TURE GOSSIP

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 70, 21 March 1908, Page 11

TURE GOSSIP

<B\ WHALEBONB.I

It is computed that an average racehorse costs about £300 a year to keep. The flat racine season in the Old Conntry opens on Monday next with the three days' Lincoln meeting. In some countries a small fee for the purposes of disinfecting horse boxes is made to trainers and owners. In England it is no longer permitted to administer stimulants to horses preparatory to their races. They do it in New Zealand. The first get of Rock Sand in America is a chestnut colt out of Fetish, which was foaled on January 20th, at the Nursery Stud in Kentucky. In England everyone expects a tip. On race days nine men out of every ten buy a newspaper in the hope of getting a good tip. "W. D. Boyce, the last survivor of the jockeys who rode in the notorious Running Rein Derby in 1544, died at Newmarket (Eng.) last month. Among the principal dates of mcs In the Old Country this year, the Derby is fixed for Wednesday. June 3rd. and The Oaks (in customary order) two days lator.

[ It is not unlikely that His Majesty King Edward's best three-year-old -will be Persian Lilac, a "dark" son of Persimmon — White Lilac. He is not engaged la the Derby, however, with Perrier.

Mr J. R. Keene, the well-known American owner, says that volin could undoubtedly have beaten Orby in the English DerDy had he been entered. Mr Keene won over £SO,OUO in stakes in America last year, easily beating the Duke of Portland's record of £73,093. The Xew York "Morning Telegraph" asks why, if the American Jockey Club cannot bring itself to employ paid Stewards, a good man should not be engaged at a daily remuneration to confer with the non-profes-sional Stewards. Such an official could watch the running of all races, and his services would be invaluable. A New Orleans jockey, named Delaby, has. after two successive fishy finishes, been suspended for "timidity"—no sugsesrion of fraudulent riding or incompetency lint just '-timidity." Seeing that we were pot above takins the starting-gate from the Colonies, says an English paper, we mteat do worse than import this "rest cure" from the States.

That famous English horee St. Simon was twenty-seven years of age vist month. He was purchased for the Duke of Portland by the late Matthew Dawson for 1&-KJ guineas, and was never beaten in public. He has earned a quarter of a million of money as a sire, in addition to siring many winners for the Duke aimteif. Although very old. as horses go, &t. Simon is almost as fresh and well as a two-year-oid-The anti-racing faddists are at work in America, and there is much talk of legislation. One of the most prominent members of the American Jockey Club, Mr. 11. B. Duryea, one time partuer with ilr. Whitnov, is of the oninion that the Jocfcev Club is prepared lor any sort of legislation that might be enacted at Albany. He said that betting had not beeu lecoguiaoii by the Stewards of the Jockey Club lor many years. An accepted authority states that a horse can live 2o days without so.id food, mereiy uiiukiug n-ater; 17 days without eating or uiiukiug; and ouiy n've (lays when eating .-.olid foud without drinking. An idea prevails ainony norseiuen tiiat a horse should uever be waterud oftener than three times a day, or in 21 hours. This is not oaiy a mistaken idea, but a brutal practice. A noises stomach is extremely sensitive, ana wlli suiier under the least interference, causing a feverish condition. The record-priced yearling of 1907, the colt by Galliuuie—La Fleche, bought by Air. S. B. Joel for 4700 guineas, has been tiMiislerred to Baron Maurice de liothschtld, ami mis since been named Arc de Triomphe. He is engaged In the (ireat Survey Foal Stakes, the Scaton Delaval Plate, the National Breeders' Produce Stakes, Sandown; the Hurst Foal Plnte, the Middle Park Plate, the Dewhurst Plats, and other valnable races next season, and If he comes to Kngland will be trained by G. Blackwell at Newmarket.

With the present scarcity of food tie following is a hint from an American paper worth quoting:—A farmer has found a wa> by which he can make his horses use up to a good advantage the poor hay raised on the ranch. He learned that horses could be made to eat poor hay with great relish if it were sprinkled over with a little -cheap molasses and water. He tried it, and has made a great success. The horses no longer waste the hay, but dear up every whisp of it that is thrown in the manger, and look well. This has been tried in the southern part of California, where hay is scarce and when, cheaper qualities of food have to ,be

used. Mi. Bottomley asked the Chancellor of the Lxchequer in England recently, whether, with a view to providing the funds Cor old-age pensions, he would consider the desirableness of imposing a tax upon betting transactions and racing stakes, as is done iv British colonies and foreign countries. Mr. Asquith said the adoption of the suggestion of the hou. member would appear to involve, as a preliminary step, the • alidation of betting transactions—a somewhat far-reaching proposal, which he could uot be expected to diacuss in the limits of of a Parliamentary question.

