NOTES BY "CALLER OU."

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 7404, 29 June 1895, Page 3

NOTES BY "CALLER OU."

The Steeplechase is once mora over. The weather on Wednesday wad thoroughly wintry, but tho keen, biting atmosphere waa just what sporting folk like at Steeplechase time, provided the rain keeps off. JLnd the rain kept oil well, leaving nothing to mar the suocess of the gathering. The fields were unusually large, wtreh. was no doubt the leas.m why about £1000 more went through the totalisator than at the corresponding meeting last year. IThe resuit of the Stteplechpse oama as a surprise, but it was a very agreeable stirprise, and most of us were pleased to see the stakes remain in the district, while we we/c Btill more pleased at the splendid exhibition of horsemanship that Mr ti. H. Goilan gave the spectators The Auckland sporting ■writers said he cou'dn't ride. But th y evidently must be in error after the lefeon

Mr Golltn gave soma of the oraok cross

country riders on Wednesday. Certainly jM he hsd ft good horse under him, but in a field of fourteen, and with such tred jumpers as Liberator. Tiritea. Bomoardier, Hosoius, Booties, Mutiny, against him, a clear head and olover hcraeinauthip leemed very necessary. The third time round, all butßjmbarditr, Booties, Tiriteb, and Norton had had enough. The race that Booties and Tiritea •were running was a pretty spectacle. These two kept neok and neck, and it looked as if Tiritea had the race well in hand, but the double at the railway bend whioh he had eafely negotiated twice beforo, was fatal to the son of Hippocampus the third time. Booties went on alone, JBombtrdier following, and then Norion oame at theua in real earnest. First of all he had made the pace, then lie fell back into fourth place, and when his rider saw that almost everything wan beaten, he made his effort, and .Norton, ■ not the least distressed, responded gamely. The speutatcrs, although they had heavily backed Liberator and Tiritea, did not fail to gire the successful owner and jockey an ovation as he brought Norton back to the Baddling paidock. Norton's sire, Ascot, ■wa3 bred by 3&r J. Tait in New South WaUa iv 1579, got by Kelpio, dam The Thorn, by The Barb out of tfrown Duchess, by Whalebone Liberator, flush with Anokland hurdle and (steeplechase victories, was a sorry pic • turo. At the -very eoinmsncftment he laotted his old dash, and knocked the timber about a great deal. Bat the wor.it was seen at the gorda opposite the grand stand the third time round. Liberator, tho Daondia Oup winner, oould hardly crawl over! That object maaa was carrying 418 sovereigns ! It was with difficulty that Holmes kept the old horse on hie feet. When tho raco was over it was feen that the Betrayer geidiog, dead beat, had broken a blotd vesiel, and was bleeding freely at the noso. Liberator has served his owner well—better probably than any horsa ia Auatralssia has atrved an owntr, aud has in hi* time won a brace of Uupa in addition to his many hurdle honors. His running in the Steeplechase on Wednesday made hia hundredth race, of which thicty-eeven are victories, eighteen seconds, twelve thirds, and unplaced thirty-eight times, with £3537 won in states. It would be a kindness to relegate Liberator to the paddock. "What a good advertisement to Tfhe Mute Kapua has proved. Mr J. it. Macdonald knew what he was buying, when having

loat "ftheriko (The Muts) just as he was out aa a fine hurdler, ha purchased from Mr Dougla3. Xα the Hurdles F on Wednesday Kapua Bbowed good form in the field of nine. The Mate was bred by. Mr hi. Fisher, of Victoria, in 1871, by Fireworks, eon of Kelpie, dam Fenella (sister to Maribyrnong) by Fisherman, aud brought to Hawke'a Bay in 1878. So Kapua'e breeding is all right. But he will requiro some more schooling before ha can be trusted in a steeplechase, for he is as stubborn as "Waterbury ueed to be. Bissington is a good school. Gondolier proved tho hero thore some years ago, and he afterwards won the Hawke's Bay Biacelet and Bteep.'eohase. Tha Plug wua the hero at the last raoes at where he won three events, and on Wednesday he had all the Braoelet candidates at his ineroy. Next year will he do Gondolier's triok ? iSUiugham has made a great difference in the appearanoo of the ton of July—flprejdon Lags, who promises to turn oat a useful horse. ' The Plug's §ire, July (Tradnoer —ldalia), it will b» remembered, -was recently shipped to America, where he takes the place of Maxim in Mr J. B. Haggin's stud July (foaled July 29) raoed successfully iv Herr Ztaland for a time, and afterwards found his way to the Richmond (.N.S.W.) distriot. Supporters of the Auofelandtr, Mareobal Neil, went down in the Maiden Bteeple- - ehaKe. The Bluokrose gelding ran off shortly after taking iho double at the railway bend, and when he did that 229 sovereigns went with him. lie might have won, but Uhrystal would have fought out an intereating finish. Ohrystal iv a five-year-old by Voltigeur out of Maori Gir), and jumped go well that his career in more important events might be worth bearing in mind Chrystal'is aira was got in 1859, by II Barbiere, out of Plover, a bay mare got by Bir Hercules, her dam a mare bred in New fc-outh Wales and imported to Nelson, •without psdigree. Mr 0 Ghavannes, of Wanganui, after being the champion of the H-iwke's Bay Gun Olub's meeting on Tuesday, where he ■won iv atakes about £60, took the mount on Bgmont in the Ladias' Bracelet the next day, but the Armourer gelding could not foot it with the placed horses. In the Bracelet, isags, who ran third, showed fair form, but better iv the Maiden Steeplechase, in whioh he ran second. Kaga ia a five-

