TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2308, 26 May 1898, Page 31

TALK OF THE DAY.

By MAZEPPA.

* # * Belrnont went queer in one of hia legs a couple of days before the D. J.C. meeting corn* menced. So I learned in conversation with Mr M'Kewen after he had sent the horse home, a cripple, on Saturday, Frank M'Gratb, who has ridden Belraont ia all his races of late, tells me that the horse never galloped stronger or easier than in the early stages of Saturday's contest, say up to about a mile, when be suddenly collapsed oh both his forekgs, and his opinion is thai if Belmont had stood up he would have won easily. This is a dictum which I cannot pretend to dispute, but ab the sstce time everybody could »cc that the Canterbury horse Supplejack might have put forth a much stronger effort if ib had been required. He did not jump cleau— as a matter of fact he h>t tho hur«il»B twice afc ieasfc, and hit them pretty hard, but he got over every time without losing ground, and for speed he always held Stanley safe, while Kaiti was beaten all the way. My impression before speakiDg to M'Grath waa that it was Supplejack's race even before Belraont. broke dowa, and I cannot altogether get away even now from the idea tbat'Supplejaek wonkl at least have made a good finish. As he was able to come home at his leisure, the time was relatively poor, being 9sec slower than Ulster's ksb year. Six of the 16 candidates being formally scratched, and one (Battlefield) going off the totalisator list because of his failure to show up, a field of eight weighed cut for the Maiden Pl&te, or one less than last year. It is reasonable to suppose that in each case the owner thought he had some sort of ahow. Backer?, however, vreufc baldheaded for cue, being content to lay an average of 20 to 16 on Fulmen. It was a very short price under the circumstances, Fulmen having none too good a name for gameness, and the heavy going being generally supposed to be somewhat against his chance; and while compelled to acknowledge that tbe result of the race enables his backers to enjoy the laugh — a consolation wbich I by no means begrude them — I still hold to the notion that it wag a false price that was accepted. Fulmen won, and there was merit in his winning ; bub if he were started again against the same horses and on similar going I should want at least level money before being teraptedto back bim. He bad the best of the luck in that clever Billy Brown got him away with a clear run from the start, while bis most formidable opponent, Glenore, lost a lot of ground, was plugging away fourth some distance in the rear all along tho back stretch, and had a heap of leeway to make up in tha straight. It would not have looked a good thing for Fulmen if Glenore had been with him at the home turn. In euoh a.case 'Fulmen would have had to travel a bit faster to win, as Glenore, later in the day, on a more cut-up course, ran the mile in faster time than tha Maiden Plate was done in. On the ofchsc hand.

Pulmen won easily, and dcubtless had & bit in hand, and tha way he *tn>de along seems to favour the ids* fch&t he has grown out of the faintheartedness which has bean alleged to be his weakness, 1. «m sure of this » that if Fclineh resJly cievs-lcps gamcat-si be will ec-on wic enough tr.ouey to reinibsiso hl» owner Tor previous losses, aed Mr Sl'Gintie&e ftppafenMy nheri&hes that hope, sinoo be polled t'ue hor<se oub of the Selling Race, this being interpxeW&la as a ceiiro not ta lose him,

• *** The next- race was tho Birthday Hftndi' cap, which in recent years has btsea wo» a? follows : — 1891 -Retina ... 4yrs 7.7 2rain Unto £12 6s 18!)2— Don Pedro 6>rs 6.9 2mln 47«e0 £1 9? rm /Meliuito 4yrs 7.6 V <>„,«„ c/i.«» / M $s •^iOapfcive... Syr* 6 9 / 2nnu s(Ueo \ %iV2.s 1894— Hippom'nes syrs 8.8 2min 453« c iS6 1(5 S 3895— Saracen ... Syrs 8 6 Zviv 55iaec #2 ll s JSS€-QuilUri ... Syrs 7.10 2niln ifyaw £7 4a4 a 1897— Skirmisher 6yrs 8-4 Strdn 47$i>«0 £9 838 3 JB9B— Starshot.... isrs 8.12 2mln 40iseo U Murray Hob!> h^s only trained one tdnaw of t the Birthday Haadicap prior to this year, I jrefer, of course, to Saracea, who, sfcrange to Bay, pcid exactly the same dividend &c St»ar« thot. It was a very good thing for his peace of 'mind that-feho mare won on Saturday. Nothing fehorfc of this would have suffioad to dispoce of jtha persistent and circumstantial tale heard at the street corners that Sfcarshofe was " dead,*' As the race was run, things wuuld have looked awkward for the owner if he had been called on to explain in • the eveut of her missing it. After, getting nicely away Shaw steadied her, -and after going half & mils she wks {last. Then sue moved up a bit, and again fell -away, being last in order aloisg the back stretch. SomeJT/hare about the post, half & mile from home, 'Sequin,' who had been handy all through the *see, wore down Pitch and Toss, aud gaining

