TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEPFA.

*#* Strath Taie i, Moonlight, and Macraes breeders will thi» seasou have in th-.ic district the trotting stallion Diomert, a son of Young Diomedes and Taieri Lass. This mare descend* fcom Prince Alfred. Young D omedea ha* Begotten a perfect host of sterling performers, of whom "Victor, arecord br< aker, i» a prominent example, and his stock s-em to geiur*)ly inherit gcoJ action and sound cjostilutiocs.

* # * The trotting stair on Duncan Abdallah, a six-year-old son of Blackwood Abdallah and the Shales mare Fanny, has been brought from Canterbury, and will travel the Lander *nd Manio'o'o districts tbis season. Otago is beng well supplied this year with trotting stalliouß of a bign claxs, and this fel loir is among the a^crf dited ones both on the tc<re of breeding and p-rformtnce«, for hit sire is an American-bred horse of repute and he (Duncan Abdallah) won a couple of races for Mr Friedlander lasb season.

*** Trump Card, announced to ttand iv the Waik-.uaiti district at a moderate fee, is by Truducer from Revoke, by Sir Hercules — Finesse, by Toss — Flirt, by Mariner, an Ar»b. This breeding shows that the s'allion under notice is h-ilf-bro'her to Duntroon and The Gs-ven or. Ie was » v*cic.g family, *nd Tr"mp Card figured ai tr-e be^t « f them on fcr.e turf He win the C. J C. Derby, a* d among other ftats be->t lemplc'oci iv the Qu> en's Plate at th*- Forbury, running away in 'ront »nd raaintxining *o fou< d » p>»ce that tbe old horse, though ridden by the veteran B b Ray, and deem<-d a rnor.il, could n<it get; up to him at the end of the two m les and a distance.

* # * The firot c»»ft uudertbe Gaming Act of this session came btfore Major Keddell at Oauiaru on Monday, when Lcuis Nathan was charged with betting with an infant at the Kurow races. The infant proved to be a youth of 16, who had been earning his own living for some time. As dt fend ant had desisted from betting when warned, and had pleaded guilty to save, trouble, he wan fined in the minimum penalty of ss, and 93 casts. George Taylor was then charged with laying totalisator odds. After hearing evidence, the case was dismissed owing to the conflict of evidence and in the absence ef prtof as to what was on the ticket issued. Defendtnt declared that he made a book, and was laying fixed odds. The words used by him in soliciting b(<ts were : " I'll back the field ; as good as the machine, or better."

*#* Wakawatea, who still belongs to Mr Hungerford, is not far from the top of the lilt among the Sydney sprinters. The people there will watch him petty narrowly after his performance at Tatte<-sall's meeting on the 29th ult. He bad a 101b penalty in the Tramway Handicap, six furlongs, b inging his weight to 9.10, or more than a stone abo^e th*t of the next highest weight, the three-year-old Nobleman, who had 8 9 ; and there were 18 others among »he star ter», so it is no wonder that 10 to 1 was procurable about the New Zealander. The latter, moreover, did not get; away particularly well. It was only at the distance that he secuted a fair place, but he came very strongly, and just pipped the Lochiel filly HirShdelle on the posh, putting up a record of lmin 15sec Royal Rose had a go in the Soring Handicap, carrying 8.7, the top weight being Ballater 9.4, and Florrie having 9.0. None of these, however, ran into a place. Carnation 8.3 made the pace for six furlongs, when Ruenalf 8.4 took the lead and kept there, winning easily by four lengths from Escapade 7.2, with Euroka 8.8 third. Royal Rose finished fifth. The time for tbe mile and a-quatter was 2min lOisec. The winner smarted at 4 to 1, while Royal Rose was quoted at «ixes. Our colony got a good advertistment in the Two-year-old Stakes. Bob Ray, the winner, who ran the half-mile in 50sec, is owned by Dan O'Brien, and gotJ)y oar old champion Welcome Jack ; while Kuliecrankie, who gained second place, in b}' Lochiel, and the third was Mi*B Nora, daughter of Norrlenfeldt and Lady Norah, half sitter to Stepniak. Dan's oolt started at Bto 1. Wakawatea had to carry

12.2 in the Welter, and, ne*d'e« to state, was unplaced.

*** Mr Wanbljn sends a (a d with the weights for the Stewards' Handicap and CuiTDgb Steeplechase at theC.J.C meeting. I fancy tbat St. Clennnts, with all his weight, may be dangerous in the six-furlong race if he starts, and tuat Mechanic is a possib'e in the jumpmg race. But it is safer to reserve a pick ti 1 the acceptances are ou>. A" to the New Zealaud Cup, there are two scr*tchiDgs to record — Pinrote and Britain ; a&d a rfgular •l»uj>kter will ensue when the acceptances are made. Libe ator, Monte Carlo, D.ettnlaud, Outpost, »nd Kosef ldc are considered pretty sure to drop out, as well a.< a host of the light weights, On the cthtr hand, Scot Free is a sufeaccfpUr. Of the Dunedin horses I exprct to see Hippoments. Skinn sher, BeadouwtH, Captive, and Aldershot survive. lam not sure about any of the others Idahaki, it should be ob-erred, has now a penalty— slb I thiuk. The horses backed during the we'k are Royal Ro;e, Ltttie, Impulse, Magazine, Westmere, and Beadonwell, and prices are somewhat as follows :—: —

I may remark th»t though these odds fairly represent values, the books ar.j for the mortpart full up about several horses in the list.

