TALK OF THE DAY.

* # * Owners have responded to the invitation of the Tahuoa Fark executive by nominating a fair representation of trotters for the roeuting to be held on October 13. The total for the eight events is 108, or seven below tha aggregate listed a year ajo.

*** Owners of mares likely to throw smart loading stock or useful trotters should, when con-idering the choice of a stallion, gire a thought to the oue now advertised by Messrs Paiker, Findlay, and Leedham, of tbe Rink Stables, Moray JPlsce, Dunedin. Two seas-ns ago Mr Jack Taggarts'lccted from the horses on offer in ihe South Canterbury di.-trict one that carried high qualifications in regard to substance, shapeliness, and breeding. It was a young horse named Camel, a son of the Americn-brtfd 8.-rl.n. This is the station I now refer to. I know the hese, and can recommend him. He is not at all liktly to beget weedy or unsound stock if mated with decent mates.

*^* The committee of the Dunedin Jockey Club will, I expect, aunounce the season's programmes before many daj B — possibly in time for next week's issue. I think we may anticipate that the programmes of the spring, autumn, and winter meetings, and pc/haps that of the anniversary fixture alo, will be very much on the lines of those pr. sented last season. Cettairjly there will be no increase of stakes— such an idea is quite out of thr question ; but on the other h*nti it, is not 'ikely that we shall find auy serious reductions My tip is tbat we shall discover a little judicious pruning h^re and there, effected wi hout destroying the general appearance of the programmes.

* # * The Victim protest came before the Dunedin Jockey Club's committee on Friday last, and w«s partly considered, but the decision stands over till to-morro*v. As the to 1 alisa; or money is paid away the interest of the public in the question raided is only of a general character, relatingftu the abstract proposition ; but the »o]ing will be the first of i's kind in Otago, and on tbat ground it is of importance tbat any difficulties arUing should be faced in order ta*t a sound decis on may ba given. Ip. eiume that in the event of the protest being upheld, the bookmakers will have to pay out on the doub c of Dilemma »ntl Foroury. That, howfver, in a merely incioental matte*, and will of c< urse have no influence in the deliberations of the committee.

*** Ted Hunkins is going to Invercargill to have a look round and see whether therein a prospect of making a do of it if he starts a training stable. I take the opportunity of volunteering a refcence in his favour. Since he began in Duneoin hfc has trained a number of winners — viz., Forest King, Leinster, BlackU'ck, Wajland, Adventurer, Apoiogy 11, Emperor, Finetta, A* Syrian King, Marie, Dunville, Aruaitture, Brin, and Chang* ling ; indeed, he h»s only had the handling of four horses that have not earned the brackets This is not a bad record ; and I can personally vouch for Hankius from a social point of view, that is as to his steadiness and general reliability. I hope he will get a fair start.

* # * On Monday of this week the Gaming Bill xece'.ved the royal assent, and is no* law. The f set is of the la -t importance to betting men, for an express provision of the new act is to make it a puni*h»ble offenca to bet at totalisator odds. Whether it is pror>osed to strictly enforce thin law, or whether, if the effort is made, it can be done, are questions the answering of which will have to be deferred for a mon hor two. In the meantime, however, it would be as well for fie:der- to fake note of the fact that the prote>tion afforded them by Mr Justice Williamß's decision on the law as it then stood is now »tri.- ped from the betto s at machine odds. They have to face a freah order of things from which no avenue of escupe h*s as yet been discovered Backers are also treading on dangerous ground.

*^* Mr A. Belmont, an American owner, has made three entries for the Epsom Derby of 1896, and one of these is of a bay colt by Maxim from the Kißgßsher m*re Carina, purchased at Mr Haggin's sale of yearlings in M»y last at 1600dol. The other entries by Mr Belmoot are of a colt by Iroquoit and another by the English-bred stallion St. Blaise. America has one Derby to her credit with Iroquuis, and if she. should have the luck to score in 1896 all New Zealanders will pray that it will be through the agt-ncy of Mr Belmont with the son of our Maoriland horse Mnxim. This is the first time the son of a New Zealand hoi\«e has been entered for an English race. We hope he will grow up worthy of being his eonntiVs representative and have better fortune than Daydream the mare now acting as this colony's advertisement at headquarters.

