SPORT AND PASTIME. The Turf.

RACING FIXTURES. •March 17 and- 18.— GTeymouth J.C. Autumn. , March 17 -"and 18.— Napier Park R.C. Autumn! March 17— Opunake R.C. Hack March 25.— Waipawa County R.C. Autumn. March 25 and 26.— South Canterbury J.C. Autumn. March 25 and 26.— Taranaki J.C. Autumn • • n March 26 and 27-— Masterton R.C. Autumn Meeting. April I— Manaia Hack R.C. Annual. April 1 and 2— Nelson J.C Annual April 4 — North Canterbury J.C Hack April 7 and B.— Manawatuß.C. Autumn. April 8 and 9— Souhtland R.C. Autumn. April 10 and 11— Reef ton J.C. Autumn. April 18 and 20— Wairarapa R.C. Autumn April 18, 20, and 21.— Auckland E.C. Autumn. April 18, 20, 22, and 25.— Australian J.C. Autumn. April 20 and 21— C.J C. .Autumn April 20 ana 21.— Feilding J.C. Autumn. April 29 and May 2.— Wellington R.C. Autumn. ' May 6 and 7 — Marlborough R.C. Autumn, tumn May 6 and 7.— Marlborough J.C. Autumn. May 13 and 14. — Ashburton County R.C. Autumn. May 23 and 25— North Otago J.C. Winter. ~ What a factor condition is was exemplified by the double win of Waitapu at" Dannevirke. The big Gipsy King gelding, after carrying 7st. 61bs. into, second -place in the Wanganui Cup, looked to have" a' mortgage over the big "race at Dannevirke. He only managed to beat the useful San Julie by a neck," but next day, although raised 131b5., ran "away with the Autumn Handicap, in which the Foxton-trained horse had a very moderate field to beat. Waitapu's success will add about £350 to his ' owner's winning account. Waitapn, from his breeding and conformation, -ought to make a rattling good hurdler ivhen' his flat racing days are done. ■ Mr. Pollock is prompt to time with the Masterton weights. The principal event .is -the Waipipi^ Cup, one mile and a quarter, and the" handicapper has fixed his minimum at 7st 31bs. In--awarding. the very "squibby"' Scotch Reel this impost, Jdr. Pollock appears inconsistent, for "in the March Handicap, a seven furlongs race, the daughter of Stepniak has been given 6st. Tibs., which is about what she is entitled to on performances this season. The scale of weight may be found to favour the horses near th^-head of Uie handicapIt will be interesting to see how Waitapu and San Julie shape at a difference of 61bs'. 'at Dannevirke. San Julie cajried two pounds less, and was a neck away. From a hard and fast handicapping point of view, the four pounds concession should enable the little chestnut' daughter of San Fran to convert a neck defeat into a length's advantage. She is, however, small, and may not gallop so well under the heavier scale of weights. R. Hatch is still riding in great form. 'At Dannevirke he bestrode Gauze, the Trentham-trained Blue Bell, Lethean and Cyrene.. Beginning with the Trentham meeting, where he rode seven .winners, Frank Higgott's apprentice caught the judge's eye twice at Riccarton, -five times at Woodville, twice at Wanganui — where his score should have been four, bat for having to stand down and so missing Marguerite and Ataahua — and Dannevirke four, a total of twenty winning mounts since January. Among the trainers Prosser has been having the best innings, and his lengthy team must be in rare form. The Porirua mentor prepared seven winners for Trentham, four Woodville,, five Wanganui, and one Dannevirke,! a total of seventeen: Th# regular punting followers of the stable must be almost" satiated with* collecting- their wagers. At the same Melbourne eale that Mr 6. F. "Moore bought the Pistol-Alveary fiHy, he secured also another well-bred youngster. This was the Brown filly by Sir Tristram from Zaroba, which fell to Dusky Morn's owner for 105 guineas- Zaroba is a" Tasmanian-bred mare 'by Reginald — son of Grandmaster —from Tho Pet (dam of many winners) by St. Albans. Sir Tristram is an imported horse, and is a beautiful-ly-bred fellow. He is a son of the Great Bend Or from Angola by Macheath from Angelica, dam of Orme and full sister to St. Simon (GalopinSt. Angela). If this filly never races a yard, she is worth her cost for breeding purposes alone. At the Bame r J^les'..thß^iull brother to Master Delaval was sold., The youngster is a -handsome, ' well-grown chestnut, and he excited considerable competition before finally falling to the bid of Mr. John Tuinbull at 575 guineas. The colt will go into Walter Hickenbotbam'* stable at "Remington, and will have every" chance to reap_ distinction. His dam Campania, by Robinson Crusoe, from the Maribyrnong mare Campanilla, ,was ' bought at the break up of the Wellington Park stud by Mr. J. V. Smith, the owner of Wallace. A full brother to Scotland realised 650 guineas, and he, will go to Jas. Scobie to be trained. The following horses who won at Wanganui and Dannevirke, are mulct in penalties at Napier Park next Tuesday : —Hack Hurdles.