NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By Sir Bedivefe.) . In conversation with F. Davis yesterday I learnt that although Soltano had not done a. great amount of fast work during th© last few days—this on account of bad w«ather and wet track*— h© was well forward in point of condition. Bright throughout the winW he had been k«pt up to the collar, and his trainer is of opinion that he must be at least as forward as any of his Australian contemporaries. The stories circulated as to his having beaten, three stable mates one after the other, whilst galloping a mile and a-quarter owe their origin to somebody's vivid imagination. The colt has not been extended over a longer distance than a mile. This he traversed comfortably, whilst carrying more than 8.0 in iesis than lmin 44sec, and Davis is fairly 6anguine as to liTe staying on,. "It is the same no matter what I Bend him with," said hia trainer. "If he goes si* furlongs with a hack he will just beat him. If on the other hand he goes 'a mile against something that can gallop he will still finish in front. That is why 1 like him. He seems to be less of a tearaway than most of the Soult tribe, and to be more like what Multiform was." Soltano's only relation to Multiform lies in the fact that hjs dam Monoquil as a granddaughter of Multiform'B sire Hotch* kiss, but he may well be a colt of sober temperament, as he descends on his dam s side from Juliet, granddam of Uobinson Crusoe and Goldsbrough and own sister to Orlando (Derby), and Mendicant (Oaks), dam of Beademan (Derby). Anyway Solt&no has done enough to suggest that he has retained ttie form he showed last season, and all sportsmen in the Dominion will wish his owner success. England's crack two-year-old The Tetrarch, who has been referred to by some enthusiastic admirers as one of the greatest gallopers of all time, did not apparently win the National Breeders' Produce Stakes (run at Sandown Park on 19th July) in quite the smashing style expected of him. A writer in the Sportsman commented on the race as follows :—": — " It is difficult to know what to write about the performance of The Tetrarch this afternoon. He did not get away in front but secured the i lead in about a dozen strides. Then, however, he did not go right away, as he was generally expected to, and the verdict in his favour was only one of a neck, Calandria (to whom he was conceding 171b) being second. I do not attach any importance to the verdict in his favour being such a narrow one, for the more a horse has in hand the finer hia jockey can draw the finish with safety. He certainly won very cleverly, yet he did not seem to be quite in his brilliant Ascot form, and it is possible that he has been allowed to take things pretty easily since then." Calandria, it may be mentioned, belongs to an exNew Zealander in Mi\ Ernest Tanner. The dispersal sale of the Cobham Stud, over which Mr. W. Allison ("Special Commissioner " of the Sportsman) had so long held control, was held on 21st July. A few of the lots failed to reach the reserves placed upon them, but fortyseven were disposed of for a total sum of 7171 guineas. The Australian-bred stallion Great Scot brought 1000 guineas, and will find a new home in Russia. He is now fourteen years old. Mr. Sievier: "Which is the worst, foul riding or pulling a horse?" Danny Maher : ( " Well, I think one is robbery with violence and the the other is robbery without violence." (Laughter.) The full account of the Eclipse Stakes came to hand this week, and it seems that Tracery quite outclassed the opposition, and -won very easily by four lengths. Louvoia beat Bachelor's Wedding by a length Tor second place, Roseworthy was fourth, and the very disap^ pointing Lomond fifth. The result amply demonstrated the weakness of this year's three-year-olds, for, albeit Louvois was so badly beaten, his performance was still considered good enough to warrant his being favourite for the St. Leger. At that time (18th July), by way, Shoguh, who has since been withdrawn on account of lameness, was second in demand for the classic event to be decided on the Doncaster Town Moor. It may thus be inferred that Louvois is now a pronounced favorfrite. for the best of his likely opponents appear to be His Majesty's Answer, who was brought down by a Suffragette in the Derby, Mr. H. E. Beddington's Rock Hint, Mr. W. Astor's Pilliwinkie, Mr. Basset's Roseworthy, Lord Derby's Young Pegasus or Harry of Hereford, Mr. A. M. Singer's Taslett, Mr. J. B. Joel's White Magic, Mr. Lowry'a Bachelor's Wedding, Mr. Neumann's Depe'che, Mr. Hornung'B Arda, Mr. L. de Rothschild's Day Comet or Hippeastrum, Mr. P. Broome's Aldegond, and Sir John Willoughby's Jameson. They afe a moderate lot, and if the French division does contain any three-year-old of merit now is its chance to follow the examples set by Gladiateur and Raynor dOr, who •won for Count Lagrartge in 1865 and 1879 respectively, It may not be generally known that Mr. Webb, who used to be proprietor of tho Bush Inn, Ricearton, near to which he now lives in retirement, was at one time attached to Count Lagrange's stable in France— in the capacity, I believe, of head lad. Coming out to New Zealand in the very early days he was, I fancy, about the first trainer to become established at Ricearton, his stables being situated at the back of the Bush Inn. Only one por- | tion of the establishment now remains : I the old whare, whose earthen walls are j still in good lepair. Several of our foremost trainers of the present day oci cupied this old whare as lads, and it must be interesting to them to recall [ their early experiences therein. 'Tis Said that in those far off times a trainer had no compunction in forcing his will on' his employees by the administration of an occasional good, sound thrashing ! At the meeting of the stewards of the Wairarapa Racing Club, heltl on Wednesday, Mr. W. E. Bidwill was reelected chairman. Plans for the new stewards' stand were submitted and approved, and tenders will be called for ! the work at an early date. The chairman, and Messrs. Q. Donald, J. W. Card, W. J. Nix, and S. Cundy were elected a judicial committee to deal with protests or objections. The programme coftimitteo was authorised to allot a sum not exceeding £2250 aa stakes for the summer meeting., ,