* # * Particulars are to hand of the first day's results of the Hawkesbury (N.S W.) meeting held on the 6th inst. at Rosehill. The course was heavy. Nine went out for the Hurdle Race, two miles, and of these three fell, Fog, ridden by our New Zealand jockey Death, being one of the unlucky ones, and Bingara, the favourite, who has since won at Sydney, another,^. The winner was Mr Don'ohoe's

Highborn 11, a son of Idaliura and Belladonna, riddt-n at 10 9by Howard. His starting price was 7 to 1, Twenty weighed out for the September Handicap, seven furlonjfS Blnrnejstone, one of the best know., of 'he crowd was ! chosen as favo rite, and it was not a bad pick, for this fivt-j *-ar-old carried his 8.3 into second place, behind Tan ion, a three year-old, wi h 611 The latter, however, wo.i ea-ily. He is by Koodee from Devotion. Our -outhern colony had mora than a. little say in the County Purse, of 12550 v«, sis furlongs, ihe chief race of the dsy. The six-ye »r-ol,t The Dancer 8.5, owned by the Aucklander, Mr Katnan, and Lochiel's thr. e-year-o d Hiroi.dcl c 7 11 were equally in demand, and they fi-.i»heU tirst and seco. d, Hirond He being landed by C Parker » winner by a leng h and a hilf m lmiu 18isec. The dozen unplaced inc'in ed two ott>er Aucklanders in Acone 7.12 and Wa tzer 1 10. 'Ihe felling Kace went to Plain Bill, recently sold to Sam Fielder as a broken-do An horse, and the Claren on Handicap, a mi'e and a-qua^ter, I with which the day's card closed, resulted in a clever win by Mr J. Brown's five-j ear-old j Canary 8 Ofroin Mr Hordem'v D rby colt First Shot, by Nordenftldt— L«dy Norahi who had 7.0 on his back. Candor is' by Splendor from Canary.

*#* The South Australian Jockey Club's Spring meeting began on the 3rd ii.st. Ba kers got a s ap in the face at tur ourset, The Duke, who had been largely bacced in doubles, beii.g scrxt. hed, and the ones selected at the po t soff^iing defeat by a se ling humler named F oodbird, who paid £25 10s He really led all the w ay, though four opponents were close to him at the 1-st fen<e. For tue South Australian Derby, in a field of fhe, backers rux-e-i Mr B. Barr-Smith's reure«entat ye, he - hc-t I nut «olt C*teian, by N»-rke sgat fim • g :>'e - riliea (bred by Sir f. Elder), .n? so conndently were <he shiners posted that td« colt, started at odds on. Ta«- others in the race were Haughtiness (Trenton— Lady Disdain), Monastery (Tbe Eugli*h.i-aii— Co jvent; La C-.e»ille (Thui.di-rbolt- Instep), and Tre tal to (Trenton — Montalto) The pact* was made i>y Haugh inesi, pte.-umnbly in the inte est» <.f Mo .aserk-, and the,> skipped along ahead oi t'atean, wlij galloped unkindly and was pivotiovl, beaten at half d stance. Nothing f> i>m the rear cre pt up during the rnce and the iesult «as a win in a canttr ror Monastery, with the favou'ite third. Mrs E. V Carr's filly, a good-L oking mare in whose condition a >{r>-at imp ovem ut ha^ been efft-cted sincf* sbe ran iv the »utuu<n, paid a dividend of £5 13s More trouble t backers mos- over the Gl--n lg H n> i ap, a mil" race, for which t..e starters number, d one sbort of a dozen Fort Admiral 912 cam-i toun" th« la.t turn in tront and his many >upport«-r» were beginning to thiok they had struck the pea, whtn all of a sudden he f»lered, and, the weight i eling its tale, he w*s Ua .ly beateu, finis- ing only eigh h. The race was won by Mr C Hh mess John Bull 612 a son of The Englishman an-i -ybil, who paid £17 5.. Tha Morphettville Plate » half mile run fort* 0-year-olds, produced a field of 14, a^d cUss was well re<»iesented. As bad lu-k would have it two of the best of the crowd s ipped *vr&y to a flying start, and th«-y led all tse '*ay, tbe result bting a w.n for Mr T Day's Ihunderer, by Thunderbolt— Queen't. Consoi-. by « length and a-nal' fri-m Alveary, who carried a 101b p nalty. The t me, 49^ec. shows that the son of the New Zea'ander cau gallop. He wa> bred by Mr Bl»ckier, and sold as a y arli -g for 65^s. He i» not engaged in tbe Maribyrnong Plate. An th^r >^on of Thunderbolt, by name Thunder, w«s the gentleman of tbe party so far as looks axe concerned, but be had no show, being one of those left a 1 the post. Tinst earn wound up a gr. at day for tt-e Turretfir-M Stui b> scoring j a clever win in the Sturt Handicap, six furlough. Bronte ran fas., but Tinstream fairly wore her down in thel^stlOOy s. During the diy £10,855 10s was passed through the totalisatov.

