NOTEA BY "FETLOCK."

I would remind owners of racehorses that entries for tho Maiden Plato (1 soy) and Two-year-old Plate (2 soys), and acceptances for the. Christmas Handicap ■ Hurdles (3 soya), and Hastings Handicap ■ - (6 soys), to be run for at the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's Boxing Day meeting, close. ■ with the secretary at the Criterion Hotel to-morrow at 9 p.m. ' ■ I have received from tho auctioneers, Messrs Hunter and Nolan, a catalogue of , ; the yeavlings, the property of the New '.. Zealand Stnd'and Pedigree Stock Com- -. panyj which are to be offcrred at auction, ; . ■■ ■ on Wednesday," tho sth of January, 1887, ' when no tlonht the- various; well-bred, '■ youngsters wj 11 . elicit- keen competition. .-'■'- Tho,youug.'stook Id be brqiight under tins' / '.' hammer are saul.tp be the finest. the com--"- V

',;■■" (ipany.Have yet bred. They .Comprise , ••■ :, ■twentyftwo by Musket, three by Cap-a .'■■. pie, 1 three by Leolirius, fciicl one each by Guinea,' Piscatol-, and Robinson Crusoe. ' . '- Among this lot is an own brother tt> I, Necklace, Thunderbolt, and Bahgie/an ■own sister, to Martini HeWry, nn own ; / sister to Industry (and to Mitrailleuse, Revolver, Richctthtt, and Lady Blice, a ' ■ half sister to Pearl), an own brother . . to Louise-, a half sister to Mata, : a half brother to Nelson, o, half , Jn-oAer to Rose (the winner x>i the first ' , ifrO-year-old race in Queensland this year) a lialf brother to Leo, 'Lionel, and Petroleum, a hatf-sister to Lady Evelyn, and Forme-, a half-brother to Russley. 3Udy Norah, and Leeds (Englisli), full brother to Musk Rose, and half-brother to jßadames, and Capsized, and a huniher of ■other high-class animals, whose breeding alone should be enough to draw a crowd of buyers to compete for their possession. There can be little doubt that the .sale will be in every way the success which the company so richly, deserve, for there ss probably only one o'thef stud south of - ' the line which possesses such acollection of aristocratic xlames and sires as are to be found in the one presided over by Major Walmsley at Sylvia Park. Mi- H. Oxeuham, of New South Wales, 1 lias sold his speedy sprinter Ellington, by Marvellous— Wild Wave, to the Hon. W. A. Long. • When-the last On ail left England the late Fred Archer stjll headed tho list of jockeys with 100 wins, C. Wood coming nest with 130 wins. Lady Carrington has announced her intention of again presenting a cup, value 100 guineas, to the owner of the winner of the Sydney Cup. < Another Australian-bred sire has left for fresh Gelds and pTftslures new in the direction of Atrterica, but this time not iiuite so far as the land of "St-rs and btnpes, the stallion Gainsborough, halfbrother to Blairgowree, having taken Ins departure from Sydney to Honolulu by the last 'Frisco mail Wat. At the Nan-aba {N-.S W.) j.C. races, nin on Deccmbev Ist, the Maiden Plate •was won by New Chum, betting Testator andGlencoe. The Prince of Wales Stakes, 1 mile 1 furlong, went to Sawdust (late Regard), with fonolla second, and Shylock third. The Narraba J.C. Handicap, 1 mile 5 fnvlongs, resulted Hi a victory for ' Mr J, Mayo's Invauor, Comns being second, and Wtttonga third. The Flying Handicap, 7 furlongs, was a win for Wab, Ssfc 101 b, with Trevelyn Holt, 7st •51b, and Oakwood, 6st 81b, filling the pln«es. The Stewards' Purse, IJ' mile, appropriated' t*y Vespasia, 7st 51b; uer nearest attendants at the finish being Boori Bst, and Wotonga 7st 71b. On the the second, day Wall was ngain successful, for in the Borough Handicap, 1J mile, he carried fist 41b home in front of Vespasia, 7st 21b, Trevelyn Holt, 7st lib, and three others. In the Welter Handicap, 1 mile, Adjidomo, list, beat New Chum, lOst 91b, Wotouga, list 91b, and four ■other starters?. For tho Town Plate Inyatler, 7st 10lb. was victorious, the positions being held by Free Selector, 7st 131 b, and Stout, Gst 51b. Tl-e Shorts Handicap, |-mile, produced still another victory for Wall, Ost 21b, who disposed of Trevelyn Holt, 7st 3lb, and Oakwood, Cst 12lb. The last race was the Forced Handicap, 1 mile and 1 furlong, which' was secured by Wotonga, 7st, from Vespasia, Bst 2lb,and Boorij Sst 51b. 