BY "MULTIFORM."

An interesting record in connection nth the Royal Stakes, run at Auckland, is that the Souther trainer, R J Mason has trained 13 of the Id winders of the race, the last two for which ofMrGT^en^r^ 156-1^

hi London a postman adopted an in genious scheme for defrauding book", makers, but he eventually came to S monlf af Tf I 1 WaS se^eiS To x months' hard labour. His method «as to post letters addressed to himseii, using two envelopes. The outer envelope had a square cut out of the nght-hand corner so as to expose to view a stamp affixed to the inner onvelope In that way he obtained a plain envelope with a post-office date stamp »pon it. He then enclosed in it a bet on a race that had just been run, and forwarded it as an express letter to a local bookmaker. In this way he succeeded m several instances in getting money from the bookmaker by backina horse that he knew he had won. The mans arrest was eventually brought about as the result of observation kept iipon him m consequence of the many complaints reaching the authorities rrom bookmakers.

Blue Bull, foaled in 1858 bred by Elijah Stone, of Stone's Crossing i n _ diaua U.S.A., was, says Mr. Wallace '.we of tiie most remarkable horses ever bred in America. Light chestnut, a little over. 15 hands, his only fault being a little too light below the knee. "At on c time he stood at the head of the list, of all the trotting sires in the world, and yet he could not trot a pace lumseli, but could pace amazingly fast and it was claimed that he could pace a quarter _ (mile) in thirty seconds.* He was the first and only horse that was ever able to snatch the sceptre from the great Hambletonian family, but after a brief reign of a couple'of years, lie had to surrender it a»ain to that family." The breeding of Blue Bull is very obscure. His sire, "a large dun pacing horse," was known as Ruden's Blue Bull, got by a roan called Merring's Blue Bull; but of the last-nam-ed nothing is known. Blue Bull died in 18S0

Schilling, the American jockey, accused of stabbing his millionaire employer, Mr. R. L. Thomas, of Lexington., last month, was bailed out. and while liberated won the principal event at Pimlico on Fitz Herbert. The charge against him did not appear to be giving Schilling any concern. For a few days the life of Mr. Thomas was in danger, but at latest he vyas well on the road to recovery, and it was not considered probable that lie would press the charge against the jockey. It is'said that a dispute arose between the two as to where Schilling would ride after leaving New York, and the boy, a thorough Westerner, mistaking- a movement on the part of his employer, got there first with a. knife. Schilling is one of the best riders in America, mid at one time it was thought he would try and obtain n. license in England with a view cf riding Sir Martin and other American horses abroad.

Among the very few races in England to which there is no guaranteed value are the Two and One Thousand Guineas, the conditions of which are simply one hundred soys. each half forfeit. Lemberg, in spite of his Doncaster failure in the Champagne Stakes, will, I imagine, be the Winter favourite for the Blue Riband- (writes "Viligant" in the London 'Sportsman"). He wound up in grand style, when, single-handed, he beat Whisk Broom like a hack in the Dewhurst Plate to the confusion of those who opined that he was "all out" to win in the Middle Park Plate a fortnight before. Maher, who rode him, will, however, be on Neil Gow in the Derby. The popular American jockey has, on the whole, had a great season, and his successes since he first landed in England have been quite remarkable, and, moreover, as well deserved as earned. Increasing weight must of necessity check him in the future, but he stands out as the best rider of the day, in proof of which one has only to refer to his percentage of winning mounts as> compared with that of any of his rivals. Frank Wootton, of course, heads the list, and probably will agaih, for his talent is. beyond question. His weight admits of Ms riding in nearly every race. His ability is quite extra ordinary in one so young. He wil,. however, have a formidable rival in his brother Stanley.. who has already made a big mark, and will go on improving.