*** This is by the Sydney correspondent of the Sportsman : " A httlfc sermon on tbe totalisator was preached t<y George Wright, the Auckland traine', who has now stt led here, in conversation with me after Royal Rose's unfortunate defeat in the Waverley Haudinap, After manfully saying tbafc the defeat was not Gallagher's fault, Wright, in auswi»r to my remark ihat it Has hsrd lines, rej lied, ' Ye*, it was not n ; ce, but it is no use grumbling, i won on-j rice with hiai, and I've done a great deal better than I could have done in New Zealand. You can't; back jour horse there, bec-iuse the totalisator makes him everybody's boise. Hee you can gefc on quite a big stake without shortening your horse's price aripreciaby, ai.d at a smtll risk can have a win that will sand a few subsequent Lsses.' 'And yet they howl ab tne reformers who would like to abo i»h ir,' said I. ' Weil, that is only the interested club member*. Very few owners, except prrlaps rich men who doa't need to bet lo keep their hor.ies, but would be giad if the tot*)i-ator were abolished to-&.oriow. A man of only mode *ate means c<innoskeep racehorats in New Z-aland.' I must ray that I agree in toto with Wright, who is a shrewd, brainy <nan ; and I have an tdv«nt»ge over the bu'k of my fellowAustriilun ecribea, inasmuch as I have lived under the machine nnd know its baleful tfftcts on racing. If once the maobinn gets a footing in Victoria or New Souh Wales (and if ie does it will be p»r Jy owing lo the mistaken pleas put forward in it* favour by a section of the pr«ss), then those who have »i'ied n bringi- g it in will be the Urst t-> acknowledge their blind error, and try too late to have King Log back again."

*#* If this is a fair sample of the arguments which opf.onen's of the tofcalitf*W have to make shift -with, tbeirs is a poor sho<v of convincing ih<s other party. Geo ge Wright hi>B ind«d nearly hit the truth when he sajs that the tot<lisa or makes jour hosa everybody's horse. Of i ourse tt;e phi-dsc weeds some qual ficxtii n, because, as a matter of fact, it is possible in this colony to back 'a hi.rse for some races. The New Zealand Cup, for example. Somebody, perhaps G. W. himself, h«s been bacUir-g Three Star for the race to come off next month And here it may be observed that to the limits rxtent of the operation* carried on in this colony, our bookmakers a*e perfectly solvent. Thty can all what they owe. Should we be safe in saying as much about fche craft in Australia ? — the pamdUe of owners, according to George Wright, though one that he carefully leavt s for this machinecursed country. I admit, however, that betting to book odda is restricted hect> to a fey races, and not vary heivy ab that. Also, it cannot be denied that by the total'sator svftem an owner has to accept the sune p ice as the public. Wright relies on this as his leading fact. It is to him a great trouble tbat in New Zealand you cannot get on a big stake without shortening a ho. se'» vrice appreciably. Well, I must say that owners have my sympathy in so far as agrievaoce really exuts in this respect. I have always said that the man who buys and pajs for the training of a nor c ought to be able to gut on at some advantage over the outside pub ic. But there are several ways of lcoking at this question. One is this : that by the old system of a monopoly to fche bookmakers the owners and their friends had rather too much of a pull. They knew what was doing ; the public, who didn't, fell with such regularity that we tried a new plan which has worked the opposite effect. And oa the whole the newer arrangement has answered satisfactorily. It has reduced the risk of "milking" operations by at least 500 per cent. ; it suits the public admirably, and they can keep going ; and it arjswers the purposes of those owners who are content to race for sport, since the stakes being larger than they were, there is less need to resort to questionable practices to p*y expense*. Some owners who bet heavily would naturally like to see the old ord-ir of things reverted to. Btlbeveu they are beginning to cease their

grumbling. They find that they can place their money at centres away fi om the scene of operations, and thus get on without everybody knowing it and without reducing the dividend very much. This sort of bu-iiness is teing discouraged by the authorities, I know, bub in some form or other it will probably sutvive till another method to the same end tuterseden it. I therefore claim that George Wright is really incorrect; in most of his statements, and it is bejood argument, tbafc those who think with him aiv. in a small and vanishing minority.

*** A warm, still day was c j.yed by the Alexandra f.-lk when tdey went a-ivcing this month, «nd the attendance excef ded the average. Those present had to r. ly on the^r own individual resources for whuky, prohibition being the ordfr of the day. Alexandra thus enjoys the distinction, if it be of any value, of being the first goldfields township to run a race meeting en temperance lines I c»n quite understand the truth of the Cromwell paper's ob-ervation that the action o'. the licensing com-mittre,calli-d f<rtha few unparliamentary remarks. No m-m car. sto give &way )its right to re^nlate his own conduct But v,e have to submit to th»t srt of thing nov>ada'<s, and t»ke the only consolation available. As to the racing, it seems to have been of the average quality, and sp-culatiou was quite «s brisk as usu»l, Messrs Solomon and Murrell passing £898 firourfh the to^alisntor, or £79 more than last year. Andrew, who won tbe Maiden Trot, had a go at th<s meeting last jear, but was unplaced in fach race for *hich be then s'arted. The idea of h*ving such a race as a fciot for maidens instead of a hurdle race teems to have rtsult d satsfuctorily in the sense of brinifing togrther a field, as a round dozen start- d. The Maiden Plafc-^ resulted in iomewhat of/ a sur* pris-> lona »as mppoced to be a |/ood thing, but after hi-lpng Zeal»ndia to makr. the pace to the di tanco they dropped out, and Su f, who ran uoplac d last year, got home in niow time with a l.ttle to spare. The Alexandra Handicap, also, did not turn « ub as tbe majority of backers expected. Ttay made Melton favourite. Ibis son of Betr y.-r f reed the running, with Gazelle in close stte d»nc-, for a mile, when Robiu Hood joined Ur-ue The L&ftt did not geb up till the distas cc was reached, but once in f i oiU he sta yed there and won all out by a length, the others handy. Melton fell after passing the post, rhe wini.er is a son of Fie ion. Last 'year this race was won by Gizelle 7.7 ; the year before bj Huia 6 12 ; and Rangiora 811 won in 1891. Derby had tbe compliment of top weight in the sixfurlong hacfc race, and ihe old slave did not relish the distinction. He h»« never been partial to the Sandow business. Aberdeen set the pace to the home turn, and in a lively finish was beaten a length by Roslyn Emperor failed to §tay under the wight. The Dunluce that ran a de*d h?at with Mi-take in the Selling Raci- is not, 1 uiNUrs^and, the hone <>f that name th»t used to he iv fcmith's stable In the Three^-mi c Trot there was an objection to Wiz.rd on ihe ground tbat he did not try in tbe previous trot, but the stewards did m.t sustain 'he p roust. EmmasoD, son of Gorton acd Lady Emma, bad a go in the Welt-r for hnoVs, but wa* unplaced. *h<i prize going to A 1 erdeen, a son of Cheap Jack

