IN A NUTSHELL.

— Nominations for the Tahutta Park Spring Meeting clcse on Wednescwy of this we*k — Chrypeis was carrying the colours of Jlr G. J. P. Palmer at the -latter end of the Cup meetire. "

— Gold Seal has plenty of pace, and when be is running over the small sticks should b» hard to beat.

— Excellent nominations hpve bee-i r<»ceived- for the South Canterbury Jockey Cub's Spring Meeting. — The Hon. J. D. Ormond headed the Let of winning owners at the Cup meeting with £1910 to his credit.

— Ihe St. Leger mare St. Lyra, who came to R.ccarton far the tepping events, has paid » visit to Treadmill.

— The imported American mare Norice produced a filly to Rothschild last week, and m booked the same hexve.

— Dela.vare and Melodeon were raced in r winkers when tLey ran in tbe Melbourne Cup. The sitter flushed last.

— Evenlode was not started on the concinoV ing day of tile Cup meeting, owing to a death in the family of his owner. — Gazeley moved very short when he pwliminaried for bis races last week, bat never* the ess managed to run very creditably. — Star Rose triumphed in the N.Z. Cup under the lightest burden that has been carried to victory in the race since Fuailade scored in 1865.

— The Stepniak man Declination' warn fancied for her engagements at BiccaxUnu but she never troub.ed the judge, in say of her races.

— The fall which- Jack Pot received *t Riecarion evidently took some of the stool out of him, as he failed to enow oat in bis- subs*-, quenf lade. " — During the eight days' racing which look , place during 'the Christchurch carnival week the sum of £138.730 was invrated on ths' totalizators'.

— Astrakhan looked particularly well whea sent out for bis racea *4 Bicotcton, bat hm failed to get near the money each time i* sported Bilk — The Ho n . J. D. Ormond's filly Eona> is a particularly smart beginner, and has onlj| to retain health to be a frequent winner <nr«C short courses*

—Mr Abe Bailey was the principal winning «wnerrlast season in South Africa with £17,1^) to his credit; whilst E. Shaw was the most successful jockey.

— Petrovna is not improving in her manners at the barrier, and evidently wants tc go back to school to learn the art of hopping away from the post. -

— Brighton made the pace very solid for the first- mile of the Fendstlton Handicap, but lie faded away to nothing when once the straight was reached. *

— Sir Tristram was elected' favourite for the Members' Handicap, but despite being fit an 3 fancied 1 he 'foiled to get near the leaders at the finish.

— In connection with the Bendigo Cup meeting, to be held on November 21 and £2, owners running horses will be refunded 50 per cent, of the railway freight. — TJbe> Lark, a bob. ot Nestor, who carried! a lot of money eeetfe time he started at Riccarton, was one -of the handsomest horses that stripped 'at the meeting. — Master Alix was unlucky in his race «n Wednesday, but he finished disappointingly after being prominent fcr six furlongs in the Members' Handicap.

— Lapland was regarded in. £ome quarters as being a likely sort of a Cup and Derby colt, but on his form last week he must be written, down as an over-rated 'animal.

— Don Orsino won his race on Saturday in good style, and the improving son of Sant Ilario, with ordinary luck, will probably be found; winning' again \r the near future, — Several , cables have been received from England asking if Poseidon is fox eale, and his price.' It is not likely, however, that his owner (Mr H. R. Dixson) will sell the colt. — Yolodia's saddle slipped just as she was commencing to make her final effort in ths Seymour B*ndioap>, or she would have probably got amongst the money at the finish. — Cavalry was never dangerously prominent in any of his races at Riccarton, and although the son of Sunnißgdale looked fit and well, he evidently is not at home under big burdens. —Mr G. G. Stead has sold Soitykoff to a Dunedin buyer. The son of Stepniak — Hermosa cost Mr Stead 42& guineas t& a yearling, but proved a failure under the yellow and black.

— Harry Punter; "I tell you it's a dead snip. Ten mH> back it — it can't lose." Barco: "¥eß, lend us a fiver to put on it." Punter: "Oh, it isn't such, a cert, ac- all that!"

-*- Boomerang ran % good colt in the Canterbury Cup. for about .two miles, and when fit and Well there should be no doubt about him staying that distance- in some of our future handicaps. — The Possible colt Grand Slam ran a fairly good ratfe in the Derby, and he should be found catching the judge's eye as a winner before his three-year-old season is much older.

