MY NOTE BOOK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 157, 5 July 1899, Page 3

MY NOTE BOOK.

I hear that Crusado is to be taken to Wellington to fulfil engagements. He will journey down in care of J. B. Williamson, who also takes Shylock and Riot to the Empire City. St, Ursula is also to take part in the fixture. Williamson will bring the imported Bt. Simon stallion Cyrerdan back with him from Wellington. He is due to arrive in the s.s. Rakaia.

I was pleased that the committee of the Auckland Kacing Club refused the application of the Auckland Polo Club for the use of a portion of the KUersliu racecourse. It would never do to devote any portion of the beautiful surroundings of the course to any other purpose but for the legitiete use of racing and training purposes. At this time of the year, in the spring, and in the period previous to the National meeting, the centre of the course is in great favour with trainers, both for spurting^ and Bchooling purposes, to say nothing of daily walking exercise.

What a wonderful old horse Knight of Athol is! During the eighteen months Mr Alex. Phillips has owned the grey son of Cuirassier he has won With him 34 races and ran 56 seconds. The only event at Ellerslie which has fallen to the lot of Knight of Athol is a Maiden Plate in the spring of last year, when he paid a dividend of ,£26. It would be interesting to know how many hundreds of miies Knight of Athol travelled in country districts to win his 34 races. Just now the hardy old fellow looks as good as new again. He is being backed about the streets.

Loyalty (by St. George—Fair Nell), ;who won the Great Northern Derby at Ellerslie in the year 1894, in the colours of Mr D. O'Brien, was recently purchased in Melbourne by Messrs Madden and Krcrouse as one of the eight stallions commissioned for the Indian. Government.

A commission has been executed throughout the colony in favour of Explosion for the N.Z. Cup. In all a sum of £2,050 was obtained about the Auckland colt at an average of 100's to si.

The ancient Whakawatea, who won the Great Northern Foal Stakes at Ellerslie in 1891, gained the chief honours at Rosehill races recently, when he carried off the Kosehill Cup, defeating a large and representative field. Whakawatea is one of the best constitutioned horses in training in Australia. He has been racing since 1891, when he won the first race he ran in—the Welcome Stakes for two-year-olds at Hawke's Bay. Since then he has won a multitude of races in New South Wales and Victoria, and according to a Sydney writer is at present sound, and apparently fit to continue his noteworthy career for a few more seasons. Whakawatea is ' nearly ten years of age, and he was sired by Apremont from Becky Sharp, | the latter being a daughter of Traducier.

Mr D. O'Brien, to add to his misfortunes, recently lost his four-year-old mare by Gossoon, from Leonie (by Yattendon—Thyra, by Boiardo). She was brought over from Sydney by the Waikare, and she received such severe injuries on the steamer that, despite veterinary aid, she died soon after her arrival. O'Brien had her mated with Mr S. Horden's imported horse Haut Brion, at a cost of 50 guineas.

While at "Wapiti" on Saturday last I saw The Master, by Nelson—The Maid, running in a paddock. He isnow rising- six years, an<l he has only started once, and ran unsuccessfully. For a time the horse suffered greatly with his teeth, and while Mr Hoagland, the vet., was here he extracted from his mouth eight molars. The Master just now is looking big avid well, and there should be a race concealed about such a good looking one.

The jumping season in Victoria has opened very disastrously, four jumpers having met their deaths within a few days. At Flemington, Barrister was fatally injured, and Hubbub, at Moonee Valley, broke a leg and had to be destroyed. Then two deaths in private have taken place. The steeplechaser Canary, a chestnut gelding by Hesperian—Countess, died at Elsternwick from a congested liver, and on the Flemington training track the steeplechaser The Beaver, after a gallop, fell dead, the cause presumably being heart disease.

At the South Aiistralian Jockey Club Winter Meeting- the feature of the racing- was the brilliant performance of Dick Hammerhand (by Car-lyon—-Lady Doris), who won the double, Accession and Royal Handicaps. In the first he had an easy win, but in the six-furlong race, carrying 9st 131b, he was badly placed coming into the straight, but putting in good work managed to win on the post by a head. He incurs penalties for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups by the wins.

The famous old brood mare Lily Agnes, dam of the mighty Ormonde, having become very infirm, was mercifully shot at the Eaton Stud, of which establishment she was for many years the greatest ornament. She won all her races at two years old, seven events "out of ten in the following Season, and at four years old Avon eight races, winning 21 races in 32 starts. In addition to Ormonde, she got Ossory, Fleur-de-Lys, Farewell and eight others.

At the V.A.T.C. June meeting- a colt named Eland won (he Two-year-old Handicap. He is a son of the Melbourne Cup winner, Malvolio, from Adelaide, by Nordenfeldt from Victoria, by Feve from .vlemento, by Dainty Ariel, and was bred by the late Mr Morris Jacobs, flad sold as a yearling at Newmarket for 45 guineas to Mr S. Miller. He is well engaged. Adelaide won the A.R.C. Welcome Stakes at Ellerslie in the year 1891 in the colours of George Wright, who afterwards sold the daughter of Nordenfeldt to an Australian buyer.

W. Delaney, who won the last Victoria Derby on Cocos, and some months ago left Australia to try his fortunes in England, has returned to Melbourne. He met with no success during his trip, although he had a few mounts. During his stay he suffered greatly from the cold, which chiefly contributed to his decision to return to Australia. He says that neither Lewis nor Brewer had ridden up to the time of his departure, because Only indifferent mounts were offered them, and they preferred to wait for better opportunities. Delaney, as a leading Australian jockey, and keen observer of the style of his professional brethren in England, expresses an interesting opinion upon the jockeyship he saw. He declares Tod Sloan to be "no horseman at all." He lacks, he says, the resource of an Australian rider, and is frequently heard to complain if he should be beaten that he does not feel well, and would prefer not to ride any more during the day. Commenting upon the fact that Sloan has ridden three or four winners in One afternoon, Delaney says that that success is frequently enjoyed by some of the English riders. Generally, the riding, he says, is limited to the jockeys with the best names, and others have the greatest difficulty in securing mounts which have a reasonable prospect of victory. The best horseman in England, Delaney thinks, is Mornington Cannon, who, with the brothers Loates, frequently rides in every flat race at a'meeting. The English style of riding races struck Delaney as differing vastly from the Australian; and he hazards the opinion that the best of the English riders would find it hard to win in Australia, where, he thinks, the work of the jockey is more difficult. A large proportion of the races he saw were run in a straight line, like the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, and the English riders appear to have a mortal dread of being bumped, and frequently at the post are to be heard calling out to each other, "Don't you run across me when we get going." When races are round a turn they go out of their way much more than in Australia to avoid colliding With any other horses in the field. J3elaney adds that it is possible-to win in an ordinary handicap, with a horse not too much exposed, quite as much as could be won tinder ordinary circumstances, over the winner of the Melbourne Cup. Speaking of J. E. Brewer's team, he says they are all standing the climate excellently. The Grafter, especially, is thriving in a most encouraging manner. His Grace and Manazona are being kept in reserve for the jumping races at the back end of the season; and Brewer had hopes that he would have his charges very fit and dangerous to-

wards the end of the present year. It is Delaney's intention to return to Sydney, where he resided prior to his departure for England.