*** The champion starting muddle is r - ported from Quensland. In the Moorefiel-.i Handicap, says a lo<*al> writer, the field consisted of only Reven ponies Five raced away to a most wretched start, and approaching the staud were greeted with shou s of "No rice!" and the lavouriie (Partner) pulling up, was nearly passed by Carmenia. NVa and Urn did not start, but after t c favourie had pa'sed the post the sta<ter came back to ihe en-j osure and said it whs asi art. If it was, it was one of the most disgracefu attempts evtr seen on any racecourst-. For every ra--e there **ere long dela) s, but the performance culminated at the l'-st race, the Flying Han-icip, when eight horses or ponies were co> peting. Th- delay at the post w«s something like one hour and a-half. it being after 6 u'c'o k before the start t< ok pUce, while the race should have been run at 4.30. Theh".-rses ami pmi s were out of all control, and ou one ooc.»s>ou four <-f them r*u a ho ly-contested race, Th- Bee fiunhing in front of Lady Melissa and Lord Lome This time the starter said it was not a start, and tbe ponifs had to return to tbe post, when The Bee, or the rider, simply played the mischief with »11 attempts at a »tart, and when the flag at last fell, was left the post

*** When tbe betting closed on the Eclipse Stakes, run atS^nduwn Park on July 20, it was ' found that Isinglass was a firm favourite at a shad<- of odds on, standing at the same pric° as Ayr«lrre did b- fore' landing th-i prize in 1889. j Running very g»m«ly, lsu<gUss won by a length in 2min 13s-o, agaiac-t the2min 114-ssec of Orme last y-ar. T^e previous rec »rds were : —1886, Be digo, 2min 12|sec ; 1888, Orbir, 2minl4tec; 1889, Ayrsh're, 2m>n J4sec; 1891, Sur«-foit, 2min 15sec; 1892, Orme, 2miu 14sec. . The Sportsman's special commu-sioner thus writes of the contest : When the flag fell it became at -»nee apparent that Priestho me was not to be a 'companied in hh sprinting busine^ as before Only Isdnglas* lt»y anywhere near him. L-«dHS wa« pulled into lou'th pl>ce fully 10 lengths behind hrs dreaded rival, with Rivensbary third all the way up the back stretrh. And Priestholme did go Mr Mackay, the Am- rican, tiaoed thf first qua-ter mile and made it 24^sec, a rate o> sp.-ed which could not possibly be maintained for a mile and a-quarter ; on a grass course — ind-ed, I bel<eve 2min ssec I is the world's record for that d'S'ance on any course. And as they stretched away at this dashing p>ce, Jewitt was heard to observe, " It's all right ; they don't know what they «re taking on this time ! " But all th's while Ladas was pul in>; and fighting to get to tse f runt, very different from 'he spi itl-s>, effortless beast that he appeared at Newmarket. Some the c are who think that Watts in h's auxiely no 1 ; bel*d away another tim^> by Priestholme went too far towards the opposite extreme, and l»y unneceaarily out. of biH ground, but this is hypercntitum. It mi^hr, perhaps, have beeu better to keep w.thin nearer striking distance of Isinjrlass, but puch a po'icy could hardly have alt-rrd the result. The bend stopped the pace somewhat, but Isinglass was better placed than Ladas to come round it. Piiestholme performed his mus ; on splendidly, I and whs still leading, bub of course died out, ' *nd then as they faced v? it was soon evident that it was to be a race and a good one, for Jjadas was coining up in his best atvle without '

for a moment having his hpad loose, and it did seem that the sj-eed he had in reserve would enable him to overwhelm his rival when he got the office. On be came, and Isinglass, who has accustomed us to a sembl. nee of difficulty about ail his wins, did cm-tain y not seem likely to stall off the final challenge when it came ; and it did come at last at tbe distance, irresistible as one might have thought, if Ladas could only last borne. Bub ag*in Jewitt said, "It's a'l right, they don't know what they are takng on this time," and he w>s right.. The last hundred yards of that tiring ascent saw the brilliant chal onse of Ladas die out. Isinglass stuck to his work rel-ntless as fate Lada> ran game and true as possible — even came again in the la*t few strides, but it wa<» no use, «nd, as Watts himself said afterwards, the best harse won.

*** The English msil brings particulars of the Goodwood meeting. The Stewards' Cup, notable for surprise*, provided a greater sensation than has been experienc-d for m*ny years, ! Sir J. Blundeli Maple's Gangway, who btood at 40 to 1, in the final quotations, winning easily by a coupe of length* in slow time The record for the race i« Marvel's lmin 14 l-ssec, in 1890, whereas this year's winner took lmin 23sec to cover the six furlong* Gangway, bred by Mr J Best, was so>d as a yearling r O r 450gs, and put «ne of his *tifle joints nut » fortnight befo.e the race and r was thre.' days before he was put in again. When that was done the veterinary surg«en would not san< t. n tbe horst-'s doing any severe work, so that (iaugway ran and wen without being in any sense of the * ord wound up. Nevertheless, the owner had 1000 to 20 about him "just for luck." The success, of The Nipper, n son of Sheen and the Lowlander mar" Nina, in <he R chinrnd -*t^kes was another urn v,. for the rng, this colt's name being scarcely mentioned. The Sussex Srakes generally takes a good one to «rin. Rayon dOr, Pauidox, EntbuMMt, St. Serf, Or vieto, and OrmTare a'l on the roll of wii-ners, and now «r« have to add the unluc<y Matchbox, who starting at long o )ds on, cantered home with Baron Hiwch's colours up T?e publiof however, did not »eem to be muf-h impressed wito the per'oroiance, as an off'-r of 7000 to 2000 ag%inst his ohance for the Doncaster St. Leger was allowed to pass. The coa-si-tent Spindle Leg, who had gained a place in every one of hi* previous raws this seis.>n, won the Goodwood Stakes in >low time, and the Cup went to Captain Mncheli's Irish-bred colt Kilsallghan, by the Amerif-an-bred Brown Prince (wbo ran second to Oham^nt for the Two Thousand of 1877) out of Gipsy, a 'augnter of Astologer.

