TURF GOSSID.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 141, 13 June 1908, Page 13

TURF GOSSIP.

Demetrlo, who recently won the Italian Derby, has yet to be beaten. His winnings amount to nearly £4500, and he has this year one or two more valuable engagements, inclusive of the Grand Ambrosius Frize.

The disposition to wager something — that is to say, to gamble — is an almost universal human trait, particularly strongly developed iv the English-speaking races. It is hopeless to attempt to eradicate it.— Chicago "Daily Tribune."

In South Africa drastic steps are taken to deal with unregistered race meetings, for if members of the Jockey Club or Turr Club visit such, even as spectators, they come under the ban of disqualification. Similarly, no bookmaker betting at the unregistered meetings can hope to be licensed to bet at the registered meetings.

The Racing Committee of the English Jockey Club has decided that henceforth the bridle shall be added to the girths, whip, boots, and other paraphernalia not counted either in weighing out or in. Consequently, from yesterday, only the weight of tn c saddle, cioths, and rider will be reckouea. This decision ;s approved by the majority of owners and trainers.

One of the Victorian professional backers who was recently requested to "make himself scarce" on the southern racecourses, was banqueted a few nights ago, prior to his departure for other Lp to the present the Sydney "pros." have not been interfered with on horse courses, but the pony authorities have their eyes on them, and a move may take place shortly.

They ride muddling races, in England, as well as elsewhere, and there is little reason to doubt that The White Knight lost more than one race last season owing to the crawling pace set in the first stages of tne races he ran in. After starting the horses in the Jockey Club Cup, Mr Ernest vvilloughby, the starter, overtook the field on hie pony as he cantered back, and the horses had a long start of him, while Lynham, on Radium, who won, leisurely altered his 6tirrups in the course of' the race.

The victory of Glacis in tie Chester Cup has another Important bearing, in that it places Carbine's winning total above that of Trenton. It was expected that Carbine's descendants would have succeeded last year in placing their parent ahead of his rival, tjuc the fact of Spearmint (who cau be referred to as his greatest son) having proved untVainable, the total still fell short by something like £1000 when last season's records "came to be made up. Descendants of Carbine have now. captured prize money well on toward £130,000.

Considerable curiosity was . felt as :to whether or not the new Duke of Devonshire would continue the late Duke's racing and breeding stud. This question is now satisfactorily answered, Messrs Tattersall haying announced that while 22 horses now in training will be sold by auction at the Two Thousand Guineas' Meeting, arid four fillies have been leased for their racing career, the famous, stud will be kept ou and presumably the Duke will have the old colours sported on English racecourses later on. . ' ■ . . ■

J. E. Brewer's (the ex-Australian) stable save the English ring a blow when Mr Lionel Robinson s four-year-old The Bedouin t6ok the Nottingham Spring Handicap. The race read a match between The Bedouin and Bockbonrne, but the .latter, _in the middle I it £ be " ln °' on setting on to the course, bolted owing to his bridle breakinc Hii rider threw himself off, but the horsfcrash ed through some railings and fell into 'a Th As the >">«*• could-not start. The Bedouin shorteped in price, and won by naif a length. .

Regarding the new British Cabinet the London "Sporting Life" says:—"Lord Crewe as Is well known, takes great interest in turf affairs, and will be remembered as the breeder of Polymelus, winner of the Duke of York Stakes, Cambridgeshire, and other races. Mr McKenna rowed bow in the Cambridge Eight in 1887, and is a winner of the Grand and Stewards." Cups at Henley Mr Knnciman's chief recreation is yachting while Mr. Acland favors golf and fishing AS « a ,? ? e are awar e> the other members of the Cabinet do not take an active interest in any sport."

According to some of the. English writers, the unlucky • horse of the Liverpool lirand National was Hie Majesty's. Flaxman, who finished fourth. At the first fence the second time round his rider broke his right stirrup-leather, and after that he had several narrow escapes of being throwu out of the saddle. Towards the finish Flaxman- assumed command, but suddenly disappeared, just when he was looking a winner it transpired afterwards -that he' fairlyjumped Anthony out of the saddle at the Pond Fence, and though the rider managed to regain his seat after a struggle, the ground lost settled Flaxman's chance

■ An English racehorse named Banker-111 had an uncommonly uncomfortable experience recently at the Southwell, meeting Having disposed of his jockey early in a race, he went on riderless and finished like a lion, and was evidently so pleased with himself he left the course,.plunged into the Kiver.Trent, and swam down the mill race and under the archway, of the mill. Then he got jammed in the floats of:-the..mill-wheel, and there he stuck. Next a gang >f rescuers, by way of "larnin' 'im better" 10 doubt, got a rope round his head, pulled him out on the other "side, actually dragging him under the wheel, and got him to the tank m safety!

