NEWS AND NOTES.

Zetland has been- scratched for the Winter Cup.' ' 1 There are over 250 horses in work at Flemington. frugh Telford has arrived at the Hutt and joined W. Davies' stable. The Stepniak colt Uenuku has been accorded solid support for the N.Z. Cup. As was anticipated in these columns Windy has been sold for racing in India. Nightfall has reached England safely with her new owner, Mr R. Farquharson. , Hvdroscope and Mussel were being schooled by H. Telford at Awapuni last week. Sol and Baritone, in charge of D. Monaghan, leave Auckland for Riccarton on Tuesday. Convov was scratched for the N.Z. Cup, and for all engagements at the C.J.C. Winter Meeting, last Monday. The chestnut, Gold Guard, has been sold bv Mr Jorgensen to the lady who owns Wind. The price paid was £120. There is likelv to be a big field for the Grand National Steeplechase, as the place money is £700, £200 and £100. Miss King was quoted at 50 to 1 at the start of the Grand National Hurdle race in which she finished a bad last.

The double, two Rananas, was backed for a lot of monev last week for the National at Christchurch next month. The ex-New Zealander Windy was second in the Kambrook Handicap at the V.A.T.C. meeting at Caulfield last Saturday. There will be quite a number ot long faces worn this morning when the acceptances appear for the blig treble at Riccarton. W. O'Connell will ride Ranana in his Riccarton engagements, and S. Howie will get up on Cavalry and take O'Connell's place. The local bookmakers who are laying trebles for the C.J.C. Winter Meeting report business as brisker this year than ever before. Haydn was galloped a couple of times last week but went very badly. He will have to improve a lot to have a chance at Riccarton. It is recorded that after Spearmint had won the Grand Prix of France he was kissed by several fashionable French ladies. Lucky Spearmint. Secretary Harry Hayr, of the Avondale Jockey Club, will journey to Riccarton t6 watch the contest for the Grand National Steeplechase. The Swimmer and Cavalry have arrived safely at Riccarton and are getting through their National preparation in a satisfactory manner. ■ The appeal of the Stratford Racing Club against the decision of the Metropolitan Club will be held at Christchurch during National week. Someone has backed Kaitere- and Kremlin for all the available- money in New Zealand, arid the best^price about that combination is now 15 to 1. .-• Shrapnel,. Lull and Kremlin, coupled with different horses in the.Steeplechase, .are receiving a lot of support for the National Hurdles at Riccarton. J. Thorpe endeavored to buy Hautapu last week intending to take the jumper with him to Sydney, but as the owner asked 500 guineas, no business resulted. Handicapper Henrvs is spending the holidays in Nelson and will remain there till" the time comes for "the decision of the Grand Nationals' .at Riccarton. The NeW Zealand horsemen at present in Australia seem to be getting plenty of raiding.; At the last Moorefield meeting Geo. Price had five mounts. Cuneiform, who was . recently purchased from Mr G. G, Stead by a patron of A... West, the Caulfield trainer, has .arrived at the latter place in excellent condition. Mr J. G. Duncan, who owns a large stud farm at Waikanae, was most unfortunate with his recent purchase, La Gloria, as last week that mare slipped twin foals to Finland. -. Miss King ran prominently in the Leamington Hurdles at Caulfield on Saturday but could only finish fifth. The Bay King mare is. "however, coming on and should score soon. The Grand National double has, been receiving a lot of attention from backers during the week, and the bookmakers report business as' more brisk than for years previously. Eurus, Slow Tom and Kaitere are dividing favoritism for the : Grand National Steeplechase; The former is doing all that Clark asks him to do, and what is more he does it Well. , ' FontenOy will not be a starter, in the Winter Cup at the C.J.C. -meeting, as the big. son of Haut Biiori has gone wrong and Jackson has. fired hiim and put him in ,the padr dock. The owner of Waddy (full sister to Boomerang) was in town last week and he informed me that his mare was being indulged in a short spell, but would be put into work again shortly. The Hotchkiss— Aleser colt in C. Weal's stable at Kilsrs' ie its very highly spoken of ly those well able to judge, and it- is confidently «i.pected that he will justify the good opinions formed of him. Old- Hutana. is being kept moving along at Feilding and will be seen out at the Rangitikei meeting. in the Steeplechase events. The old fellow won both steeplechase, events last year at the same meeting. C. Weal "was negotiating last -week for a lease of the Papakura Hotel, which has a private, training track adjoining it, but* he was not successful and it' is more than probable that he will take over the Epsom Hotel. Had Lothian not fallen in the V.R.C Grand National Steeples at Flemington he would have troubled the winner, and we can expect him to run well forward in the Grand National Steeplechase at Caulfield. Spearmint is the only Derby winner that was ever bought in a sale ring. All the former winners have been bred by their owners, but Major Loder bought Carbine's son at the famous Doncaster sales for the small outlay of £300. Capt. Campbell, owner of Playfair and other horses, won a race at the Rangitikei Hunt Club Steeplechase meeting with Elmwood. The winner is credited with' being a fair sort of animal and capable of a lot of imnrovement. Scotty is being pushed- along in his work at Ellerslie and it is expected that he will be nominated for some of the short events at the National meeting next month, and after ttiat will be seen out at <the Avondale meeting in September. Jno. Thorpe, of Ellerslie; leaves for Sydney on Monday week and will take a couple of two-year-olds with him. Critics from Auckland do not think much of Thorpe's youngsters, but of course that does not trouble the redoubtable John. Kuroki was given another run at Warwick Farm last Saturday when he started favorite in a two mile hurdle race and finished unplaced. It would seem as if the son of Fiske has not got over his trouble received in his former race at Warwick Farm. The New Zealand "Times" also fell into the sillv error of interpreting Cuneform 's name in the cable as to the crack's safe arrival at Caulfield, as "Cruciform," and that though the latter has not raced for nearly two years. Real up-to-date journalism -I At a recent sale of yearlings in South Africa, a filly, bv Unifoim (brother to Multiform), brought 575 guineas, the highest price yet paid for a yearling bred in these colonies. Another Uniform filly, a sister to Chasseur, fetched 400 guineas. The half-dozen sent up by the New Zea- ; land bred horse average 236 guineas, j