*#* No t-ansactions of importance on the New Zealand Cup are reported this week. The changes in price to be noted are fch>t Au Revoir has distinctly hardened, the same remaik applying to Pegasus, Vogeng«ng, and Lo tie, while Casket is ea«ier. Current quotations are as follow : — , NEW ZEALAND CUP. j Horse. Wgt. Trainer. j Odds. \ \ st. Ib. : ' ; Liberator (5 ex.) 8 9 P.Butler ... 100 — 5 Prime Warden 8 8 SI. Kobbs ... 100 — 7 Au Rcvoir ... 8 6 P Butler ... 100 —12 Hippomenes ... 8 4 S. Bishop ... 100 — 8 Rosefeldt ... 8 3 J. Munn ... 100 — 5 Clauranald ... 8 3 H. Lunu 100 — 5 Skirmisher ... 8 3 J. M'Ginnes ... 100 — 9 Saracen 8 2 M. Hobbs ... 100 —10 Rangipuhi ... 8 0 G. Blanche ... 100 — 4 Pegasus 713 H Harrison ... 100 — 7 Voseugang ... 713 T. Sheeuan ... 100 — 6 Lady Zetland... 712 M. Hobbs ... 100 — 3 Beadonwell ... 711 S. Mercer ... 100 — 4 Impulse 7 9 G. Cutts 100 — 5 Lottie 7 8 J. Kean 100 — 5 Royal Rose .. 7 8 G. Wright ...! 100 — 3 Monte Carlo ... 7 7 D. Knight .. ! 100 — 5 Dreamland ...7 7 J. Maher ...j 100 — 3 Pinrose 7 6 A. Ellingham ...| 100 — 5 Dilemma ... 7 6 M. Allan j 100 — 4 Rangiatea ... 7 5 J. M'Ginnes ...' 100 — 3 Scot Free ... 7 4 W. Wilmot ...| 100 — 3 Captive 7 4 S. Waddell ... 100 — 3 Three Star ... 7 4 G.Wright ... 100 — 7 Outpost 7 3 S Bishop ... DO — 3 Magazine ... 7 3 'f Sh-enan ... 100 — 4 Artilleur ... 7 2 Murray-Ayasley 100 — 4 Mahaki 7 2 J. Brown ... 100 — 2 Casket 7 2 H. Goodman ... 100-4 Searchlight ... 7 0 R. Gooseman ... 100 — 3 Westmere ... 7 0 J. Belcher ...I 100 — 5 Pompom ... 613 J. Belcher .. 100 — 4 Piuepo 613 G. Dmnelly ... W0 — 3 Aldershot ... 613 J. Loughlin ... 100 — 2 Spindrift ... 6\2 C Boyle 10) — 2 Spefulator ... 612 I<\ Healey ... 100 — 4 Leontine ... 612 B. Nicholls ... 100 — 3 Grenadier ... 612 J. M'Hugh ... 100 — 3 PiincessMay ... 612 J. Maher ... WO — 2 Maiino 611 J. Munn 100 — 4 Loveshot ... 611 R. Detrett ... 100 — 3 Lieutenant ... 611 W. Wilmot ... 100 — 2 Salvo 611 P. Butler ... 100 — 2 Britain 611 W. H. Topham. . 100 — 2 Duinlop 610 F. Holmes 100 — 2 Ran our ... 6 9 H. Goodman ... KM — 2 Nixie 6 9 C. Boyle 100 — 3 Be*u Brummel 6 9 H. Jackson ... 100 — 1 Planet 6 8 R. Go -senian ... '00 — 2 Solano 6 7 J. M'Ginnes ...' 100 — 2 Vista 6 7 J. Munn I 100 —2 ,

* # * I have been favoured with a report to date of the foaling* at Mr Reid's Elderslie estate. The list is as follows : — Sortie (sister to Ambush), by Vanguard—Fairymaid : Black colt on August 11 to Wolverine, and has visited Stepniak. Cobweb, by Le Loup— Titania : Bay colt on August 23 to Artillery, and visits Stepniak. ' Huguenot, by Apremont — Martyr: Brown filly on September 13 to Medallion, and visits Stepniak, Tangi (Wolverine's dam) : Missed to Morpheus, and has visited Stepniak. Lady Prioress, by St. Clair— Lady Emma : Missed to St. Gcoree, and has visited tttepnuk. Ranee Nuna, by St. George— Watersprite: Mi«sed to Medallion, and has visited "itepniak. Fallacy (dam of First Lord and Forbury) : Missed to Artillery, and visits Stepniak. It is indeed bad luck for Mr Reid that so many as four of his mares should have mis-ed this season, e-peciallv after travelling to vi-it good sfallions ; but thee ar« common misfortunes, and we can only hope that the foals which have ! come to hand may prove good enough to cover i the disappointment*. There is no reason why ! any of the three youngsters should not turn out a clipper. Sortie's colt has a double strain of Traducer b'ood ; Cobweb's colt belongs to the same family as Outpost ; and in Hugueuot s . filly there is a mixture of Apremont and Musket. This is all high breeding.