pho lead was sooa out by herself. Starshofenow' & great run, which took her past Everything but Sequin by the time the last turn Vis reached. All up the straight, however, her jshow' of collaring Sequin seemed a very poor cna, on til whan opposite the shilling stand she put sb three or four bounding strides which jbroughb her within striking distance, and n

JintJ effort; enabled her to pip Sequin od the

jpost), It w*a s woe that Starshot could easily have lost, &sd in tho event of defeat the 'question might have been asked why she decayed her run to long. Judging from wh&b I k&w, the reply would have been that Starshot somewhere between tho five and the four furlong posts, and that this caueed her to jae last with only half a mil? to go, but I am hot sate that the explanation could bs proved, since very few *eemed to notice the stumble or whatever it w&a that caused the x&Are to falter, and in any oase the incredulous jfrould have shrugged their shoulders and re'gjeated- their whispers, "In the bag." p The resalt, however, entirely dissipates all these proving very clearly that Starshot Was seriously wanted, Mr Hobbs cobfided to

use after the raca that he was as keen oa this {Birthday Handicap as if it had been a New JZeslaud Cup, and I can well believe it, aince ib £g Annoying -to be talked about as he was beforc1 Siand. Haying already done justice to Sequin ' fby remarking- on the excellence of her per- - k'ormanoG, little further remains to be said - jabout the race. Pitch and Toss ran well until the pinch came J the others sever looked • SffengerotK.

' V* 3&e Welter was juafc a race between .'two. Barmby haa charge for five furlongs, and that -Vandyke roiaped ovar the whole field, being nioely ridden by Hugh M'llroy, whose success was recognised by a rotrad of appiauss. M'Hroy is a capital horseman and as honest as !bha day, and it is still within bis power to rise to tho top of the tree in his profession if he VvlU only look out for himself as he is now jloing, Barmby, though badly beaten, ran very well for some distance, and his trainer deserves bredifc for getting him as well as he is. At one time this horse was reckoned quite done for. Mr M'Kewen boaght him for £10 plus the' indebtedness for duos, and sold jhim for £10 on his bargain to Mr Marshall of Gore, the present owner. As for the Selling Kaee, we saw a good effort for which few were prepared on the part of Quilfciri about threa furlongs from.home, and Glenore ft-ughfc out the finish with rare gameneas, bub il was Hippomenes' race all the way, .and I thought that Emerson handled him with nice judgment, making sore of the result without knocking the old horse -about. We learned from the card that the owner is not Mr Loughlin, but Mr Boas. He was able 'to buy the horse back at the reasonable price of £50. I expect Loughlin bad & kok round beforehand and made pretty cure that his old advereaty was not about to run fehe price' up. Refugee partly slewed round jsvhen the word waa given in the Tradesmen's Handicap and thus lo3t her chance, but at the same time showed * lot of speed ia making up to the rearmost of . the field. Belle .Ciair was the first to show in front and had the lead for three furlongs where Vanilla passed to the front for a furlong and a-half, after which Arline assumed command and sailed home in the centre of the track a fairly easy winner from flSfiremma, who made a prolonged an (3 game run under punishment. The time ia the best thtt has been seen in this race since the reduction of the distance to six furlongs, a? will'bo seen by the following tablo': — 1898T-Maremma 4yrs 8.4 lmin 21Jseu £1 7« 1897-Beilo Clair 3yr B 8.6 lmiu 20iaee £12 12s 3898— Arline ... syra 8.12 lininl9§aec £o Us Another thing shown in this table is that these winners gained the places this year.

