NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1193, 31 July 1911, Page 5

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

[Br Glencoe.] The annual steeplechase meeting of the Woodlands Hunt Club will be held on tho Pahiatua racecourse on Wednesday next. Mr. J. E. Henrys has been reappointed handicapper to tho Dunedin Jockey Club, and Mr. H. Piper has been reappointed to the position of starter. There will be a general birthday in tho equine world to-morrow, when all horses will havo a year added to their age.

A cliango of ownership did not bring tho usual change of luck in the case of Truganini, whom Mr. M. Melrose recently sold to the Caulficld trainer, T. De npsey. Tho Merriwee mare started for the first time in her new ilwuer's

colours at the Broken Hill meeting recently, when she ran in tho i-'lying Handicap and occupied the place of runnerup. Though it is not officially announced as yet, it is understood that the Karniuu Jiorfos liavo l>ce!i scrntehod for all engagements at the forthcoming C.J.C. meeting.

By tho Maori to-night J. 11. Pressor is shipping his team for the National meeting. It will consist of Lovell, Turna, Salopin, Ribstone I'ippin, llnwicl:, lvopck, and Dei rest.

Oinng to the scratching of the Karaniu horses, Jockeys i-\ L). Jones and A. Julian will bo without mounts. Both horsemen will make tho trip, and should be suro of plenty of outsido riding.

J. AV. Lowe will leovo for the south tonight with. KlTort, who is one of the well-backed diriyi.m in the Wiuter ('up. Prior to the AV.R.C. meeting the Advanco nure did nuc seem to bo going too well on tho tracks, but she must have satisfied her owner in the interim or the trip would not be undertaken. If quite nt her best she would 'ake some beating, and proof of this will bo found in the wonderful perforuiancj she put up at Trontham, v.-lien she ran the great Bobrikoff to a length in the Summer Cup, tho mile being cut out in lmin. 39 l-ssec.

Nyland has hardened further in the Winter Cup market, and last year's winner is now a firm favourito lor the big mile. Consequent upon a good gallop registered by him oil Saturday morning, he is now in much demand, and providing tho weather keeps fine there, is little likelihood of him being deposed before tho day of tho race.

-Mr. F. Hall, of Gisborne, one of J. W. Lowo's patrons, will not have a very strong team to represent him next season. Gold Lace is to go to tho stud. Iranui is being spelled, and the Mahaki male, Miss Murphy, is to be sold. Though possessed of a good burst of speed over a snort course, the last-named mare has been most unlucky, and has only rung up No. 1 oa a solitary occasion, but she has been placed several times. Bribery, the ancient son of Jlalvolio, who is owned by D. J. Price, has been given a great chance to again win the Australian Steeplechase, run at Caulfield on August 12. Bribery's record in connection with this raco is a notable one as he has scored twice. Wlien ho finished behind Confederate two years ago he carried 13st. 71b., avid this year he lias been dropped to list. 31b. Ho is to be ridden by J. Stewart.

Mr. Sydenham Dixon, writing in the London "Sportsman" on Gold Cup reminiscences lias tho following:—"I was fortunate indeed in the year of mv first visit to Ascot in witnessing probably the most remarkable performance ever accomplished in the history of the Gold Cup. There wore only three runners—Gladiateur, Regalia, and Breadalbane—and, had all been well with tlie mighty Frenchman, aids of 5 to 2 on him would not have been accepted. From his early days, however, he always suffered from navicular disease, doubtless inherited from his (lam, Miss Gladiator, who was always'a hopeless cripple and ' could never be trained. He was lame, on and off, all through liis career, and. as, before. ho started for this race, his 'dicky' leg was .worse than usual, Harry Grimshaw's or-ders-were to lie nicely up with his field until the hotel turn, to nurse his mount very carefully down the liill, and then to make the best of his way home. Either I'he jockey's idea of 'lying up with his field' was a very peculiar one, or his defective sight was to blame, for Breadalbane passed tho grand stand tho first time fully twenty lengths in front of I?e----galia, who was leading Gladiateur by about half that distance. From that point, however, Grimshaw carried out his instructions to the letter, and came down the hill into Swinley Bottom in such leisurely fashion that, when he was on level ground again, the other pair were three hundred yards ahead of him at tho most moderate estimate. The style in which the great horse closed up that immense gap when ho was at last allowed to stride along was simply incredible. People conld scarcely believe their eyes when he strode past' the judge's box forty lengths in front of Itegalia, whose tongue was hanging out of her mouth like that of a beaten dog, whilst Breadalbnue had scarcely reached tho bend, into the new course, and never finished at' all. Small wonder that such a tine judge as the late Mr. .Tames Waugh always maintained that Gladiateur was the greatest horse that ever lived, and no doubt many veterans will agrco with him. • Personally, I should assign that proud position to St. Simon, but, after all, the matter is purely one of surmise and incapable of proof." FIXTURES. August'B, 10, and 12—Canterbury J.C.'s Grand National.