.—. — The immediate effect of increasing the •dded money for the Grand Prix de Paris from £8000 to £12,000 is a record entry of yearlings for 1908. There are 410 French, entries and 170 English. — Kng. Bflly won the Members' Handicap on Saturday _hk» a racehorse, .and would probably run a. better . race e> week or tiro hence than he did when he made a winning^ effort- at Ricearton. .

— Cross Battery war none the worse of losing her rider in the Members' Handicap, and B. W. King-, who had the ride on the Stepniak maare£ was also fortunate enough to escape without injury. — Bed Gauntletvwas badly galloped on when running on tbe second day of- Dhe Cup meeting, sad that- fact mftteriaifiy helped to swell the dividend he lerorned when he- scored in the Jockey dvb- Handicap. — Stuart Waddetl, the old-time Dune-din trainer, had a fine team of horses at Riccarton, and his many friends were pleased to see him turn out so many 'winneie in the cerise colours of the Hon. J. D. Ormond.

—At a special meeting of the Tahuna Park Trotting Club, held on Thursday evening, it was resolved to change the date of the spring meeting front the Ist and Sth December to November 88 and December 1.

— £k« Dunedin-owned colt Graf ton Loch, who scored! at tke Wingttui spring meeting, failed to show op prominently in his race at Christohurcfa ; and, although, a promising sort, it is evident he will want time. — The Canterbury Jockey Club distributed £13,110 in prise money at their Cup meeting, and a total of £96.362 was passed through the totalizator. Last year the money invested on the tetalisator amounted to £67.626.

—D. Mother, the famous American jockey now riding in England, was in great form os September 27, when he rode three successive winners at Newmarket, including Bridge of Canny, winner of the Great Foal Stakes. — The V.R.C. stewards were disatiefied with Hydrant's showing in the Hurdle Race decided on Melbourne Cup day, and; the horse, owner (Mr H. B«own), and jockey \J. Stewart) were disqualified during the pleasure of the club. — Rose Noble, a good-looking sort of a colt "by Medallion, who is trained by J. ai'Ginnia, was amongst the starters in the Spring Nursery Handicap, but wms not seen ait his beat owing to being troubled with shin soreness. — Munjeet was never seen in the Stewards' Handicap* but her- subsequent form suggests -that' she was unlucky in not being closet to Captain 'Shannon when- the Captain Webb geldjng scored his only win at the meeting. — Golden Gate is .a. shapely eort that should again do good service for the cerise of the Hon. J. D. Ormond, but went sore at Riccarton, and did not reproduce the form he displayed at the Wellington meeting. — The Australasian etates that Ryan was taken off Solution because he made too much use of her in the Caulfield Cup. Hewitt waa brought all the w»y from New Zealand for the Melbourne Cup, and rode her exactly the race Ryan did. — Mr Beat has made another announcement with regard to the length of racecourses. First the limit was to be six furlongs, then it was to be four furlongs, then five furlongs, and now the Victorian Premier has gone back to four furlongs. —It was a general opinion that Armistice was kept too far away in the Canterbury Cup, and her form in that race and hex Metropolitan victory suggests that she was probably unlucky in not being returned the winner of the New Zealand Cup. — The Hon. J. D. Ormond's Birkenhead gelding Wirral is a slashing big three-year-old, who looks as if he could be converted into a bigh-cit/33 timber-topper. He is improving in his manners, and is more reliable now then formerly. — Glenculloch is a particularly handsome colt, and, if he trains on, should prove the best of the year. He is still backward, but was •v much-better colt on Saturday last than when ha contested the Welcome Stakes, which was decicfed'a week previously. One of the most improving horses seen out ithis. year i« Buccleuch. the half-brother to Welbeck. and be and others of Benzoin's stock show such promise that it is a pity the son of Friar's Balsanr had his stud career cut short by an untimely death. — The form of Mungista, who » the latest to enrofl her name as a winner of the Oefa, gives further proof of Madder's merit as a producer of winners. Madder's contributions to the Stud Book which have appeared in public are Madrigal, Rose Madder, Rubia, and MunKiste. •s-Se* Kins, the three-jew-old. S»at llano

gelding, whe- made a winning debut at the Oamaru meeting, was produced «t Riccarton on Saturday, but although he confirmed the gooJj opinion formed about him he failed to stay cut his race owing to being short cf. a gallop or two.

