NOTES.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14660, 8 May 1913, Page 9

NOTES.

Tho Autumn Meeting of the Ashburton County Racing Club, which commences to-«lay, will certainly attract a very large attendance, and jiidging by tho number and the calibre of tho contestants engaged in the different events tho racing should be of more than nveroee interest. The Ashburton Cup, which •will be- contested, by a good field, bears a very open appearance, and tho winner will bo hard to find. Bulletin or Glonfinnan will orobably go but favourite, but The Cornet, Canute and Sunbeam are sure to have largo numbers of supporters. The Grove Farm Handicap, will'introduce several highclass sprinters, including Pilgrim's Way, Peg, Oicenhope and" Kilts, and tho finish should be exciting. Martel, a- half-brother to Danube, will bo amongst the starters in the Lagmhor Plate, and as ho has shown good form ■in private gallops, ho may run well. CJolden Morn and Glcncannich should also bo close up at the finish, and from all appearances, this event should be worth witnessing. A special train will leave the Christchurch Bailway Station a.m..to-day and to-morrow, and Visitors to the meeting will bo enabled to return to the city, after the races on eaoh day. Acceptances for the Egmorifc Racing Club's Winter- Meeting close this evenitlK. , # ;•-■■. -• . • Nominations for the Dunedin Jockey Club's and Otaki-'Maori Ilacing Club's Winter Meetings close to-morrow evening, when general entries for the Auckland Ilacing Club's "Winter Meeting fall due, ana acceptances for the Great Northern Steeplechasd and Hurdle Race must also be made.

.The colebrat*d etallion Wolf's Crag oied in Etlglnnd recently. Foaled in 1890, by Batcaldirm —Lucy Ashton by Lamraermoor —Ahmtia by Orest—Germania by Wild Dayrell, Wolfe Crag proved very successful as a sire of highclass racehorses, and his progeny won two hundred and seventy races, valued at £80,000. A London cable message to tho Sydney papers says that the report that tho foallion Th& White Knight, by Desinond—Pella,ha'd been sold to the Itussian ( Govorrinient for £40,000, is contradicted- It is understood, however, that ho is under offer at tho sum quoted. A cable message from London an-

nounced on Monday the death of Sir Tatton Sykea at the age of 87 years. It was «s a breeder of racehorses that Sir Tatton Sykea was most famous —the Sledmero yearlings being well known the. world over. At the Doncaster yearling sales "each September ' his lots almost invariably reached big figures. The most remarkable feature about the yearling is the average they have«maintained for over 20 years, and it is recorded that since tho year 1800 Sir Tatton Sykes has eoid at Doncaster 203 yearlings at ah aggregate of 274,180 guineas, an average of nearly 1203 guineas. Childwick was the first great ono about 22 years ago, and among his successors was Spearmint, who, after being sold as a yearling for 300 guineas to Major Loder, tron the Derby (£6450) and the Grand Prix de Paris (£10,008). Last season's racing showed Sledmero youngsters to the fore, Hall Cross just missing highest honours among the three-year-olds, and Craganour (who waa sold for 3200 guineas) claiming first-class rank among the two-year-olds. Naturally there was keen demand for the yearlings-from the same stud at the Doncaster sales on September 12th, and fourteen lots realised 31,600 guineas, being an average of 2263 guineas. This is a record in England, except for the quite abnormal salo of the late Duke of Westminster's yearlings. But if Sir Tatton Sykes received good prices for his yearlings he waa a good > buyer himself, and at the sale Of the late Baron Hirsch's horses some years ago, ho gave 11.000 guineas for La Fleche, the darii of Baroness La Floche and John o' Gaunt (6ire of Swynford). . .

I The costliness of English racing when i followed on a large scale is brought into relief by tho decision of the Duke of Devonshire to sell off his racehorses end breeding stud during the present year and become a looker-on at the game. ' The Duke's keenness for racing has not quite matched that of his uncle, the late duke, and he has only ten horsea in training at the present time (says a London paper). His decision ia nevertheless to bo regretted because the "straw" jacket of the Cavl endishes has come to be thought of as an institution of racing. i n tion, an owner of the position and mfluenco of the Duke of Devonshire is a considerable asset to "the turf." v* great triumphs have been achieved hv the dukfc'e horses, the victory of pr e f»r raent in the Newbury Cup W year being the most important of his successes. The J«"2|abj m training wm probably be sold off early in tie iS! and she breeding stock at the DeW ber auctions-