*** The cour«e was very heavy for the Rangitikei Hunt Club meeting. B*saot, winner of the hurdle rac-- for manicn h-sck.«, ia rather hi. hi bred for tha* sort of bu-inps*, being by Ft. Leget'fr maD yd -W" ware. The favour. 'iJlesu't, finistied now ere W. N-pol on shape-J pretty well, running the winner to hilt' a length Mawhiti, who got home in the f ally-ho Steeple- , chase, is a son of Ronald. One short of a dozen weighed out f r the Hack F yi-»g, and the public divided t^e«r pa ronag'e "equally between Hiniu 8 5 and Lady Somnus 7 2, the latter a stable companion to Pinrose. Neither, howevt-r, was dangerous at any portion of the race. The Artut 7.13 laid in a handy position till turning for home, when he ran to the head of affairs andjstopped there. Bloomsbury 7.5, who

was paying a big dividend following him home. Thin result w*s probably something like true form, for in the mile and a-quarfcn- race l*ter m th<> day The Artist again won, with B!oomsb.<iy second, and much the same crowd after them as in the six-furlong event. Amalgam, wbo fame to Christchori'h and had a slap at the National, was one of the failures of the mee'ing. Weighted at 12.4 he wa* reckoned really good goo .is for the Hunt Oun, bub had nosay in the resu't. Aleco 11.12 led fora couple of miles Jwhen Hop Bit ers 12 7, who fell at the last fence last year, look up the lead and kept it, winning e-sily. It «as a popular victory. The hurdle* for ha-ks provided another decent dividend Rang pai 10 8, one of the two favouritfs, accompanied A tea 9 2, anjout-ider, to the last obstacle, where R nff'uai ran off, and Narrate 113 r.*n home an ■ *»y winner. Pumau 12.0 ran off at the 1-st mirdle in the race for hunter*, leaving Ahua's son Awarua to canter home, and t*e day's sport wonnd up with the succ-ss of Kaffir the ttrst f • \ onrite, in the Ladie^ Brarelet, his nearest att n .ant at the finish being Se don, who (if it is not heresy to say so) ran absolutely unbooked. Mr D. C-tmpion's startin? during the day was not very highly commended.

* # * Ladas once more triumpherl over Matchbox when they met last we -k in the Lejer at Dom-aster. 80-h, however, w- nt do *n be'ore Lord Alington's Throstle, «ho is by Pr-tr-'ch from Thistle, and therefore half-sister to Comrri'.n This filly would be sure to be an outsider. Soe is in the s»m« stablt as iMa ebbox, and we may poss-bly fi-^d, when pa ticulars arrive, that she was sent to make thf> p'o* for Bnron Hiwch's coir, and bit>g ke.-^t going, mauaged to accomplish the tank which 'he more fancied represenfcati-e o tbe establish meut failed to \v rform. This is not alt grt/.cr a guess, for the spo tifg writers were, wh. n the last mail left, talking of it a- . x.-eedinnly probable that Throstle would be star ed to cusurea sound jwee in M-tchbox's i te^st<i. the impression having gained (?r O ui,d that Lada< was no-, a good *tayer. Thro <I- was ri\ost hk'ly ridden by Q Chalo' er Johin-y Wats would be up on Mat-hbox, »nd V. Lo .ye'« probably h«d the mount on th- Derby wioner. PbTe lastpivvious*ppe»rauceof rhr<»*ti-, in public. so far as the reports aretoh-nd, was in the Naesau Sckt-s at Goodwood. This is «. >-.ile ra-e for three year- old fi lies, and Thr .-tl-, carrying a 121b penslty and thus giving fz-om 71b to 17ib to her ocponents, was less fancied than .VJaundy Money (51b ppr.alt\) *nd Lh Nievre (no penalty); ye' Throstle managed to win, without any desperae trouble, by a len«rh and a-halr. La Nievre, it sh-.uld bt- m«-nti jued, fell lame in the race Sti:l it wh* agod performance on Throstle's part, and it ---a* on tbe strength of the form tous displayed th*t he filly was put about as likely to be res rv*d for the Le^er, so as to be m fetle fo> he- mission as pac m*ker for Matchbox It wl be fmi>m-b-red that fcingl»ss woi> the Leger la-t ye^r. We may now, one would tdink, concl'de wth safety tn»t be was and is a better o't -ban Ladas. The latter must have been pre ty '*ell in the Lege> or te would not haw beaten Mn'ch^or, and yet we find bun defeated in a task that I-itigl ss accomp ished Th -t i* the relatve nrguiient, and to i' %v»- ma< a M fh>. direct evidence of the result of v-te-it meetings bet«ee<i the t-vo era ks Ladas being <>ißh d ea> h ' ime There is just •he chanc that d- tails may sh< w «hros*;le's win to luve he-iii a fluke. But tbis is not likrly Flukey results are g neraliT due to want of judgmnti.. riding the los-r, and we may be odd- that wi oev«r h d ( he leg-uu on LaiiKS did not g ye many chancr. »way.

