SPORT AND PASTIME. The Turf.

[By Lochiel.]

_ . RACING FIXTURES. December 26 and 29, January 1 and 2—2 — Auckland R.C. Summer. December 30, January I—Greymouthl —Greymouth J.C. Midsummer. January 1 and 2 —Vincent J.C. Annual. January 1 and 2 —Wairarapa Meeting. Wet weather interfered with the success of the Woodville meeting this week, and the totalisator turnover showed a solid decrease on last year's figures., The racing on both days was interesting, and in two instances big dividends were paid. The big handicap on the first day resulted in a surprise. Submarine had t}ie largest following, Whakawehi having the next call. Getting away early the St. Leger filly Ropa hardly gave her field a chance after she headed Royal Blue, she winning fairly comfortably i'rom Melodeon and Starina. The Sk' Lancelot mare Miss Lancelot upset calculations in the Flying Hack Handicap, and returned a dividend of £27. Another Sir Lancelot filly, Elfrida, was the public fancy, and although she ran well in the early stages of the journey, she succumbed to Miss Lancelot and Martyrfeldt ,at the finish. The Hon. J. D. Ormond's representative Medalist carried the bulk of the investments in the Electric Handicap, but the prize was a gift to the Musketry mare Miretta, who jumped off at the start, and finished a length and a half in front of St. Claimer. -Prospector commanded a good deal of attention in the Maiden Plate, but he arrived home behind Loiret and Onyx. Later in the day the Gold Reef gelding scored in the Welter Hack Handicap. The heavy going on the second day did not facilitate time records, although several exciting finishes were witnessed. Geologist, who is owned by Mr. Edgar Russell, of New Plymouth, paid eighteen supporters £20 6s in the Hack Hurdles, for which Baltic and Weary Bill were the popular iUncies. Starina, who belongs to ii Waitara owner, scored his first victory ir. open company by winning the Summer Handicap, the favourite, Kuroki, finishing last. St. Albert and St. Claimer' put up a big fight at the finish of the Railway Handicap, the St. Andrew gelding gaining the verdict by half a length. The High-weight Handicap, which was won by Ballyneety, was another closely-contested race, and the winner returned investors £11 odd. Reports from Auckland indicate that ■there is very little straight-out wagering in the Northern city on the Cup, for which Mahutonga, Quarryman, and Paritutu are equal favourites at 4to 1; Putty being next in demand at 8 to 1. Speculation on the double —Cup and Railway Handicap —however, keeps up well, and various combinations have been strongly backed. Selections for the six-furlong race take a wide form —Hohoro, Glenowlet, Annette, Landlock, lung Billy, and St. Bill all being supported. Achilles's next mission in public will probably be the Wellington Cup, to be run on the new course at Trentham next month. The carefully-considered handicaps framed by Mr. Henrys, and published yesterday, for the Manawatu meeting should lead to a good response from owners. For the Cup, which is a. richly-endowed race, Nightfall naturally heads the list, but it is understood the mare will fill an engagement • "at 'Auckland. / The Yaldhurst stable has two other -representatives in Martian and Savoury and, if, they ..both stait they will have a large following. Douche is another candidate that reads well. The Feilding Racing Club made a profit of between £300 and: £400 over the last meeting. Mr. J. Green, of Marton, has purchased Purban» by^Kinjberley—Hoyden. - According" to a writer *in-they Palmerston Standard, the Hon. W. W. Johnston's representative, Aorangi, in the Ashhurst Guineas, to be decided on the 28th inst., promises vo be one of the hottest favourites that has yet contested the classic hack event. , .Fifty horses have Survived the declaration of second forfeits in the Manawatu Stakes, to be run at Awapuni in April next. The list includes Tsolt, Cruciform, Glenowlet, Kirriemuir, King Billy, and Maniapoto. The thoroughbred sire First Blood, who .has been standing the season in the Feilding district, came to an untimely ;end during the week, injuries resulting from a kick by a mare necessitating his destruction. - Machine Gun pr± up a rattling good performance in the Fiying Handicap at , the Christchurch meeting. The hig son 'of Hotehkiss, with 11.3 in the saddle, cut the six furlongs out in lniin 15 4-ssec. It ia feared that the accident which befel Calibre in the Windsor Handicap at the Chriatchurch. meeting will prevent his reappearance on the turf, though he will probably be saved for stud purposes. Last season Calibre only managed to cap•ture five out of the seventeen races m ■which he started. ' Nightfall, Cuneiform, and Huasear — Mr. Stead's representatives at the Auckland: meeting—passed through Wellington this week. The following first entries were received for the Indian, Viceroy's Cup, to be run on Boxing Day: —Acetine, Amplify, Applause, Bailark, Cherson, Contest, Dalkeith, Gre& Scot, Kileevan, Kitchener, Lieutenant Bill, Long Tom, Mallard, ■Munderah, Pure Gold, and Sacristan 11. All but Amplify, Applause, Kileevan, Pure Gold, and Sacristan II hail from - Australia. For the Prince of Wales's Cup, one mile five furlongs and eight yards, run on 30th December, the entries received numbered 28, including Acetine, Bailark, Cherson, Great Scot, "Hoop Iron, Lamrock, Lieutenant Bill, Long Tom, Mallard, Munderah, and Rapid Pilgrim. The Prince and Princess of Wales will be present to see this race run. Had anyone, ventured the opinion that Mr. Henry Nolan would be called upon to deal with such a big price as lOOOgns for any of the lots which figured on the catalogue at the Harp of Erin, he would have been simply laughed at; but such a record (writes Phaeton in the iftw Zealand Herald) had nevertheless to be chronicled when' the auctioneer got to ■work- The quadruped to have, the distinction of being sold for lOOOgns. was Apologue, the three-year-old half^rother to Gladsome. Itr view, of the fact that the brown cojt has but one small' race (won at two years old) to his credit, and that he has run badly in each of the three races that he has contested .this aeaso-o, it cannot be said that there ,wa» much of a public character to.warrant any big outburst of enthusiasm f6r Apologue. However, the story to be related with regard to his appearance in the ringside at the Harp of Erin last week is that the auctioneer indignantly declined an offer of lOOgns as a start for the bidding, and 300gns being made the parting point, the price rapidly went up in 25gns bids, till four figures were reached, and at lOOOgns he was knocked down to the Waikato trainer, R. Hannon, who was acting for Mr. R. Cleland. No doubt-certain circumstances, which it is, understood about a disagreement between the parties interested in Apologue, tended greatly towards the colt

