AUCKLAND.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9295, 21 December 1895, Page 4

AUCKLAND.

December 16. The foalings at the Wellington Park stud are now complete. The last mare to foal was Lilac by Leolinus —Leila. She has produced a colt to Cuirassier. This brings up the complement to eleven colts and nineteen fillies. The Colonial Secretary has advised the Avondale.lockey Club that he will be unable to authorise the club to use the totalisator at a second race meeting during the season. J. Gallagher, who was injured at the Avondale meeting, rode exercise one morning last week at Ellerslie. However, it hurt his injured leg and his medical man has advised him to discontinue. This means that Gallagher will not be in the saddle at our Summer Meeting. H. Dawes has come over from Melbourne to ride Oscillator in the Great Northern Derby. He is riding the colt in his work. This morning Mauser, Musketry, Epaulet, Uniform, Quiltiri and St. Ouida, made their appearance on the course. St. Ouida, came up in the s.s. Tasmania yesterday in charge of J. M'Giness. The others arrived safely in the s.s. Takapuna on Saturday night. The whole of the southerners look in good trim, and no doubt they will go home with a respectable share of the prize money. Their mission this morning was fairly light exercise. It was an off morning with trainers and work was of a light nature. Auckland Tatteraall's Club intend holding a water excursion during the racing carnival fortnight, on a large scale.

Among the nominations for the Hurdles at the A. R.C. Summer Meeting is the Australian horse Ogre, brought over from Sydney to Auckland by Geo. Wright, also the West Coast owned Dante.

This afternoon the committee of the Auckland Racing Club resolved that the first payment for the Great Northern Darby, Foal Stakes, and Royal Stakes, 1897-98, be one soy if struck out by the first Friday in June, 1897. Corresponding reductions were made in the payments due at other dates. This alteration is in consequence of an agitation among owners. It means great liberality on the part of the A.E..C, for it entails increased liability for these races. The stakes are to remain the same, despite the reduction of the forfeit fees.

Tho New South Wales sportsman, Mr H. C. White, has been on a visit to Rotorua. Ou Saturday the owner of Atlas & Co. spent a few hours looking over the Wellington Park yarling-s. Turfites are proverbial for liking a little mystery. It is therefore not surprising tliat there has been a large number of queries as to the ownership aud breeding of Yamaschooner, whose name appears in the list of Auckland Cup acceptances. I may state Yamaschooner is nominated as an aged mare, breeding unknown, and owned by Mr F. L. White. She is trained at Bombay. To-day. Mr R. Blakie told mc that he had, aid 200 -to 10. against Yamaschoonei*. Major; George publishes a letter in the evening paper relative to such races as the A.R.C. Royal Stakes. He says:—" I venture to think that horse owners have not yet quite realised the burden which has been laid on them by different clubs in this colony. Canterbury, I think, deserves any credit there may be for starting this description of race, and, seeing the profits that are derivable from it, Auckland, Dunedin, and Hawke's Bay have followed suit, and several other races on the programmes have been altered to similar lines. What is really the position ? Why, simply, the authorities which control the racing clubs are now granting the privilege to owners to run for their own subscribed money (much of which is in their hands for forfeit long before the race takes place) less five per cent, for their trouble. In most cases also, while securing themselves against any loss, they even take any surplus there may be. I have spoken to one or two horse breeders and owners who agree with mc that the burden becomes greater than we care to bear. I don't know what action they may take. For myself, however, I have come to the conclusion that it is too onerous to nominate for these heavy subscription races, and that in the future 1 shall not do so, except perhaps in very rare instances, and, as I do not care to run for handicaps only, this means that I shall most probably very shortly retire from racing horses altogether. My retirement would not, of course, matter very much, but I feel sure that other* horse breeders and owners, will sooner or later see the matter in the same light as I do and much injury be done the sport in consequence of their retirement."

S. C. Caulton, hotelkeeper, in his sworn statement before the official assignee, says the immediate cause of his filing is the nonsuccess of his racehorses. He borrowed £250 on security of his four race horses and two stallions. The horses were sold under a bill of sale on Friday, and, it is stated, bought by Mr G. F. Brimblecombe, on bankrupt's behalf. The first meeting>.of Mr Caulton's creditors was held this morning, when he answered various questions regarding his racehoraes. Mr Flicker asked:—Well, Mr Caulton, conscientiously, do youthinkit was right on your part to go horse racing when you were losing your creditors' money ? The debtor answered that he had been connected with horses and racing for twenty or thirty years, and he had had fair luck up to a year or two ago. He did everything openly and honestly, and he did not atteriipt to hide facts from those who were doinc* business with hira. If he had done it in an underhand manner he would have done wrong he knew. He had anticipated having good wins at the last two race meetings with his horses, but unluckily he did not do well. L) was resolved that the Official Assignee be requested to get a legal opinion as to whether the payments made to certain creditors on Mr Caulton going out of the hotel were preferential or otherwise, and whether the payments are recoverable. At a meetingof thecommittee of the A. R.C. held this afternoon the programme of the Te Karaka Racing Club, December 26th, was passed, and the registration of the Coromandel Racing Club's programme was cancelled at the request of the club. This course has been forced upon the Coromandel Club owing to the stress of local circumstances. It transpires that, when Knapsack won the Maiden Hurdle Race at the recent Takapuna Meeting, he could have been protested against, as he ran at an unregistered meeting last year. To-day the A.R.C. committee considered an application for the withdrawal of the disqualification and it was agreed to. December 18, Mr Morrin has received a cablegram from Mr W. R. Wilson, notifying him that the stallion Trenton has been purchased by a son of Sir Samuel Wilson, and that he is to be shipped to England along with Carnage by the Orient liner Orizaba, leaving Melbourne on Saturday next. v; -