'At . the Rocklianipton (Queensland) Jockey Club's races tho Mile Handicap was won by Ever, a son of MUsket and Lyra. _ i I notice that " Hippo," writing in an evening contemporary, takes me to tast for invariably. praising Mr Evett's handicaps, and excesses the opinion that picking and pointing out the weak spots in a handicap is calculated to do tho linndieappct more good than awarding praise. If^tliis he so then I must compliment. "Hippo" for the earnest and consistent 'manner in which he .endeavors to render assistance to Mr Evett, ard to show Ms solicitude for that, gentleman's reputation as a handicapper. Such acts as his, done in a purely philanthropic spirit, are the toscs in the thorny path of handicapping. But is it not strange that Mr Evett is the only ' handicapper to whom "Hippo" shows snch an amount of thoughtful kindness, and whose handiwork it is necessary to pick to pieces with' so much care in' order that the workman should not get careless over the performance of his duties? There is another Tiandicapper in Hawke's Bay to whom " Hippo" is said to be as a friend and a brother, only more so, and does not seem necessary, to criticise ' severely Ms performances. Are we to consider that his allotments of weights are marvels of perfection and above criticism ? Or is he beyond the possibility of becoming caveless? Or, if not, what is the reason that •this handicapper does not receive a helping hand from "Hippo," who appears to agree so entirely with the individual in Question as to give rise to the idea that they- are two minds with but a single thought, two men who write as one? •Judging from past experience I should fiay. that "Hippo's" criticisms are not likely to be so useful' to Mr Evelt as "Hippo]' would like them to be, as I have adim recollection that the sporting writer in question has not always been successful in pointing out the "weak spots "in Mr Lvett's handicaps. As an instance I wonld give the last Napier Handicap, where Tetford and Necklace were declared to be handicapped right out of it, and yet the former ran a good second with a penalty added to her weight, and Tetford's subsequent running showed • that with his original handicap he would have been very "good goods" had he started fit. "Hippo" insinuates that I j jfloss over the errors and faults of my friend's handicapping. Which errors or faults does he refer to? Does he know that r a handicap' is "all error" or "all fault? "—that the greatest triumph of. handicapping i is not to produco' a "perfect handicap," which is an impossibility, but to produce a handicap with as few apparent mistakes" as to cause all or most of the owners interested to accept for their hordes, and for the 1 race to result in a good finish ? The race itself is the only real test by which the errors' of a handicap can he discerned, ■ and when it is over it is discovered that the winner was treated too leniently as compared with all the other starters, while the second is also let in too light except as compared with the winner, and so on ad irifinitxim. A perfect handicap would be one in which all the' starters ran a dead heat, and when this happens it will be time to "order your ascension robe," as Oliver Wendell Holmes remarks. ,Again, I must remind "Hippo"' that I have never objected to his criticfsinß any handicap, as that is finite ' 'within his province, and sporting writers, like other mortals, have each a right to their own opinion on any subject. . It is the constant reproduction of other writers' criticisms, when they are unfavorable to Mr Evett, 'that shows which way " the cat jumps," and as " Hippo" and his col- . league have quoted the Referee and other papers many times when they have • criticised adversely, but never when they have complimented Mr Evett, it seems to mo that it in not so much a desire to assist that handicapper, as to serve sonic-ulterior purpose which my brother scribe may have. > I think I must claim " Hippo's " criticism on the Wellington Cup, as a complimentary one, seeing that he only objects to the weisrhts allotted to Cremornc, Ruby, and Trickster, tiie two latter of whom he selects as being harshly treated. In the first place, it is a maxim of sporting writers that it is better to crush a horse out of a race than to throw in one, as the former affects only the single animal, while the latter affceta the whole of the competitors. In reference to Ruby's weight, I would point out that his New Zealand Cup rnnning is no gauge of his merits,' ns all writers in Christchurch agree that the horse whs manifestly unfit when hestarted. Whether Waitivi gave Cremorne more than a 9lb beating 1 am not in a position tv judge, not having witnested the race, ' but- 1 must say I consider Trickster is fairly handicapped on his best form, and it isthe safest plan to haudicapin that way, it being a generally accepted rule that what a horse baa done once ho can do again if in the same condition and under like circumstances. The last Melbourne Cup saw Commotion occupying a very bad position, yet if the handicapper took that race as a true test of Commotion's ability, and weighted him for future events on such running, what a howl would be raised U the horse returned (o liis old form and won his race easily. It is very sad that any writers should try to stop such able criticisms of handicaps as " Hippo" treats his readers to, more especially as they are always written in so fair and impartial a spirit, and