taking record amongst horses that have cost four figures. Still, there is the pointed little fact that the two men concerned ir the ownership of the colt (and who can both bij accounted to know the full strength of matters) were both at one in thinking 'that he was very valuable property, while many other people had been prepared to assign him a place with the duffers in training at Ellerslie. It will be interesting to note who has the best of the deal, the man who went out, or the man who elected to accept the sole ownership of Apologue at 1000 guineas. The Australian thoroughbred sire Cocos was shot at Launceston last week. The animal savagely attacked his attendants, fixing his teeth in the biceps of one of them, and as drastic measures failed to make Cocos release his hold, a bullet ended his career. Cocos was a full brother to Qobbity and Coil, being by Abercorn from Copra, by Robinson Crusoe from Cocoanut (imp.), by Nutbourne. As a two-year-old ho won the V.A.T.C. Debutant Stakes, and the following season his winning record comprised A.J.C. Duff Memorial Stakes, V.A.T.C. Eclipse Stakes, V.R.C. Derby, and Spring Stakes. His success in the Derby was only achieved after a most determined fight with Bobadil, who started a red-hot favourite, and whose defeat was looked upon as almost impossible. As a four-year-old he did nothing, and was afterwards re-! tired to the stud. The gullibility of the uninitiated follower of the turf is astonishing. In a Melbourne Court the other day one Alexander M'Nair, a visitor flrom Sydney to the recent Victorian Carnival, detailed his brief but exciting turf experience to a sympathetic Judge. Two young men, Henry Chalker and Edward Tracy, were charged with conspiring, by means of false pretences, to obtain money from him. M'Nair said he arrived from Sydney on October 11 with £47 in cash. He met Tracy, who introduced him to Chalker, stating that he would "put him on to a good thing." He gave Chalker £10 to put on Ebullition for the second race at 10 to 1. Ebulition won, and Chalker told him he had put £120 on Torah for the next race. He gave Chalker £10 to make up the £120. Torah won, and Chalker told him he had put £600 of the winnings on a horse in the next race. Chalker said this horse had lost, but they would make it up on the last race. M'Nair said he had only £5 left, and he did not care to risk that. On Monday they went out to the races agajn. Chalker said that he had been sent out by the stable to back one particular horse. Witness gave him £5 to put on this horse. Chalker said the horso had lost. Tracy gave him £1 to go to Gippsland, telling him not to say anything to anyone. He went to Gippsland, but returned on the 13th ult., and gave information to the detectives. He had never done any betting before, and trusted Chalker and Tracy because they knew more about racing than he did. Both accused were found -guilty, and were remanded for sentence. When late English papers left a big struggle was in progress between the English stallions Gallinule and Isinglass, both sons of Isonomy, for premier place in the list ofl winners. The positions were so close, that any day's results might have changed them, for while Gallinule's descendants had won him 36 races of the value of £22,833 10s, Isinglass was credited with 36£ wins and £22,826. There was a slight drop to the next one, Cyllene, £21,555 10s, and he was succeeded by St. Frusquin £16,587, Persimmon £151964, Florizel H. £13,933, and St. Simon £12,385. But in the list of actual performers. Cherry Lass was an easy first with £13,119, the nearest of the others being Val dOr £9285, Cicero £8050,- and St. Amant and Sj:. Denis £7435 each. There were six owners whose winnings ran into five figures, viz., Mr. W. Hall Walker £23,637, Mr. S. Joel £17,360, Lord Derby £16,340, Sir E. Vincent £11,072, Major Loder £10,569, and Mr. W. M. Singer £10,405. W. T. Robinson headed the winning trainers with 50 races and £34,074, and P. P. Gilpin won 30 races of the value of £23,960. Mr. G. H. Lambton's winnings amounted to £20,248. Mr. C. Peck's to £17,190, but though W. E. Elsey won ever so many more races than any other trainer, his total being 105 gained by 60 horses, the stakes appropriated amounted only to £15,106. Admirable Crichton, a colt by Isinglass from Admiration, who was supposed to be one of the best two-year-olds in England, dropped a lot of confident backers badly in the Newmarket Dewhurst Plate, a few weeks ago. In a field of seven, odds of 6 to 4 were wagered on him, but he failed io get nearer thar fourth to Picton, a colt by Orvieto from Hecuba, by Isonomy, who won very easily from Malua and Gingal. The favourite is a stable companion of Pretty Polly, and ran in the same ownership.