THE Racing World.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 95, 21 April 1906, Page 11

THE Racing World.

Br -WhaUbona. ,

The New Zealand b'rea horse Sternehaser (Nordeufeldt—Crinoline) is now doing stud duty in France at Count Geloes' ptiid.

A young American jockey of the name of Radtkn has created a sensation at a meeting at Hot Springs, where he rode 22 winners in six days.

From New York the statement is reiterated that a great Anglo-American horse show will be held in London in Maj<of nest year.

Count George Lehndorff has retired from the management of the (iratiitz (Government) stud in Germany, after jieing in command for nearly 40 years. His son, Count Siegfried LehudorlT, succeeds him.

His Majesty the King won the four-year-old stallion class at the London Shire Horse Snow recently with Kavenspur, a black of tine quality and substance, and certainly a big winner at forthcoming country summer shows.

■Moifaa sported the King's colours at Hooton Park recently in the Great Cheshire Steeplechase, and though he made as Wg a noise as the severest of his critics had credited hipi with, he ran very creditably. He had been named on the card to be sold, win or lose, but Lord Marcus Beresford evidently Hired the performance, for he bought the Australian bred gelding iii for 390 guineas.

M. E. Blanc intends sending a small string of four-year-olds over to England to complete their preparation and be trained for future events. This does not imply that M. Blanc's horses will be trained generally in England; but points to the probable intention to follow the example of 11. Lupin and Count Lagrange.

The death Is announced, after an operation for appendicitis, of the well known French sportsman. Baron Roger, a member of the Jockey Club and of the Society of Sport of France. ■ He was associated with the successes of La Morlniere. the winner of the Prix dv Jockey Club and the Prix la Rochette In l»00, and of Calabrais, the hero of the Grand .steeplechase of Paris in 1901, while two other well known performers were Vourquoi and Cordovan. For the two branches of the sport ißaron Roger trained with Thomas Carter.

At Derby Brewster sessions recently, among the big batch of houses the renewal of whose licenses was opposed by the authorities on the ground of redundancy, was the Oddfellows' Arms, King-st., Derby, which has existed for nearly 100 years. It belonged to the Loates family, and it was stated that the late Mr Charles Loates, who was the landlord .for a great many years, made a competence there, and brought up a large family, among whom were the famous jockeys of that name. It was also said to he a profitable house still; but the magistrate recommended it to be closed.

The famous English-bred -mare Sceptre has dropped a filly foal to Cyllene. This .voungrster is- an expensive one. as the dam cost Mr Bass about £23,000, and-he paid 30,000gs for her sire, thus representing an iuvestment of £56.500. Sceptre's ioa.l has, therefore, established a record, for no other thoroughbred lias been foaled at such a cost. Jn mentioning this fact, the "Special Commissioner of the London "Sportsman" says:—"Daughter'of the joint second highest-priced stallion ever sold— only Flying Fox exceeding and Diamond Jubilee equalling Cyllene's sale price—and flrst-fcorn of by a long way the most costly mare, it makes one almost tremble to .think of the responsibilities which must now rest on rne shoulders of Mr Bass' skilful stud groom, who will iiavc the care of this most remarkable filly through all~-tbe ills and tribulations of her foaihood and yearling days, until in due course she quits her birthplace for Alec. Taylor's training establishment at Mauotou.".

Mr Dalby. a woll known Irish owner, had a roan mare, Miss Emily, running in a steeplechase in the London Metropolitan area, and obtained the services of a gallant •aptain stationed hi the Royal Borough of Windsor to ride for him. and' the captaiu was an Irishman.

"Now. look here, sir," said Dalby, after his jockey had settled himself in the saddle. "All you have to do is to sit still and let the little mare stride along, and you can scarcely get beaten, for she does not know the way to fall. Tou need not wiu too far, but don't draw things too fine."

The captain religiously observed his orders for the first two miles, when he touched Miss Emily with the spur, and she soon held a hundred yards' lead, but this was not good enough for the gallant Irishman, who had.his whip turned the moment after landing over the last fence, and ultimately won by 150 yards. Upon pulling up, Dalby said, "Well, you won far enough, sir." "Did I, Mr Dalby? then let mc tell you if [ had had a bigger whip I could have won twice as tar."

Th<e following American racing statistics are clipped from a New York excbange: "On the running turf 6191 horses run, 2723 won 8011 races, and 2359 were not In the money. Only 3832 of these shared in the distribution of £1,130,311, wh'ch. was the grand total of the stakes and purses given during the year in the United States and Canada. The number of winning horses of all ages was 2723, leaving 3368 non-winners, of which 1109 earned money by finishing second or third, and 2350 failed to return a penny of prizo money for their keep. There were 172S two year olds started. 690 won, 313 were second or third, -rfnd 725 were always unplaced. This division won £283,875. Three year olds totalled 1573. of which 723 won. 286. were second or third, and 564 never placed: the division won £342,258. There were 113 four year olds, with 551 winners, 168 second or third, 394 unplaced, winnings being £216,268. Of 765 five year olds 362 won, 145 second or third, 257 unplaced, money won being £132,949. Six year olds and over numbered 1013, having 397 winners. Ifl7 second or third, 419 undividing £144,961. A total of 5,601,557 dols. in all.

