DATES OF COMING EVENTS

January 21—Wellington Cup

Everyone anticipated that the Auckland Racing Club would come out over the recent Summer Meeting with a handsome profit, and so it has turn> ed 9ut. From a rough balance sheet made up it is estimated there will be a surplus of at least £25Q0. This is very handsome, considering that the Club gave £ 2500 more in stakes at the meeting than the previous season. The A.R.C. promise to havea very successful financial statement to present at the end of the next seasqn, for it must also not be overlooked that the membership has greatly increased this season. ' By the bye it is. worthy of mention that Mr Percival, the secretary of the Club, has completed 25 years of service to the Club, and he has good reason to feel proud of the great strides it has made during the last ten years under his fostering care. When he took up the reins of office the A.E.C. was a very small affair indeed, and its progress of late has been very marked.

Nominations for the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup were cabled over this week. For the big sprint event there are 87 entries, the list including Bobadil, and the best short distance horses at present on the Australian turf. The only New Zealander in the list is Blazer, but old Whakawatea is thought good enough to be entered. In the long distance event of the Australian Cup an entry of 45 has been obtained. Mr W, B. Wilson has also entered Bobadil for this event, besides' other members of his team,, and Wait-a-bit, Merloolas, Cocos, Hymettus, Massinissa and other celebrities find a pjafce in , the nominations.

The similarity -In colours adopted and worn by riders at race meetings has ever been a t grievance with the public. The Hon. E. Mitche\son has moved in this matter by bringing under the notice of the A.E.C. authorities the number of similar colours worn at the recent Summer. Meeting, and from what I hear the authorities intend taking steps to bring about a more satisfactory state of affairs. In some instances too at the recent meeting riders wore wrong colours. A heavy fine or spine other salutary punishment should be meted out to offenders in the future. Another thing that might well be done away "with is putting towels under.the saddle. Such a thing is not allowed on the best racecourses of Australia or in England. - _■.:>

It appears that at the last meeting of the' committee of the Auckland Racing Club a letter was placed before that tribunal.dealing with the question of handicapping. The letter so far has not been placed at the disr posal pf thep ress, but I am led to understand comment is made in it pn the lenient weighting of West Coast hacks, and the case of Uhlan in the Auckland Cup is referred to as a case in point., '• *. -

.Mr S. H. Gollan WPP another race with Nprton on November 19, when the New Zealand chestnut took the Pitclding Steeplechase of 40 soys, 3 inilfs, at Plumptpn, Sussex. Nprfon carried J 3st, and had James Hickey in the saddle. He beat his three opponents In a canter, starting favourite at li to 8 on.

Vi Though were are not yet at the epd of thg raping' season, it is practically certain thai old Gaippin will head the }isit of winning stallions for this year, and thus establish a record for a horse pf his age, viz., in his twenty-seventh yeay, fvrites the Special Commissioner of the London 'Sportsman.' It is not a little singular that his contemporary, popr old Hampton, should also have won high honours this season, though,' unfortunately, posthumous one§, for he stands out as the sire of the largest number of individual winners. Thus we have two horses, fpal^ ed so far back as 1872, defeating all their youngei; rivals. In Galppin'si (?a§g there is no sign that the stpek is t>eginning to -fail in energy and vigour, for rhis' two-year-olds, St. Gris and Galopin Lassie, are quite a high-class sample. Hampton's rheumatic infirmity caused /age to tell on Mpi more severely, and his latest stock show something of deterioration.

liike many another successful performer, "Satan, the winner of the Yjk liens Stakes at Randwich at the Chrisfipas- period, cannot boast of distinguished parentage on the dam's side. Mis -Moroney, r. farmer at Coolangatta, purchased Satan's dam from Dr. Hayaad qJI that can be authentically ascertained about her breeding is that ■:■ »hg was by Waxlight from a mare by Julian Avenel. At the time of the sale ."the mare was in foal to either the ex- • Hew Zealander Manton or Artisan, »nd Satan was the outcome. Before

the birth qf Satan the mare had a filly' foal to a draught hoi!sg;v but afterwards she threw Miurehlight tp Churchill. The dam of Gfttan was jiever raced, and was only mled asp a hack.

dominations for all events of the CHahuhu Trotting Club meeting are due on Friday, 27th January, with Mr W---£. Lockh::rt, at the Metropolitan Hotel. The club gives £7-90 in stakes.

That* there never has been so great a sire as Birdcatcher's descendant, Stockwell, is a matter of history; that there never again will be, is my opinion, says an English writer. Who can forget the year 1866, in which he had thirty-nine winners of £66,000 to his credit, and that in the days when there were no big stakes, such as there are now. It is true that the house of Blacklock will this year head the list of winning stallions, through its best representative Oalopin, but that horse probably owi ; much of his success to the close strain of Birdcatcher in his sire Vedette, and it is worth noticing that, although you may inbreed as closely as you like to thjs blood, no other seems to do much good without it. It is more than likely that Orme, whose son Flying Fox is undoubtedly the best of his age, will head the list of winning stallions this time next year; whilst Rendal, Martagon, and Bonavista will probably help him to maintain the honour of the Doncaster branch of the house of Stockwell. Blair Athol's best sons have always gone abroad, and St. Gatien followed his son Meddlar to America only a few years, ago; but Baliol, who is still at Cobham, would do well with half a chance; and Juggler is rapidly bringing the Lord Lyon line ro the front with the assistance of the stalwart Minting. Springfield's sons are keep* ing the St. Alban's tribe alive; whilst Chittabob and Deuce of Clubs are doing the same for The Duke. As long as the Stud Book lasts, the house founded by Stockwell, son of The Baron, by Birdcatcher, will always be bang to the front.

During- Sloan's stay in England he met both M. Cannon and T. Loates in 30 races, not counting- the one or two cases when all three failed to get a place, and the resylt works put as follows roasts. 2nds. 3rds. Unpl. Sloan 13 8 2 7 T. Loates.. 7 3 3 17 M. "Cannon 3 5 6 16 Sloan and T. Loates have met on 54 occasions, with the followingl result, omitting races when neither was placed:— lsts. 2nds. 3rds. Unpl. Sloan 23 15 5 11 T. Loates.. 16 8 6 24 Sloan and M. Cannon have met inf 40 races, Omitting races when neither was placed, and the result is as under:— lsts. 2nds. 3rds. Unpl. Sloan 22 9 3 6 M. Cannon 5 9 8....:. 18 It will thus be gathered that the American beat the English cracks badly. Merloolas had bad luck in Sydney Tattersall's Club Cup. He finished second to Crosslake for the event, btit his rider failed to draw the beam at the correct weight when he returned to scale, and that horse being disqualified for the race, second place went to Strathroy. Merloolas had been led away on his rider dismounting, and though according to rule, lib was allowed for the bridle, which went with the horse, there was still a shortage of a quarter of a pound.

The in and out running of the English three-yearrOlds is said to be so remarkable that no one can pretend to say with any confidence which of them is really next best to Cyllene. For my part (says Mr Allison) I shall always stand Derby form when there is any doubt, and I think we shall find Jeddah as a four^-year-old able to beat all his contemporaries except Cyllene. Wildfowler has, of course, to be reckoned with, but Jeddah on Lege? day did not give his Derby running, that is certain.