SPORTING NEWS.

«. FAR AND NEAR. (By THE POSSIBLE.) The autumn meeting of the Christchurch Racing Club, which was held at Plumpton on Saturday, passed off very successfully. The weather was fine; in fact, I do not remember ever being present at a race- meeting at this course at which, the weather conditions were so nearly perfect. There was a large attendance, and those present were evidently of a speculative turn, as the totalisator turnover, £5384 10s, was £1060 more than the amount handled last year. Turning to the racing side, the fields were only moderate in size, and qualitj r was not strongly in evidence, but the sport provided was interesting. Monkey Puzzle, the three-year-old sister to Ostiak, did not win out of her turn when she captured the High-weight Handicap. She had a moderate lot behind her, and she was also assisted to victory by getting a break early in the race, and being allowed to run along in front, at a slow pace, till the straight was reached, by which time nothing had a chance with. her. Sant Rosaleer, who had an easy win in the Maiden Plato, is a three-year-old colt by Sant Ilario — Bridal Rose, a mare bred by Mr H. Redwood in 1887, by Black Rose— Amy. TYest wind, the runner-up, is a four-year-old gelding by Cvrenian — Windmill, the dam of two good performers in Air Motor and Spalpeen. As a yearling ' "West Wind was purchased by Mr G. G. Stead for 130gs, but he was passed on soon afterwards to Mr H. Cassidy, . in whose colours he competed on Saturday. He has a nice etyle of going, and though somewhat green yet, he should 1 pay his way later on. Giovanni was a warm favourite, but he lost a lot of ' ground in the first part of the journey, and though he was catching the leadrrr, fast in the straight, he never looked like winning. The stewards were not ' satisfied with the manner in which he ; was handled in tho early stages, ami ; administered a caution to his rider, T Cahill. The Autumn Handicap showed > Harvest up once more in attractive light. He moved up to the leaders ; five furlongs from home, and though, i Probable threw out a strong challenge s in the straight, Harvest drew out again and won Avith a little in hand. • Probable Avas being ridden a long way ' from home, and under fchp ciycumI stances he finished well. Lapland ran a good race for a mile, when lie gradu- : ally faded out. Field Gnn'a perfo-rm- • ance was disappointing. He was run- • ning on nicely in front for • over half a mile, but once : he was tackled he quickly re- > tired, and it becomes more evident l every time he races that he is not ref liable. Makaroff shaped moderately,

"" ' ' "" "' i I and Stronghold, despite the fact that he lost a lot of ground at tho start, did j not show up attractively. In the Fly--1 ing Handicap Aimee Soult and Silkweb set such a solid pace that they ran themselves to a standstill, and Gwendoline, who was. several lengths away when the straight was reached, had a very easy task when she challenged them inside the distance. Tho winner, who is a three-year-old filly by Sant Ilario I—Female1 — Female Franchise, is endowed with a fair turn of speed, and she is likely to prove useful later on. i The Hack Handicap resulted in a very j easy win for Heorthen, who, being by Phoebus Apollo — Hilda^ is well enough bred for anything. The performance | registered by Czar Kolokol in the Welter Handicap was very impressive. The brother to Kremlin left the mark very slowly, and at the end of a hundred yards his chance of success looked very small. He gradually made up his lost ground, however, and, coming with a ' gieat run in the straight, ho fairly smothered the opposition. It is too early vet to laud him as a champion, but I do not think there is much doubt that he will prove a good horse to follow. Tessera finished up with a strong run, which landed her in second place by a narrow margin from Jolly Roger. Ivanoff, Dan Orsino and Mango, who were responsible for the pace, were in trouble ©oon after the straight was reached. Waters-hoot, the favourite, cut up badly, and without any apparent rer.son either. Visitors to the Christchurch Racing Club's meeting cm. Saturday had an opportunity of looking over some of the horses that will be representing various local stables in the twoyear-old contests next season. Altogether I no>ticed fifteen yearlings parading in tho saddling paddock, and, taken all round, tlvsy were a very_ promising lot. The different trainers were represented as follows : — R. J. Mason : Sunglow, by Multiform — Otterden ; Angele, by Multiform — Happy Valley ; Nobel, by Seaton Delaval — Problem ; *nd a filly by Menschikoff — Armiila. E. Cutts :" Discipline, by Trfiidmill — Madowla; Husbandman, by Treadmill — Golden Vale; Fleetfc-ot, by CJanranald — Safeguard; and Wlnstlccrart, by Birkenhead— Windwhistle. D. J. Price: Colt by Stepniak — Sortie; colt by Stepniak — Ambush; and filly by Stepniak — Firecross. W. J. Taggart: Colt by Stepniak — Britomarte, and filly by Stepniak — Arlino. W. Pine: Cohort, by Royal Artillery — Huguenot ; and filly by ' Stepniak— Coronal. Of the Yaldhurst quartet, Sun glow (sister to Sungod and Boniform) made the most friends, but Nobel (half-bnyOier to Solution and Count Witte) also had plenty of admirers. They are bath well-grown youngsters, Sunglow showing more size than did either of her brothers at the same age. Discipline, who was generally picked out as the best of Sir George Clifford's lot, is a fine looking filly, with much about her that is Teminiscent of her stre, Treadmill. It is early yet to form decided opinions, but I should say that this trio will be found very prominent in the leading events next season. Of Taggart's pair the Britomarte colt ie very forward, and he showed to advantage in a sprint down the straight. Pine's two are both well-grown youngsters, the Huguenot colt being particularly well-furnished, and it may be that he is destined to rescue hU sire, Royal Artillery, from, the reproach of having failed to give us a good performer. Prioe's three, which are booked to leave for Melbourne on Friday, are a promising lot. The sister to Cross Battery and the brother to Orloff looked email beside the Ambush colt, and the lastnamed further showed that he possesses the gift of galloping by the way he shaped in a spin down the straight, as he hit out resolutely. The fact of' his being a brother to Beresina, who has a big reputation for speed in Australia, should draw the attention of the track watchers to him when he arrives in Melbourne and Sydney. The result of the Two Thousand Guineas Avas no surprise, foir, as I suggested last week, with Polar Stair and Galvani not claiming engagement j, la>vt season's form pointed unmistakably to Captain Greer'a colt as the probable winner of the first of the three-year-old classic races. Slieve Gallion, who was bred in Ireland, i« by tlio successful sire Gallinule, from R»iclusion, a daughter of St Floriaai, who had. previously made liimiself famous as the sire of A-rd Patrick, the Epsom Derby winmer of 1902. Slieve Gallion commenced his two-year-old career with an oacy victor/ in a two-year-old ' Maiden PLate at Sandown- Park, but <u> had a mede-rato lot behind him, nor was cliasc much better represented when he ran. away from his opponents in the New Stakes at Aeoot. By this time, however, he was being talked of a.<; a colt quite out of the ordinary, and ho confirmed the g-cod opinions expressed concerning him when ho won tho Champagne Stakes at Donca6ter,

as the field on that oocasiooi included Bomto very ue©fn,'l performere, among them being My Pet 11., Bezonian and Linacire. Later on, in. the Middle Park Plate he was beaten by Galvani, third place being filled by Tiiaquair, who earlier ia the season had been looked on as the only colt likely to tibreatim. Sliere Gallron'e pretensions as the champion two-year-old of the season, this, by th« way, being before Polar Star's qualities were fully recognised. Bezonian' 9 record last season was only moderate. He opened up by finishing fourth in the Khedive Plate at Newmarket, but the only good one in the hold was All Black. He then won the Breeders' Plat* at Kempton Park, but Galva-ni, who finished second, was conceding him 10lb, and re closed tJue season with a moderate third, behind Slieve Gallion and My Pet H., in i\m Middle PaTk Plate. Linaore's two-year-old form wias even poorer, however. His only victory was in the Champion Breeders' Biennial Stakes at Derby, but he had a bad Jot behind him. He finished out of a place in the Middle Park Plate; m fact, the only time that he beat a good one was in his first race, when be nan third in the Huret Park Foal Plate. Galvani, at even weights, being biehind him. SUeve Grallion's success last week will probably bring him into increased favour for" the Derby, but it is too early yet to regard that race ac a, certainty for him. In tho first place, it remains to be 6®en whether he ia oapable of negotiating the mile and a half nt Epsom. Besides that, however, he will have one or two fresh opponents in his next big engagement. Chief among them wOl be> Major Lodger's colt Gal-va-ni, who beat Slieve Galliot the only time they met last season, and who, despite on© or two defeats, may pi-ove the better horse over a distance. Thon there will be M. E. Blanc's English-bred colt, Chiadi Haifa, whoso two-year-old form in France