- Ataahua 10.13, Bushranger 9.0, Reservoir 10.4, each lOlbs extra. Esk Handicap,: Gold Thread 9.0 (51bs). Sapling Stakes, Lady Menschikdff 6.12 (lOlbs). Redcliffe Hack ; Blue Bell 9.0 (51bs), Osiris 8.0 (lOlbs). Flying Handicap : Gold Thread 7.8 (lOlbs), Maid 'of Astolat 6.7 (161bs). The neatly turned Prism, by Stepniak -—Rainbow, and full brother to the unlucky Uenuku, has. been bought by Mr. W. 'Smart, and will in future be trained by Higgott. Prism, has not won a race since he beat a poor field of two-year-olds in the Fitzherbert Handicap at Trentham in January, 1907. Mon Amie is not running np to expectations, and her recent failures must have cost her connections a good round sum. These Soults will not stand incessant racing ; they are not of the hardy cut-and-come-again type, and their highly strung temperaments cause them to go off speedily. It is said that the Wanganui Club will reap a profit of nearly £2000 over its autumn meeting. With rawing clubs prospering so famously the time is ripe for the conference to tako into consideration- the question ' of starting. Those clubs that nave the services of Messrs. O'Connor and Piper are satisfactorily provided for, but there is room for a third official in this capacity. However, the position is that under existing conditions the remuneration is not sufficient to induce the most suitable men to take up the work. At Wanganui Mr. James Coombs did well when the limited nature of his opportunities is borne in mind, and what holds good of Mr. Coombs is true aleo of Mr. Keith and others who start for two or three clubs only. These officials do not get enough practice, and it would bo. far mpjee^saftas-

factory if one official only was engaged for such meetings as tne Wanganui, Manawatu, Rangitikei, etc. Instead of Messrs. Keith, Cameron, and Coombs dividing the work, it would be better for the clubs and tho racing public if one only were employed and any deficiency .between what is earned in fees and a" reasonable salary, say £500 a year, should be made up by a guarantee from the Racing Conference. B\| such a courso it would then be wortn while for a starter who has the knack of get-ting his fields away evenly to take uW the position seriously, the same as Messrs. Piper and O'Connor. The well-known sire Cyllene has been disposed of by Mr. W. Bass for tho large sum of £25,000, and he is to take the place of the recently defunct Pietermaritzburg at the Oja de Aqua Stud in the Argentine. After fulfilling his engagements at the stud for the present season, he is to be shipped to South America. Cyllene, who is by Bona Vista out of Arcadia, was foaled in 1895, and was bred by Mr. C. D.- Rose, who, it may be recalled, sold him for 30,0uu guineas in May, 1905, to Mr. Bass, who has since had the benefit of his services at the stud, where he had been for two seasons before becoming the property of that gentleman. As a racehorse, Cyllene proved himself to be one of the best, and had he been entered for the "classics' ' there is little doubt his name would have been enrolled among the winners of one or more of them. At the stud he has been successful, among the most notable of those claiming him for sire being Polymelus and Bella Vistas the former of whom will be remembered as the win ncr of many valuable and important races, among them the Duke of York Stakes anH the Cambridgeshire Stakes in 1906. Since he has been at the stud Cyllene's progeny have earned over £50,000 in stakes, and he is the sire of Cicero, who won the Derby for Lord Rosebery in 1905. In tne season of 1907 twenty-eight foals were sired by Cyllene, one of whom is a filly from tho famous mare Sceptre, now in Taylor's string at Manton, and whose debut during the coming flat-race campaign will be invested with much interest. It has been decided to increase the stake of the Caulfield Futurity Stakes to 2000 so vs., of which amount 1250 sovs^.vill go to the first horse, 400 soys to the second horse, 200 soys to the third horse; 100 soys to the nominator of the first horse, and 50 soys to the nominator of the sreond horse. Tho alteration will not take effect until 1910, entries for next year's Futurity having already been taken. The committee has also decided to raise the stake of the next Toorak Handicap from 650 soys to 1000 soys (150 soys going to the second, and 50 soys to the third horse); and the stake of the Debutant Stakes, for two-year-olds, from 1150 soys to 