NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9009, 23 January 1895, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

" Weekly Presa and Referee."

By "HoTSPtna.* How woald Lapas read in the Hurdle Race at Wellington at 9at 2lb ? The query can reasonably be pat, seeing that in the race at Gore Clarence has been invited to present the Le Loup horse with 2«t, while, his weight at Wellington is Hat 2lb. Going by the book, or on any showing, it is difficult to understand how Mr Dowse has figured out hie adjustments for the jumping race at the southern meeting. When Lupus beat Clarence at the last Spring Meeting at the Forbury, he carried lQ»t4lb to the other's list 131b, a difference of 231bs, but besides allowing for the beating administered, there is no question but that Lupus is an improving horae, whiie the other is not. Oα such a scale as the adjustment is framed, most people would support Lupus at a difference of 14lbs, for 13st3ib is-an anchoring* weight for Mr Holmes' long backed bay. I started with I a query, another and a pertinent one I might be pat: Who nominated Clarence for Gore ? Mr Holmes tells mc it waa not he, nor did the trainer do so. Dissatisfied with the handling of his mare, Silver Rose, in the Consolation at Greymouth, Mr Brimble issued a challenge against Harkaway, the pair to meet on the same terms, viz., at 21b difference. The I Harkaway party advertised their willingI ness to go on with the match, but so far it has not eventuated. However, the pair met in the Consolaiion at Kumara, when Harkaway, B*t 101b, finished second, and , Silver Rose, 8»t 2ib, third. On this showing Harkaway would appear the better of the pair, and there is not much chance of the match coming off. The excuse for a holiday supplied by the Hororata Racing Club holding its fixture on ,Fridavlast was availed of by a goodly crowd of racegoers from the city. A most enjoyable outing it proved, for if the railway journey is somewhat tedious, the morning —which opened threateningly and deterred a few from going—blossomed into a floe, mild summer's day, aud the country travelled through was looking its best after the recent refreshing rain. A veracious chronicler could not term the racing of a high order. The quality of che contestants was not of the same good class as took part at the meeting on the two previous anniversaries, and none of the finishes were at all close. Indeed, Mr E. G. Crisp, of Ashburton, who occupied the judge's box, had a sinecure position, while the control exercised over the jockeys by the responsible official at t'other end, Mr Piper, made his task of despatching the fields an easy one. Aqualafce is most at home in a contest with few. opponents, so that with but two starters besides herself, the. Cup race was exactly to her liking. It was no great performance to put down the penalised Dunobn and Busybody, who must be pronounced a perfect jade; still, Aqua!ate could do no more than .she did—win without having to put forth an effort, and I am inclined to think that up to a mile and aquarter the daughter of July, under favourable conditions, can hold her own with the best.. Busybody had a fair right to be made favourite for the Bangor Plate, the ftaeven furlong'event which opened the proceedings,, for she was looking in really capital order and her more recent running favoured the assumption that at 31b she could easily .master Dunoon. In the race Busybody was in command right up to the home turn, and as her rider had a good hold of her tit looked a* if she would win easily. Directly, however, Dunoon racsd up to her she lay her ears back and refused to try. Manilla's jockey made an exhibition of the mare in the Farmers' Plate, in which, jumping off at score, she speedily opened up a gap of a street. Despite this Johns urged her along the whole way aud she finished alone/ The MaiiiUfe'f sufficient to bring to Tfie Shark in*' the Welter, which in fact, an easy thing for her. Although, in.rare buckle it was asking a little too much of Manilla to tackle -fresh horses in! a. third race, and - it was' . not surprising that she did not show to advantage behind Kate GJreeenaway and Lord of Misrule. Both the last'mentioned had been reserved for this event, the New Year's Gift, the colt having the call in the betting. If Lord of' Miarple was sore the Ashburton mare presented a very wasted appearance, so that In the matter of fitness it might be said " honours, were easy." Lord of Misleur was in front moat of the way, but when Derrett, who hail nursed Kate Greenaway, came at him at the home turn he was unable to respond, and the mare bad a good advantage passing the post. Report' gained a runaway victory in the Novel Race, for which Radical and Wetsail were the best supported. The latter should not have been started, inasmuch as she was very lame. The totalisator investments were between i>4oo and £500 in excess of the sum put through last year, and the club may be expected to~come out with a small profit over the meeting.. It is Hatisfactorr to find that racing