NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9859, 16 October 1897, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

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The most suceessfnl gathering yet held ° p -fe r "M" 6 wtsprces of the Ohoka aad Eyreton -Boeft-sy €_xtb was the re-union of Thursday last. Do-th-i-as the truly delightful weather «w__t_ons that prevailed tempted many to take the outing that would otherwise have stayed sway, and this quota added to the •army of regulars, swelled the attendance to dhnensians not previously eqaalled on tbe gyonnd. There was, too, any amount of go about the proceedings, and though some of -he-arrangement. are as yet primitive, tbe executive officers did their best to satisfy rerjuirement., and everything passed off -Ettbont the slightest friction and the steward., happily, were not called upon to settle any aispnt __?. The track was in capital going order. Speculation was brink and the turnover at the totalisator was over £200 m excess of the «urm handled last year. J__Txm tho machine therefore, as well as from tho gate and other sources, there was increas-d revenue, and the Club should clear the -iest part of £100 over the day. j A lot of interest centred in the chief handicap, from tho fact that Culverin and Monte Carlo, who are aspirants for so ranch greater things, were of tho field. The mare dSd not strip well, and had evidently undergone a horned preparation. Monte Carlo, on the other hand, looked big and' muscular, and odds were laid on his ability I*, scare, TrSangefinder, on account of good work on the tracks, had a following. The other two nraner-, Salvo Shot, who is far from risit, and Myrtica, a more than half, sister to Loveshot, who is small and not very forward, were quite neglected in the betting: In the race Rangefmder soon found his way to the head of affairs, and once there kept the lead to the end, winning in good style Culverin might have won at six furlongs but at no greater distance, and probably the North Islander would have gone better in the hands of a stronger horseman, for he takes a lot of hunting along. In the opening event Bsggannan seemed a bit of a handful for his amateur rider, stall he landed the stake allright, and did the trick a second time, the District Welter proving a very easy thing for him. Beggarnan is a half-brother to the jumper Rejraha md should be able to hold his own mmore pretentious company than he has yet been pitted again.-. Prospect was made favourite tor Beggar-man's first race, but his going very short in the preliminary somewhat prepared people for a poor display, and Mr Boyle had an unexpectedly poor ride. On hie second ea._y prospect did very little better than ou J.,, rT'-1 M * nftwamii . *«»second double • "•Mi ai the meeting. If the Wetter L iV "'," lw *-Hr encounter in tbe rt_tme ___ Shir?.' "fiSP 16 «m»~~ -W--J,

I have before seen him exhibit, pressing him, while Starshot was also very handy. The race between tbe trio was much the best of the day, and it was the advantage of position gained by Manawanui at the outset that helped him to victory. Starshot had shown a capital trial and was a pronounced favourite, but failing to jump off as smartly as the others and having to run on the outeide hampered her a little. The Riccarton trained Cherrystone, who had an easy task in winning the Hack Selling Race, was, it is understood, well backed away from the course.

The weights for the Ccsarewitch and Cambridgeshire Slake, are to hand. In (he long distance event Winkfield's Pride in the post of honour with &?t 41b was asked to give Galtee More lib, the French four-year-old Champaubert being iv third place with Sst 12lb. Masque 11., the Ascot Stakes winner, whose French owner wa.. repotted as anxious to make a match with the Derby winner, was second of the three-year-old lot at Bst 7_t, the next of the age in the list being the Oaks winner Limasol, and the French colt Couiorn with 7st 101b each. St. Bris, last year's winner, was given Bst lib and Merman the Australian 75151b. Clorane received pride of place in the Cambridgeshire at 9st 101b ; Winkfield's Pride, 9st7lb, Galtee More and Count Schomberg both 9_t 61b, being the others with over 9st. Masque 11. received Bst 81b, Clwyd Sst 2lb, Limasol 7st 131b, and Maluma 7st. Galtee More was allotted in each case the impost that according to the conditions the St. Leger winner has to carry. As surmised, the Ling/ield Grand Prize, sot down to take place on October 2nd, and which it was hoped would bring about the meeting of Persimmon and Galtee More, did not come oft. The race failed to fill, but it

has not yet been abandoned, for with slightly amended conditions nominations were to be invited, the event to take place on November 9th. It was to be a stipulation that twelve nominations are to be received, or the engagement to be at the option of the executive. The sweepstakes, m addition to the 3000_ovs, will remain at 500sovs, but non-starters will be called upon to pay a further lOOsovs, to go to the fund.

In the Old Country this season there are no few two-year-olds much ahead of their contemporaries. The result of the Imperial Produce Stakes at Kempton Park, which is announced by cable, will only tend to make the form more puzzling, inasmuch as the winner, Dieudonne, has not previously been much heard of, while the runner-up was one of the most highly tried ; and though Cyllene would be carrying a penalty the extra would not be such as to stop a good one unless opposed by something of his own class. Under " English Racing" will be found particulars of the chief two-year-old event run at the Derby September meeting. Champ de Mars hold an unbeaten certificate until he met Disraeli in that race. The latter, who cost IOOOgs as a yearling was making his debut in public, but had been well tried. It does not look as if there would be any decided winter favourite for the Derby this year.