TROTTING TALK.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8963, 29 November 1894, Page 2

TROTTING TALK.

*' Weekly Press and Ksferec." v Br Hostestt. [ Maud V., having produced a dead foal - ia attain in work. 3 The Klec' ione*T foals are spoken of as t ' xery ormiinine li»fc. j Th« Wasbdyke T.C.** next meetiaj I takes plac* o> Match 14lb. . < Fro»i Wellington information is to hinc • that Vim has produced a foal co Eiec tin per. • Prince Albert was not accepted for al ; ei'her of'he trotting meet ugtiii Welling I ton, owner n C deeming ue had a verj 5 ro-y chance of success. Imperious, standing at Ml '.dlepurk, i< doiuu; one of the biggest and mo*t lucr* rive seasons lhac any horse has yet done in the colony. Writing from Melbourne to a friend in t Chriiichurch, D. Pi ice in'inflates l.is in ten ion of paying a uulitiiy vi-it to hi" hone. He hue be*n doing ftirly well recently, and speak-* hopefully of the revival of trotting in Victoria. one of the most succei'ful of the Palo Alto troi t ing sires, died i i) September. He w »s by E!ec iooeer from L zzie Whips, ; On the same day that he died a sun of his, Az »»•», tro' ted three heats in 2.OS}, 2.09j, and 2.10J st Terre Haute. Robert J., the pacing record holder, i* a small bay gelding, wich faulty legs, beina { badly over in the knees. He is bred on stricrly trotting lines. Calista look part in the trottinir race at ■ Aspendale P*rk on October 3lst, but; [ finished out of a place, Silver King, start- , ing from the same mark, being the winner. , It is as well to point out that in the Wellington T.C.s programme a* published in this journal the distance of the Wellington T.C. Handicap and the Handicap Selling Trot are different to what appears in ac least-- one of the Wellington newspapers. This should be cleared up ac once. , The person who has given uh aiiQther , Batcher Boy by re-natniuK Xionp; R >per by that, title have, his nominations refused until he shows some further originality. Magpie foaled a colt to Berlin A.bdallah on Tuesday and died the same day. The foal will b • reared by hand. Mx P. Alulbolland has driven a dark bay fl'.ly, by Emeracn in his sulky, througu the streets of Chrlstchurch several times during the past week. There would be nothing remarkable about the fact if It were not that the precocious young lady is not- yet in ber teens, as a matter of fact) only being twelve months old. She steps well. The Farewell Handicap on the Gore T.C. programme decided at ics meeting last; week seems to have been an extra race. Was ifc paused by the Dnncdin Jockey Club? The totalizator wae used for the event:. A colt by Direct (by Director, who is also sire of Imperious) has just lowered all two-year-old pacing records.- Directly is the name of the youngster,andbe has brought th" time down to 2.C7£. Fantasy reduced her record of 2.07 by a full second on September 13th at Terre Haute, aud is now at the head of the four-year-olds. Directuni very eisily vanquished his two opponents, Arion and Nelson, in the free-for-all stallion context at Boston in September. He won in straight heats in 2.12, 2.10, 2.11£. Arion was said to have been sutTerinK from a cold, and will probably again take on the champion. Carbonate, a two-year-old grey colt, by Superior, started against hid own time, 2.10, at Terra Haute, on September 12;h, and accoraplUheii 2.09. His driver weighed no less than 1501 b. The ponies Myrtle and Camisea lefb Lyr.'elton for Wellington on Tuesday to fulfil euga«ements at the Wellington Trotting Club's meeting. C. Kerrand B. Erlwurds went in charge. According to a local paper the following is a copy of a nomination for a trotting meeti gin the Wairsrapa ;—" Mr R. R . Sir, —Please nominate one grey pony mare (Blind Sally) and Selling Trot* dencription lump on aide, blind of one eye, 20 years old, never, started. Will send cheque at exceptance." On September 28'h, afc San Jose, California, Abdell started to 2.2 ii and n'dttCfd the yoarUnjf record to 2.SCJ. He carried the speed from wire to !wire. Abiell ia a brown colt, foaled March 30 h, 1803, a>. Palo Alio, and got by Averti-<er out of Beautiful Bells, one of the greyest brood mat en that ever lived. At Columbus, Ohio, on September 27i h, Geo-ge Starr drove Sally Simmons and It seloaf in double harness Answer and Azote» and won in 34J, 1.08,1,42, 2.1»i. Tne weather was fauMesi.attd iohc tr etc goad. The contest break* the world's record for double team of 2.18J made.by Masie Cobb and Lady Jenkins in 1885. The vanquished p«ir were the favourites, and a pile of dropped* The driver of the winners is a cousin to Mr Sbnrr now in Christchurch. In America the trotting horses that can do the fastest time are worth the most money. In New Zealaud the entire absence of free for all or sensible class rnces has an opposite effect on the value of g-od horses. Most men would rather give good prices for horses with the limit start than for horses that can cover the ground at a very much faster gait. That is one result of handicapping scores of horses that the bandicappers have never seen in developed form. The sale of Blue Mountain' and Rob Roy, recent winners, for small sums brings the foregoing facts home tous. The second gathering of the Wanganui ! Trotting Club wa» h«-ld lasr Thursday und«-r favourable auspices. The iMcing, however, did not produce any exciting sport. The scratch horse,. Grenadier, had no difficult* in. appropriating the chief prize, and Captain Kussell, the ex-C&ntor-bury pony performer, aUo from scratch, carried off the event secondary in importance. The two galloping events were easily annexed by Omeo. \ Meliora, the pony who flffured as a winner last season, has produced a colt to Secramento. The trotting rules make it permissible I for stewards, when they consider a horse has not been ridden or driven to win, to substitute another pilot, and thus ascertain the capabilities of the anim'ul. Th.c rale has a dead letter in Clmstchurch, but I find that. ar. the little up-couilfcry jrathcrinK at Maniototo the other day, dissatisfaction having been expressed at the riding of one of the competitors, t|»e stewards selected a rider to endeavour to break the time the horse recorded in the race. In the race the animal in.question went A. wo miles in 6uiin 2-ssec, and the stewards' rider could make it do no better than 7min 30-iec. 'I'he executive were consequently satisfied. The "Lancaster Park Amateur Trotting Club, with admirable boldness, gave big stakes from its very initiation, and if up to the last gathering the executive was j only about able to make ends meet over \ the meetings, it is exTemely satisfactory ( to learn that a splendid profit accrued over ! the fixture on the Prince of Wales'e Birthday. Tliife is an assurance that the club will not look back, and if at its next gathering the stakes will; not be so good as at the one just over, owners may be sure that the £400 reserve will be duly laid but for their benefit later on. Id was briefly announced in a previous issue that the-, clob intended to go in ■•: ■', almost I entirely for class r racing, :Safeh- an ' intimation in Kood neVvs. Strict classincation would mean that fewer nominations would be taken ; but whereas it is the intention,. I believe, that the better stakes should, and deservedly, only fali to good hor-es, and c Miecqaently the class kept pretty select, other events will be open for horses with decent trotting pretensions. Every club seems to possess, a great craving for long listsi of nomina- ! tionx, but it Cannot be shown that the ! races that have attracted the strongest j numerical fields have beeu the n<o*t < interest lug, the reverse, in fact, has been > the case. And if, therefore, classification may mean a few less entries, it should have a much more desirable effect, and that ia better nport. • The natural inclination of class trotting Is to lead up to a free-for-all, and I hope the day i* not f»r distant when we will see a number of the best of our performers sent away from the mark at the same time. The efforts to bring ab>ut the meeting of the crackst>n level terms have ■ hitherto failed, and yet I ibave heard owners express their willingness to send their horse- in such a competition if a club offered a good stake. Further, I am , credibly told that if a free-for-all were sufficiently long announced, and the ialue ' of the prize of reasonable prop->rti .iia, Osterley, Mystery, and our own old Cali«ta would be sent from Australia to compete. Cannot the l>anca ter Park or other clob set down a free-for-all in a gathering to I tf>ke placp in the autumn ? The time has surely arrived when events confined to three-year-oln* should find a place on programmes. It would be a decidedly atirac ive feature, and might well occasionally take the place of the interminable maiden plates. Standardbred sires have now been at breeders' services for such a number of yeirs ttat it would be curious fn<?erd if a field of three* year-olds could not. be brought to the poet. Ihe institution of tucu r.«ceJt would be an incentive to breeders, aud before the sea-