* # * Toe earlio t meeting reported in the latt batch of ex'hanges to hand is «he old-pstafc-lisbed fixture »b York. Backers- failed to spot the Oaks winner, which turned out to be the somewhat incou>t-<iit Springray, one of the Springfield familf, h'-r d-m Sunray, by King of the For st from Sunbeam by Cbantic'eer. By way of exception thi* filly shaped' < ones 1 ly and won *i'hout much trouole. S^e was bred by h»r own-r. Ten two-jear-i Ids stripped for the Prince of Wales's Pl»'tej and the aptly-named Whitf^r, v»ho wa« k> own to have come en •mc plaj ing second fiddle to Hopbine at Stockbridge, started a hot favourite, winning with the kreat/s' ea*e from the half distance. He is by tt l 'c Rosicrncian h'>rse Laurettefrona Virginia Shoe, by Jo n Davis from Dis ant Shore, and had run only cmce (irevionsly. On the next ('ay Whi tier carried a half-stouc penalty, at d easily accounted frr the Convivial beatii glO others. A b<ker's dozen wee the count of the field for the Great Bbor Handicap, a mil© and thr c quarter*, and Aborigine started favourite, but be w«8 in tronble at six furlongs from t ome, whfre the second favour te, Master Munden had hopelessly sbo*; hi- bolt. The leaders at th«t point were Hagiograph' r, Xylophone, S reet Sing<r, and Lord of the Dale. Half-way up the straight, h weverj Sweet Dachas »nd Quilon «• cured forward berths, and after a good exposi ion of horsemsnsh'p on each sid- Quilon collared Swe- 1 Duchess 50yds from borne, and turoed the second for th-- Goodwood Stwkes into a bard e-rned first. The <«iniii-r is a ro%n filly by Eastern Erape or from Travancor»», by Pell Me 1 from Malabar, by Blair Athol. Quilon was bred by and raced as a two and thr-e yew old 'in the colours of tbe Duke of- Beaufr rt, and when his Gr-tce's hor-es were di pos--d of last March the fiily w»s purchased by her present owner, M. Lebmdy, for Blofip. Origin -lly run on a Iwomile rourse, the Great Ebor H»n"icap w^s decided over fcbat distance trom 1843 till 1884- t but in 1885 it was shortened to a mile and ah»lf— < length adhered to until last; season. This ye^r tbe ccursewas again altered to a mile and ttoree-quarbers, and the time occupied by Quilon in coveiig it was 3min 6£sec. F»vouritism for the Great York-hire Stakes was shared by Simonburn and Galloping Dick, bu - neither finished in the first thr«-e, and tbe 'a t-w>med *rch 'ogue declined to persevere after going a mile. Koran, wbo had shaped bidly in the Ebor St. Leger, led from »tart to finish, and had hi* opponents in trouble all the way. The old-established Gimcrack S'akes brought out nine runners, but t «a« generally reckoned » good tiling for Bentwo>th, de s pite the w< ight he was ctlled upon to giva away, and he won cleverly. Beutw< rth is by th*- Seesaw horse Despair from Scam oavia, by Stra'hconan froti L'gercy, by brother to Bird on the Wing. His previous record w*s three wii s and twoßconds. The Drr by meeting followed. A thick tojr spoilt the Foal Stales as a i-pectacle, but there was a ratling fii-i-h, ending in the triumph of Raconteur, who was sold for 3000gs last year, just; balf the amount paid for his broti er Cbilrfwick Lord Elle-me r e's f econd col' uS in the Peveril of the Peak Plate were CJrrifd by Bolt^n, who w»s the mount of one of J"hn Da.wßon's, jun , apprrn'icps. The paddock had no sooner been left than the colt jumped the ruls, and throwing h ; s jockey, went off riderless in a mile gallop on his own account. On being caught he W/ts reoiounted, and in the race manaeed to make a dead heat of it for third place with Harflenr 11. Galloping Dick gave another exhibition of bis temper on the next day. Overpowering hi« jockey, he broke a ay at the post lor tbe Breeders' St. Leger, and covered halt the course ere beirg pulled up. but in the race itself he g*v« something like his running and near'y brousht off a surprise.

*** We have tbe result by cable of the Ces«rewitc^j Stakes, mn on the 10th insfc. It is a handicap race over its own course, two mi'es two furlongs and 35yds, for a. stake of 25sovs each with 500sovs added. Isinglass w»s

ftononred with top weight of .10.6, the mini- ,1 mum of 6.0 b-ing allott. a to five of the •79'sub■cribers. Rhveijsbury.came cecond on the/list -; with 9.5 and La Fieche third -with 9.3. None I of these gained a place. The winner was Sir | J. Blunde 1 Maple'-s four-year-old Childwick, j who as a yrarlinfr f rtcbed the record .price of 6000g<<. He was handicapped at 79, a nice weight for suob a colt. P. Peck trained Jrim. Second place <was taken by that B'erling French representative the fun--} £ar-flld Calistrate, ■we^gLted at 8.13, and Mr Mauton's *ged iihrine 7.11 JBlled the third po ition.

