TURE GOSSIP

On some racecourses in America two-year-olds are only asked to run a three-furlong and three and a-half furlong races in Uic early part of the season. According to a cablegram received In Melbourne, W. Evans (Apologue's rider; rode two winners in one afternoon at a . meeting lately in England. Among the winners at the York (Eng.) meeting In May, was a three-year-old lilly named Comforter, who Iβ by Collar from Indulgence, the latter being by Trenton from Levity, by Bend Or from Clemence (grand-dam of Carbine). As the King was leaving the Epsom Club stand on Derby Day, a voice called out hi clear Cockney accents: "Never mind, sir, cheer up, and 'aye another go next year!" His Majesty's face beamed with laughter as he raised his hat to the speaker, and the i crowd cheered tremendously. Up to the end of May, St, Frusquin was at the head of the winning sires' list in England, the amount to his credit being £8771, the result of win 6by eight of Ms progeny. Octagon was second with £5488, and Carbine third with £4229. Since then Slsnorinetta's wins have probably placed Chal- ! eureux at the head of the list. I The result of the mating of the brilliant Sceptre with that champion of champions, Carbine, will, it need hardly be said, be awaited with a very keen interest in places far outside Great Britain, for there is very mnch to expect from the Persimmon mare and the Musket horse. Carbine, it may be remarked, was foaled as far back as 1885, I while Sceptre first saw the Hcht in ISUO i Carbine is therefore 23 years old, while Sceptre is only eight years. The moeey taken at the gates at Chan- ! tilly on Sunday. May 24th, established ti ' record for the Oaks day, the receipts for i public admission being £23.4-12. Over 22.00U people travelled down by train from Paris, nnd the turnover at the parimutuel was ! £96,214. These figures demonstrate the flourisHrns condition of the French turf. I Jellis. a very successful Jockey In Jr.s ' any in Belgium, and now a leading trainer ! says that owners there are not prodigal in their presents, and mentions that on one ! occasion, after training the winner of the ' Derby there, the owner of the horse marked | his gratitude by sending him a small bar- • rel of whipped milk. In England the new star of the three-year-old firmament is Ebor. Unfortunately be was not In the Derby. Recently it was mentioned in this eolrnnn that IO.OOOgs had been refused for the colt. When.the offer was declined an English writer said of Mr A. Bendon, the owner: "Lucky young man to be able to scorn a little fortune with all the risks of ownership and all the uncertainties of racing on the other side." The accident which led to the prominent English jockey E. Wheatley having a wrist broken a few weeks ago, was caused through the saddle breaking. Interviewed I on the matter. Fagan. who trained the horse from whom Wheatley met with his mishap, said: "Jockeys cacry their own saddles with them, and the trainers have no control over them. AH we can do is to put the saddle ! on the horse that the jockey weighs out with. The saddle that Wheatley weighed out with Old China was not fit to put on a racehorse." Seemingly "a favourite saddle" was responsible for Wheatley's accident. The milk-fed racehorse Azote, who started in the English Derby, was the biggest outsider of the field, and he made no show in the race. He is an American-owned but French-born horse, who was entered for the Derby in a hopeful spirit by his owner, Mr James Hatinaker, a Parisian resident. Azote was described by that gentleman as "the best fed and worst bred horse in the Derby." His parentage, indeed, is far from first class, but he has been fed from birth on dried milk, instead of oats, with results upon his development and power of endurance which Professor Grandean, the celebrated expert in horse feeding, declares are most satisfactory. The horse, in short, is described as a scientific experiment designed to prove that horses grow and develop faster on dry milk than on foods of vegetable origin, that they work harder, and train better, than nnder the usual regime. Sixteen pounds of dry milk, equal in nourishment to 18 gallons of the fluid, are consumed by Azote at his seven dally meals, and his owner says that he thus is enabled t oassimilate 08 per cent of his food, while he would benefit only at the rate of 65 per cent on oats or 35 per cent on hay. Says an exchange: The close of the Scottish racing circuit reminds us of an Incident which happened at one of its meetings a few years back. Two well known tipsters —one of them was Clgare, who, though not the oue immediately concerned, will vouch for the accuracy of the story—were travelling the meetings, and in a melee which occurred In an attempt to catch a "welsber" one of them was arrested and duly lodged in the improvised lockup on the course. As after events proved, he bore a striking resemblance to the "welsher," and several disappointed pointers were only too .ready to identify him as the man who had taken their money. Of course, there was plenty of evidence that a mistake had been made, but the police were not too ready to bo convinced. After repeated assurances that he was "so-and-so, the well known and highly respected turf vaticinator," the Bergeant In charge said, "Well, I*ll gi'e ye a chance. If ye can tell us the winner of the next rnce ye can gang free." "Certainly," was the reply, delivered with a s i-eater show of confidence than, in afterwards telling the story, the tipster admitted he had felt. And the information was duly imparted. Thereupon the constabulary put Its "siller" together, and Invested on the tip, which duly rolled up at 7 to 2. And the prisoner was acquitted with a caution. In an article-on jockeys, an. English writer says:—"l was talking lately to an owner of horses, a man who Is himself an excellent rider. Someone had been spoken of as just the make and shape for a good horsemen —so long in the leg, able to grip the saddle. 'It doesn't always follow," he observed. "Some good jockeys have not looked like being strong in the saddle. A few have, no doubt. Archer occurs to mc; Captain Hope-Johnston, Roddy-Owen, George Lambton, Robert I'Anson; but what a lot yon could name who were short In the leg, and did not look at all cut ont for sitting tight.'" We began to recall names. Mr "Thomas" I do not ■ remember, but my friend does, and declares that he was not In the least the ideal shape, nor was M<* E. P. Wilson, one of the finest cross-coun-try riders erer seen. Jim Adams was a younger and smaller edition of Mr Jorrocks, but admirable all the same. Joseph Cannon, who won the National on Royal, and multitudes orother jump races, was not attenuated, nor was his comrade Jewett. That fine horseman, Captain W. B. Morris, was on the dumpy side, and so was Mawson who steered Playfalr to victory at Liverpool, and did snch ncable service for Danebury a few years ago. Mr Arthur Totes lias never been accused of being leggy Matthews is not built that way, nor Is Mason, one of the very best Of flat race Jockeys, Fordham was assuredly not "on the leg," nor was John Osborne, nor Is Madden. In this respect It appears that conventional ideas have to be considerably rectified. **» The subject of jockeys' expenses cropped up at a recent meeting of the English Jockey. Club. The position at present is that a jockey receives £1 a day and reasonable expenses of travelling from any owner sending nlm to a meeting However, this rnle has been abused by some jockeys, who, when given a casual mount at a meeting et which they happen to be present, immediately saddle the man employing them with "expenses" in addition to the riding fee. Others charge J "expenses" to more tbnn one owner.-/ Lord Stanley, who brought the matter.j forward, instanced a case in which, where a certain jockey, who was asked to ride for a certain owner, went to the race mecrms :\nd rotle Krveral horses there. He.™ °" the. particular horse, and, afterrecelvinir si i "wnn the oort of tilfnff -Mint -•amnrnD.y (inInoved 0»W«- ■«*• <»*"-nr.t!vc m> .<• ■! '