*** Arilne'a chance was one that 1 all along had a respect for, but with 8.12 in the dirty going she did not look too promising & easdidate overnight, and 1 picked Belle Clair to win, being guided to that choice largely by the fact fchfct Bwiie Clair won last year' giving Arlitie v stone, whereas this year Arline conceded a stone. I had reason to believe that Belle Olair was jjrotty wall, and on paper she looked a fairly good thing. The result shows what »' lot of Hifferetvo condition makes. Arline must have improved by tyro stone in comparison with Belle Clair liictf thia time twelvemonth ago. The ilaugbta; of Gitxna has had n rare ran of luck Ifchis geaspii. She won the Shorts in September, tarrying 7. 15, snd doing the six furlongs in lmin SO^see; fcbs Federal Handicap in November, 7.8,- lmb 16Jseo ; the Grand Stand Handicap s,i, tha same meeting, seveD furlongs, 8.0, lmin 29Jseo ; the Publicans' Handicap at the March meeting, seven furlongs, 8.11, lmin 28 3-sj?so ; and now the Tradesmen'! Handicap ami the Wairongog Handicap. No doubL fibe is T,he best of the Sb. Glairs now on the 'tnrf. There were bo fewer thaD all withdrawals from the AuotioD Stakes, the Feature of which was the prolonged and merl' korious run on the part of Blisaard in the effort to recover the ground lost in the early part of the race. He evidently is sot yet dove with.

*if The weather od tbp first day was Terr disagreeable, but Tuesday, the second da? of lh« meeting, kept fine antil the ir»ce* were over, una, the daj beizutA holld»x» there w»* » la«c6

attendaoo»v Neither Gladstone no? Kaiti could pcoo it with the other pair fa the Hurdla Race, and Stanley had Supplejack dona to death afc the loot of the etr.s-.ighfc, Walls'* mount being no thoroughly done tUat Kalfc! f?»9 abla to etsil a march on him and gn'-b seoond money. Mr Downs'* haodiaipping at the meeting was oa the whols Al, but his bott friends ijyil! uott adesH that be rose Supplejaok father much for his firsb day's win. The Provincial Ha.i»ii!c&p in it 3 ewly stage* seemed like a match between Vandyke and Double E*ent, but both foiled when tho pinch came, &nd the npßhofe waa » well-judged win for Maremma, after disposing of Oannonshot. This horse and rider were cheered pt> returoing tt> the scales, Sequin can very disappointingly. I fancy that if Pitch and Toss had beeD able to keep within easy di3(:auoe 5n the flrt>t. few furlongs she would have been troublesome. As ib was, it needed a good run to land her in third place, Bannby was turky to got homo in the St. Clair Welter, It. thnmJ have been Remorse He race, only this fa c-o aud Black and Red gofc mixed up somehow at the start, and the chances of both were thus extinguished. St. Ouida, got away smartly by Brown in tho Novel Race, ran it right out by way of a change, and won easily. She was knocked down to Mr H. Maopherson, who belongs, I am told, to the West Coasb, but I shall not be surprised if she remains in Dunediii. The Wairongoa Handicap gave Arline the task of conceding 51b to Cannonshot and Ironi 14ll> tc 331b to the others, and she did it without turning a -.hair oi giving her backers the least anxiety. Jim Butledge de-> serves the'highent credit for getting this beautiful mare so fit as »he now is. B&adonwell, who had not started previously for two years, made ills reappearanoe in the Disposal Stakes, and roped well enough, though yet niucb too fat win Last Shot had the race won in the firsD furlong. The full list of weights for the Farewell Handicap was as follows : — Maremma 9,0, Canuonshot 8.11, Baraby 8.8, Double Event 8.5, Hippomenes 84, Vandyke 8.2, Skirmisher 8.0, Sequin 7.13, Remorsß II 7.8, Fulmen 7.4, Black and Red 7.2, Quiltn-i 7.0, Plotter 6.12, Decoy 6.12, Qaicksbot II 69, Liberty 69, Battlefisld 6.9, Monte Cario 67. Sparrow 6.7, and Bese Aileen 6.7 Bbv.-n started rdc! a merry finish found Remorse the winner, he having emerged from the pack at the foot of the straight after Decoy shut up. In this raos there was the solitary experience of a starter without a sixpence on him on either totalisator. Monte Carlo had the slight pub upon him Th» proceedings were over by 5 p.m.