\* jLad«e ataried 'for the SLegcr et odds of , 11 <to 10 on, while '2 to 1 tvbb obtainable | about Ukldbbox, and pi-actical y auy iprice the ethers, lhriß le figuring at -50 to ST«ight out and ILO'to 1 for a Sh" -made thr TurodT^g j from *he fall of the ilag, fo'.lo-wd by None *he , "Wiser and Mat : 'h';ox, "with LaAas last -U^on ' reaching rhe>o;d mile ftlatci-box took the ; ead, Thro^t^e dropping back to the -ivar. Halt a mihs Itodq home None the Wiser pull'd xip abreast of Matctbox, the pair leading Horn- , beam and Amiable, with L'adas gaining upon ; his Jeadt-T. Matchbox -enteredthe str^igat just ; clear <of littdas, who 'wbih io\ -wt d by None .the W)B*T.'33rirosfoU*, and Horub-^am On the line forihome Matchbox wa> beaven. Lkdas -flrfw clear tft him:andw«B fo.lowfcd by Thriistle, who challenged theDeiby winner for first pbee, and i -won by J,hTße-qu»Tie TBT B of a : ltngth Ladaß : finished second, xv/o lengths tiheJid of Match- \ box. The fiofflaocd contingent -can-isted of Amiab'e, None the Wiser, Horiiboam, Legal ■ Tender, -and Oalston.

*#* "Some smart 'trotting and p*cirg is re- . ported in late.Amerioan papers. At JR, | on August 16, Fantaty was driven a mile in ' 2mln lOaec, *nd then it was auncuueed that she ' ■won'ld Txut against her reoord. The result satisfied everyone pr< sent. She got to the end .of the quarter in 33* ec, breasted toe hail at Imin , 4Jsec, went pKSt the mx-iurkcug initk »t Imm j ibsec, and 'finished tht miie ioSmin 7^nec. Not j a bma -go for a fuar-year-old. Mr Hamlin Thin ,| bronght out auother of his Mam, the pacer Eobtrt J., whoscoed a woiderfulpeiforirance, r Jhis quarter mile times being ZOfce?, Imin l'^iec, lmin 33s ec, and 2min 4^B- c for the mile. At Chicago in the fuliuwiug wetk Hobert J., who is a nun of Haitford, won in a zn&teh Against Joe P»tch».n, g>-iting to the tnd of a mile, though eared np, in 2aiinsser. He 3s now taid to be the greatest pacer the wor d has evwaeeu. , He \< eps en puttng up good peifoimances ; thatis how he^etsiiis r-putation. OntUevery day that be scored h s 2iiim ssec he won two •othi-r 'heats in 2n.in 6is i c eaih g&. Bitter st 11 ■was "Robero J.s pbrforinance" at Indianapdlifi on Sep^mDer 6. A match ia' which he was again oppesed by Ji-e Joe Pa'chen produced the greacesb .paoii^g .that ever took place ou the continent. A wonder! ul atorj is told by ilie fractional and fuil ti't'e: — Fin't hta*, 31-ssec, lmin 2^sec, lmin 34sec, 2min 3|Bec ; eeconfl heat, 30^se-% lmin l^sec, lmin 30isec, 12min 2^sec ; third heat, 30|sec, lmin l^Btc, lrom 33^sec, '2mia 4^ec. The first heat was won by t> neck, and in the tecond heut, .hetinjeof whichisre-ordtdio the world'B record Ko crt J. was actually enabled to slacken 'his ptioe after Joe Patuhen was oeaten. Commg *ack ta the trotters we find thtrt the j smart little mare Alix ws* told -off at 'Te-Te j Ha ; ne to iry to beat her own record, aud the j timekeirper posted the r. suit as 31$-sec, lmin ' 4sec luiiu 34i8e0, and 2minsise^ tor the mie — the seaßoii' 1 * re-cord up to that d*te. At Chicago, on the 21st, Aliz was »ga n the star of attraction. She t-tarted tj beat the 2mm 6^secoi Nancy Hanks on {he same track, and her timts was al^eec, lmin 3^s-iC, lmin 35 ec, 2rmn s^sec. This just equaled the Ten-e Haute record, bat it wai on a slower tr,<clr. Ou The 30th Alix had a third try to beat her record, on the Fort Wayne ■ ourse, and the timing was a^ein 2ofhi s^sec- The next go was more successful. Tht mare showed good form at Indianapolis on September 6, and scored fcer qu>rers tons-: 30|sec, lmin 2»ec, lmin 33sec, and 2miu 4|se?. Th«, nowever, "wa* but -tat prelude to her great feat oi tieing the world's Tecjrd, which was done at Tene Haute oa September 12. A.!ix startea to b at the champivn 2'nin 4sec of Nancy Hanks, and did the quart-TS in 32s"C, lrmu, 3^-ec, lmin 33sec, tiie full mile bring finished in 2tuin 4?ec. Alrx thus loss xce purse whtsh-was offered for "beating lime, but all the fiame 'it is a Tecord enttaog lier to equal honoirrs wrbh the great Ntmcy.

*a* When. I arrived on the Oamaru course last Thursday, being one of tho special train contingent from Dunedm, there was just time to ace the finish of the Hurdle Eace. Moonlight iad run off at half distance, when going Btrongl>, and Swtep, who they tell me t-haped very well while te lasted, was faat tiring ai tie field :approached the last hurdle. So was Invader, who, by the way, has a very ugiy-.'ooking hind leg, *nd it is any odds that Ne. ■thorn ■would have got .home bar aecdent. But as the latter was running to the front he knocked against Invader and both tell off the inner end ot the hurdle. This gave B. Bel his chance. He was apparently quite on. of the race all the way round, but had enough left iv him to dispose of the distres-ed Fre<-born. Geordie Robertson ha-jiot often ridden a luckier race thin thht. Proof of my statement that Nenthorn should have won in nupplit-d in tbe result of the seooud day's Hurdle race. The son of Le Loop was full of go all the way aud had to be-repea edly. checked by Jimmy Cotton, who let him go «t the distance, when he -wetit like a tiger after the leader Moonlight., caught him on the till, and won easily in the lasc few strides. Nenthorn's form is wonderfully improved. Who among those of us who have seen him racing heie would imigine that he would develop into afinisber ? Yet he is one, and that quality will bring him home in more races Sanrise, -who -so easily licked her opponents in tbe Maiden, is a light-looking but symmetrical daughter of Hanlon. Soe ran like a racer both day.t. Her second to ' Speculator in the Welter on the Friday was a .meritorious performance. Reflection carried a large share of the public confidence in this race, but that was probably owing as much aB anything to the fact of Tommy Buddicombe being up. She did not last at all well, being in difficulties before .h»lf way home, Claremont, who Onished second to Sunrise in the Maiden, does not imprest me, nor does Lady Spencer, an under ized daughter of Varguard, but Kaiser has strength *nd a turn i f steed up to a crrtain distancr, and this son of Kelno may win a hack r*oe before the seftton is over.