Speaking in the Upper House of the Convocation of Canterbury recently, the Bishop .f Hereford said Uie Sub-committee oil i etting and Gambling tiad helped to pass thp street tictUug Act. and was vow taking up the matter on the publication of betting lists In the papers. They had also considered how to prevent the publication of the •■fancies" - of the prophets, which ap-iM-ured even In respectable papers, and they ivere thinking what to do to prevent the circulation through the I'ost Office of the idvertisements of great firms of oonimSssion ayents, and some of the letters sent through the post were most reprehensible. The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed tiis ple;r""uve that this matter was not being ■.Ulowed to drop.

"Speaking of horses.' memory," said a veteran dealer of Nashville recently, "about 10 years Dr. -. alton bought a pair of chestnut sorrel horses for DOOdol, and after keeping them v short time he sold one of them for lHOdol, and for nine years that horse and I live-.l together nearly all the fiiue. About teu years ago I sold the Horse to Stirling Walker, and he promised mc not to sell him auy more. But after he iiad kept him for a long time he traded to a uiau in Sprinpfieid. who afterwards sold him at a public auctijn. A man named Griggs. in North Nashville, bought iu.j; and now I'm goias to tell you something funcy: I was passing along Buena Vistastreet, ia Nashville, when I saw a horse standing on the other side of the street. I wasn't thinking about anything in particular, and just walked on. First thins I knew, that horse had crossed the street and was rubbing nia nose against mc. Twas my old Uorsj, and he hadn't sezn ine in ten years. Eut he had remembered.'' —"American Horseman." The following is an Interesting story re sale, at the instigation of T. Kiely. who as j trainer had Cu'.l knowledge of the colt's merits. R. O'Connor offered GOOgs for Scotland on behalf of his patron; but Mr Mackay said no; it had been announced that Scotland would be offered by public auction, and in order to give everybody a chance, the horse would be sold to the highest bidder, provided the reserved price was reached. The bids fell short of the reserve, and the colt was passed In. O'Connor was determined to get possession, and there was still a chance. Bnt there was another Irishman of the came jninfl, and both were fleeting for Scotland. The other -was P. A.

Connolly, the owner of Bine Spec. Mr Mackay was standing close to the auctioneer's rostrum. Connolly was on one side of the ring, and O'Connor on the other, and it became a question of who would reach Mr Mackay first without exciting the suspicion of the other. O'Connor won, and began chaffering with Mr Mackay. The first offer was a2sgs. It was declined, but when ooOgs was mentioned Mr Mackay said, "Yes; he's yours," and the bargain was clinched. Many horses have had romantic careers, but none more so than an animal named Lottery, who is famous in racing and hunting circles in Surrey (England). At the age of twenty he is now spending the remainder of bis days in well earned comfort. Lottery was originally bought by a member of the Stock Exchange out of a cab, but he wavered in his opinion that he had got a bargain, and passed him on to Mr J. Taylor, a well known farmer near Hurst Park, for £4 10/. He was a sorry-looking beast, but one day, almost by accident, he took part in a gallop with other animals, and the despised cab horse cleared out the lot in truly remarkable style. He was then put in point-to-point races, and in these he was simply invincible. He gave away extraordinary amounts of weight, but nothing ever made a race of it with him. In the opinion of many sound judges he would have won the English Grand National had he been trained for it, for no jump was too big for him, and no course too long. His owner, however, was as pleased at winning point-to-point races as he would have been at winning the Blue Riband of the 'chase. The horse may aptly be described as having risen from the "ranis."