Talk of Tradccer is going the rounds of the Old Country. William Day trained the son of The Libel, and in his book he says:— "Tfitducer was a good horse, and If he had been second for the Two Thousand instead of being beaten, as he was, half a length for second place, he would have got the race, as the jockey who rode The Wizard carried 21b overweight without declaring it, as Wells did when Blue Gown was disqualified after Tvfnning the Don caster Champagne Stakes There was no objection to The Wizard, cause Rap, who was second, was in-the same stable, and all the party won heavily on The Wizard. The trial of Traducer showed he had a good chance for it. He beat Promised Land, who was then in,good form, a mlfe at lfflb by a head. to. the race he met "n extraordinarily good horse in The Wizard."

In September, 1796, at the Ennis race fo e n m* £™ re mmcd At »'anta, belong she fell and unshipped her rider, fit qu?<£ dropped to the winner. Then she polled no Ing-shed. The most amusing part of the business was, the way in which the mare kept looking round at the horses behind her and quickened her pace when they seemed »e^?^s h a e ke mare "•*"»* A sort "of compromise appears to have been agreed upon with a view to smoothing over matters in connection with the registration of bookmakers under the new reflations recently adopted by the Queensland Turf Club, it was understood that under no circumstances would any person having any connection, either directly or indirectly, with betting shops, be granted registration, nut in consideration, no doubt, 'of the allegation that, tie shopkeepers themselrea : were unaware of the intention to close down upon thorn until after netting responsible . Itios had been entered into over tie principal even hs of the Cup Meeting.-the committee have srauted .licenses Indiscriminately, but with .1 saving clause, that tnose granted to persons connected with snops will hold good, only until Bth June next. After that date licenses held by any per-, '

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Says an exchange: The well known Ans. tralian horseman, C. Pratt, who some,little time back left for Austria to ride for Baroe Kocnschlld, In a letter to his parents at loung, says:—"They work the jockeys pretty hard here. My master is the leadius trainer, and has 50 horses under his care. I attended a Hungarian meeting last Su»aay; the riders were confined to Hungarian jockeys. The club's management is a little behind the times as compared with the Australian clubs, but the horses are better thaa ours, and a lovely lot I am doing it in great style, for I have a valet to look after my clothes and room. This is an expensive place to live in, and the language seems very hard. lam not going to try to learn it, bnt will try German, which is spoken here a good deal. When I E o shopping I have te take my valet with mc, and he gets mc out of a difficulty, for he speaks several languages. I have a very promising team of horses to start on. TVe have the champion weight-for-age horse in our stable, and a nice lot of two and three-year-olds "

hnA r f e ? tlael!till S =* Newmarket (England) had to be postponed on account of ra<n snow, and tog, and, referring:to the weather conditions which obtained when- the BabAhan Plate was decided, the London "Sportsman ' says.—"Nothing whatever conld be seen of the race-from the stand, and, as a. matter of fact, betting was still in progress in all unconsciousness that .the start had taken place when the horses were within m quarter of a mile of the winning post The snow was coming down in white sheets, and the state of affairs which prevailed while this race was going oa is best . des*ribed In the words of some of the jockeys ridinr in it. One of them said he saw horses ■ I few lengths in front of him, but had no notion whether those horses were at ithe head of their field or whether there were others a furlong in front of then! Another put it this waj-iyxou could not see fonr yards in front of. you. 1 felt as if I was absolutely blind. 1 got some'flakes of snow \a my eyes, and you could not tell it you were in the course or oritside. , - (It must be noted the courses at Newmarket are not railed in, but merely marked out with posts set about a hundred yards apart).- The chief thing the jockeys: had to by was the starting-gate. . 'If you passed a starting-gate you'knew you were'still In the course,' added this jockey." After being postponed for another day, the three undecided races, as well as the sis to be run on the third day, were abandoned, owing to the continued fall of snow. • ' —- - '

The racing season in- New York State (says an English Exchange) was inaugurated at Aqueduct on April. 15, much .to the'relief of owners and trainers,- who navfi been worried considerably by the hostile action of the State Legislature during the past-few months. However, ,the',Percy-Gray law which has been in force for thirteen jeare has not yet been -repealed, thanks to t»« very powerful "lobbying", that, has = had. to be done.at Albany. It has" : been:-a period of much anxiety to'the "Racecourse Associations, Jockey Club, , breeders,'and'the'racingpublic generally, and it. must be admitted that the future outlook. is still : rather • discouraging.. The faddists keep up . their -'