1250 soys (200 soys going to tho second, and 50 soys to the third horse). To win forty-six races on the flat 'in. the Old Country would bo considered a satisfactory feat by 'qnost trainers, buf, I it is doubtful if rb made both ends meeo for W. E. Elsey, who has a large establishment. Most of the horses there [ are moderate, and the stakes small, i Jn. j 1906 Elsey won" 110 races, but the highwater mark was reached in the prej vious - year, when no fewer than 124 'events fell to his share. t _—_ i Those Australians who disapprove of the Melbourne Cup race might find some consolation by recogising the fact that, after all, no 'other national event has won for their country more pleasantly appreciative comment from visiting critics, qualified by wide observation of the world's average virtue to make useful comparisons. There has (says the Age) been a long succession of these experienced visitors since Lord Rosebery was delighted with the charms of Flemington, and it is noteworthy that they have all been more impressed by the high social tone of the great race meeting"" than by any of its other aspects. ■Major Philip Trevor^ who made a study of the crowd at thy last Cup gathering, states in one of his letters .has obtained wide publicity) that the spectacle he witnessed must in many important particulars "surely be< regarded as one of the wonders of the civilised world." The principal race of the day was "capital," but of that he has little more to say; what stirred, and evidently quite-surprised him, was the comfort of his surroundings, and the enlightened fashion in which the people took their pleasure. "From first to last," he says, "I was struck with the good order, good taste, and good temper which marked the festival." There was no fuss, flurry or noise. "Perfect is the only word that fitly describes the arrangements made at the Flemington course for tho accommodation and convenience of the public." Neither indoors, nor out of doors, had he ever 3een so successful an attempt made to deal with a crowd. Some days before the sale in which Scotland was auctioned, just a year ago, T. Kiely, his trainer, who had a full knowledge of the colt's merits, strongly advised R. O'Connor to buy him i'or Mr. J. Brennan. O'Connor offered 600 guineas for Scotland, but Mr. Mackay, the horse's owner, refused to take that sum, and said Scotland would be sold to the highest bidder, provided the reserve price was reached.' The bids fell short of the reserve, and the colt was passed in. O'Connor was determined to get possession, and there was still a chance. But there was another Irishman of the same mind, and both were fighting for Scotland. The other was P. A. Connolly, the well-known West Australian owner of Blue Spec. Mr. 31ackay was standing close to the auctioneer's rostrum. Connolly was on one side of the ring and O'Connor on the other, and it became a question of who would reach (Mr. Mackay first without exciting the suspiciop of the other. O'Connor won, and began chaffering with Mr. Mackay. The first offor was 525 guineas. It was declined, but when 550 guineas was mentioned, Mr. Mackay said, "Yes, he*3 yours," and the bargain was clinched.

Oscar Hammerstein has been commenting on the extravagant attentione that are lavished by the rich upon pet dogs. Ho spoke of the canine operations for appendicitis, tho canine tooth-crownings, the canine wardrobes that have recently amazed New York, and then ho said: "How servants hate these pampered curs! At a house where I was calling one warm day the fat and pompous butlei entered the drawing-room V«.nd sftid: 'Did you ring, madam?' 'Yes, Harrison. I wish yon to take Fido out walking for two hours.' Harrison frowned slightly. ' But Fido won't follow me, madam,' he said. 'Then, Harrison, you must follow Fido. 1" In regard to tbe strike of shipwrights on the north-east coast (says Tho Times) the employers havo given notice to tho joiners to tormina to the agreement they have with them, known as "an agreement for avoiding disputes" It was complained that the joiners, while they had their agreement with tho employors, entered into an agreement with the shipwrights to act with them, and had no power to arrive at a settlement without the consent of the shipwrights. In a reference to the shipbuilding trade dispute, Mr Thomas Burt, M.P., in his monthly circular to the Northumberland Miners, says: —"These sectional strikes are irritating and costly, and in every »ense mischievous." "la there," he asks, "no possibility of the different sections consulting each other, and co-operating and acting together more than they dp