— Amongst the riders who displayed good form in the saddie last week at Riccarton, none were seen to better advantage than L. G. King, who is riding particularly well at present. King has improved his horsemanship a good deal lately, and displays excellent judgment in handling his mounts.

— Curiosity will have to improve conaiderably in his manners at the post before ha can be returned a winner. At Christchurch last week he was one of the champion misbehavers at the barrier, and in his final race unshipped his rider, doing without a pilot in his run to tbe winning post.

— &. Carruthers has had to send in his riding license as a result of the accident which occurred in the race for the Ashley Handicap on Wednesday. The C.J.C. stewards held an inquiry into the accident, and acted in tibe matter after hearing the evidence of several of the riders who had mounts in the race.

— Golden Lily, winner of the Hawke's Bay Guineas and other races, purchased from Mr G. G. Stead by Mr S. P. MKay, of Western Australia, .has died from enlargement of the heart.. A post mortem, examination showed that soriie years ago the- mare had six ribs on one side and four on the other fractured.

— Stronghold's form at Riccarton was a marked contrast to what he has previously displayed under silk. The handsome son of ClanranaJd has previously given ample evidence that he was not a lion-hearted performer, but in his latest efforts he came n.i the right end, and finished as courageously »3 one could desire.

— The victory of Mr Dan O'Brien's colt Muttifid in the Canterbury Cus> was the most popular win at the meeting. The " rose and black" was greeted with a salvo of cheers as they were carried back to the weighing enclosure, and the episode marked one of the few occasions when the crowd voiced their approval of a win.

— A cable received in Christchurch from Melbourne last week stated that the imported American-bred mare Edna Patch (daughter of Dan Patch), who forms one of the choice band of matrons belonging to the Allandale stock farm, 4tas produced a filly to Abbey Bella, the aristocratically-bred son oi Bow Bells and Russia- x sister to the famous Maud S.

— Master Alix was one of the few horses at Riccarton last week that lost when apparently he should have won. He was first away, but lost his position, and that practically cost him the race, as he never got a clear run afterwards. He was putting in a good run at tbe> finish, but he again got blocked in the la&t 50 yards, and had no chance of getting through, — A writer in the Melbourne Sporting Judge states that in a letter from Austria received recently by his parents, B. Gars Lake says that he has been engaged at a retainer of £100 per month, by a leading sportsman named Dreher. Besides that, all his hotel and travelling expenses are paid, and he receives £1 per day. If all goes well, Brownie is likely to sign on for next season ai^o* retainer of £1200». —In England lately an owner and trainer were each fined £10 for running- a horse with a cough; but a two-year-old which ran at Riccarton on Saturday was believed to be suffering- from the strangles, which, is one batter than the English caee. The •Wiseacres at Riccarton took advantage of the situation, and piled the money on to another colt, whose ohance looked good with the strangled youngster out of the way. — The San Francisco colt Seal Rock, who has made few friends since he first appeared in public, ran a fairly good race 'in the Fendalton Handicap, and if he had not been blocked through being brought up on the rails it is quite possible he might have downed St Joe. Seal Rock was putting in a good run, but lost a lot of ground through his rider making the mistake of taking che inside running when making his final effort. Whoa a horse is noticed to be finishing fast at the end of 10 furlongs run in 2min 8 3-Ssec, ttixore is T^&soaa to hope £<xr- in 4-.T,** fiatTaro-

— The Sporting Chronicle of October 2 wrote: — "Ferguson, the Australian trainer, who has charge of Mr R. Henning's noises, scored a double first yesterday at Nottingham, when he won the Rufford Abbey Maiden Plate, for his son then had has first mount, and it was the first raoe of Lord Orville, whom he rode. Sydney Ferguson is almost fresh from school, for he only come over from Australia about three months ago. He was 14 last birthday, but his weight is only sst 6lb. It was trying him high to put him on such a great lumbering horse, but he rode with such coolness jvud judgment that his inherent ability is clearly of no mean order."

