ENGLISH RACING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2362, 1 June 1899, Page 35

ENGLISH RACING.

Reports of the Newmarket Craven meeting are to hand. Seven iunners for the Crawfurd Plate made the smallest field for the race since 1891, when Dearest won, and Leisure Hour, expected to do better than at Lincoln, was well backed, and had the call in the market at flagfall. This he failed in, and the race waa easily won by Northern Farmer, who thus repealed his success of a couple of yeara ago, when he belonged to Mr Sime. The son of Laureate II and Smock Frock was purchased by Mr Bottomley for 2500gs at tha December sales in 1897, and this was hia first win since the sale. In reference to the victory of Trident in the Newmarket Biennial it is noted by the Sportsman that it was touch, and go at one time whether his dam, Lady Loverule, was not shot instead of going to the stud. She had split one of her pasterns so badly, both across and with the grain, that the suggestion was made to Bhoot her, but forLunately she was a fine mare, well bred (by Muncaster out of Nellie, who ran third ir» iho One Thousand and Oaks of 1882), and had in addition shown pretty good galloping ability in private — in public she never ran. Mr L. de Rothschild for these reasons declined to have her killed, and, although she was never sound again on the injured limb, she was sent to the etud, where her fivsij foal wa« Catkin, who could move a bit aa a juvenile, and was a winner. Her next living foal was Trident, who has done quite enough already on the racecourne last year and this to make up for several mishaps his dam had with her foals both prior tor and fince his advent. Trident is as goodlooking a horse as any man need wish to see, end he does rare credit to both his dam and his sire, Ocean Wave, who must rank as a worthy rival to Despair foi the honour of being considered the chief stalliou of the housa of Herod. The fact of Sloan being put up on Ultimatum in the Babraham Plate accounted for this horse's position in the 'batting, but not even the Yankee could make Ultimatum stay, and he finished out of a place, the race being won by Velo, who ia hy Suspender (son of Muncaster) out of Vellador, by Robert the Devil. Sibola, who) subsequently won the One Thousand Guineas, got home in the Wood Ditton Stakes, fot which she was a hot favourite. On the third day Sloan did the " hat trick " by scoring successively in the Soiling Plate, the Fortieth, Biennial, and the Double Trial Plate — in each race jumping off in his well-known fctyle, and keeping in front to the end — andS he wound up by taking the second Welter Handicap on Sea Fog. Sloan's record for the three days of the meeting was 13 mounts and eight wins.