In an interesting article on the fortunes of. the racecourse, "Ideas" says: — "What a contrast these £30,000 purchases make with the 'job lots* which so frequently have scored on the turf, as instance, Oetavian, a £10 purchase, which won the St. Leger; the £06 purchase of the broken down mare and filly foal by Lord George Bentnick. the filly to become the great Crucifix and to win. the Oaks and £4057 in her two year old season alone.

"Then The Hero, the .winner of the* Goodwood Cup, was found in Wales at a cost of £30, along with his' dam, and Teddington's dam and Jier weakling son, at foot, were picked up by a blacksmith for £157. Harkaway was ridden to and from Kildare market,..and Little Wonder, a Derby winner, was bought for 68 guineas. "The mighty Eclipse was himself once bought for 46 guineas; George Frederick, another Derby winner, for 65 guineas; and Sir Bevys, who won that race five years later, cost but £500. That's the price, nowadays, a turf man gives for the winner of a selling race. At the very sale at which Flying Fox was sold for £37.500 guineas, -thousands of pounds were paid for horses which never brought in a penny," " "

A writer in the "Sporting Times" says: A statement has appeared in the American Press to the effect that £50,000 has been refuses for Mr Keeiie's crack colt, Syson*y. Other papers hare reduced the amount to £40,000; but even that would he a record, the amount paid for Flying Fox being £30,375. The curious feature in the history of Sysbnby is that -we once saw his" great grantlsire, Lord ;Ronald, run unsuccessfully -in a race in lyhlch he was entered to be sold for £20. Sysonby .is by. Melton, who Is by Master KUSare; a' son" of Lord. Ronald, who was by Stbckwell. The first race Lord Bonald ran. for was at two years of age, .wn-sn ."he -won. the City Bowl. of 25.. govs at Salisbury.' for tils' event, wiMch he -won by a neck, lie was entered , to t>'e r I

sold for £20. He was then the property of Mr John Day, who bought him -in for Lord Westmorland. A few* weeks later he was entered to Be sold for £30 in a race at but, bolting, did not go to the post. lie'failed for .1 selling stakes at Newmarket, for which he was entered to be sold for £60, and was equally unsuccessful in the Attingham Stakes at Shrewsbury, for which he was entered to be sold for £30. A day or two later he was entered to be sold for £20, and was beaten. At three years of age he ran in two races only, both selling, and won them. It was after the second one that the Duke of Beaufort el-aimed him for £40. The following year, at Northampton, when Lord Ronald was four years old, the Duke of Beaufort* risked him in a race to be sold for £80. and this he won. The race was the Pytcbley Stakes, and it will ever live in our memory from the fact that Lord Rouald, who won. was entered to, be sold for £3l», Sonpstone, who was second, for £60, and Volunteer, who was third, for £30. These three horses, between them, afterwards won no fewer than forty-six races, and were among the best of their time. Lord Ronald was a fine, handsome horse, as, indeed, ■were the other two. anfl. it seems incredible that they should have run, for such, races as we have described. I suppose no better got up or finer horseman or cleverer steeplechase jockey ever existed than Charlie Boyce, says a witty, Irish scribe. After lie gave up the game he became Mrs Villiere's pilot with the Quorn and Pytchley Foxhounds. Getting through the time one day at Lutterworth Hunt Steeplechase, he was accosted by a young yeoman friend, wlio was about to ride his own mare in. tihe Farmers' Race, for which-there were three and twenty runners. "Mr Boyce," said the latter's friend, "I be going to ride the old mare, and I want you to tell mc what to do." _ "Well," said Charlie, "the first "thing to do is to dress yourself." "Well, can't you seel have done that?" The faultlessly dressed Boyce then looked at linn, and found to his disgust that underneath his top coat he was wearing a jacket made of blue calico, whilst he also sported very ancient brown cord breeches, and a pair of boots that nearly reached to liis hips. "Oh, that's all right," said Charlie. "Well, now that, you are dressed the next thing is to let your saddle and weigh out. When you have done that,, saddle the mare, and then walk about and show yourself to all your friends/ "Oh. yes, Mr Boyce, I understand all that part of it, but what I -want you to tell mc is how I am to ride in the race." "I'm coming to that," replied his "mentor. "Now, when you see the others getting up upon their horses you send your mare home and don't make a fool of yourself, by trying to ride at all."