*#* Lady Marion, winn«r of a double i« Auckland on Saturday, is a daughter of MaK-^u who beat Comrao ion in th Aleibou ne CJup^ and Fortna, who tot home in the two-ye-r-o]A r«ce, is a daughter of Hotch-iss n the lingworth— -Puichra m-rr F,.rmo (half sister t* S. Clur) Ho* Mr .Vforrin would enjo^ th«i sp>-c acle of seeing this filly romp home. He swears by Ho eh s-. and to get a win at the first tri*l is certainly enough to ma c him more s'roi-g than eve in ojs lov- fo>- toe giant si>n of Mu»ket. I observe, b. the *ta*, that it v»»s an-.t'ier d-<ughte of Formo (viz., Form ) that won this September Stake-, yea-. Lottie won 'he Spring Handicap easily *ith Pegasus s?fonrt. At his m eting a year ago the ame two w-re in fro'ii, but Pegasus t'.en won and he was conce ing 41b to he mare, whereas oa th s occasion he 2lb was th.- oth-r "» ay about. The infeivii' cis that Lo-tie has eKtiv ly improve more than Pegasus ; and those who have been n bbling tit Eea 's m.ire for the New Zealand Cup will no doitb' be on good terms with, thems lyes. On pa^ei she seems to have a show of "' eating Peg mus a^ any r te, as" in the tworoil-- rac- he meef.s her on half a stone worse form-.. But t^en the lo*er scale of weights may be in the younger horse's favour, and tbe extra distance -hoiild suit h'm, and he may nob be wound up yet awhile, and well, all eorta of re -sons could be given for declining to accept tbe September Handicap as a guide to the New Zealand Cup, though, as I have said, L -ttie cer ainly looks better on paper than sho did a week ago. 1 may here remark that sh& has no penalty.

* # * The surprising thing about the first Hurd'e Race at Tiraaru is, not that Invader won, for thi« horse pulled off the double last year, and this should have b'oujjht him to a shorter price th>n 9 to 2 in a field of five, but that Moonlight wa« able to eecure second place. Wh n this horse ran at Dunedin a wee'-r or so previously h> showed no form at all, and it looks very like either a despera ely-fint* bit: of riding on Cobtoh's part, or a po >r performance from the others— p<-rbap< a little <-f both — that this chestnut got second m >ney. Jim Co ton can. we know, perform wonders occasionally on moderate h rses And as for the be- ten lot — well, we have it in the report that Empire was iot' rfered with at the first hurdlf and neve* regained *he ground •■bus lost, while Clarence was obviou«ly no-, disp'aying his real form, inasmuch as he actually won on the second day with the s-irr.e weight up. How far this inconsistency on Clarence's part was dua to *he hf-rse and how much to his rider was a question the stewards set themselves to di«cuss afterC'arence got home on the second day, and th*- decision arrived at was to disqualify the hors- and order Tommy Stewart t" utand rlo^n. for * couple of months. On Monday, however, this suspension was cancelled. Nor. being oresenr., I am unable to express any opinion either as to the seutence or the r- mi*r>ion ; but I ««»y remark tbat there is a report current t» the eff-ct that the stewards »ere p.-etty equally divided on the orig nal qu-f tion, and that it wes only by a bare majonty that Clarence was disqualified. T orpe, who was declared the ultimate winner, is a t«on of Leos, the bi« son of L-olinus, wbo won thf Submb-n Welter at Dunedin at Adtmant's Cup meeting Jimmy W'bl s ploted Thorpe, »nd seems to have got more out of hi >n tha<> could be got on the first d.iy. when Le Roi II gay c him a stone and a beating in the Hunters' Rape

*#* Six New Zealand Cup acceptors startei for the 'limaru Cup, and a fine betting ra'.e ifc proved to be, resulting in % splendid finish i«-