year-old by Aecot—Leonessa, and should impiove on Wednesday's running, for ho ia well made horee, and just the stamp for HWjjjjißh country work. UoucSJiL 0 ou ' : U P hadly in the Hurdles. Hβ whs wHd'a~i?c6ira~ , &««iite. but was never in the r ica. Laugley the Btfiftkkad lor about a mile and a half, when he content. Somnambulist was laat a*l the v?ay, and looked aa if hs had seen hie last days at racing. Bombardier ehook tha timber pretty heavily in the Steeplechase, aud rtturted to the paddock with hia knaee badly bleading. T. Kose mude a better display than moac penple thought, but thu distance found her out. Old Swital came to life again the Welter, aud showed surprieiagly good form Only twenty-eight fancied him, aud had the journey bemi shorter he might hava won, for he made the Dace hot vrhilu it lasted. * The Napier Park Club's wintsr meeting takes place on Wednesday, and Bβ tho course ig easy of ftcceES, there wilt be a great crowd present Acceptances are due to-nig at, and until we see what these are, oomtnont must be reserved. Norton (13-4) has beeu eoratohed, which leaves Liberator at 12-7, the top weight, but he will have to go much better than last Wednesday to have a ohance. Tiiitea at 11-10 j's to beproferred, but Bombardier (11-.i), Booties (10-12), and Ohrystal (10-7), should make the race interesting. Boomerang (11-2) and Mozel (12-0) in the Huutere' (Steeplechase, Ua li-lOj, Huat*i (U-7;, and Swivel (10-12) in the Winter Oais; Hopeful (11 2), and Lantrley the Devil (10-3) in the Hurdles; and Sluieohal Neil (12-5), Ohrystal (12-0), and Bag* (11-6) in the 5 rial tfteepJeobaee read well. Thero is every likelihood of a large acceptance, and with fine weather, tho olub should have a record meeting. An instance of Yictori»n handicapping. Last year m the Melbourne Oup Ouliodtn •was allotted 8-11. The son of Nordenfeldt— Hellie Moore has been ia the retired hut ever since, and yet in tbw Oup for 1896 they give him 9«t! A bright enoour*gement for a horseowner, surely. One unpleaiant incident marred the otherwise successful winter meeting? of the Trotting Olub on Thursday. It was ia connection with the three-mile Hasting* Cup Handicap Harneea Trot, which Kate St. won During the progreai rf the race Caraotaoue, who led tho fie... <Ie greater tiart of the distance, repeatedly broke rinto a gallop, gaining rather than losing ground iv tho break. At the twomile post Sir William drew on the leaderf and then Kate M. came up behind tho pair. Oiuaotucue was on the outside, takiDg up the whole of the outer track, and breaking frequently. The driver of Kate M. made several attempts to get through, but was unable to do eouitil tho straight was reached for the l»st time, •whsn the foreign mare cut the leaders down amidst tho applause of tho public. At the conclusion of the race T. Murfitt, the driver of Oamctacus, was called before t'»e stewards to expls-.in his conduot. Ho said that it was impossible to hold tha and desied thai he purpoaoly kept on tho outside of Sir William in order to prevont Kuto M yetting through. 'J he stewards by 4 to 3 decided to ac:ept tha explanation and give Oaraotaoue third pluce. Now what would have been lho position had this horee wou ? Could the etowardo coneoiantiously have given him the inoaey ? Gartainly not, and under the eircttmstemes the stewards would have been well witbin their rights in disqualifying the horeo for that race. The Trotting Olub must bo considerably better off as a roanlt oJ lust Thursday's meeting, and it would not bo out of pluco to BU"goit that v fiiw i>out.a« of thoproHc devoted towards the improvement of tho oouree appurtenance,. A small *tmd ton iustau'e for the precs, ia place of the low, •/kkotty pmtforiu which has) done stryieo since the formation of thn club, wonW cot bo out of place, iv-'d the saddling p.-»ddou!c mijiht with udvantigo tj competitors nnd tho public bo levelled and otherwiao improved.