*** Two questions for investigation by the stewards arose on the first day of the meeting. On« was in the nature of a complaint by Murray Hobbs that J. Pine, the rider of Sequin, had otruck Starshot over the head with his whip while coming up the straight. This waa inquired into on Tuesday morning, whan Pine wa?- severely reprimanded. lam told that the Jierson called upon to give evidence against the ockey declined to make any statement of any kind when brought before the stewards, but that the charge was nevertheless sustained by other evidence. This, of course, is hearsay. We don't know now what form the proceedings take at D.J,C. stewards' inquiries since the committee of the club has Been fit to revoke the resolution authorising the admittance of reporters. I have, however, sojne authority for remarking that the stewards had half a mind to dif qualify Pine for the day, only they saw when it was pointed out that this would practically be as bad as three months' disqualification, and they thought a reprimand would meet the case. The other matter for iuquiry was the Arline protest, referred to ia our report. From all that I can make out-, the current stories abGufc this affair and the censuring of Hi Fleming are more or less unreliable, and it seems to me possible that it is the stewards' action in sitting in secret and making such a mystery of the business that is largely responsible for the suspicion with which the decision js received. As I understand, however, that Mr M'Ginness intends lo appeal, I refrain from going into the facts at present, and rest content with expressing the hope that tho rumour as to the possibility of Mr Fleming throwing up racing altogether and resigning from the committee may prove to be without foundation.

*»* Tahuna Park races, which began on Monday, provided capital sport, and. everybody present seemed to be very much pleased with the club's management. The feature of ths racing was the form shown by the Sydney pony Cling, who did two miles in smin 12sec, and then came 'ont in the next race and did Smin ll^seo. It was not necessary to .do this in order to win, and the owner may be thanked for giving wh&b amounted bo a gratuitous exhibition. Pippin alco did well in covering two iniies in 5.39. He is a genuine pony and stands only 13hds 3in. The meeting ie to ' be continued on Saturday, when it is hoped that the attendance of Fritz may be secured in order to give an exhibition. Thia was- not finally arranged at the time of writing, but there were hopes of the club's proposal to Mr Bucfeland being accepted.

*#* Venus, the Mozavt mare that came from Tasmania to tun in the last New Zealand Cap, started at an outside price for the Elswick Plate, one mile, at the TasmaniaD Racing Club's meeting on the 7tb inst., and finished seoond, being beaten by Orpheus, who conceded her a stone. Orpheu* is by Mozart out of Betrayer, a daughter of oar Betrayer. Tt« Trial Stakes on tho same day proved to be ail easy thing for Water Nymph, tbe two-y«ar-cld daughter of Bill of Portland and Wood Nymph The latter i» sister to Martini-Henry, so the filly whose success is recorded combines ths much-liked cross of St. Simon and Musket, Pot the Plying Handicap, Surf, recently sent from Viotoria, was, to ust the phraseology ol the local report, served up » bubbling favourite. Ha did not begin any too speedily, bui when he got properly under way he went through b!a field as fast es thread through an experienced tailor's needle, winning easily from tbe promising Massena. Surf n a descendant oi 3b, AJbans, his siro being the well-performed Malua, who himself had carried silk on the same course. Not being satisfied with Surf's form at compared with thai ftt Risdos Park, the stewards disqualified the horse and nominator (J. Morrison) for a terai of 12 mouth*. Morrl* sou intends to appeal against thit action

*** Ac reported last week, the Sydney oasQ of Potter v. Thomai, which had occupied the attention of the Full Court for some time, v?ai finally decided in Banco oa the 2nd iu&t.. bef art the Chief Justice (Sit V, Darley) and Justicee Stephen and Cohen, who have at length salted the knotty problem of what constitutes « '» place " within the meaning of the 3rd section ol tbe Betting Houses Aot, 39 Via. Na. 28, whicb provides that "any person vrhc shall open, keep, oc use any house, office, room, oi other place foi the purposes aforesaid " — that was for the purposes of netting as provided to the flrsb section of the act — should be liable to & penalty. The difficulty that had hitherto been experienced by the court wa» that tht defiaitick of * "pute*** b*i s,ot bees clearly let