is not going to be relinquished in the North Canterbury district, and that the club formed last week at Rangiora is likely to be, from the number of its members, one of , £he strongest country institutions in the provincial district. The officials for the first gather ing have kindly consented to act in an honorary capacity, and if the programme to be submitted for competition in April next may jaiot be attractive, from aatake point of view, it. is reasonable-to expect that horse owners will respond with nominations, so as to give the club a good atart. The Greymouth Jockey Club made a profit of £370 $ver the recent gathering. This will enable the club to pay off the last debenture, on, the grandstand, and have a credit balance of £120. A programme for a March Meeting is to be at once drafted with stakes of! £600. The Reef ton Club, taking advantage of the recently-enacted rule which reduces the stake limit beyond a certain radlqapurpose only giving away £400 in the Autumn. Should the dates of these two fixtures not clash with the Canterbury Jockey Club's gathering, the probability is that- some Riccarton-trained horses will be sent across the ranges to akepart. The nominations for the Canterbury Jockey Club's Summer Meeting compare favourably with, those received in previous years. The events hare indeed filled better than they did last season except in the case of the principal handicap, which has now eleven engaged in lieu of the twelve entered for Reynard's race. Generally speaking, the summer gathering attracts but few horses outeide the Canterbury provincial district, but this time there is a reasonable probability of a visiting force from the southern side of the Waitaki, and the two West Coasters that have recently been distinguishing themselves are named in che lists. Eleven is, to my mind, a surprising number to have continned the Middle Park Plate engagement. I had supposed the form displayed by the Yaldhurst pair would have prevented all bat a select few from being -paid up for. Fortunately for the interest of the race this is not so, albeit I cannot namt one that is at all likely to cupe successfully with the selected of Mr Stead. It is true Blue Fire has incurred the maximum penalty of 101b and Bloodshot has earned an additional 71b, but either or both will hardly be hampered with the extras. It is a pity neither of Sir George Clifford's record-breaking fillies should be left In, but the baronet has a> representative in- a foil sister to Golden Fleece in Golden Vale. From Dunedln word cornea; that the Hon. George M'Lean has virtually completed the purchase of July for Mr J. B.

Haggin, and that the last of the Traducer — Ida Has Is bound for the land of Stars and Stripes, where his brothers, Sir Modred, Cheviot, and Idalium, have long been owned. Sir Modred and Cheviot have more than fulfilled the promise they gave after brilliant turf careers of turning out great sires. They have made their family name famous, and drawn eulogistic notices to New Zealand as the breeding ground of thoroughbreds. Sir M>dred is now the most sought after sire in the States, rfhd his owner cannot be making a mistake in securing his younger brother, i July is, after Sir Modred, perhaps the best looking of Idalia's sons, though she left some very handsome ones indeed, and Is a big powerful horse. His deeds on the turf were not so good as those of the earlier brothers, but it has to be kept in mind that, as bis name implies, he was born before his time and being counted a year older than he really was, was thus placed ac a great disadvantage. July, who is now fourteen years old, has had no opportunities of making a name at the stud, but, notwithstanding, has left a few winners. Aqualate is* the best known of his progeny in New Z ;»land. July has been doiug stud duty on the Clarence river, some hundreds of miles from Sydney. Having knowledge that J some Curiatcburch speculators were after the horae, I last week questioned the j accuracy of his having been secured for Mr : Haggin. Indeed, I myself was armed with i power to purchase him, and this power I delegated to another when in Sydney some months back. I presumed, therefore, I would have heard if the horse was in the market, j It is satisfactory to learn that the little j friction Iv the counsels of the Ashburton j Racing Club has been smoothed away, and , that a strong committee was elected last week. In order to husband the resource* of the club it is proposed, so I understand, to confine the distribution at the Autumn ! Meeting to something like £400. Should j my information be correct, I would strongly advise that the fixture be confined to one day. The club is already committed to the Ashburton Stakes of £100, and another £300 would provide a very poor bill of fare to cover two days. On the other hand, the sum named would constitute a goodly distribution for a single afternoon and, eschewing steeplechasing, a really attractive programme could be framed —one that would ensure a better return than if the sport were spread over a