—On the turf Mr Bailey, the well-know a millionaire, has been exceptionally fortunate. Son--i six months ago, at the meeting cf the Jobnmicsb&rg Turf Club, Mr Bailey wen m stake money over £9000 out of a tctal of £i3,«07 given at the meeting, while at the meeting previous he won £5700 out of a .ctal of £8000. Other owners then said so many unpleasant taing3 about the handicapping c f his hotses that he sold all his horses and started racing in England, although never thsrc more than two months of the 12 ; and ho has said that he expects to see his horses in the front rank in 'he Oaks, Desby, and St. Leger next year. Hi* best-known performer is Orwell, a bay two-year-v>'dl filly by Matchmaker, who won the Acorn Stakes at Ep?om summer meeting, and has altogether carried off £6700 in stake motiey this year.

— The injury sustained by the New Zealand jockey Clarence O'Neil' when he had his thigh broken through a fall with Debenture in the Maiden Hurdle Race at Flemington as far back at 7th July last ha 3 proved much more serious than was at first thought, and the many friends of this popular jockey will regiet to learn that he is oncemore an inmate cf the Melbourne Hospital. It appears tha' the broken thigh bone Hid net 'properly unite, and a fortnight a#o Dr Fred Bird decided that it would be i ecessary to again break the bene and wire the erda toge*3i*r. O'Neill went into the hospital l*s t week (says a paper to hand by the latest Melbourne mail), and under thloroform the leg was broken, reset and wired, and he is now progressing very favourably. It was found necessary to cut cf? about three-quarters of an irch of bone fioni each end oi the fracture, so that even if the operation is a success- O'Neill will at best bare one leg a couple of inches shorter than the other, and will always be lame; whi'e- if he is able to follow his profession he will nee* to ride' with one stirrup much shorter than the other.

— Exit Cicero (writes "Rapier")! I do not know in what quaint fashion Lord Rosebery would answer if asked whether the son of Cyllene and Gas was to be regarded as lucky ox unlucky, a success or a disappointment: I think he was more or less all these. Probably the hope of seeing the King's colours victorious made Rosemttrket a better favourite than Cioero when both came out foe the first time in the Fitzwilliam Stakes at the Newmarket Craven meeting. Cicero won, and when next they met, in the Woodcote, it was even Cicero, Rosemarket being »mpu& tke "1Q & j

others." Then followed his fight with "Vedas, whom he beat two lengths in the Coventry Stakes at Ascot; the July, 20 to 1 on; and a notable performance with 9.9 on his back in the big two-year-old race at San down. Five stakes worth £8050, und undefeated; still, he could not fulfil his autumn engagements. Next season the Newmarket Stakes, the Derby — lucky here, at anyrate, for Jardy would have beaten him hod he been anything like himseH — second to Val dOr in the Eclipse, and then another long^ disappearance. He had just topped his previous year's total, the tivo three-year-old races corning to £8591. Percy Peck got him ready to win a Biennial at Newmarket with £600 last spring; be failed to stay in the Ascot Cup, and so retires. He won £17,250 in stakes, or £17,750, counting £500 for his second «o Val cTOr at Sandown. — Nowadays we hear very little of the "doping" that was alleged to be rampant in America a few years ago, and was to some extent practised in England. Still, in some countries, "dopes" continue in use, and the following from the pen of "Rapier" in the London Illustrated S. and D. News shows they would be more freely used if they could be obtained: — A well-known English firm, famous for a preparation of great value to man and horses alike, lately received frcm Charkow, in Russia, a mild request for the best recipe "to make flopping for racehoises," or for the address of manufacturers from whom what the writer termed "dopping" could be obtained: — "Tbe preparation which you call ' doping,' " the firm replied, "we suppose is something to excite racehorses and to make- them very lively for tbfe time being; but there is always a reaction afterwards, which is bod for the ho-rse; in this .country what is known as ' doping,' if continued many times ruins the horse's constitution. We must ba excused from giving any information about the prescription for the' above purpose, or from assisting you in any way to procure such medicines, as it- is discreditable to everybody to be associated with such a practice. '• Someone from Vladivostock wrote to the some firm for "a quarter doser> bottles of dope," and he was told that -doping is a preparation which no respectable firm will have anything to do witfc; the use of such a preparation is associated with fraud in racing, and the persons who employ it are cruel to the animal as well as dishonourable. "The only other countries in the- world that appear to have the courage to- write to us for doping," the firm say, "are fifth-rate South American States, and, of course, to all of them we send the same reply. We oak you not to publish our name in connection with this discreditable business. We should take it to be an insult to- have such, applications made to us if they did not arrive from places where low morality in regard to racing matters is evidently prevalent. '