(BY WHALEBONE.)

away with the right of jockeys to claim expenses unless they should huve arranged beforehand what those expenses were to be. To do that they would have to Increase the fees, and what he would like to propose would be that, ir the general principle was accepted, the winning fee should .be raised from £5 5/, as it was now, to £6, an increase of 15/; and that the losing fee should be raised from £3 »/ to £3 10/, a 7/| incrouee. Of course, It would be quite Impossible to prevent a jockey saying to au owner, when asked to ride at a race meeting, 'I canuot go for the ordinary fee; it would cost mc too much, and 1 must ask you to pay my expenses there. . That would be a private agreeineut with which they, as a club, could not possibly in any way interfere. It was then said that perhaps that would mean that a Jockey would arrange with two or three different owners and make separate arrangements with all at , them.* . He then suggested that ali claims for expenses should be sent up at the same ■"time as the riding fee was claimed from the Registry Office, and the Registry Office would then very soon be able to see whether or not the jockey was claiming from more than one person for the same meeting. Iα conclusion, he proposed for the consideration of the club that the Btewards should be empowered by the club to alter the rule I dealing with expenses on the lines that he I had laid down—namely, that all expenses J other than those definitely arranged beforehand should be excluded; that the riding fees should be raised as he had suggested; and that all claims for such expenses should be sent to the Registry Office and claimed at the same time as the riding fee. That was a proposal upon which he would like the opinion and the decision of the club. Lord \ Stanley's proposal did not find favour, and j was negatived on a show of hands. Although the "standing start" has answered so well in Australia, there is quite ;an agitation in England at the present I time for a trial of the "walk-up start." ! '"Vigilant," of the London "Sportsman," is especially pronounced on the impossibility of effecting really good Btarts under ; the present system, and even goes so far as saying that the starting nowadays does I I not equal that of when the "flag" was Iα I use. He delivers himself as follows:— j "AVhen the late Mr. T. McGeorge was I starter, the horses used to walk up all ' right, and be sent away oh much more j equitable terms than has ever been since j the case, with or witborit the starting- ! gate, and 1 am perfectly assured that, with j his controlling influence, had he had the barrier to mark the limit of a break-away in a walk-up start, there would never have existed the dissatisfaction which nbvr so generally prevails. These few word* anent Mr, McGeorge will explain the meaning of my words that with the permission of a walk-up start everything would depend on the starter himself. The late starter was facile prlnceps in the art, a martinet who was, before everything, a master of the situation; but' the jockeys had the utmost confidence in him, and knew that not only would ho advantage be taken of them while turning round or otherwise obeying his instructions, but that on the other hand, disobedience j meant certain punishment. There' was no j talk In those days of the light-weights being at a disadvantage with their seniors, and I have no hesitation in saying that they- were generally superior In talent and. I raae-riding ability to the majority ol ! those practising at the present time, the decadence having come with the practice of foreign methods." In view -of . what we read as to the long delays and bad starts in the "flag" days, the statement that the late Mr. McGeorge. good as he was, could get the fields away to greater advantage than the machine, can be passed over without comment; and though the "walk-up" start would be an excellent idea if you could prevail upon the riders not to attempt to take any advantage of , one another, the probabilities are that, when Bearing the barrier, some would be unable to restrain from making a dasll on the off-chance of gaining a length or two. The walk-up start, if I remember aright, was given a trial on some leading American tracks, and was a failure for this very reason. Further on, "Vigilant" queries: "Is there, in spite of the Jockey Club Instruction on the point, such a thing as a' completely standstill start? I say there is not, there never has been, and there never will be; and if some Inprovement cannot be devised, then, indeed, racing has drifted Into a parlous state, and there is much trouble ahead." 11 the writer means that no large field of horses ever stood like statues at the barrier, no doubt he is correct; but.he ers if he thinks it impossible to effect an even start where the runners are numerous. In many of our biggest races at Randwick we have seen a whole field practically move off together, but Borne horses, being smarter in getting on their legs than others, would naturally draw »way even In three or four strides. Anyhow, though the standing start may not be all they could wish, I fancy English racing men will welcome a reversion to It It the "walk-up" Is ever given a trlaL . .