Blairgowrie and Chesham after thoy had finished their work ono morning, and their admirers will ha delighted to hoar that both are wintering aa well as could bo dosired. I have always regarded Cheaham as tbe colt likely to be the bettor stayer of the two, but thoir trainer ia full of affection for Blairgowrie, whose defeat by Volcano he attributes to a cannon with Tamarisk after rounding the turn. Both colts were as bright as Btars in their coats, and though they had been eased a bit einco the A.J C. Autumn Meeting they had not put on a pound too much flesh. All going well, the better of the two will probably prove a thorn in the side of the crack of the Kirkham stud.

According to the last iasue of tbo Victorian Racing Calendar to hand, no less than 234 jockeys are registered, and of thia number 105 pay £1 a year, which entitles them in case of need to the benefits of the distressed jockeys' fund, The Eheet also tells of 76 registered trainers and 251 registered bookmakers, who contribute to the V.R.C. the very substantial total of £4,625. The register of disqualifications, extending from 1878, occapies a whole page of the calendar, and 62 horses are placed under disqualification for running at unregistered meetings ; but so woll haa thia rule beon observed of lato that not one case has occurred during the past two years.

It turns out that Matchlock has been purchaeed for the Nawab Ashanoolah of Dacco, a Mahommedan prince of great sporting proclivities. The son of Musket and Yatterina has boen bought specially to run in the Viceroy's Cup, in which he will, in all probability, meet tho English horse Meial.

Gamblers are proverbial for their superstition (writes "Vigilant"), and there are few racing men who pay no attention to coincidences. In this connection the remarkable combination of coincidences which characterised the Queen's Birthday Mooting at Sydney is to mo most interesting. Royalty ruled right through the results. Silver King (renamed Mackay) won the Poyal Stakes. Bonnie Queen very appropriately carried off the Sovereign Stakes, which, with equal appositeness, might have* beon won by All Gold, who stamped him self 18 carat by annexing the Queen's Birthday Cup ; and, to complete my category of coincidences, another sprig of royalty, a son of King Tom—Studley—won the Steeplechase.

Full particulars are now to hand of fho race for the Two Thousand Guineas. Ormonde, the winner, was ridden by G. Barrett, while Archer was on the unplaced Saraband. Tboro were only half adozen starters, the smallest field on record since 1860. Minting, who ran second, started favourite at 11 to 10, the prices about the others being 3 to 1 saraband, 7 to2ormonde, 100 to 3 Mephistofwho ran third) Ormonde won by two lengths, Mephis'o was a bad third, and Saraband fourth. The time was 1 minuto 46 5-6 th seconds for the mile and 17 yards with Oat up. Tho value of the stakes was 4,000 sovereigns,and the following graphic description by •'Augur " in the " Sporting Life '"will give an idea of how tho race was run :—" The race was one of tho strongest run imaginable. Minting's orders and Ormonde's orders wero to come through from end to ond ; that is, to gallop the milo as hard as thoy could lay their feet to the ground, just like a man running a sprint race. And it was dono. Coracle, who was started to make running for Ormonde, had a back view of the situation the wbolo time, and as a matter of fact tho fon of Bend Or and Lily Agnes had won tho race as far from homo as could be satisfactorily made out. Attho Bushes it was all over, and although Minting stuck to his j work, and came again half way up the hill, J. Ormonde strode away from him with giant

Bend Or, the sire of this year's English Derby winner Ormonde1, is the hero of one of the most sensational stories ever told in tuif history, and its circulation led to the colt being protested against after he won the Derby, on the ground that he had been changed whon a yearling, and was not the son of the Rouge Rose, but of Clemence, and that the colt who was running under the name of Tadcaster,was tho son of Rouge Rose. The story is said to have originated amongst a number of stud grooms, who met at Newmarket during tho July meeting .of 1579, after Bend Or had won tho Chesterfield Stakes. Some of the Duke of Westminster's servants saw the colt being placed in tbe railway-box, and, afterinspecting him, thoy came to tho conclusion that he was the offspring of Clemence, and not Rouge Rose, they being able to distinguish him by certain marks which they declared they had noticed when he was a foal. In the following year Lord Falmouth's stud groom took a mare to Eaton to bo covered by Doncaster, and while there the Duke of Westminster's groom mentioned the circumstances to the visiting groom, who in turn told Matthew Dawson. The latter subsequently repeated the story to Blanton, the trainer and partowner of Robert the Devil, who ran second to Bond Or in the Derby. Mr Brewer, who was the other owner, on being informed of the rumour, took counsel from Prince Soltykoff, and Arnull, the Duke of Westminster's stud groom, was consulted. He was pretty certain that the colt who had won the Derby was a son of Clemence, and thereupon Mr Brewer entered a protest against the Duke of Westminster receiving the stakes. An inquiry was instituted, and it lasted four days, at the end of which tho objection was overruled, theetewardsconaideringthatthere were no grounds for disqualifying Bend Or. Arnull's evid> nee was in a measure refuted by Major Barlow, who bad the supervision of the Duke'of Westminster's stud, but it is a remarkable fact that while the stud groom kept a book which professed to givo tho colour and marking of all the foals, the the Major had no such record, though thero was other very strongevidenee in refutation of Arnull's statement, and as he and his son were under notice to quit tho Eaton stud their statements were taken with tho customary grain of salt, and no bill filed against iSend Or ; yot thero aro many who to this day believo tho story of the studgroom.