NOTES AND COMMENTS

(By "Sir Lancelot.".

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. 'H.B.—Kilrush was scratched for all en-

gagements at the Dunedin Meeting at 2.8 p.m. oi»Wednesday.

The Hon. A. L. D. Fraser and Messrs. E. J. Watt and W. Scott returned from Australia by the Moeraki on Thursday. Chortle, who has recently been moving in his best style, has been nominated for the Darmevirke Meeting. When Afterglow scored in the' Egmont Cup it made B. Deeley's second sucoesa in the'event named. His first was on the Auckland-owned Ngapuka ten years previously. Lao (by Canteen) won a race at Launceston on the 6th inst. Like her sire, who won the New Zealand Cup, Lab is grey in colour. , It is stated that the accident vto Croesus in the Egmont Stakes was due to his having broken a blood vessel in the lungs. Sasanof, who has not raced since the Auckland Cup Meeting, will'm^ke his next appearance in the Trentham Gold Cup. Mr. Whyte hopes to have Gloaming and Desert Gold among the competitors.

F. E. Jones, who rode Rorke's Drift when he won at Wingatui on Boxing Day, would have had the mount in the Dunedin Cup only for the fact that he trains John Barleycorn, who was also engaged in the race. The Hukanui Trotting Club will hold a meeting on 26th March without the use of the totalisator. The sum of 150 soys will be distributed in stakes.

The V.A.T.C. Meeting was to have opened at Caulfield this afternoon, _ but on account of the influenza epidemic it has been put back a week. It is stated that Wild Night, a winner at Wingatui on Thursday, cost Mr. W. Stone 200 gns^ and that he passed him on to his present owner, Mr. W. Sutherland, for double that amount. Antagonist (Soult —Miss Annie) was a full brother to Antoinette.. He only raced once as a two-year-old, when he won the Middle Park Plate. Not many of his stock have raced, bujt Onslaught, Lionskin, Claverhouse, and Wrestler are all, winners.

Palamona (Sarto —Similette), who was bred by the late Sir George M'Lean, won a race at Launceston this month.

Gloaming has an engagement •on both days of the Wanganui Meeting. . He is in the Jackson Stakes on the first day and the Guineas on the second. The latter is the race in. which Biplane, who also- carried Mr. G. D. Greenwood's colours, was defeated by Estjand twelve months ago.

Waimatao was allotted 8.4 in the Flying Handicap at Wanganui, 71b more than he carried when he ran second in the same race twelve months ago. He will now have to carry 8.11, which includes a penalty for the Egmont win. The Trentham-trained horses Pervoip, American- Beauty, Printemps, \ Revocation, and Pacific Slope, have been engaged at DannevirkeV

The nominal favourites for this year's English Derby—which is almost sure to again be run at Epsom—are The Panther and Stefan the. Great. ' The question has • been raised as to whether The Panther's entry is in accordance with the Rules of Racing. Rule 79 sets forth: "The entry shall be in the name, or assumed name, of one person, and shall state the name, or assumed name, of the owner, the name of the horse, if registered1, or his description according to rule, if name not registered," and those English racing men who are dubious concerning the correctness of The Panther's entry contend that "The National Stud" is not the name of "one person." They point out that if the rules permitted, it, the. horses owned by the late Sir Tatton Sykes could have been entered as the property of the Sledmere Stud, whereas it was necessary to register a partnership between Sir/Tatton Sykes and Mr. Cholmond'eley in 'order that the yearlings bred at Sledmore could, be nominated by the latter. Therefore what applied to a private stud should hold good in the case of the National Stud. Against the above the Special Commissioner of the London Sportsman says it. is improbable any such contingency as that referred: to was not considered and provided for when the National Stud's entries were accepted. He adds that though the* Rules of Racing need amending on these points, no one need trouble about the nomination of The Panther unless he thinks that the stewards of the English Jockey OJub have deliberately exposed themselves to a claim for 40,000 guineas damages—the sum mentioned being the owner's valuation of the horse when he sent him into the sale-ring recently. Speedwell Mac (Lupin—Daygtar mare) won the hnrdle race on the second day at Taranaki, and repeated the performance at Egmont, where Sweet Tipperary ran her best race to date. Both horses were in receipt of over three stone from Paraoa. Speedwell Mac is not engaged at Wanganui. The racing Sweet Tipperary had at Egmont should improve her at Darmevirke.

That good sprinter Waimatao (Bezonian—Punawai) was produced in the Waimate Handicap at Egmont yesterday and had no difficulty in carrying top weight (to victory. His owner was unlucky enough to miss the acceptance on the first day, or he might have won. the Flying, as he beat 80-Peep more easily than Birkenvale did. At Otaki in the spring Waimatao was handicapped to concede 80-Peep two stone, whereas there was only two pounds between the pair of performers .named yesterday. At Masterton he was placed 191b above Inah, to whom the Bezonian gelding was only asked to concede 101b in yesterday's nice. The horses Waimatao beat at Egmont he will meet on seven pounds worse terms in the Flying at Wanganui. The altered conditions are the same in the ease of Birkenvale, who won on the first day at Egmont. Croesus gaye Waimatao 161b and a beating on the concluding day of the Wanganui Cup Meeting. Next week he has only to concede 131b.

The so-called Farmers' Plate produced a good finish between White Ranger and Lord Nelson, a place-getter in the Hurdles on the opening day of the meeting. White Ranger (Foremost —Brassolis) did not score out of his turn, as he had not won a. race for nearly two years.

The light - weighted Marqueteur (King Mark—By By) scored1 his most important win to date in the Atkinson Memorial Stakes. His previous successes this season were in the hack class at Waverley and Feilding. Marqueteur was unplaced in welter races on the first day at Taranaki and Egmont. He was bred at Karamu, and is one of the first batch of the progeny of imported King Mark. At tho sale of the late' Hon. J. D. Ormond's racing stock Marqueteur was purchased by Mr. W. A. Ewart, a Patea patron of 0. Cox's Hawera stable, for 150 soys. Marqueteur is in the Stewards' Handicap,, a mile and 110 yards, on the opening day cf the Wanganui Meeting with 7.0, and will have to put up an additional 71b for yesterday's win.

The Trentham-trained Cotillion was best backed of the seventeen runners for the Maiden Handicap. She could only get third to Jutland and "Vance, both oi whom are related to -well-known perform* «»■ Jutland (A«lvane«-"B«>wn Spas) i* ,*.M brothes to Pcitiilioa Mid.S<iu*r»

Deal, and Vance (Advance—Daisy Clipper) is a half-sister to Gladiole. ■ - Gloaming and Desert Gold met for the first time over a mile course in the Hawera Stakes. Birkenvale, the only other runner, was started to get the 50 soys third money. It was a good betting race between the two champions, Desert Gold carrying £14 more than her opponent when the totalisator closed. Desert Gold had the inside running; but Gloaming hopped out brilliantly and got the rails. Desert Gold was always close up, and three furlongs from home drew level. In the run to the post, Gloaming held his own, and won by a length and a half. Both horses came in for a good reception on returning to weigh in. The two wins brought Gloaming's stake earnings to over five figures. His record for the present season is ten firsts and two seconds. He will soon catch up to Biplane, and if he trains on may reach Desert Gold's record. , „ Backers^ finished up badly in the Nor)inanby Welter. Alteration was favourite, but the winner turned up in Trombone, who was the least fancied of the nine runners. Trombone is trained by J. Thacker for Messrs. M'D'onald Bros. He is by Zimmerman—Orchestra, dam^of The Cornet, Tympan, Fugue, and other performers.