>hich the pair from Murray Hobbs's stable ran j it right out as against rach ether as well as agiiust the others, and collared first ani second mouey Tt was a fair go 0:1 their me its for Prime Warden and Saracen, wbo, tVjou,*h trained from t!*e one stable, repr sent separate interests. Sar» een won, but v> itb nothink to spare, ,»nd they 'ay h<- had rather the best of tbe lu>'k /in this way— Casket swerved »hd*lost bis place [■when half way do ■» n the straight, the b.y , r being unable to straighten him in time, while [ iPrime Warden, who was onlj beaten a ue. k, , . could not commence tiis •un quite early en' uxh. ■ The result, so f»r as these three hors s are concerned, was quit" a brilliant triumph for the handicapper, Mr Dowse, and I am pi ased to be able to state th»t fact, because tlwe was some growling when the weig> ts apj eared. As Saracen does not incur a penalty in the New iZealand Cup be and Prime Warden are (booked to roeet on tfce same reliti^e t-rms ; j(e»ch with 101b less) in the two-mile race, and • if they do have a go, and a fair go, as thi-s one {at Timaru was there should be a great rice (between them wherever they finish. And. I ■ 'wou'd nok like to sa> that Casket has nob also 'a stow of being along -ide them This Ido ■know, that nhen they pulled up after the South [Canterbury Cup tre winner was piain'y die- j and Warden had had enough of it. wbile Casket's breath>ng would not have blo»n a candle out, a* the saying goe«. The chances of -all <he other New Zealand Cup horses that b*d a run at Timaru tfould seem to be materially (Jisf-ounted, excepting Vogen^a> g's, who, ■ u.cely handled by Derretfc, managed to score 'cleverly in the Rhodes Memorial, beating a ; . 'much-improved colt in Barmby, who ran very j satisfactorily, though unluckily, each day. 1 Dunedin got a couple of turns kt the meeting , with. Jack (trained by Jim Alkn) and Stockfish, Mr M'Kewen's.represecta'-ive, while a portion of the handsome dividend payable on teountam'Maid »fter running a dead heat with ClaTarantld in the GonsolaHon also cametb»s way. What a sterling little mare this must be ! j t She had Veen exactly four weeks in training j Vhen she ran her race. j *»* The Mollifi Darling • affair musb lave been exasperating This mare, the daughter of Vanguard and Mol'y Bawn that was bought by Mr Wise at Mr M 'Master's sale, had pleDtj of frie-ds, but Borne of them had elected to invest at Wellington, and the flag fell with unexpected promptness before any of the others »ho fancied the ■ mare had put their money in the machine It wa3 quite an accident that she ran unbacked Arbiter ran » good horse each day, and Vanilla showed a bit of pace in the Flyiog, though the time recorded, lmin I4£sec, is openly questioned. The stBrtinjf of Mr Simmons on the , first day caused a coDsiderable amount of dis- . .satisfaction, and it was with no sm-.1l amount . of re'ief that, own^r* heard of the resignation j !iof that gentleinn- Mr H. Piper was then -appointed, and I am told tb.it be discharged '■the duties most efficiently on the second day. One owner has comaeun'cated with me on the . "subject: "This is the man," he say«, •• that Bhould be made starter in all these parts. I meau Piper. He knows what he's up to. He's I just got Powell's st* le It's no joke for me and '.others to travel horses about and then see them knocked ab ut at the post through the starter not being up to his busineic" I pas* on the memorandum with theiem»rk that others bave spoken to me to the same effect. Apart from -the starting muddle on the first day, tbe meeting was a well-managed one, and speculation Wbs brisk, Mason and Roberts passing £3379 ithrough tbe totalisator, or £1416 more than 'lust year and £353 above the total of 1892. , *** Sine?, the above was writ f en I have seen j .a letter published by Mr Simmons, from which ', it appear* that his res'gnnton was not altogether voluntary. Thi' is what he says :—": — " I was dulj appointed starter by the committee of the club, a-d after tkf last race on the fir't day Messrs Teschemaker, Gucn, Gardner, Guint.ess. JSmith (all stewards of the club), as wrll as (several owners, trainers, and jockeys, cornpliimented me on my starting, avd attbe some time 1 the stewards asked me to resign the fltg for the 1 'second day, 'giving: as their rea«-ons that Mr J (H Ltmn had threatened them that unless 'another starter was appointed he would not '(Start his horses. Now, sir, I cbim, and lam -«ure the public will bear me out, that my starting wes favourable and would compare with a 'good many, considering the Jarge fields I had to .despatch, and I "think in all fairness the stewards pught to h*ve stti'k to their official starter t'rather tban listen to one hors-owner. I admit jthat m several instances starts were considerably delayed, a fault which would have been remedied the grcond day, after I had gained the experience of one day's racing." In reference to! this I may remark that to my own knowledge the discontent was not confined to one owner. *i * # * At a special meeting of the Taieri Club Jasb week the programme for the Spring nveting was finally D»ssed as follows :— Trial Stakes Handicap, of 30sovs ; for all borses that have pever won an , advertised race of tbe value of SJOsovb; . O ne mile. Trot, of 50sovs; three miles. Taieri Cup, of 75?ovs ; oDe mile and aquarter. Nove', of 30sovs ; seven furlongs. : Stewards' Purse (for district horses), of 45^ovs ; U)VJd mile and a distance. Trot, of 35sovs ; two nailes. Phing Handicap^ of 40sovs ; six furHjlongs. Sflling Hack Race, of 20sovs ; one ■mile. A discussion is reported by the Advocate to have taken place on the question of allowing bookmakers on the course Despite the precautions taken by the club, totalisntor odds were laid by many bookmakers at the las': meeting ; and it was snggeated as the best way out of the difficulty to charge the bookmakers a license ifee and allo-» them to pursue their calling unmolested at the next meeting. It was poiuted imt on the other hand that the amount derived license fees would not recoup the club for 'the loss sustained by the decreased amount that [■would pa»» through the totalizator, that it tjrouJd not be a wise policy for th* club to act as fcad been .suggested, and that the licensing of would put them beyond the control pi the club. No motion was proposed, and the jnatfcer dropped, it being untferstoo4 that the jßnbject would be again brought up before the JKTovember meeting. P *** The A J.O. meeting results this year are anorethan usually intere<-tirg to NowZealanders. iMr Gollan's Bocnie Scotland, the brother to paracen and Loyalty, msnaged, though confessedly not quite far enough forward in his preparation to be deemed cherry ripe, to win $he Derby. That is to us the most important feature of the meeting so far. Bonnie Scotland is the second New Zealawdsr to wiu tbis Derby, the previous one being Nardenfeldt, and there seems to have been more than a little in the performance. Chesterman, who /ran second, is by Chester, brother to the sire of - [the winner ; while Cobbity, who ran third, is jpneof the great Abereorn's get. On tbe second j&%y no fewer than three races fell to horsf-s bred in tbis colony. Wakawatea led off with an unexpected win in the Shorts. He started at ! SO to 1, and I hope that Mr Hungerford hud a j 'sit at on tbatjnce, Zh«a thg Possible added. '

