NOTES ON THE RACING ON CUP DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 306, 28 December 1898, Page 2

NOTES ON THE RACING ON CUP DAY.

f I hare never seen so many people at JEllerslie as gathered together on •Auckland Cup day this year, and the attendance was really a record on all parts of the course. In some parts of ithe enclosure it was difficult to walk febout, so great was the throng.

: The race for the Cup was really a Sensational affair, and it-provided one jof the greatest surprises brought off Jn connection with the race. Uhlan's [victory was just as unexpected as that (of Antares in 1897, and that of Anita, a'egasus and Pinfire in some bygone frears. The ™ner s made a runaway race of it, and there is good reason ffco think that if a gale af wind had Baot been blowing he would have put jup a fresh two mile record for the jcolony. After the first mile of the ijourney had been completed, Uhlan Siad everything apparently beaten, _and [he ran the next mile in sound time, {covering the last four furlongs in 51 Seconds. The performance goes to tehbw that the winner is an animal possessing great stamina, for he was »ot the slightest bit distressed when the came back to the paddock. Some tof the jockeys who rode in the race are blamed for allowing Uhlan to _get Bo far away from his field in the first ihalf- mile of the journey, for it is argued that the time taken to compass' that distance was quite slow> fenbugh. to allow the favourite division tto be on close terms with the TaraHaki horse. There is some justification for this line of argument, but for any part I question whether any other jhorse but Uhlan could have won the <]Cup on Monday. One of the great '(disappointments of the. race was that idf the favourite Tirant d'Eau. He inever flattered his numerous supporters, and the whip had to be applied to Siini five furlongs from home. It is Stated that Crusoe had a lot.of bad luck in the race through interference and getting in a bad position. Coronet Rooked as fit as hands could make him, and he ran the best race of his career. ■However, considering^ the great work he had done on the training track, it iwould have been a wise proceeding to ihave raced him from the start, at the iiead of the field! He was hardly made enough of in the first stage of jfche race. . . Like niany Cup winners, Uhlan has 3had a somewhat eventful career. He (was bought as a yearling at. the Wellington Park sale of 1895 by Mr E. S. Hirschberg for 110 guineas. As a two-year-old he was not called upon to «arry silk, and out of his thirteen starts as a three-year-old "he won but sone race, the President's Handicap at Stratford. Last season his record was little better,, for his only two successes rwere gained in a Hack Flat at the lEgmont Summer and the President's Handicap at the Stratford Hack Meeting. It is stated that subsequently RJhlan got into a barbed wire fence, and...that he was sold to his present owner—a Stratford resident—for a Snere song. At the recent Wellington Spring Meeting Uhlan was a competitor, but he ran unsuccessfully. His inext essay was the Auckland Cup. SJblan is bred on real staying lines, Jand like all good horses of the present May he has some of the Musket blood Jn his veins. • ■.■".-.

The totalisator invest meats oil ihe [Auckland Cup this year formed a rejcord, amounting to £3373 against 1J23217 last year. The dividends on jthe respective horses on Monday «vould have come out as under: — Dividend. . ■'. 1267r-Tirant D'Eau 2 7.0 : 500—Coronet . .6 10 r 265-Nestor ...'.. S 4 0 245—Crusoe 12 7 0 207—Swordfish II .1.. 14 3 0. 183—Uhlan -* ....16 11 0 143—Bluejacket ..21 4 0;. ! 129—Donneraile 23 10 0 S7—Explosion ..... 3417 0 ,; 71—Acone 42 15 0 I 71—St. Gordon 42 15 0 57—Panoply 53 5 0 ■ 45—Impulse....' 67 9 0, . ' 3373 ;- ; ' ■;■■ : '■ The following table shows the favourite in each year for the Auckland jDup,. and the amount -paid on the [winner:— :. . ' ■;?■' ■ • year. Favourite. Winner. ■ Div. •• £ s d 1874 Tempfeton Templeton 2 0 0 1875 .. Kingfisher -— 1876 Ariel Ariel „ 1 15 0 1877 ——; ■■ ' Lara^ "■ • — ■• 1878 Ariel . Ariel 2 10 0 1879 Sinking Fund Ariel 7 0 0 ISSO Foul Play Foul Play 17 0 1881 Fitz-lTercuteK King Quail 3 2 0 1882 Welcome Jack Welcome Jack 112 0 1883 Salvage Salvage 2 10 0 1884 Administrator The Poet 7 5 0 1885 Tasman Nelson 25 8 6 ISBG Nelson Nelson 3 9 6 ISBB Nelson Nelson 112 0 1883 Nelson Lochiel 3 16 18S9 Hilda Leopold 3 15 0 1890 Crackshot Crackahot 4 0 0 1891 Hilda Pinfire ' 17 14 0 1892 St. Hippo St. Hippo 2 17 0 1893 Skirmisher Pegasus 35 0 0 1801 Prime Warden Lottie 310 0 1895 The Possible Anita 1519 0 189! i nt, Paul Nestor 10 0 0 1897 St. Paul Antares 16 3 0 1893 Tirantd'Eau . Uhlan . 1611 0 During toilet operations for the JGreat Northern Foal Stakes the greatjest interest was taken in the proceedings. - Screw Gun looked bright and anuscular,: his condition being highly creditable to his trainer. Miss DeJaval did not look in her spring form, the being, light in appearance. The |illy also did not please the critics in tier preliminary. Rosclla gave evidence of a thorough preparation, and Stripped a greatly improved - filly Screw Gun showed in the race that he 4 .ss a very honest colt with great determination, for when he was asked

the final question in, the straight he came away in gallant style. There are great possibilities wrapped up in this son of Hotchkiss, and he, should develop into a three-year-old con-, siderably above the average. Mr St.cad has now won the Foal Stakes in. three successive years with Gold Medallist, Conqueror, and Screw Gun, and his colours have been previously successful in the race with Blppdshot, Reflector, and Lebel.

Djin-Djin, who was so narrowly defeated for the Railway Handicap by Cuirasette", was the last to leave the mark. Messrs Duder's filly ran remarkably well in the straight, for after being disappointed she came again and worried down the leader Djin-Djin, who can evidently muster up a lot of pace.; Kex^s impost proved too much for him in the final' run, while Eecord Seign ran up "to his bestform, and he finished vei-y close up to the winner. The race proved such a popular one that it is sure to be an attraction of further Summer Meeting programmes. . . . ~