Racing World.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 205, 27 August 1904, Page 11

Racing World.

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RACING TEXTURES,

September I.—Amberlc.y Steeplechase Club September 7. B.—Mart on Jockey Club Hack September IT. 21, 21.—Avondale Jockey CT.b.

I'onv breeding in Englanu seems *~.... , ullv to be on the increase, and there exists a specially good demand f.>r superior stallions. It' is !» be hoped esays the -Live Siock Journal"! that those who have reait.v coed voting filiics by superior stallions ot a genuine pony type will stand by them til Iher have had another foal or two. «meat rhc drawbacks m all gi-ai forms of British horse-breeding at present is tne tort great readiness of the breeder ... pari with allies which might be the foundations ot great and profitable studs. Marsk. the sire <tf 1-X-Upsc. was Toi led ill TTtiO and. after some Indifferent pc-form- i atK-es on the turf, was used by tbe Duke ..f Cumberland as a sire. IMI the death ot his Hovel 1-lighuess in lTt". he was sold at Tatrei-iill's ttt tt farmer tor a mere song, j and in 17«0 was covering half-bred mares | In Dorset-hire at a fee of half a guinea. The extraordinary performances of ..copse j brought hint into sudden notoriety, and a j Mr Wiidman. who had given '-Mgs for him, passed him mi to the Karl of Abingdon for UXiOgs. In 177.5. the year prior to his death, he was advertised at lOOgu and one guirea the groom. Says the ■•India riant'-* - Gazette":—The'police authorities of India are making strong efforts to suppress betting shops. For some time pasi a c tuple of leading It mis of bookmakers have had business premises in Bombay for the purpose of conducting starting-price betting ou the principal TCngllsh races, but during May the Commissioner of folioe n .titled thorn that they were to close their establishments. They did so. hut it is believed they will endeavour 10 get the order set aside. The general opinion, though, is that tliey have very little chance Of success. The net ion nf the authorities created a lot of surprise, ami it was also rumoured that all bookmakers were ttt be debarred from belt.up' in the enclosures at racecourses. There proved 10 be nothing iv that report, however, and bookmakers will continue to do business ou racecourses as heretofore. An exchange says:—The Trenton— Lady Charity coir Foundling only won the London Cup tit Alexandria Park by a neck. -ntrlv outstaying Hands Down at tbe end of the mile and a quarter. Foundling is trained by .1. E. Brewer, who is beiug congratulated by English wriiers on having achieved so much with such an unpromisiug loi as Mr Hennings" horses appeared to be when the Australian trainer first took charge of ihent. Major Plotl was responsible for the mating <>f Trenton and Lady cl.H.irv-. mid was so thoroughly convinced that the result would be satisfactory that he urged U.rrt Marcus Keresford to advise King Kdward to send Laodamia (sister to Lady Charity) to the Musket horse. Trett-loj-.'s projjenv arc doing fairly in England this season. ' seven of thelu having won about .-.'!700. which amount places lhe old horse well up iv the winning sires' list. Last year £:>>l"> was credited to Trenton. the principal contributor being Palmy Days, who lias also scored well for him this time, j _____ Thus an exchange- The Mongols "rifle almost from the cradle to the grave, ami one scarcely ever sees them on foot. F.vcn in visit a 'neighbour a few yards away a Mongol will almost invariably get on a horse. They generally walk very badly, ami look clumsy and ridiculous on foot: but their horsemanship is magnificent, and there are few- prettier sights than to see a Mongol select a came! from a herd, ride him down, ami la mo him with the noose attached to a long pole like a Ashing rod. which they all carry. The camel, for all his stately paces, can gallop when he is put to it. and is much more difficult to lasso thau a horse. A desire to walk is simply ] incomprehensible to them. AVhile we were a 1 the Prince's camp, we twice went out for a walk, leaving explicit instructions that 110 pouies were to be scut for us. But pctlestrianism was evidently not