couple of days. The nominations for the Egmont Racing Club's Summer Meeting are well up to the average in point of number, and class has never been better represented, for the Cup entry includes last year's winner, Rosefeldt, the Auckland Cup heroine, Lottie, and such as Royal Rose and Golden Plover. Uhe successful ex-hack, Irish Twist, has, strange,to say, hot been entered for thebig race, but figures in the shore distance events. There are, however, two recruits to the open class in the Gup— Waiuku and Donovan. There is not a single South Island owned nomination, for the Magazine entered must not be confused with Mr P. Campbell's coir. It is the mare of that name. The hurdle races have attracted such a star performer as Ebor. v ' ' . , : .' •. ■";■. ".'"' ' ?.} The Wairoa County Racing Club's fixture was altogether marred by the condition of the elements. Heavy* rain fell on the opening, day, which, continuing on the following day, the decision of the second half of the programme was adjourned for a day. The weather was then fine/ but interest in the sport was lost. The totalisator taking* did not reach one half of last season's total. It was ab the Wairoa meeting a year back that Pinrose won four events; this time Mr Portland, Pinrose's owner, is again the best, winner. ;Blarneystone had bo manifestly-proved himself to be in form that his backers for the Summer Cup seemed to have much the bent of the deal in being laid 12 to 1 at flag' fall against his chance. The Jiberal price could be accounted for in that several of the runners were genuinely backed, The Trier having most followers, and going out favourite in the field of fifteen at 5 to 1; Florrie at 8 to 1, and the lightly weighted Honor Bright being next in demand.. The Trier and Blarneyetone singled themselves out at the home turn, and while the favourite seemed to have all the best of the argument up to the Leger stand the brother to Marvel then challenged in earnest, and amid great ex. citement got up on the post, and "gained the verdict by a head. Loyalty, 9ut, was at no time prominent, neither was the top weight, Ruenalf, 9st ,91b. ( In the Nursery Handicap, decided at Randwick the same day as the Summer Cup, Lochiel'a daughter, Loch Eva, found 141b too much to allow Ordnance, a half sister to. Straightflre, who cut out tjhe flVe furlongs Iα lmin 3£sec and won by a head. Mr Hurdern'a Rebel Queen, by Nordenfeldt, who is described as being on the small side, occupied third place. The Hotchkiss colt, True Blue, was among the runners. The other two-year-old event on the card, the Selling Plate, fell to Engineer, by Martini-Henry, who, entered at £25, had a 6at 41b impost to put up. Such good performers as ELilliecrankie and TJry entered the lists, but while the firstnamed having the call In the betting, did not ahiow to advantage, "Dry got within a neck of the winner., PhlUon's brother, Globetrotter, was one of the starters. Engineer was bought in at £210. 1 Sydney Tattersall's Club Meeting.at Rand wick on New Xear's Day drew an attendance of something like 12,000. The track was very fast, and in the Carrington Stakes, six furlongs, Vanitas, the three-year-old gelded son of Martini-Henry and . Vain Glory, who carried 6it 91b, ran home very easily in front of the big. field, which comprised twenty-five starters, in lmin 14sec, which equals the time for the distance made In this colony by Loyalty and Ascot Vale's Victorian record. Vanitas started at 12 to 1, the favourite being Moorefleld, Bst 6lb, at 3 to 1. Cannon, by Nordenfeldt —Sister .Agnes, was third, separated from the winner by- Mr Oxenbaat's Solanum. Wakawatea, who started, dropped right out of the race' before afa»long had been covered, stumbling badly. Response/whose price in the betting r was 20 to 1, was iv the leading division for half tbJe way and then faded out of the contest. True Blue, the Wellington Park bred youngster, as before reported, won, and won easily, the Juvenile Stakes. He started 10 to 1 against, Ury, carrying Beb 71b, a stone more than the winner, being favourite. The time, for the five furlongs was returned as lmin 2f sec, so that True Blue seems to be endowed with lots of pace. Mr Hungerford's Wyvern, 10st31b, went out a hot favourite at 6 to 4 against for the Corinthian Plate, and in the hands of Mr W. H. Pye ran home an easy win* ner. The owner, however, did not reap the fruits of victory, for the rider could not draw weight by 4oz, and the stake went to Killarney. llet-slb, who finished a length* and a half behind Wyvern. Ruenalf wa* favourite lor the Club Hand!-, cap, but failed to gain a place, the winner turning up In Theophilus. That The Possible should have won the Hopetoun Cap he demonstrated on New Year's -Day, when, at Fleming ton, be easily captured the Bagot Handicap from Nada,. Destiny and nine others. H. Cusdin, the New Zealand lad, who on Jo was instrumental for the overthrow of The Possible at Canlfield, wore Mr Gollan's colours on the three-parts brother to Maxim, and if perhaps the announcement made some time ago that the jockey named wouldin future be associated with theHawke's Bay sportsman's stable was a little premature, my information is that, in future, he will don the magpie jacket pretty regularly.- Nada had the call in the market for the Bagot Handicap* being backed, down to 2 to 1, The Possible being second favourite at 3 to U The St. Albans filly finished very gamely, but wax held