*^* The contest for the Spring Handicap was ■worth going all the way to tee. Ther<- were four of them in it »t the distance : Captive, Lady Zetland, Dilemma, and Ca-ket, aud the latter seemed to bave the best chance. He had hung at the post, therefore took all the dust which isthe por> ion of the rearguard on a dry course, and further he seemed to search in vain for an opening till the Jast corner -was parsed ; but once setii.g * straight Tun he tr« veiled fast, and was apparently winning at<tbe distance. Bat tbei'll settled him. iHe checked his epeed m coon as he felt the rise. Lady Zetland got up it the beat and at six strides from home I thought

sh> *a§ B&ie, for her head showed clearly in front of Cxpt've's. But Alf Rtinbow let the •broth-r to Freedom feel h-. whalebone, and he j re-pond d wi h grt-at >g'imene»s, just Becuriug .j .tfce verdict by a'neok, witn Dilemma, who -was ; outstay n« t h«m all at the finish, a long h J ! away, and Casket close up, having m*de « lute , rush ;a<ter getting ou tie level. It was an exciting finish, and I thiuk Captive -won iAiriy, as did the stewards, iuv *hey j i after cons-der-atiou dismissed the pro- ! test alleging th*t JLady Zetland I hit by Capcivt;'* xiSer. Neither of rthe placed , ! horses '.run aga>n at the meeting, nor did Aqua- ' l*te, who .was looking ver* hglt. Casket, ihow- | ever, had a go on tee second day, and cost hi« fo'lowers a px-etty penny, for (they leeemed :to ' think him a .really good --thing. Victim also x*ced again — he <vai pulled out ffchree jncre 1 times, and got home in his very next attempt, ' jin .the flying It was no wanfler to me .on ■ form that he should win that trace — indeed, 1 tipped i'la for it — but after seeing tthe President's on the seaondday, 1 am pretty ■well«a fis- ' fied that he was iucky to*get horn«. Alderehot | would be the fancy Tf they met .again 'on the ! Flying Handicap "terms The la>.t-men ioned j hor-e simply walked m .'or th« -President's, and ] had so 1 ttle taken ou- of him that he -was -able | to "win tihe Farewell Jaier on The Wnitaki , •Plate -wnrt te the same stable wrth tbe aid of i Monnt Royal, who >Jo 'ied -very like being left atShepoit, and nonld >have been with a bad i starter. JHe constantly refused to join .h* , ihoi-siw, and was only ap once, j nt »s thß word wes given. Han^iatea, .one of tire unlncky ', ho-ses attending th/ meeting, lacked uothingon the 'score 'of • condition, aud bis parity could not understand his po-.r iorm unlrss onir'e Bnppo«i- . tioa th-*t the cour-e wa» too hurdiop'etse him. ! Ran* onr possibly suffered from 'tbs B>me cause .; | he swiU 'win b ra_e soon, and so will Jess, a 1 xea-.'ly nice nme and siuai't'OVrTiiiprint disfanifs. 3VIT-Juhnw>n*B*tab:e fca'i very JitUe luck. Brin ram a very "fan 1 role fai the R-dcast.e Handicap, and on that form -was fane «fl for the second I but only to put his backers into able; '. ' and Laugley could not eveu wm the SelliDg Haoe. JTbe tr ts wero all won eisily. Mingo, who paid -£3l 19«, won a race h rj- last year and paiß £39 Messrs Mason audß'jbertß'.workea the totalizators and passed througn JE3401, or £77, less that last year.

*#* Altogether this fixture of t' - e North j Otago Jockey Clubivas niosL enjoyable tothi>se , who can appreciate good racing. !he weatter j wss supeib, the racing for the most part j furnishing t3lo.<e contests, and I have seldom | attended a race meeting vvhere so large a per- | centage of starters were faiily on the job Mi 1 ' Dowses 'htvnfiicappmg proved to be quite up to ' the mafk, and I;he st>rting as perfvrcatd , by Mr Pip r fairly s^ipr sed me. He j made abiolutely not one bungle of any i ■*ors throughout the two days ; every start was irreproachable, aod no delay arose at the p st gave in one race, the Welter, in which the riders -waste d to have their own war, j *nd hid to pa> f >r trying on their little capers, • Mr Pip -jr fining tht-m all £2 t-ach. This by th« . way, as the fiivt cas« of wholesale fining tbnthe bus yet hid in an experience of 18 rnonibs. He kinßnag-s otherwise, proving that he knows i his work, and in short I leganl it as , highly desii-abls that so thoroughly competent a ! man sh uld bo eng»ged by as many clubs as can ! secure hi« seivices. The other arrangements ; by t'a« c!ub were also up to the mark, Mr G. R. i Hislap, the Kwcrrtary, 'having the details well in I ha;d. I have to teuder my thanks to that I gmtleman, also to Mr Chmiie, tbe flsrk of, Bc-iles, and my old frieud Mr O. R. Wise, for making my trip to Oamaiu a very pleasant one. j