forth, Anci iti the case nn-der uotice the " place " that had to bo de&lt with was the lane running south off Market street, between Pifcfc »cd George streets. Though hot hitherto known in legul phraseology as a "place," the lane in question wap easily located by thoae who wanted to wager on horse or pony races, and backers and layers as3emblcd there for a considerable time past to do business. Whsu the oase of Potter t. Thomas cacae before the lower ooart the presiding magistrate decided t'aat the eemi-private lane aforesaid wrs a " place," whereupon a special oase was stated for tbe Full Court, with the result fehafc the magistrate's dictum was opheld. The Chief Justice, io giving his decision, quoted Lord Esher's remarks as to tha 6t finition of a " place " in the case of Powell v. the Kempton Park Company (fSngland) as follows t — "It seems to me that th« place must ba a place used for betting, which can for the purpose of betting be not unreasonably deemed to be a pla.ee of the same kind a.3 a bouse, office, or room used for ths purpose of betting. Ifc need uot be a building built like a house, room or offico ; it need nob be a covered placa ; it need nob bs railed off or boarded off, so as to prevent physical aceesi to it except through a particular par'u of the railing or boarding ; but it mnsfc be a defined space capable from its conditiou of being used by a person who de3ires bo to U3e it as it it were his house, room or office, used by him as such for his betting business " ; and he (the Chief Justice) also referred to the oase of M 'Inaney v, HiJdreth (England), in which the defendant was charged with' 4 wing a certain place called tbe «• Pit Heap "—a piece of ground comprising about one-eigfcb of an acre, bounded by various buildings and hoardings, and a row of posts aDd a road. In this case the lower court decided that the situation referred to was a place within the meaning of the act, and the decision was upheld ob appeal to the Full Courb.

*n* " Umpire," referring to the decision, says : Many times the fiat has gone forth that Sydney betting shops were to be fiaally closed, but they are kept going with only occasional short periods of eclipse. Just now there is trouble owing to the Full Court decision in the appeal case of Potter v. Thomas, nh'ch upholds the magistrate's decision convicting one Thomas of unng a right-of-way for the purposes of betting. He was fined £25, and appealed. Numbers of other cases wera postponed pending the appeal being decided, but; now the defendants will be called on and fines will be levied in due course. This development caused most

of the double-shop men to put up their nhutters. A few continue to do business as usual, merely exercising caution as to who they bet with, bub it ia extraordinary how these shops continue to flourish, despite the number of fines that are imposed. Though moat of the shops are now shut I do not mind venturing the opinion that they will be open again in a fortnight. Betting is very hard to put dowu, and there are layers apparently willing to take the risks of whatever penalties for conviction may be imposed. Tho closing of shops was a sensation, and people interested were busy discussing the situation. It is really remarkable to what extent business is done in them over the regular horse and pony meetings. Tho closing up should affect both the attendance and betting business on tho courses. Tha now situation will greatly please racecourse proprietors, who know that shopbetbing damages their interests. Men who might atbend races stay in town and bst in the shops, and cluba thereby lose revenue. Book* makers who confiue their operations fco the clubs and racecourses also sea in the closing of shops the proapecb of. increased business, owing to money diverted from tha shops beiag invested od the courses with theniselvas. Ifc is nob in the welfare of the turf that city befctiag exists, but it affords opportunity to have a gamble without wasting an afternoon to attend the races. Racing caterers do not like it, but the shop men having worked up a big connection are sure to die hard if they are to be eventually wiped out — a result Ido not anticipate, seeing the tenacity with which they cling to the business, despite all d.ffieullies placed in their way by the law's decrees.