After Mountain King had walked over for the Loch Plate, the question arose as to what amount of money went to his owner. The race was a sweepstake of lOsovs each, with oOOsovs added; the second horse to receive 100, and the third oOsovs out of the stake. The rules of racing bearing on the point read as follows: "Any money or prize which by the conditions is to go to the horse placed second, or in any iower place in the race, shall, if the winner has walked over, or no horse has been so placed, be dealt with as follows:—(a) If it be part of the stakes or plate, it shall go to the winner; (b) if it was to be given as a separate donation from the race fund, or any other source, it shall not be given at all; (c) if It is entrance money for the race, it shall go to the race fund of the meeting. Stakes and forfeits in a race belong to the winner, unless otherwise declared in the conditions. When iv any race a sum of money is intended to be given (whether added to a sweepstakes or not), and such race results in a walk-over, only one-half of such money shall be paid, (a) When a prize not in money is advertised, it shall be given, even if walked over for." The rules are, to some extent, contradictory. It will be a question for lawyers to decide whether, in addition to getting half of first money, the owner of Mountain King gets the who'« of the sweepstakes, and whether he gets Jie whole, half, or any of the second and third money. In England a few weeks ago Cyllene was purchased for £25,000 to take the place of the defunct Pietermaritzburg, who died recently at the Oja de Aqua Stud in the Argentine. Cyllene is a thirteen-year-old son of Bona Vista and Arcadia, and it is something less than three years ago that ilr W. Bass gave £31,500 for him, the seller being Mr C. D. Rose, who bred the horse. Since he has been at the stud, Cyllene's progeny have won over £50.000 in stakes, and amoug the successful performers by him may be mentioned Polymelus, Bella vista, and the Derby winner Cicero; while one of his representatives this season will be a filly out of that greyit mare Sceptres. Although Mr Bass sold Cyllene for' ±:t>oOC than he gave for him, he would not be out of pocket, as he had the benefit of his stud services for three seasons, and providing only SO mares outside those owned bj Mr Bass were mated with him during the period mentioned, that, at his fee of 100gs. each, would mean a return of £8400. Some surprise was expressed at the Oja de Aqua Stud purchasing a stallion differently bred to Pietei-maritzburg, who, presumably was selected because it was thought his breeding would suit the mares with whom he was to be mated. However, there would be a big demand in the Argentine for the services of a proved sire like Cyllene, ana, looking at the matter in that light, those interested in his purchase may, in a measure, have been prepared to chance the rest so far as their own mares were concerned.

The last few years have seen a number of English horses brought out to Australia as racehorses. Referring to this, the Australasian sajs:—At the time Mr. W. B. Wilson practically opened up the Australian trade in racehorses with England by sending home Merman, it was a rare thing for an English horse to come here to race. We had Panic sent out by "Bruni" to Mr. li lack well, of Tasmania, in the early sixties. He ran second in a Melbourne Cup with lOet. Nemesis, drowned or tailed soon afterwards on the City of Melbourne, won the Metropolitan of IST6, and a few others, such as The Englishman, raced with some success, but turf men, until they saw Merman, Maluma, Paris, Newhaven, etc, doing well in England, would not heal of imported horses for racing. Ten years ago Positano showed the erroneousness oi tliis idea. Then came Sir Foote, "Playaway, and others. Now it is quite the fashion to buy up young horses in England and send them out here to race. Provided the price is not exorbitant, the specu lation should pay. If they fail at racing : the Importations may do well at the stud What effect oq the breed all these St Si mon horses will hare remains to be seen There can be no two opinions about the modern English horse being faster than the average Australian. Some years ago thai keen observer, Mr. Joseph Thompson, wrote "•Terllnga":—"lt is no use sending Aus tralian sprinters here. Ours are bettei than yours. Good stayers are all right. We have not got many of them." There you have the position in a few words, These English sires are likely to dominate the position, and they will cause time records to be beaten, but if breeders negleci the good old hard strains Australia's repu tation for breeding sound weight-carrying horses that can get a distance may be dam aged. We must say we do not like to see the names of Panic. Yattendon, and Muskei In a pedigree. We hope the name foi soundness and stamina will never be lost t< Australia. As far as type is concerned the talk about deterioration in the thorough bred Is all nonsense. Thirty years ag( S|in. of bone was considered rare. Not Oin is not uncommon. Anything the ol( horse of tbe sixties could do over a dis tance the Carbines, Abercorns, and Wake fuls could eclipse by seconds. We are al right so far, and in comparison with othe countries we do not sin to excess in sprint ing—but there may be trouble ahead.