* # * The Futurity Stakes, tha richest prize offered in ths States for two-^ ear-olds, was decided on Augus 1 . 25 at the Coney l«land coui'-e, in the presenc- of 20,000 persons. The stake tr»s w< rth 49,200d0i to the winner. Seveote n started, aud ye l " it was acbounted good enough to baok oi.e at odds on. This redhot favourite was a filly called Butterflies, owned by Gid>-ou and Daly. She eventil y smarted at 10 to 9 on. And wun. Hof she did is readably told in a New York report;. Afcer a tedious delny of nearly an hour at tbe post, a iperfect ttart wae effected, scarce'y a coupe of lengths dividing the lir.se From the Wt horse. Butterflies broke in front, with California, GutU Percha, Mo, aco, and Sadie but a trifle behind, Agitator, Counter Tenor, and Brandywine all close upland the balance all lapped on one another. Butterflies was quickest on her feef, »nd she went at once to t^e front. Sh« gradually drew clear of her iielcl, and showed the way by incre*sing her advantage as they ran to the turn by two lengths Here she began to tire, and Griffin give her free rein. She tired badly in the JiQal furlong, and Griffin went to the wnip, to wihich fthe responded well aad managed to last long enough to gt-.t the decision hy a. he^d. California, Gutta Percha, Manohester, Agitator, Co»jioiss ur, Waltzer, and Brandywine ran in a close bunch behind the leader all the way. Thera was coiminerable j )Stlmg among tbem, for which Wnltzer was to blame. In the last furlong Brandywme got ciear of th's bunch and set out to overhaul the leader. He cosed on Butterflies rapidly, tbut could not quite get up, and was beaten * hend. Agitator wa» third, four leugths »way and half a length beiore Con«ti*feur, who, cout- - ide'ing his position at thrstatt, and the fact that he w*s conceding weight to everj horse in the rase save Waltzer, ran a remarkably good race. Agitator's torm wai also eßpecal ygood, aB he behaved bo badly at ±ha post that he exhausted much of his vitality as well as of Taral's strength. The time, lmin llsec, is the fastest the race was ever run in, the lmin li^sec of Morello being the best p-evio as reoord for the .race. Butterflits, bred iv Kentucky and sold as a yearling forl4oodol, is by Sir Dixon <son of imported Billet) from Mercedes, by Melbourne Junior from Lady Hardaway, by Commodore. She ts a Jong and superbly formed filly, being in conformation a perfect racing machine, but -unfortunately htx legs itre not of the strongest, and i< is scarcely expected that she will stand much .racing Bhe had been lame for quite a while previous to the Futurity, and it was otily by th« most c ireful and skilful handling that trainer Hy and was enabled to bring her round iv tim? for the great raca.

*k* Two important matches for galloping horsts were go- off at the Jerome Park meeting iv August. Ona was between the four-year-old gelding Glenmoyne, by Glt-nelg. carrying 7.9, Bnd the five-year-o'd Stoucnell (by Stonehenge —Nell), weighted at 8.3. The latter staned .favourite, but was beaten rather easily by two lengths, the winner doing tbe six furlongs in lmin 16sec A week later these horses met • gain in a match over the same course and distance, and on this occas'ou Stonenell had to concede only 51b. Glennioyne was the public fancy, and he won ea»l y in lmin 15J«ec Upon weighing in, however, Hanvlton was found to be 2£lb ihort of wight, and the stewards disqualified Gl nmoyue and gave the race to Stonenell. The shor 1 age of weight wss due to the "careles-oiees o r Hamilton's valet, who was ruled off. »nd Hamilton fined 200dol. The other mutch was between Si» Modied'o eon

Dorian and the crack (bobbins, at a mile and a fur oi<g, 'Do'bb : ns having -to coi cede 81b, yet deemed so mnoh the superior as to be a decided favourite. But the unexpected happened. The race was virtually no race at all, for Dorian ■went into the Jead at -flag fall, aud waiting in i •fr nt a'l the way, won in -a jrattop by four •lengths. -Dobbins made a desperate effort to ■overtake the leader, breasting i!he mc i: c jus"; befure turning into the home-strefc h,, and struggled gamely to reduce the gap, but, as a loc-»l reporter pu^s it, all Hamilton ibad to do t»Bs to let out a link, and Dorian bounded away ■with consummate ©»se. Another great mat -h \was that between Domino (3yrs)»nd Clifford, (4}i f 8), at Coney Island, on September 6. They| each carried 8.10, and went a mile Clifford , nvhs favourite, bub .Domino led all the w«y.and i •won easily by a length in lmin 39j}fiec. Tons iof money changed 'h«nds over this went. •* # * An idea •whioh lias often found publication in these columns i* that every xacer rih uld be registered by -name «md by 'such markings as will ensure idei/tifica'tion bt-fore 'being allowed to step on to a track. That would effectua'ly stop ringin^-in, and 'he registration would be of value in .giving additional security ~to buye'S and 'breeders that every hori-e is tbe one be or the purports to be. I have also advocated the setting up or an annual stud 'book, and be'ieve it would Tidt rnly p'ove a great boon, but that the .publication rould easily !be made secure against loss "by handing over ' the publication to a ttuitablu man, *'ho should , on tbe o c hand bo pn % sv>i>al]y -respMisible to a reasonable degree for accicro<jy -and oomplcten*«s, and by way>ol lecompense h»^e power impose a 'small dhargafor regi-Aration df'fo*!?. This is a matter in which the conference o/yjbit ▼cry properly undertake inaugural and superintending duties. I am'ledto Ptvjv« the subject .by noticing that in America tbe JocWey Club 'has ,ju-t entered into a formal agreement with 'Colonel Bruce, iihe signing of which s it'tles ' •what has been there the vexed qu- st'io.-i of legintration. Tne colonel, who is th'a comitilt- r of the Stud Book, is -authorised to co^Ucb a fee of 2dol f.-r native and fkiol for imported horse', and retain for ais -expenses ouo half the total of the said fees. I heartily comm-nd consideration of this fact to our New Zealand authorities.