safe all the way by the son of Realisation. In the Standish Handicap Fortunatos gave abundant evidence that he is about as good as ever, as, despite his big burden, 9*t 131b, he won comfortably at the end and in a field of twenty. Challenger failed under 9st 61b in the Normanby Stakes, the winner turning up in the well-bred colt, Kallara, the property of Mr N. Wilson. By Danlop f rom Froa Frou, dam of Wellington, is his breeding. St. Albans supplied the favourite for the second two-year-old event, but Balance fared very little better than did Challenger, for being left, she could only get to within a length of Ayrshire, who, like the previous winner, claimed Dunlop as sire. The Carbine filly Creel was third. Coming at the tail end of the series of Coast meetings, the Weetland R.C.s fixture is placed at a disadvantage to the gatherings that precede it; the reason being that, to commence with, the number of competitors is, as a rule, limited, and they get smaller by degrees, and are beautifully less by the time Hokitika Is reached. But although competitors were scarce enough at the meeting on the 7th and Bth, thanks to the weather being fine, the reunion was one of the most successful the club has had for years. Last season the totalisator investments only reached £980, this time £2090 was the amount handled. This result will hardly leave the club with much of a surplus; it will, however, euable it to come out quite square. Regalia, who last year practically walked over for both hurdle races, found bis two tasks last week just as simple. Doubtful and Geraint continued in\ik winning vein ; thej former, after cantering away with the opening item on the card, found lllbs too much to concede Geraint in the mile and a quarter Hokitika Handicap. Brought out a third time on the first day, Doubtful failed behind Johnny Faa at a mile. In the principal event on the second day Doubtful s weight was Ktefc 41b, and as he ran a dead heat with Geraint (9st 51b),, third berth being filled by Johnny Faa, the performance was a noteworthy one. Some little time back it was recorded in these columns that, with,the season near its close. Sir Modred was al the head of the winniug sires in America. I have been carefully going through the New York flies since to find if the New Zealander retained his place to the end, but although unable to ascertain the information from the American papers, the New York correspondent of the Australasian supplies the news that when all the winnings for the season had been ascertained, Sir Modred it was that occupied the post of honour. " Hidalgo," the correspondent in question, and whose remarks appear in another column', seeks to disparage Sir' Modred by the smallness of the total his sons and daughter* have earned, which does not come up to what his progeny won the season previous, when he was second on the.. list. From this he goes on to say, that the son ot Traducer was nob a tip-topper on the turf, and not as good as sucu contemporaries as Commotion andMalua. Well, whether he was the equal to such celebrities as a racehorse is, of course, a moob point, 'bat if he was not a tip-topper, it is difficult to know where Wβ get such. I.may just, however, set down the opinion of competent authorities, which is that he was oue of the very best horses the colony has produced. In the spring of '82, when after running away -with the Free Handicap at the C.J.C. meeting, he easily vanquished the three-year-olds, Cheviot, Vanguard and Welcome Jack in the Canterbury Cup—the first of these having won the Derby in a canter and Welcome Jack having annexed,the C.J.C. Handicap—proving that both were In form-what sort of a performer would it have taken to put him down? Nothing short of a Carbine,' I trow. Certainly a Commotion or a Malua could not have mastered him. Sir Modred was an aged horse and past his best when he raced the last time in Australia. He, however, easily won the A.J.C. Metropolitan, with top weight and at the same gathering beat Malua at weight for age. , And this, be it rembered, was just before the last named horse annexed the Melbourne. Cup with 9it 91b. A' returned visitor from the btates tells mc Sir Modred is the .most sought-after stallion in America, and that his owner thinks well of him is evident by his purchasing his full-brother, July. 'That was a noteworthy performance of Mahaki'a last week ac Gisborne. * It may be urged that the field he beat -was very mediocre; that Krina is not such a good mare as she once was. Allowing all this, to carry lOsb 41b to the fore without an effort and run a mile and a-half in the recorded time stamps Mahaki as a worthy relative to Stepniak.