to Mr Gollan's cbenue by appropriating the Maiden Stakes, in which Mr Stead's Ich Dien ran second to Je«-*.-)]er last ye.tr; and Mutiny scored >n t c St- eplechase afrtr one of tHe bes t ontests ever seen on -he cou-se As maters of iireiv t --v- mny not.' thwf. Brockleigh boat I'aris Ligh< Arti'i.-r , Mid other crack inthe Spring Stakes, weight !or ag^, anii th-t the Metr po'itan went to Projectile, one of the s*veiv.l hor-us put a out at th- c event >i hour as bay ng a. show in this open-looking race An adequate repo<t of the proceedings m each day aupeti-s in ano her column One t'mivt by *bich we .«hHll remember this weting is that it «itn>-ssed the first pubiic trials b - ;i leading club of th-: s'arting ma'-bior. *** The Da'iihin, whosf d^nt-h is repo'ted from the nor(h, as it. his d<y n r«eer of some repute. He .*:is bred V>ytAi j VHdfUe Park Company iv 1873, tut by '1> ducrr from the Ratapaa mare Maria Tiiews, -mi as a >earling fell to the 2SO-s;iuu<m. bul of, M Henry Bedwood wlo va ed imsm >s a (wo-j-ear-old. Mis fiist appearanep was in t> c Sa, ling Stakes at I the Marloorough meeting t r which he walked | ov^r; thei- g ing ontoWanga vi in Ma'ch be ! beat Bippouam a (then known as the Slander ] filly), Ely, an.i six others, and closed his Hccouut for the se son by running <mplaced in the Nursery Ha»dica>; «.t Chr st h rch, won V>y Hinemoa. Th>- n< xt season he >a cd in the colours of Mr Westraacott, and »or <hat owner won the C.J C. Derby beating •ne <-f the worst fields that ever cont sted tha - race. The Pecess colt finished second and N> npareil third, while Matxka. Hinemoa, and Oiosma were the unplaced contingent; The D uphin was ridden by old Bob Ray. His other races at the meeting were the Canterbury Cup, in which he was second to Gric>, *nd the Metropolitan, won by Chancellor. At Dunedin, four months Inter, he was unplaced in" Lad; Emma's fi»gfc Cap, and -ran behind the mare in the D.J^J Handicap ; at Wanganui he. won tie Stakes, with 8 1 up, do ng the two miles in 3 45, but with 8 7 wa-- unplaced iv the Cup won by Hailstorm 7 8 ; and at Hawke's Bay ran unplaced in the Nacier Handicap won b* L tiie, and was sec nd to Virginia Wat"r in the Hawk&V Ba» Plte Th-.t was Dauphin's last appearance that seison, and practically en^ed hi* cireer though he cropped up again »s a six-year-old, and intha* sea-on won for Mr Cunningham the Flying at T-.ranaki, in which be was fol'owed borne by his old opponent the Hiiipoe«mpus- Slande< m re, the rechristenfd Speculaton As a stmi horse The Dauphin was not, a « onspicuou* success Fratern'te is the onh horse app oach'ng to first cl-ss that I remember his si in*. fr> ongh Dor >»hy can race a bit, ai>d Toxa is fairly well known in th 1 ; Oatnaru district.