He unfortunately did not take the g-ood advice offered him. for he was the first out of twenty-one others that went flop into a big and deep natural brook (the second, fence after starting:), and was well jumped on, being eventually fished, out of the water "half tlrownea and very 'badly b'ruisecU

That well-inloxmea . English scribe, "Warren Hill," wrote as follows in the London "Sporting Life" on the overworking of two-year-olds and its effect. Hβ says:—

Training a racehorse all the year round is good, for neither young nor old, and. the more work the yearlings have to do the sooner will they be worn up. Overwork, in my opinion, has more" to do with, the deterioration of the racehorse than, the mere fact that there are too many race meetings, as we lead, and if the stewards of the Jockey Clnb would pass a law that no two-year-old should be allowed to run, say, more than half a dozen races, they would do more good than, anything I could conceive. It is a matter» of common comment that half our horses are rogues after their two-year-okl career, and it really is extraordinary the number of horses we see running in. the rogue's badge eveiy day 'in the year. Doubtless, some are bred soft, and others bad tempered; but there is a keen spirit , of rivalry in all and every kind of animal ' that makes the racehorse, or any other horse, race against any other which eomee alongside it and strive its utmost to be first;" the greyhcrand, so jealous oC its rival in a course, that if it cannot get /' him out of possession he will knock him out: the foxhound races for the lead -with a dash that nothing but nature can instil; and so on, down thi-ough the furred or feathered tribes. Without that" gift of nervous energy a horse cannot reach, his highest form as a racer, and though, a supplement is often sought in, whipand spur, that is a spurious stimulant that cannot last. If we would improve our racehorses, we must foster that noble spirit with which natnre supplies the horse, but that spirit once broken, that nervous energy over taxed by too much, racing or some unfair abuse, and the brilliancy of a great racehorse is destroyed! beyond recall. , * •

If Mr BecWington. who has been Writing on the subject, lias Sit upon a wrong theory of the cause of deterioration, his motive deserves the strongest support, and whereas a letter from Mm Is but the echo of private conversation amongst, racehorse owners of his class, there is weighty proof that deterioration is at last recognised by wellnigh. everyone.. The Jockey Club saw it long ago. and began legislation by compelling' long-distance races. Then last year they went to the other extreme, and compel half-mile races for the young ones, evidently with the liope that they may be saved from undue strain. Mr Beddington goes on another line, ana attacks inanimate things like the race meetings; but with all due respect/ I venture to remark that neither can work the improvement hoped for. The half-mile Tacing will not improve the size or the prospects of the two-year-olds; the big ones will be kept for later in the season as before, and it is really rather making races for the undesirable than a step towards the improvement of our stock. ... . „. ...

It appears to mc that the whole thing rests with the owner. If he has got a sharp little thing he will run it as often as he can. as early as he can: and if he has a good two-year-old, he will gather in all the prizes he can, whether there are five hundred meetings a year or only one hundred.

A deep and sordid lesson was taught us a few years ago, when the Americans first came over, not to beard us in our den with their own horses trained in a superior manner, as many Americans boast but to fight us. with our .own animals that had sank to the lowest grades of cowardice or cunning, and purchased at low prices. They iad discovered something which brought out their latent merit by imbuing them for the time beingwith the courage of. a madman, and thereby showing.* beyond all doubt that loss of form was entirely owing to lost courage, and that p.ervous energy without which a racehoSSie is useless. They could not buy bad liorses.' and turn them into good ones; they never, I think, tried ■to do so, but what they purchased were horses that had been good ones once. Perhaps then there is urgent need for some legislation to prevent horses running so often, but that a reduction. , of the number of our- meetings would meet the case, few, I thinfc, would believe.

The mysteries of breeding have never yet been fathomed, and all one can make certain of so fur as I can see is the'size. Whether the figure system has or has not had anything to do with the deterioration in size, is not, perhaps, clear, but our ancestors bred big horses by breeding from big ones, and certainly of late years the small race, of thoroughbreds has increased by breeding- from small ones. Wheu we look at the produce of the crack sires of -last season, and note the varied families of mares from which they spring, students of the number theory may well be greatly befogged; and become, after all, inclined to allow that the exceptional merit which crops up here and there- in all sorts of breeds and alliances 'nnoet be due to'same special conformation. of the bones, which can never be detected: nntil -numerous skeletons of onr greatest horses can be compared. That, however, can never be, and It. seems to mc that the best chance of improving- .onr' tiotroughbteds 13 to go back to %la& ways ofl °J^*a* h *»-&rat, set ,etee. style, and. con* qtltntion; and -then seek to combine &tm tfon'arid '•' '■' ■*% v'v-TrfT?;*?