suggests that he may have to be seriously reckoned with on Derby day. The English two-year-old form of last season suggested wevy plainly that the fillies were, as a whole, a long way behind the colts. None of them showed out prominently in the principal contests, but. taking the running -all through. "Witch Elm was probably about the best of them. She had a busy season, as 6he took part in nine races, winning five times. All her successes, however, were gained against moderate opposition, and each time she met any of the leading colts she failed badly. Thus, in the National Breedera' Produce Stakes, at Sandown Park, in which sh© finished fifth, Traquair, the winner, was giving her 121 b, and Prince of Orange and Linacre also beat her in the Lancashire Breeders' Produce Stakes at Liverpool. Witch Elm a owner, Mr W. Hall Walker, won the One Thousand Guineas with Cherry Lass two years ago, and his present team also includes Polar Star, the unbeaten two-year-old of last season. Frugality only started once as a two-year-old, when she filled third place in the Hardwicke Stakes, at Stockton, and Sixty's two efforts only resulted in place performances. The chief interest in her arises from the fact that she ia by Diamond Jubilee, the brother to Florizel 11. and Persimmon, that was sold last year, at a big figure, to a South American breeder. Witch Elm, Frugality and Sixty are all in The Oaks, but they do not figure in the \Derby. Considerable interest was taken in a meeting of the committee of the Australian Jockey Club, held about a fortnight ago, as it was anticipated that a definite pronouncement would be> made with regard to the disqualifications incurred under Rule 6. This rule reads as follows: — "If any horse, pony or galloway run at any unregistered meeting after August 31, 1898, such horse, pony or galloway, and the owner, lessee, trainer and rider thereof, shall be disqualified for all races at any registered meeting, and every horse owned by such owner, lessee, trainer or rider, or in which it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the committee of the club that such_ owner, lessee, trainer or rider has any interest whatever, may be disqualified for all races at any registered meeting. Provided that the committee of the club may at any timo remove any disqualification incurred under this rule. And provided, further, that any race meeting for bona fide polo ponies hold by any polo club under the rules and regulations of the New South Wales Polo Association., with the approval cf the ' committee of the club/ shall not be deemed to be an unregistered meeting within the meaning of these rules." This rule has been rigidly enforced for some years, but under the recentlypassed Gaming and Betting Act pony and galloway racing was considerably restricted. Since the Act came into force it has been suggested more than once that those who had previously confined their attentions to the pony and galloway meetings should be given a chance to race under the rules of tho Australian Jockey Club. The subject was brought forward at a recent general meeting of the club, when a proposal was made to rescind Rule 6 ; but the chairman pointed out that the rule was really the foundation of the club, which, without it, would have no moro power than any other body. Subsequently a motion was carried which showed that the committee would deal with the question in a liberal spirit, and with this the supporters of pony and galloway racing had to be content. Since then numerous applications for reinstatement have been sent in by owners, trainers, jockeys and bookmakers, and a good deal of speculation has been indulged in regarding them, as it was well known the committee would not let the applicants back indiscriminately. At its latest meeting the committee did nothing beyond granting licenses to two prominent pony bookmakers. . With regard to the disqualifications, an announcement was made that applications for their removal would be received until May 10, and any not lodged by that dat'o would not " be considered until ' after the commencement of the next racing year. In connection with this subject." I learn that the light-weight jockey, D. Price, who is well known on New- Zealand courses, and to whose position I referred a few weeks ago, has already token steps to have his case placed before the committee of the Australian Jockey Club." From what I can understand, the applica- , tion for the removal of Price's disqualification will have substantial backing, and under the circumstances there can be. little doubt that it will meet rrith favourable consideration, so that he should soon bo able to follow his profession again.