son is oat ib i<* to be hoped a few events I confined to ail of one age will have I erentuated. • j The full programme for the Auckland Trotting Club's Summer Meeting appears in thin iseue. If the Trotting Cup Iβ reduced iv value to what IB stood at last I year, it ia t<lll a mo*t desirable prfcje, * there being SOOeove clear to the wluuer. . The other stakes are kept wall up, and over i>loo3 h down for distribution in 'he _ two days, Ddc-mber 27th and 29th. With A the other attrtic* lons during he festive »' season in the iiorthtrn c«pit»l t'lere i* . little rfoabr. a host of troMinu folk from '* far and wide witi wend th- ir way tiii her. t The accen ance* for the -Vellington ~ Trotting Club's Meeting, which takes I, place to morrow, are not to hand as I ' write. For the Maden R»ce NedK*Uv i« ~ as likely to scon* as any-hing. Billy . Buttons, if the BHIy Bui tons of old, j would bo able to concede all the start required of hi»n to his pony harness an- . i g-miats. and I would name him to win. Jumbo ii not fast, but U pretty constant, , and he may get to the front and keep out * of tho way in the Two and a-h-df Mile * Handicap,'though if Dacota were alright I would take him to be Ihe hes> in. Camisea , may be found good enonush to appropriate ; " the Mlramar Handicap. If Miro is capable * of conceding an opponent 22.isec in a n.i!e ' in the Selling Race, she should ba about * in the Eicctric Trot when placed 3H-*ec ' from the mark, and the scratch horse, J. EI., may be hi* moat dangerous opponent. * The Selling Race should fall to Pihie, and : my vote in the P >ny Saddle Race go*s to Buttercup, notwithstanding the absurdly > i. Ions; starts given some of the competitors. . : N*iive, who was the hero of the in- i J augural gathering, at Gore a year back, " was aaaiu the distinguished pm former at the reunion of last week. His perform- . ' auceH would seom to have been most meritorious, and in the three miles event ' he took a Southland record for the dis- . > tance, and 8.19, considering the track, ' ' ' shows that tho old Reldiiiß would bo no ' mean autagOniat in good coupany. In the < mile event, taken by him, it is said lie got , nway before hy» ti ne..but-che complaint > ■ on that ptroun* visa mellowed. Accord- J , ing to all accounts there were some ' . non-triers seen out. The general irnpres- ' j sion is that Minnie was merely started in < 1 the President's Handicap .to make a Dnce | for Ivy, and the Dice she set was so mixed i that she should have been ordered ofr the ] . tr»ck. Ivy, who won, likewise did ] not eet along without frequent skips, i Theprotest for galloping, which was lodged by the owner of the third horse, way disal- i ! lowed. • l