DUNEDIN NOTES.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 6964, 18 January 1888, Page 3

DUNEDIN NOTES.

[feom our correspondent.] The publication of the weights for the Dunedin CupandPublicans' Handicap has merely sufficed to elicit criticism, as betting is apparently a feature of the past. It is generally thought in well-informed circles —as they say in the political arena— that neither event can be retained by locally trained animnls. On his two-year-old form First Lord is unco.nmonly well ia with 7st 41b, and given a return of his early form he would literally "smother" everything ; but a return of his early form is a very unlikely contingency, and though he will probably prove superior to his stable companions. Apropos and Silvermark, his ultimate success is mainly dependent upon conditions of soundness. He appears to be fairly sound now, and his leg ailment was undoubtedly an outcome of bad heels. He cannot be relied upon, however, and two or three strong gallops might "cooper" him up effectually ;he does not seem to retain "the finis turn ot, speed that characterised *£.ls early achievements either. *' I never liked him," said Mr Goodman a few mornings ago, and perhaps this innate dislike would remain unaltered by even a Dunedin Cup victory. Cotton" means having a go for the race with Snapshot, who has been awarded 7st 101b. fie has lately been indulged in a short spell, bet he is now in work again, having been treated to a steady gallop this morning. He looks a bib " dicky though, and success would redound to the skill of his trainer. St. Ives and Mokoia can have no chance iv face of their recent Christchurch performances; both went north in tip-top condition—as fltas the art of training cjuld make them —and both were worsted in their respective races by Springston and Ruby, and the better of Webl> s pair ought to beat them again. Amongst the locally trained nags' St. Clair will probably be the p-iblic favourite, but he is no race h0i..," and will never win over two miles in good company. He is well bred, game enough, and muscular, but he is only a.pony, and. at reasonable weights, he will never be good enough to live alongside of real racers, such as I take Gipsy King and Maxim to be.

Iv the Publican's Handicap St. Ives has been awarded 7st 21b, nnd he is likely to run much better in this race than in the Cup; seven furlongs is about as far as he cares so travel. La Rose is weighted in the Publican's at 7st 01b, but she is a very unreliable jade, and Apropos (Sst) may be good enough to concede her the 51b between them. Like the Cup, however, this race looks like going elsewhere, and Dunedin has certainly very little to boast, of at present in the quality of its thoroughbreds.

Camerine won four races at Invercargill last week, and Mr " Walker" having sold her for £75 she has left Cotton's stable. She is zi good hack of her inches certainly, but her -.cries of successes says very little in favour of the calibre of provincial horses. Since his return from Invercargill Jem Cotton has bc-en up Christchurch way looking at._ jumper of repute. " Well, have you brought home the jumper?" I enquired of him this morning. Jem shook his head and replied: "We have quite enough hacks in this neighbourhood already," from which I concluded that if anything good in the way of horseflesh is wanted np North it must be procured by superiority of judgment while the geegees are yet uninitiated in the glories of the racecourse. I fancy there is a great lack of judgment in breeding and buying in these parts.

The programmes pt the Fortrose and Wyndham Race Meetings not having been passed by the Dunedin Jockey Club, in accordance with rules 19 and 20 of the Rules of Racing, all the horses that ran at these fixtures have been disqualified by the D.J.C.

Thc stewards of the D.J.C. have also endorsed the disqualification of Duncan McNab by the Western District Racing Club, and "Duncan McNab appears to have justly merited the suspension. From the evidence submitted to the stewards of the Western District Racing Club it appears that he '* deliberately aad designedly" threw a light weight jockey while riding in the Novel Race on theOtautau Racecourse on December 27th.

At a meeting of the Roxburgh Jockey Club held last week it was proposed "to interview the Ettrick Club with the view of an amalgamation of the two clubs under the designation of the Mount Benger •Jockey Ciub," says a local paper.

At the Clinton Meeting the starter appears to have been going it in novel fashion. He got a bit excited apparently and despatched bnt a portion of the held for the Hack Selling Race, and afterwards declared the performance a false start. The Hack Selling Race therefore resulted in a couple of exciting contests.