THE TURF.

RACING IN FRANCE. THE NEWMARKET MEETING.

Again this week (our racing correspondent "Centaur" writes) it is of tflome interest to make brief allusion Ito an important French event, the '{'justification being that the Prix du -.[President de la Republique was last f Sunday at Maisons Laffitte competed J for by. a very well-known English horse lin Mr, Mortimer Singer's Florist. This ;/! four-year-old son of Florizel H. has j gained a considerable reputation, and *|he "was among the lot of horses dis!"posed of by auction in the spring, after I tho death of their owner, Mr Ernest »Dresden. For the big sura of 9100 guineas he passed into the possession 'of Mr Singer, who has been spending vast* sums in blood stock during the • past eighteen months. Florist SO far TastifiecTthe purchase as to wm the 'Npwbury Summer Cup under top weight of 9st. He might have comjpeied at Ascot, but instead the policy itvas adopted of reserving ham for this race in France. ■ The event had quite an attractive Appearance, for the competitors includ- • es, apart from Florist, the distinguished winner of the Grand Prrx de Paris, Sardanapale. This horse was fighting his great battle over again .'■with his rival, La Farina, who had only ■been beaten a neok the week Mfore' '■■ at Longchamp. Neither of these was ■ 'favourite, however. That position was (given to the four-year-old Nimbus. •' Some people may recollect that he took - part in the Derby last year and was •-'■ fully expected to do what Purbar accomplished this year. Ho ran fairly ■well, but that the high opinions enter"iained of him were not wrongly based is proved by the fact that he remains unbeaten in France this year, unbeaten that is until last Sunday, w«en he was . made a rare example at For he -.".could not even get a place, and the .-■.' same must he written of Florist, who • "proved but a feeble British champion. • The Frenchmen did not take to him. What a very fine horse this Sardanaple must be. He it was that ■ • won the race, and by three lengths too. Nothing else was given a chance. Ihe expectations that La Farina would beat - him because at this distance he led "Sardanapale in ' tha Grand Prix m- ■ Bulted in the former having a big following and being given the preference in the Pari-Mutuel. This time La Farina failed to live with the wonderful son of Prestige and Gemma, and it is, therefore, quite clear that the hard race at Longohamp took more out of him than out of Baron Maurice de Rothschild's horse. Sardanapale has - now won the remarkable Bum of be--tween thirty and forty thousand Sounds, and he' 'is quite possibly the est three-year-old in the world. Let us hope all will go iwell with him and "that he will next year come to Aecot to try for the (Gold Cup. A feature of the First July Meeting at Newmarket was the two-year-old racing. Desmond M. won the Princess Plate for Mr Mortimer Singer, and SunfLre won the Fulbourne Stakes for ,Mr J". B. Joel. There are interest- ■ ing details connected with both.. Thus /Desmond '"J£ was making a first appearanoe on a racec6urse ? but he must ' nave been very highly tried, as he was •j backed to.the exclusion of all others ~! and finally started a tremendous favourj ite against . a large field. He >' -won comfortably, but then a thorough'bred'which cost 4400 guineas aa a year--:>Hng should have been capable at least of doing what he did. He was one .'/6f tho very high-priced ones at Don- ... caster last September, on which occa* ' sion anything oy Desmond made extra- - ordinal? prices. Buyers were all crazy '"-■ about the blood, but so far the Desmond • two-year-olds have not made hjstory in 1914. Some .that were sold for ■ --more than Desmond M. have not so far -'been heard of and they may never even see a racecourse- That, however, ■ is part of the yearling gamble. . Sunfire was thought to have been un- -. lucky when competing for the Woodcotes Stakes, won by the Chesshire Cat "~ gelding at Epsom, and at Asoot he did ■ • not get off well when a favourite for ■ the New Stakes, which tha smart Let Fly credited to Colonel Hall Walker. « He now won his first race, but it took .:- him all his time,to beat Mr Solly Joel's Polycastro and Sir W. Griffiths's Arche--laus, and that'being so it is not possible to put him with the front rankers. ' Archelau3 was beaten a head and neck, -and yet his trainer, R. Sherwood, has regarded him as another Tetrarch. He also is by Roi Herode, and he is a grey' of a darker shade than the famous horse, but, thoujgh showing speed, he does not give the idea of being able to stay his races through. Not the least of several surprises at the meeting was the defeat by Carancho of My Prince, who went out an odds-on favourite for the EJlesmere Stakes of a mile and three furlongs. Both thesa horses had been fancied to

] win the Deyby, but the balance of form I rested with My Prince. Hence his tfayonritism. .The other won rather I easily by a neck, and it is evident that the big son of, Gallinule is improving fast, and may yet be closely concerned '.■ with thse St Leger. On the following ' jiday there wa3 racing at Alexandra iParJ?-, m the North of London. It is a iPOor racecourse, for the reason that it ,?-js so artificial and cramped, but the love it, and thus there was fan immense crowd to witness the race tfor the .London Cup, a mile handicap lof the v>lue of £IOOO. In this Mr J. 'B. Joerls Blue Stone carried top •' weight of 9st, and the public supported -" Mm, but. he is not the horse for .. : 'jbhe course- The best he could do was * .to finish fourth to Short Grass,• who carried the colours of an American—

Mr E. Herts. He bought, the horse at Epsom last year for oSO guineas, after it Lad won a selling race. Short Grass j> has done well for hip since, and it is clear that the American secured a big : bargain. Since Tuesday; there has been proceeding at Salisbury tho three-day meeting of the Bibury Club, an oldfashioned, jolly affair that is a survival of days gone by, though it has been ' judiciously brought up to date in those matters that count. Thus the races have been appreciably increased in value. On the first day the Wiltshire Stakes was won for Mr Temple PatterBon by Land of Song, who a little while ago won the Irish Derby. He won this latest race in easy stylo, and was incidentally the cause of the big backers losing their money over Sir ■ Eager, who had started an odds-on favourite. Land of Song is a sturdy chestnut, by Llangibby, who won the Eclipse Stakes nine years ago. It was on the second day of the meeting that the Bibury Cup of a mile * "and a half, value £IO6O, was run for, and, m spite of his heavy impost of Pat 51b, Junior was made favourite. He gave a great account of himself, for there was only on© to beat him, tind that one, Florentino, belonging to Mr W. Singer, he was trying to give ao less than 4CIb. It was his fate to

- . -be beaten by three lengths, but, on the other hand, there wero high expectations of the winner, who is trained in Kennymore's stable at Mantnn. After ail, it waa not such a wonderful, performance cm the part of the winner, for Florentine is a nTO-yoar-old, and -big burden was only tho nominal one trf 6st lib. He is a very well-bred W of St Frnequin, and is a big horse -' in Qvery way. Hitherto he has been tiisapDOinting, but now people are referring to him as a possible winner or ■ - tfe» Cesareyjt<&