THE TURF. NEWS AND NOTES.

Feeling in England over tho Joel and Sievier 'fight is growing in intensity and bitterness. The scene at Sandown Park at the* conclusion of the Eclipse | Stakes when Joel's colours successfully I carried by the colt Your Majesty were greeted with, a storm of groans and hisses proves without doubt that Sievier fcas got the sympathy of tho average lllnglish racing man. Later on in the day the crowd vociferously cheered a selling plater carrying Sievier's colours, an.tl it is evident that this remarkable man — with his meteoric ups and downs h.is a great hold upon the affections\ of race-goers. There was not much of ani. English sound about the names of the owners of the placed horses in the Edipsie Stakes — Joel, Rothschild, Neumann — truly a veritable eclipse of English owmers. Followers of the system of backing the two top • would have panned out all right at Trentham last Saturday. They wonwl have jumped off the mark in the firsC race, the Stewards' Handicap, with '. Martyrium a good winner, losing, of c ourse, on Irish Rifle. In the Miramat California and Vasa would bring more < grist to their mill which should have| enabled them to face the downfall of /Ghoorka and Top Rose with equanimity. 'Mystification and Dawn were no go<o»i, although the latter ran prominently, ' whilst it was a case of pay up in the Winter Hurdles on Shrapnel and Exmoor. The Trial Plate/ showed a small profit per medium of Ijlanwern, whilst Naumqi wound up the day by running second in the concluding event. In five out of seven races, therefore, the I system follower would have had something to collect, ranging from Martyrfum's substantial dividend down to the "save my money" of Top Rose. Gravitation is growing the right way, furnishing evenly, and this half-brother by Birkenhead to Elevation, will satisfy the keenest critics of racehorse contour and form. In substance and symmetry Gravitation is one of the finest colts that ever trod the Nevsr Zealand turf. He recalls St. Hippo more than any other horse, but has rather more quality than the big St. Leger had. Gravitation will make his debut as a three-year-old in the Wanganni Guineas in September, aad all lovers of a. grand colt hope that he will have a more lengthy turf career than Elevation. The actual coldest spot at Trentham on Saturday was tLe stand which accomI modates stewards, pressmen and trainera. As a matter of fact the trainers, with the exception of two or three of the hardiest veterans, early abandoned the position as untenable in the face of file onslaught of the wind and the rain, and took refuge in the big covered stand, •which is glassed in. The committee of the club would add greatly to the comfort of the occupants of the Stewards' Stand if they had it fitted up with a glass or canvas shield; the latter, of course, somewhat after the style of a steamer's bridge wind dodger. Aboriginal is said to be an unlikely starter at Trentham on Saturday. Fretwork is- reported to be suffering from ■ lung trouble, which, may prevent his ■ racing again. 1 Duart, one of the Auckland visiting i horses, burst a small blood-vessel in the • head on Saturday whilst running in the • Stewards' Handicap. S. Reid, who was ■ riding Duart, tried to ~pul] him up at 1 once, but the little Soult gelding had 1 too much pace on, and covered about a. | furlong at top alter his mishap. He may recover in time to do his owner i some useful service before returning [' home. ' It is understood that under the terms " of the will of the late Mrs. Coombe Master' Delaval has been left to the well- [ known Ellerslie trainer Denis Moraghan. This mark of e-steem win be appreciated '. by Mr. Moraghan's many friends. i The laic Sir Thomas Fitzgerald wae I for many years an enthusiastic supporter 1 of the turf in Victoria, and owned and 1 raced Rhesus andi other good horses. He very rarely missed seeing an important race meeting run through, and was one of the best customers the ringmen had \ for a .very long time. Occasionally Sir '. Thomas backed the winner, but more ! often than, not he was on losers, and ' paid: dearly at times for backing his ■ fancy. A good story is told of his turf transactions which shows the class of . better he was, and how impossible it ! j was for him to hold his own. At a ceri tain race meeting m Victoria. Sir Thomas [ I approached a member of the ring, who | j for present purposes may be styled Duke, j and accepted £300 to £100 about a I horse that he fancied. But a little latex Sir Thomas returned to the riugman, I aud remarked that, as he was on somef thing "that was not likely to win, what I would Duke lay nim against another I sta.rtrr that- was mentioned, and again '■ 500 to 100 was booked. Ihe sporting ' doctor had, however, for the second ; time wagered on bad information, and ', admitting to "Duke" that he was "again | on the wrong one," accepted 300 to 100 . about a thrrd. The doctor's "book" : showed that ho was betting 300 to 100 i on picking the winner m three tries, ;. and, as the result proved, each of the : tbTee lost. Charles Jenkins has made an application for his license to the Wanganui . Jockey Clvb — Jenkins-'s license for the season 1907-8 having been cancelled for the balance of the season only. It is ; not anticipated that ho will experience I any difficulty in obtaining a license for . the coming season.