considered dignified in the Prince's guests, for we had not got far on either occasion when an attendant came galloping after us with two horses, which he insisted upon our mounting" The "Sport-Weil" reproduces an interesting anecdote of the Imperial visit to the recent Hamburg meeting, showing what fates may turn on the broad .silver piece dominated a "thaler' «-»/». The German Ihiiperor was fndueed to .stay to the end of the races at the request of his youngest soil. Prince Joachim, instead of leaving after the chief ev.ut. as originally intended. The Empress, who was sitting in the royal box with her children, was endeavouring lit explain thoroughly to them each department of the racing. When her youngest grasped ihe idea of the •totali-s-aror" lie immediately expressed a desire to have his pocket-money oa.a horse, and, tttking a "thaler" from his pocket, asked one of his brothers to pnt it on. Tlie commission was executed, but. unfortunately for the Prince, it did not succeed. Seriously moved ar the loss of his money, the yuung Prince begged and prayed of his father to let htin have another chance of getting his "thaJer"' hack. The Kuiperor consented to remain, but the story does not say whether Prince .loacbini was more lucky than most mortals and got his own back. The French correspondent of the London "Sportsman" says:- "l.eport declares that the popularity of the -__.eric_n jockey is on the wane iv France. Possibly owners have looked into tignres. and with George Stern at the heatl of the list of winning riders, they have been led to ask themselves what they reave benefited b.v the American emigrants who have come to 'scoop the spondulicks.' Heavy aud exaggerated retainers have been paid, and the American riders have long held the position of -Stripp's-cards.' A good and hospitable friend, who is now on the banks of the Danube training winners, without having abandoned his penchant for the "broads." once filcbed a pack of cards from Stripp. who was oue of the most determined votaries of the game. He had cleaned out all his colleagues. They weie conviuced that the particular pack of cards commanded good fortune, and. overjoyed by their possession, took on some professionals who were in the train from Vienna to Budapest. The game w _t against them, but the hohter of the pack remained confident, and, asking his colleagues ttt put up more money, argued that he had 'Stripp's cards.' The result remained the same, and they descended sorrowful ar Tata-Tavaros. cleaned out to a man. The American jockey has been 'Stripp's cards' to more than one owner who thought thai the mere fact, of being abb- to claim the mount of some ruler from across the waters wutild make all his horses win. Mr \V. H. Uuigley. in his "Lire's Ueminiscences." now aitpeariug in the "Sporting Times." is a trifle severe on th" booming of coionUl-bred stallions by interested English writers, and goes on to say: — "Tlie senseless craze that arose In' connection with the Mnsfeet blood, which may be said to hare culminated in the collapse of the commote colonial-bred Carbine, for whom tbe preposterous price of ]_.\OOO guineas was paid by the Duke of Portland, lo the special advantage or the horse's former owner, and of the commission agents, appears to have cooled down, if it. has not entirely evaporated. Notorious as racing is for its 'glorious uncertainty.' no more a_tou_di_g illustration thereof was ever known, in a breeding point of view, than the stamina displayed b.v- Musket, whose sire was the craven-hearted, cowardly Tnxopholifc. by Longhoy,-, a rank roarer, but cue of the grandest and speediest horses .trer seen, haudsomer eveu than the magnificent BeTladrum. or any other recognised beauty of modern times. _. more cowardly c.hi.ition r never witnessed than the mauner in which "Tox." curled up at the finish of the Derby, for which the flat-sided. wiry, ewe-cecked Beadsman fairly wore him down. Nor do I forget Nat's chaffy inquiry of Sam Rogers after the St. Leger (who was unfairly substituted for his Epsom pilot for that race) of 'How far did he pull witb you. Sam?' and Sam's grinning reply, 'Until the , fotrnd a. ._D«use-fc«r----;t» creep, iutoi' :i