%* Mr O. B. Wise, of O'tmaru, lias 6howni me the petiuon of horseownc-rs «ddreßsed rto the Railway Oomm-ssioners, asking that racehorses • railed to a race mtetmg be taken back to thsir ' starting poisjt free of chirge. Over 400 signatures are already attached, representing owne-s . 'thi'oughout i he length And breadth of the colony ; and even those who bave doubts as to whe f .fcer the request should b" grafted -must admit, if ai.y such h»ve perusHd the document, that the reasons put forward muke out «. fair case for consideration. Whatever the result, Mr Wise deserves the thank» of owners for the trouble he has "gone to in wo'kiug up th'S mater. Meanwhile I am Bsk«d by that gent em an to expref s ' ■hi*, acltnowledgmeuts to those secretaries of clubs who have interested -themselves i getting tae pttilio'i s gned in the vari-us district?. There have, been a few fiisappoiunment* in this dir<ction, a&d s;me 'Secretaries ■ have nob even replied to the letters sens orrfc, but Mr Wi-e forgives the lack of court? &y, and hopes that -when tjbey are next appealed to on a matter affecting the general interests of the turf trey will not turn th'ir heads aside. The pet'tion is to be pr sentei to the eornmi-sionerß by the Hon. -G. M'JU-an, and Mr T. Duncau, M.H.R , will support it. '

* # * Not to know Harry Haines is to confess one's self unknown. That, at any rate, was true enough some 25 y<-ars His name crops up m a jecent article by "Sfcerlirg," of the Sportman, who pr uts a history from wKieh 1 ex'ract a fe>v seutenc-s. Hain^s was born in ! ■Cbelti-nhatn, and came to Australia #s a lad. There he studied for the law, but drifted naturally towards 'esses. He claims to hive been the first man to ca'l the odds at Christchurch, fielding on Ladybird's Champion Race in 1865. He became an owner, and had horses here < -un'il 1869. Among horses heiowuefl, rode, and trained were The Miller, Numa, Warwick, , ■Slander. He rode Yatt rina (mother cf Matchlock), Fanny Fisher, Kaiser, Glengarry, and others "inning, among othtr races, the Auckland Hanoicap twice. Mara was a long way the be»t horse be ever owned or h*d anything to do with. Wi'h Camballo then Sj mile and Gremome the second he conld nob maks the great New Zealander gallop. His was terrific, «nd he cou'd say for a week, whila i weight was no object to han.

*** Excuses were put forward for the defeat of Nobl-man in the Tramway Hand' cap 'at Sydney Tattersall's. For one thing, he is said to have been so squeezed on to the rails as to hurt him and damage his jockey's leg*. But the colt could not b>ve &usta<ned idjumt, for he started frst favourite in the CaulfiV'd Stakes lust 1 Sttarday, and ran well to the home turn, whfre, pumped out, he eurrendcred to his brtters. If this Caulfield Stakes was a fair go, Nobleman is no wonder, as there were only two rea'ly proved weight-for-age horses iathe field, and one of them had a stot.e penalty. I refer to Carnage, who could hardly have been expfctcd to win- with 10.0 up. The Caurfieid Stakes is not always such a reliable guide to form as one might suppose it to be — there is generally a waiter or two among the crowd that doesn't show up prominently — nevertheless, the winner must always posse«s some quality, and it imy be worth noting that Harvester is engaged in the Derby. He was not entered for eith(-r Cup. It is said that Mr Cook did not back him for much. Moorite, whom more thin .a few ate watching tor the Derby, got the worst of a wretched start in the Guineas. Cobbitty, who won easily in fast time, threequarters of a second fasuer than the previous best record for the race, mtde by Stra'hmore in 1891, is in the Melbourne Cup at 7 3, and of course, as all know, he has an engagement in the Derby, for which race he will now be more fancied than ever. Only once, so far, has a Guineas winner pulled off ths Derby, namely Strathmore, but there is no ' argument deduoible from that fact. Cubbitty ! beat a distinctly representative .fidld, of whom only Bonnfe Scotland and Chesttrman ware penalised (71b each), and he may very likely beat th<*m all again at Flemington, though by Derby Day some of the lot licked in the Guineas rnuy come od, Dreamland in partioultir being likely to do so, he having be«-n delayed in his preparation by an attack of strangles, from which I presume he has now recovered, as he Tan into third pace. Norton was handicapped at 13 0 for tbe Steeplechase, and did not start. The time for the Debutante Stakes was a record for that race, being three-quarters of a second quicker than thetimenoade by Fryingpanin 1891, the year the race (then known as the Great Foal Stakes) wa^ instituted Challenger is by the "English horjieEirid->pord, who bidsfairto make a name for himself in the colonie*, out of Sailor Prince's dam. Devon, who put down the great Brain in tbe miie rac», is the T»smanian-bred _half-b'O'her to Occident, and -not a bad .one. The V fi. C. .hand -c *pper pays him the compliment of raising him by half a stone to 7.12 for the Cud. The meeting is to be continued on Satiu--.

day, when Theodore .may win the Oaulfield Cup.

*»* Spi aking at the one iting of the C- J C. to to his motion for theiormi'g of a New Z aland Jockey Club, Sir Geirge Clifford s>id : It was not a mera matt r for considw ation whether a Now Zoa'an-i Jockey C üb, or kindred insttut.on, ,shoul<i be c-.t bis'ud. It was a ma er wt iiei:e-bity. Auyon-- who had read iho new Gaming Act. would kn w t:.at lat-iug disputes were absolutely withdrawn iioru the'cognisance of tho'Kw courts. Some means, -then, had to be found for settling these di-putes, and it only required a moment's consideratiou to show that a m^tr opolitau cub -was not rhe club ' •to settle-questions in whioh it was itself an interested party. He thought it woe possible (hat the phrase * New -Ze viand Jockey Olub ' bad de- ! terred mme'frieno's froin-a?sentinE[ to it<? establishment. 'If the phrase "was a bogey t-hought to imply too great a oonces-ioniof loc*l p-'wer, the .name might "be altered to the 'council of' tbe as-ooiated racing clubs of New Zealand.' 'To at would be continuing 'an idea »i~h which they were al'e*ay familiar. This institution,, .to which membe-s would be annually elested by members of district and metropolitan clubs, would have charge of masters jsimi ar to thesa committed to the conference, -the revision of rules, .regulating the .Dumber of idays' racing, and kinored matters of administration. Out ; of this club or counol would spring th*> tribunal whichir was ■neces-saryto establish, andhe-«hould propose that 'the tribunal consist of stewards who w^uld "be appointed by the (ouocil, ai.d would have mo *uch local feelings as would neoeßsari-y.be rintpiiusd sax tht-ir minds if Ibey as stewards reprcsen 1 ed an mdiv.dual district. The number of stewards was not mat'iii-l ; it might be fi>e, seven, or ■ten. They would be^ th«men "best fitted for tbeir work, and com-^j mantling 1 the confidence and respeot of tfce, racing community and the in^e- ■ Ttß'ed in rating. The only objection which, appe-red to be sound wi.s ihat, aim- , ated as the stewa-ids might ba in tfcne ' colo >y, it would be difficult to get tog-ther sufficitnt to decide npon any pressing n.at" car -at ' once. This difficulty might te overcome by , adopting the system obtaining in EugUud, where if stewards of the jocke> club could i.ot sit to .de-ide a question, each steward «a« privi'eged toprovid- a substitutefor the special occiisiou. Moreover, th" j.restd' nt of the council, who would prJbably be the ls-ading steward, would .have the power of appointing special stewards to decide any special or compl cated case that might arise. In ibis way all the ends it was di sir< d to gain would be ga'ned by the establ shment of the New Zealand Jockey Club. The club', which -would represent the feeliugs of racing men thi oughout Ntw Zealand, would have the power, of course, to decide as tv the ektmt of >tbts powers of the stewards of the council."