are accompanied with his reason for his opinion of any particular animal's chance. Some people appear to think that "Hippos" criticisms scarcely amount to a " review" of a handicap generally, as lie simply quotes the weights carried by animals in certain events, tllfl IWJing" for WliieTi liSSSvefAAW, sail ttiett shown hoy different ttiese few horses are hiuwU- ' capped in the mcc he professes to "criticise." Np doubt the "ability" consists in being able to put doivn Me weights t';e horses carry in any race, and also their '■weight, under the weight-for-agc scale, but. the taking of the New Zealand Cup aw a standard of perfection is not usually adopted by sporting writers, though niany of them make n practice of putting the weights for that race side by side with other handicaps, merely to shov/ the public the difference between the various productions. The yearling filly full-sister to Soudan which was recently purchased by Mr G. P. Donnelly arrived by the Wairarapa on Saturday, and in the afternoon was taken to Crissoge, where her owner resides. The filly is a very handsome racing looking young lady, rather darkor in color than her full-brother, but having a similar white blaze down the face. She is well grown and has evidently; been • well cared for, and her appearance indicates that she

will come early and ran well, forward aa a Wi-year-old'if.slie lie stairlect. ', I notice t'Yafc Mr J. N. Williams has .had the misfortune to lose his imported thoroughbred sir.c Sir Benjamin, who died at Frimley on Saturday. Sir Benjamin was an exceedingly well-bred horse, being by Big Ben-— Constance, and he _ was moreover a muscular, strong-built animal, which qualities, combined with his jS'eat size, made him just the sort of sire qualified to get useful stock, either racehorses, hunters, hacks, or carriage horses, and his loss is greatly to be deplored. Mr I*. Butler lias had to shoot Artemis, the two-year-old daughter of Albany— Luna, who a short time ago.put one of her fetlocks out, and veterinary skill proving of no avail the fitly had to join the great Majority, . The Aiistraliah bred Theuge, by Tim Whifflcr — Lapwing, died recently in Otago. Theuge was bought for 300 guineas by Mr J. Kenyon, after having run very consistently and won several races in the conntry districts of Victoria, but since coming to Zealand the horse has been unable to. stand a preparation, and for the last two seasons has been at the stud in the Palmerston (Otago) district. Forest King, wl:o ran second to Jim for the two.hnrdle raceS riift at the last Wellington Hannig Clnji's meeting, has been sold to a Mr Goodison, and his former 'owner, Mr "J. Leopold," has purchased Tornado from Mr T. H. Hill for £80. . Petroleum has broken down, and will have to be treated to a long spell, so he will not prove an "oil mine" to South Pacific shareholders this year. At the sale of Mr P. Lorillard's great Rancocas stud an amount of 142,980d01s was received for seventy-five mares and five stallions. Of this total 20,000 ddls 'was received for Turquoise who was pu 11- --' chased by Mr W. 11. Jackson. The Clearwell Stakes for two-year-olds, run fpt at the Newmarket Second October meeting, was won by a very aristocratically bred colt in Lourdes, by Sefton (a Derby winner) out of Pilgrimage, a One Thousand and Two Thousand, Guineas victrix. On breeding grounds this colt ought to he good enough to win a triple crown, as Ormonde has done. The acceptances for the Auckland Cup are eminently satisfactory, the per centage of. acceptances on entries being larger than last year, and public opinion seeming to be more divided as to the chances of the respective candidates. Last year Stonylmrst became a red hot favorite at 3 to 1 almost as soon, as the weights appeared, while this time Nelson and Waitiri are the nominal favorites ; but this is probably owing more to the respect the bookmakers entertain for them than to the amount of public money belmd them. In addition to the above mentioned couple, Disowned, Fusillade, Clogs, and Cinderella have all been very well snpported.

1 ARTILLERY. , " 200 3KI 500 yds. yds. yds. Tl. Corporal Williams ..23 20 32 — 8' 1 Sergt-mnjor Pram ..21 25 22-08 1 Sorgt. Parker . . ..23 20 IS — Gfi 1 Gunner Drummond... 21 17 27 —65 ' Sergt. Blnekwcll . . 26 17 17 —GO ? Gunner Guppy ..27 1!) 12-53 1 Gunner Dawson . . 27 17 13 —57 Lieut. Ross .. ..25 IG 13 —51 ' Gunner O'Connoll .. 28 1!) 8— 53 2 Gunner Bunting ..22 U 15-51 [ Ul2 \ RIFLES. ' 2CD 300 500 yds. yds. yds. Tl. r Color-sovgt, Frttmo.. 29 25 29 —8S ■ Corpl. Cantlo .. .. 25 17 28-70 , Sergt. Langhan . . 26 18 2i —03 Liout. Ohicltcn .. 21 23 20 -Gl Privnto Walkur .. 21 20 17 —01 Privnlo Warden ..22 20 8— 56 Private Miller ... 10 22 12 — 53 ' Private Jlobson .. 22 15 13 —HO 1 Corpl: Strudwlck .. 25 13 a— 47 '■ Sorgt. Nicholson . . 22 0 8—36