*%* When the last mail left England the racing world was very excited about the eleventh-hour scratching of Tinaon for the Liverpool Grand National. Tinaon was always a favourite, yet never weafc smoothly in the market. His position was strengthened when it was announced that Williamson was to* ride, bat certain bookmakers were always ready to lay, and Tiaion was in a very weak state a week before the race. Then a revival w<ss managed, and Mr Allison on the Wednesday before the race announced that he had spacial reasons for saying that Timoa would run and win. Next day he was not go certain, Williamson was At Aintree in the nioraing to tida Timoa in a gallop, but could not find the horse. Subsequent events showed that this waa not to be wondered at. The horse had never left' his stable in Scotland. He waskepfc in the race until about an hour before the start, and then scratched by the owner, who, the previous night, had stated that although be did not know where the horse was, ho had backed him, and expected him to tern up and win. Three days after the row began, and the papers were clamouring for a searching inquiry, Mr Brown forwarded a letter asd a veterinary certificate to the Sportsman. That papei commented as follows j — " The letter &nd veterinary certificate from the owner ut Tima^ which appear ia another odumn, are presumably intended as a dofenoe of the recent proceedings iv connection with that now notorious animal, bub surely they are about the weakest thai) was ever put forward. Can Mr Brown be surprised that there has been ' so much ill-feel-ing ' when o horse about whom the most disquieting rumours were current for a week or more before the race «m left in until about an hour before the time appointed for the start, and until, presumably, the last shilling had been got out of him r What) o» earth has a certificate t« the effect that a horse was suffering from 'inflammation of the facial bones of the left side of the face ' o» March 29 got to do with his failurt to fulfil hi* engagement op March 25 ? It seeme to me that to put io suoh a certificate is &smc*t fee add insult to injury,*'

•»* '• Terlinga," speaking of his visit to Woflingtoc Park, says > Mr Morrin bre<) Trenton: Tetford, and Krupp. He had these three In training wibb John Ohaafe, and when they wer» tried Trenton* who looked vary backward, was adjudged to be the worst of the three. With the colours up, however, it was qnita a different matter. Trenton, with a stable boy up. beat his more fancied stable companions ar.i] won hit raob. Sfcili the trainer could cob believe thai ths home trial was wrong t and Krupp was hit choica at against Trenton when the pair met again at the next meeting. Thit time TrentoD won even more decisively, and then Mr Morrin sold him to Mr Stead for 300gs. Being a difficult horse to train Mr Stead was deceived as to Trenton's real merits, just asr Chaafe was, and, aftei getting a race out of him, the future champion stallion was passed on to D. O'Brien tot eOOga, When next h* was sold Treutoa

realised 30C® ,s, the buyer being Mr W. Cooper. After he fin shad racing Trenton was sold to Messrs Long iud Hfll for about lOOOgs, and they in < urn I<st Mr W. R. Wilson hays him for 3.000g«. Af our a few brilliant /oars afc St. Albaas Trenton was bought for EOOOgs by ths Messra Wilson, of Brcildoune, and sent So England. Probably Mr W. B> Wilson hy) ncvsrlelj a horso slip through his hands he regrets more than Trenton. No more consistent begetter of high-class racehorses ever stood in Victoria.

%* Replying to a charge against the C.J.G, that is did uot look after the interests of tho cussido public, Mr Sfesad said at the} ar.nafcl m-.-L' r g held last week that as a matter of fact tba {shilling eland and tho half-crowu stand ha-ft bson built wholly in the interests o? tha genaral public, and these stands hart been but poorly patronised. The new semaphore, which had been imported ab a cost of £250, was also wholly for the convenience of the general public. The small reserved portions of thai? biii H ings were for tha pre&s and stewards, and ib had been considered nencsaary -that iheise should be allowed so Ksstlio running without fear of interruption. 'I'na total membership of the club amounted to 130 people, and of these 24, or one-fifth of the whole number, had been that day nominated as office-bearers. During the paat 10 years the personnel had been completely changed as regarded both stewards and cornmiitse, which new contained practlcaliy new blood. Wilb regard to a charge made against the club that the larger owners benefited at the expense of the smaller, Mr Stead pointed out that since the inauguration of the classic races five years ■ago owners had contributed £13,083 in entries, acceptances, &c, in return for which £18,423 was paid back to them by the club, so that owners of horses in these races paid out ef their own pockets 71 per cent of the money they won. In handicaps and minor racss during the same five years owners contributed £17,423, for which they were paid back in prizes the sum of £58,519 by the club, the owners in thi» cla^a of race only contributing 29J per cent. He considered that theso figures would entirely disprove a suggestion which had been ma«se that the large owners had be.':n favoured at the expense of the smaller owr-.ere.