"Terliuga." in the "Australasian. sa.< .-• Sir Richard Baker made an interesting speech on racing affairs at. the annual general meeting of the S.A..T.C. Tie de.nwith the causes of the various clubs -taking lost inonev on last season s trausa< - tions. Dullness in business generally, tt"' l oil the Stock Exchange in particular, ho -< t lown as the principal caase or the fallluff >ff in the tinb's receipts. It was hard lines <n owners that slakes should ho jrrtiic•d. but the coiumillcc of the 5.A..1.C. most, -..luce expenditure, and there was no outoi A-a--- of doing it. Sir Richard pointed out hat the Oovcrnmeni totallsator tax taki* _.fW or £«utf> out of ihe racing communf.-. anil tnat money is not returned to tilt* iport. The Treasurer is disappointed at u"t--citing more. Sir Richard thinks that t" »uture he will get less. With a Government. ;« _ of 21 per ceni.. added to 7. per cent. Lo the club, the <ost of betting with t"' lotalisator is higher than it should be. ""<» he public go to tho bookmakers. The racing clubs iii Smith Australia are in au uu-i-iiyiablo j.osition over bookmakirig. ia Auckland, the A.B.C. got iITUU front hookinakets' license fees last year. In South Australia, bookmnlcing tut courses is prohibited, hut it goes on till the same lie.* [lolicc cannot, or will not. stop it. but the law prevents chilis from licensing bookmakers. It is au objectionable position. under which the welsher is as free toi dv business as a reputable member of TatLersall's. Sir Richard Baker warned niemhers against any increase iv the number if racing dates, and ho dealt at some leugth with the "conspiracy" clause. whie-J lias aroused the indignation of the Owners and Trainers' Association. Tic thought it necessary, but if the meeting thought th* rule inexpedient, they had only tn say so, ami the committee would take the matte* into consideration. The study of the hock joint of horses Is capital exercise for the beginner in breeding, and (says au American authority! every horseman should be able lo detect unsoundness. Choose for the rirst examination a young coll that has clean logs, and note the contour of ihe hock joint. It is large, bony, meatless, free from purl's and projections. The cap or point of tin* bock is well defined ami free from calloused skin. The large icndou at back ef leg above hock will defined autl clean: there is no tilling between it and the honeand muscle. Below the hock at hack of leg lhe tendon makes a straight Hue from the point of hock downwards. Picking up the foot the hock can be fully flexed—that is. it may be shul tightly by raising lhe toot to the belly. At a walk the books incline towards each other, and do mv spriu_r or roll oui ward at a trot. Now compare those young hocks with those of t workworn horse. Any departure from the character of the young hock will now bo easily noted, ami in this way it is possible 11> see at a glance marked abnormalities in any horse. On general principles ihe bock joint should be large, "coarse." as horsemen say. yet free from actual coarseness, which snggesis mealiness and roughness. Stand in fronl of the horse and look at tbe profile of ihe hecks from between the forelegs. Any departure from normal conformation in the lower aspect of the joint will now become apparent, aud a spavin is thus most easily delected. Learn to handle tha joint before, looking closely al it, and when. anything is suspected by feel, corroborate the hand's find by (he eye's assistance The eye ami hand should act im.ope_nde.iuly of one another, bill one aids the other in this sort of work. Study next the shnptv of ihe hock from a side view-. 11 should not be like that of a cow. nor should it approach the shape of a sickle, else il will lie liable to throw out a curb, A curb is seen in the shape of a rounded swell of the back of the leg just below the hock, ami while it may not cause lameness when fully formed, as where. .1 horse is six years old or over. It is a sure indication of malformation or the hind leg which will surely be transmit led to offspring. Find a curby horse iv a livery barn and examine jr. in. quire for a spavltic horse, and take the trouble of going in sec it. Learn what ia meant b.v a "bog spavin." a "thoroughpin." "teudonons thoroughpin." ami "tilled h.M-k." The posterior portion of the bone of the foot, on each side, is surmounted by irregular quadrilateral cartilage. These are called the lateral cartilages. Tn the heatthy foot they can be easily felt just under rite skin surmounting the heels. A conversion takes place of these cartilages into lmne sometimes, aud the condition is called stdehone. In the healthy foot the cartilages arc ijuite elastic, and yield readily to pressure, bufTes-ume their normal position at once on the pressure being removed. When diseased they lose this character become hard and unyielding, and also become considerably enlarged, and can be easily seen, unless the animal lias considerable lotig hair. This disease is usually observed in horses of the heaviest breeds, and in the fore feet. It is seldom seen affecting the bind feci, anil is nut frequently met with in light herpes. The usual causes are hereditary predisposition and shoeing with high calkins, but it may lie caused by injuries as treads, etc. The process of ossification Is usually slow, and often accompanied by pain or lameness, but sometimes lameness is present, and when absent is liable to appear at any time, especially if the aulmal be worked ou hard roads. When appeartii" in the bind feet, it seldom causes incoiivenience. When no lameness is shown, treatment is not called for, as it is not sible io restore the parts to the uormal condition. When treatment is called for it consists in counter irritation, as blistering or tiring ami blistering. This will, in many cases, cure ihf laiireness, while ia others it fails.