TUFTS OF TURF.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8931, 23 October 1894, Page 2

TUFTS OF TURF.

Weekly Press and Referee."

{By the Editorial Scissors.l His Grace of Portland recently went in for an all-round sample of the advertising tipsters. Selecting a baker* dozen from the " advt." in the daily sporting papers, he duly sent the required remittance la each case for a week's wires, and the agsregate results worked out as follows: — Selections sent, 114; winners. 19; losers, 93. Pour others of these gentry were likewise " tried," and in thirty-four attempts they only brought off one winner. As a result of these experiment*, His Grace considers it is about time the Jockey Club Stewards took step* to suppress the common tipster pest.

Lord Rothschild Iβ using his best endeavours to break three Zebras into harness. From reports to hand we learn that the striped quadrupeds are taking kindly to the operation, and it i* within the range of possibility that ere long his lordship will be aeen driving his strange team in the Pars. The Zebra is popularly supposed to be uqbreakable, but Lord Rothschild U evidently a believer that where there's a will there's a way.

Wriiing of the prospects of the St. Leger candidates in the Licensed Victuallers' Gazette of August 24th "The Aristocratic Tout" said:—The thick-and-tbin supporters of Matchbox, are not likely to be strengthened in their confidence by the fact that the former owners of their pet are in hopes of making a big *ho~ with Throstle who was formerly considered only good enough to " make a pace " for the big colt. Aβ matters stand, Throttle will have a go on her own account, and Matchbox will be served as pacemaker by Legal Teoder, who, like himself, was a former occupant of the Kingsclere stable, and was recently purchased by Baron Hirach to assist Matchbox in his final preparation. In Morny Cannon's hands Throstle is quite likely to secure place honours at leasr, and after her rattling display at Goodwood seems tolerably certain to turn out the best of the fillies despite the fact that she is quoted at double the odds now current against Amiable.

Man of Vie World says:—Rule 5 of the Cullornpton Steeplechases is delightfully quaint:—"All disputes to be settled by the Committee, and do Court of Law allowed." There i« a fine old autocratic flavour about " No Court of Law allowed," which likes us much.

Why do the sporting scribes bore as through the wiater witb their tiresome " visits to the training enables," co insipid since poor "Augur" retired from the business? (says the Bulletin). Well, it enables them when a despised outsider, never mentioned in their criticism, gets home, to say: " When I saw him as a foal, two years ago, I wrote that the little fellow would yet win a race if he kept on growing the right way.' .

Few owners are happy in horse nomenclature. Captain Machell is an exception. He has just named an animal, by Chillingtbn out of Discovery, " North Pole."

House-to-house bookmakfog is the latest Southern profession (says a Sydney paper). Soon the Melbourne householder will be awakened from his nice, warm, culm slumber by Bridget's knuckles on the door. " Plaze, sorr, Wα Mr Isaacs, aud he wants lo know who yell back ter day for Mjouce Valley." The idea iist taking one and pregnant with possibilities.

Tli3 starting difficulty seems to be a sore trouble in America. The Chicago Herald of July 28 says:—" Had Colonel Ciiiijn been fairly fortunate with his starts yesterday the Hawthorne talent would have a different tale to tell. Colonel Jack was never a glittering success as a starter, except in his copious flow of language; but he was particularly wretched yesterday—so wretched that playing the race* was reduced to a blind guess. After the filth race Senator J. S. O'Brien approached Colonel Chirm on the tracks in front of the grandstand, and accused him of maltreating his filly, May Thompson, and her jockey, Krauee, at the post. The charge was not well founded, but the senator was sore at losing a $5003 bet on his fllly. Co). Chirm was in no humour to take a bluff and for a moment it looked like a mix-up, in which, had it eventuated, the betting would have been 1 to 10 the colonel and 10 to 1 the senator. May Thompson should have won, but her owner deserved no better lock for putting up a monkey like Krauee, who could not be trussed to ride on a flat car." It looks as if tc would pay one of the patentees of Australian starting machines to introduce the new idea into the land of patents, America, where it is somewhat surprising they have not been starting by machines long ago.

The Sydney correspondent of the American Sportsman writes:—" A little serm,on on the totalisator was preached by George Wright, the Auckland trainer, who has now settled here, in conversation with ine after Royal Rose's unfortunate defeat in the Waverley Handicap. After manfully saying that the defeat was not Gallagher's fault, Wright, in answer to my remark that it was hard lines, replied, " Yes, it wan not nice bat it was no use grumbling. I won one race with him, aad I've done a great deal better than I could have done in New Zealand. You can't back your horse there, because the totalisator makes him everybody's horse. Here you can get on quite a big stake without shortening your horse's price appreciably, and at a small risk can have a win that will stand a few subsequent losses."

"And yet they howl at the reformers who would like to abolish it," said I.

'* Well, that is only the interested club members. Very few owners, except perhaps rich men who don't need to bet to keeD their homes, bat; would be glad if the totalisator were abolished to-morrow. A man of only moderate.means cannot keep racehorse* in New Zealand."

In the coarse of an article dealing with the 500 mares named in the entry for the National Breeders Produce Stakes to be ran at San down three yean hence, an English writer says:—' , A comparatively new beginner who has got together a brilliant lot of mares is Mr D. Cooper, and with such animals a*Lonely. Dorcas, 2£ons Meg, Melody, and Armoral he might almost challenge anyone. Moat Interest naturally centres in lionely, the dam of Saintly, who this time has visited Common. Melody has gone to Donovan, who solar has been one of the most successful of the Galopins. As yet I believe he cannot boast of a winner. Of all the stock of Galopin, I believe him as a racehorse, to have been the beet. Mr. Lorillard, whose colours were made' famous in this country by Iroquois, U about to return to ue, and he has named no fewer than tea mares in (bo Sendpwq race, all covered by Senstition. X bare j ntSSff If m'liiftm mare*, ail beautifully bred, and covered bj »och horses as Sheen, Amphion, Common, and Sarefoot. . The faddists of America srre doing what some of the breed are trying to do here, with the result that though America, hmt be a Rood. Dlace to malge money in, tt Is not * good place to live iv; and provided that the time gam* i* uoi played here, we see the million* ot mopey amawied in that coautry itpent iv old England. The Astore, Gnulda, aud Vanderbilt* all look like **-ctlin|; here and Mr Lorillard ana Mr Foxhujl, Keene will run most of their hornet here. The English Tart needs sirpngthen ing, and, thanks to Australia and America, it js being verr materially •tnngtaeßcd.