Alec Hall passed through Wellington on Tuesday bound for Riccarton with his team of jumpers. He reported all well, and had with him Kaitere, Kremlin, Shrapnel and Black Reynard. His brother, J. Hall, will ride them in their engagements. Many people are to be found who fancy old Waiwera' for the Grand National Steeplechase, in which the Gipsy King gelding has 9.13. The old battler has only started once in a cross-country event and that was in the Grand National Steeplechase of 1902 when Jos. Prosser's Guard was successful. The ex-New Zealander, W. H. Keith, who has resided in Melbourne for some time past had the misfortune to lose the services of his horse Teretonga. It appears that whilst working at Flemiongton the son of Swift ran off the training track into a ditch and injured his shoulder. A friendly bullet did the rest. A visitor from Auckland expressed the opinion to me that Ranana would be very hard to beat in the Grand National Steeplechase. He assured me that Mr Hughes' horse was going better than ever, and with only 9.10 on his back the Avondale Steeplechase winner will set a pace that will find out the. heavy-weights. The Auckland Racing Club head the list in New Zealand for totalisator investments for the season iust ended, the large sum of £198,864 being handled. This gives an average of £15,227 per' day. ; Manawatu is seccohd in the average with £1-1,974: per day, and Wellington third with £14,263 per day; Canterbury's average is £13,393. That good colt Armamento, owned by W. Davies, is by Lord Roslyn, from Escopeta. The latter was bred by Mr T. Morrin, at Auckland, and is I by Hotchkiss, from Agnes, by St. Leger. Escopeta was never raced as she was growing too fast, and when a two-year-old she was mated with Lord Roslyn , and the result of the union was Armemento. She was riot served the following year, and last season proved, barren. Since Tod. Sloan vacated the saddle., the little Yankee has been credited with occupying many positions, some.. times rightly, and more, often as not inaccurately. It was stated in print recently that the quondam crack jock, had been reduced to a position as, billiard-marker,, but, according to a recently-returned Australian from the Land of the Stars and Stripes, Tod is reputed to be sporting editor of a New York paper. Immediately on learning that Convoy, was scratched, for • the Grand National Hurdles, I questioned the owner, who was in Wellington at the time, as to the, reason of the withdrawal of Vanguard's son, and he informed me that he was not. at all satisfied with the way his horse was handicapped. He pointed out that his. horse was receiving BH)s from Ability at Hawke's Bay and he did not start, yet the latter is now set to meet Convoy on level terms. Wanganui "Chronicle" man is a beggar to find out' things. Cabled that Cuneform had arrived safely at Caulfield, this Great Thinker first interpreted the name as Cruciform— a mare that has not run smce Novemj her, 1904, well on to two years x ago, a mere trifle to a Wanganui editor,! — and then proceeded to give the miblic His Opinion that the cable "nrobably. ,refers to the New Zealand mare Solution." Haply the unhappy man was thinking of. as a vessel you melt metals in, form them into a Solution, so to.speak/,' in short a crucible. Hence his excruciating Solution of a Ourieform rabkv „ Particulars of the accident to Clarence O'Neill are to hand, and it transpires that the New Zealander was riding a horse called Debenture, owned by the "theatrical entrepreneur Anderson, in "the Maiden Hurdles at Flemington on July 7. and at the first jump the horse failed to rise -and crashed, --into the hurdle, badly injuring one of his shoulders and fracturing O'Neill's left thigh. This was particularly hard luck for O'Neill, as he was engaged to ride. Cor inthus in the Grand National Hurdle race, and was getting plentv of good riding, but he will now be , unable to put his lee over a horse for six months. Mr J. Beckett left for., Auckland last Monday to close up his business affairs there.. He tells me that he will return in time for the National meeting at Riccarton, and after that will leave for- Sydney, taking with him a few horses to compete at the Spring Meeting of the A.J.C. Says a ' writer ' in the English "Sporting Times": "Our recollections of Musket, sire of Carbine, are of a. sorrowful character. We backed Mur at. 500 to 5 before the weights 'wer* out for the Czarewitch, won by Cardinal York. He did not run, and at Shrewsbury he beat' Cardinal York at the weights they should hive met at in the Czarewitch. In hom». trials he was deceiving, as he would not take the trouble to gallop,, and he induced the stable to believe that they had r* much 'better . candidate ■in Ann is Wood." True enough Musket knew *\ lot more than many men of ovr acquaintance, and in the matter ot training-track laziness and race-course vigor, his greatest son, Carbine, o?: "Old .'Jack,'* as he was lovingly known to his intimates, took after him, only more so. Onco either- o? them made' your acquaintance* they never forgot you, as . both mighty; sire and mi'ghtier son havo often proved' to the writer of this paragraph.