"braying" "conCnaousl f. If is evident that the stewards of the Jockey Club are ally* to the : situation, and', that they, intend, to govern with a firm hand.. Prior to the date above "referred to' they'passed the following resolution: • "Resolved—That all-' jockeys holding licenses, from.the- Jockey." Club •Tβ notified that their conduct and habits when absent from the racecourse are under strict scrutiny , and they''are warned that keeping bad company will i>? promptly, and severely punished by the. st_»>'ar,ds.\' ..The stewards 61. the Jockey Club; have also decided .to refuse admittance'to" the various racecourses under their jurisdiction to all minoTKHTTral. looks as if persons, of either, sex under 21 years.of age, unconnected with stable duties, will .'hot' Be' allowed extraordinary decision; ana one which, on the face of it, .would appear to .be.-opposed: to tb* spirit of the Constituti»n. ,

Thomas Hitchcock, jun.," ah Amencam sport, who has to America; spent the winter abroad,. and saw .steeplechatdog -in England, Ireland,. and France. He was one'of the spectators of the Grand National at Liverpool,-won by the American horse, v Rubio, ana has been ridding'himself, of soma impressions, to the New Mr Hitcueucik, was, of course, delighted at the victory in the great race "at Alntree - of an. American-bred horsed Rnbto, he says, Is a typical. Star; Ruby, which is'to say. he Is:a. plain horse. He - is not nearly •as .good looking as was his fail brother, nor could heboid a' candle to the. f brilliant and comely Africander. -He is, Tiowever,- a perfect jumper, and he has some speed. • Mr Hitchcock always believed' the , 'American * steeplechaser better than the. Jumper of .Great. Britain; Vet he does not know exactly whtre to phw Rubio. Mr .Hitchcock*!, riot inclined. ti» think, that he would be a great steeplechaser on this side of the. Atlantic- He went carefully, ov.er. the. Grand. national; course at Alntree, and he says the highest jump of it is five feet." The" Liverpool at Saratoga 'te ■ five feet two inches,-and there , are many . fences in the field' at Queens as* high as the hlghest,at Aintree. .The Alntree.jumps are not as stiff as persons, prone ;to. contend that steeplechaslng in England is a more dlfflcnlt game than 'steeplechaslng -in this - coohtry, hold". It Js.not difficult 'for. a-strong horse to brush through them. - Mr .Hitchcock.-did not carefully time- the .English 'chasers be saw race* -through the field, but he Is inclined to the : opinion-' that- they 'do not ge so fast i between fences .as do ; Amerlcaa" jumpers. And he.isstill of the opinion thai a, flrst-<;lass" American fencer would'be"-» first-class-"fencer-in the country which produced- the 'thoroughbred 'originally. .' Th« French steeplechase courses arc not as stilt as the English and American courses, according to Mr Hitchcock." The -Jumps- art siuall, and the horses take them on the ran.

Practically! the whole of the present-dij-v. horses are. descended from* three imported 7\ Eastern horses, the Darle'y. Arabian,, tke \. Byerly Turk, -and' the Godolphin Arabian. There have been numerous - other.- Arabian* at the stud, but only .these three, hare sxw ceeded in retaining any -important places Is the winning lists. - It h strange to find thai generations afterwards the. whole --of. the thoroughbred .sires to England, again concentrated in T three horses, Eclipse, Herod, and Matchem. No doubt fashion had a great deal to do with 1 it, as English people ara proverbially conservative,and will have tb« ' best of everything,, let.lt cost what it may. Therefore It may be supposed that the stock, by those sires, having once made a name It*} themselves,- were, persisted in, and the stock of the;others were allowed, to die .out. -tt seems to be coming round' to pretty nearly the same, state of affairs again, and It looka as though in another few generations every horse on the turf; will trace 'back to St Simon, Isonomy, or- Bend Or. , This enrloo* recurrence or reduction' numbers to thre« is almost inexplicable; except' oh the theory that the merits of .the: Individual sire ai* superior to the pedigree. This Is te say, that ■ a horse counts, for more than does his pedigree, when trying to breed good ones/ TM» theory would be • the distinct opposite te the figure . system,. which is based on Urn probable excellence of all horses bred from the leading strains of blood. It is found, on the contrary, that though-there la-any amount of first-class blood, and there ar« near relations of great sires at the stud, yet the stock of a few Individuals overshadow altogether the horses who hare jiost aa V good pedigrees, 'but.do -not trace back -te ■•■, crack sires. A horse-may be. of the same number as a crack sire, and may hare, been ':."'' given equally as good a chance, bnt, to n»« ■ . the expression of an bid turfite,'""lt" la .51 something insidethe horses;, which -yon cap- •.-H not see that makes them great racehorate,■■'-.'.-•'. :;{J and great sires";.and no.amount 7of, fifura* -| or theory will do away with the. neeesattr '•'■ - . v -""| of coming ha'ckto great : : IndfW<lß4ls.-:aa- « ;| foundation for a successful-pedigree.; -,' ; -.|