*** The nuggety Barnego, a real pony, and not crae of the inini-iture racehorse class, establiaked a s'rong lead early in the Maiden Trot at Tahuna Park on Saturday, and kept it to the end When any of the others teemed to be picking up a bit on hits they suddenly aent to pieces. Leo us in chamy assume that ~fc jeix riders were serious'y atmoyed by these incidents. The Pony Tiot was also ajjifb to the cream and I am not prepared to deny that he won this racs on bis merits. -He is fairly fa»t, and recovers qu'ckly after breaking Lady Jane ■mint vety stead'ly in the Spring Handicap, and v&s pat en'Ty r'ri^en by Jim M'Keweri, but she bad very little to beat. The bulk of the t arly iuvestmen's in the Novel were for Jatje, bat presently th-re was a rusli for No. 5— ever) body seemed to di cover all at onca that Prtsent Times was g"od goods, and 60 he was 'Nuff ted. He won. The Domain Handicap produced soma 6igns of interest. Tommy showed something like his old form in the first mtle, and seemingl> had the ra?eathis mercy, when he was seen to be lvallj in tiouble. Jim Allan hud broken a stirrup iron, and the horse bad trotted 'bim*elf almo^tto a stands-ill. He plodded on and beat all but one, but Sandy coud not be caught, ami won easily. Waxy was having a go, but couldn't do it. His chsnee came Jater on, when he beat Bu'cber Boy. The latter was diiven by Jce Pixon, who tad to ■submit to a fi e of meaningitss *ud irritating "barrack : ng," caused, I suppose, because he ■is an aisat. ur, tb.o-.igh I think he cou'd give les«ons in driving to some who were shouting oufc. Gordon had a very foft thing in the Maiden (ia harness), and the pony Jack the Ripper did not encouuter very formidable opposition in the Final Handicap. The sum of; .£l6Bl los wes pasßed through the totalisa^ors, this being £576 more than at Ust yea's Spring meet : ng. The club owes Hcmsthing of this increwe to the new Gaming Act, which kept the buok» in check. The racing was we'l managed in most respects, punctuality being observed all 'day, and the meeting left only oi<e thing to be dt sired — namely, a little more earnestness on the part of irme of the competitors. I have never sten a larger collect on of " stiff 'uns " in ' one afterncou.

NEW ZEALAND CUP. Horse. Wgt. Trainer. | Odds. Liberator (5 ex.) Prime Warden Au Kevoir Hippomenes ... Rosefeldt Clanranald Skirmisher Saracen Royal Hose (7 ex) Rangipuhi Pegasus Vogeugang Lady Zetland ... Beadonwcll Impulse Lottie Monte Carlo ... Dreamland Dilemma Rangiatea Scot Free Captive Tluee Star ... Outpost Magazine Artilleur Mahaki Casket ... Searchlight ... Westmere Pompom Purepo ... ... Aldershot Spindrift Speculator Leontine Grenadier Piincess May ... Marino Loveshot Salvo Dumlop Hancour Nixie Beau Brummel Planet Solano Vista St. lb. 8 9 8 8 8 6 8 4 8 3 8 3 8 3 8 2 8 1 8 0 7 13 7 13 7 12 7 11 7 9 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 5 7 4 7 4 7 4 7 3 [7 3 7 2 7 2 7 2 7 0 7 0 6 13 6 13 6 13 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 11 8 11 6 11 6 10 6 9 6 9 "6 9 6 8 6 7 6 7 P. Butler M. Hobbs P. Butler S. Bishop J. Muiin H. Lunn J. M'Ginnes M. Hobbs G. Wright G. Blanche H. Harrison T. Sheenan M. Hobbs S. Mercer G. Cutts J. Kean D. Knight J. Maher M. Allan J. M'Ginnes W. Wilrnot .. S. Waddell ... G. Wright S Bishop r Sheenan ... Murray- Aynsley J. Brown H. Goodman ... R. Gooseman ... J. Belcher J. Belcher G. Donnelly J. Loughlin C.Boyle F. Healey B. Nicholls ... J. M'Hugh J. Maher J. Munn R. Derrett P. Butler F. Holmes H. Goodman ... C. Boyle H. Jackson R. Gooaeman ... J. M'Ginnes ... J. Munn 100 - 2 100 -12 100 -12 100 — 8 100 — 4 100 -4 100 - 8 100 —12 100 — 8 100 — 5 100 — 7 100 - 6 100 - 2 100 — 5 100 — 7 100 — 7 100 — 4 100 — 3 100 — 4 100 — 2 100 — 3 100 — 3 100 — 5 100 — 2 100 -5 100 — 3 100-2 100 — 2 100 — 2 100 — 6 100 — 4 100 — 3 100-4 ioa — 2 100 — 4 100 — 3 mo — i 100 — 4 100- a 100- 2 100 - 1 100 — 1 100 — 1 100 - 3 100 — 1 100 - 1 100- 1 100-1