* # * New Z-aaland naturally claitaa an interest in Fritz. Mr Robert Wilkin selected in America and brought to this colony the sire of this champion trotter (Vanclsve), also sire (Berlin) and the dam (Woodburn Maid) of Fritz's mother. It is therefore appropriate that Fritz should come over here and nsako a record, as he did last; week, w3:eu he get lo the end of two miles in 4miu 50§seo. Gutting off the fifth of a second, which no man can measure without the help of machinery, this record is 7£sec ahead of the beat time for two miles previously registered in New Zealand, by Brooklyn ; and it is 6^Bec better than the Australia?! record mado by Mystery in hee match sgninflt Osterley. Ib is, however, not within cooey of American time. Greenlandar in 1693 trotted two miles in tain 32sec, or 18sec better than Fritz's record, and if Mr Buckland's horse had been forced to go all the way last week at the pace he showed in his first mile — fcbe mile that killed all the opposition — he would have wound up ssec behind the American time. We must also remember, in making a comparison, that no one really knowa what the Yankee horses could do if the best of them were trained for fewo miles. All we can be sura of is that Greenlander's 4-min 32soe would nob stand a day if it were seriously atb&cked. It is a gait of only 2Miu ISscc per mile, aad that is not near championship speed. Alix did a mile in 2nain 3fsa«. If ehe could do that again she could afford to laze along in the second vnile at 2oiin 28^aec and still be upsides with Qreenlander. No ; we are still as much out of range of the Americans as the Spaniards were ab Manila a couple of weeks ago. That fact need not, however, disbesrten ua. We have their stack, we are going ahead by lumps, while the Yankees are sc&vcely hoping for the possibility of improving their speed, and when we get tha tracks and the drivers and the money to offer we colonials will no doubt close up a bit. The money is tha main thing. Ib is the money offered by the Canterbury Trotting Club that has tempted Mr Buokland to pay New Zealand a visife. He pasaed by the Tahuna meeting as not offering enough money in stakes. And it is because the Cr-nterbiiry Club has got tha hold of the crowd ths»t it can give good money ; you can't get the money without drawing thepublic ; and they won't be drawn unless the horses are there to show good trotting. The ali-important thing is to get going. When a etart is made the concerns swings along all right with bub litSle effort. I congratulate our Canterbury friends on having fs»irfy moved tha pendulum. It wanted a big shove, and we often talk about the funny ways of some of those who lent a hand, but if they were a ragged lot, every ounce told, and the clubs who are now reaping the advantage of an established position should not spoak too scornfully of the initiators of the sport.

*** Statistics prepared by the Australasian show that for the first nine months of the season Lochiel ia at the head of the list of winning sires, his progeny having won 46 races, of the total value of £11,817. The total winnings of the Carbines having advanced from £6586 to £10,708, and of the Trentons from £5247 to £10,327. Gozo, a consistent sire of winners, has got up to £§958. Sunrise's stock have during the nine months won no fewer than 73 races, but the tetal value is only £2588. The third quarter of the season has been a most profitable one for Mr W. R. Wilson, his total winnings having during that period gone up from £3231, to £10,828. He is now at the top of the list of winning owners as far at the season has progressed. Sir W. Duggan, with Arnberite, i» second, with £7076, while Mr W, Forrester remains at £4490. Mr W, Keleo, £3768 j Mr S. Miller, £3563 ; and Mr O. N, KidmaD (W.A.), £3120, follow. The colours of the last-named have during the nine months been carried successfully ob 38 occasions, Common winning 15 races for him.

*** According to the Field, the conditions under which the Eoglisb Grand National was xun have never been equalled. The snow squalls, which alternated with the sunshine and small duststorms, contrived to time themselves so unfortunately as to be present) whilst the preliminary jumping ever the hurdle was la progress. The parade then took place in bril« liant sunshine, but a heavy storm was coming np, and bcfor» tbe flag fell the snow was thick. A* the race progressed it grew thicker, bo that ob the canal side the colour* wera barely diß« tinguiahable. F&lls were already fairly numerous, Surpl'ce setting the example at the verj first fence. Greenhill, as usual, made the running, and cama round over the water leading Drogheda, after whom were Cathal, Ford of Fyne, Cushalee Mavourneen, and Nepcote. Entering on the second round, Drogheds went to the front and remained there to the end. Tbe snow wa» now blinding, and quite obscured the horses, it being difficult to make out- what was leading after tho last fenoa waa iumoed