Mr Rathbone’s Thoroughbreds.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9822, 23 July 1900, Page 7

Mr Rathbone’s Thoroughbreds.

Ifc will be seen on reference to our advertising .columns that Mr W. Rathbone, of Waipawa, is desirous of disposing of six of his horses, in training, by private treaty. The Waipawa sportsman has got such a lot of young stock coming to hand that he is necessarily compelled to thin out his team. All the hor.-es are guaranteed sound, and are at present in work. Included in the lot is Procrastinator, the rising four-year-old son of Seaton Delaval, Taihoa, by Malua (sire of Malatua) from Norna. Racegoers have seaa this commanding chestnut, and though he was not forward euough to do himself justice in his essays, he showed a good amount of pace. Lately he has furnished a lot, and as he is a maiden should be remunerative property to secure, for being a practically unknown quantity from a handicapper’s point of view, he is not likely to be burdened with an excessive weight when it is elected to have a go with him. His sire, Seaton Delaval, has not got a bad one during the short time he has been at the stud in New Zealand, Rosella, Miss Delaval, Eeddinsrton, and Blue Paul by their victories confirming this statement. Melton, sire of Seaton Delaval, is proving himself a great producer of winners in England, one of the latest triumphs gained by his offspring being the Woodcote Stakes at the Derby meeting last month in England, secured by Toddington, who was sold prior to the race for 10,500 guineas. Procrastinator’s dam, Taihoa, is a granddaughter of St. Albans, whose blood is to be found in numbers of the victors in the other colonies. As Procrastinator is an entire, such fashionable blood as he possesses should give him a good help along when the time comes for him to take up stud life. Spark, who will be four years old next month, is by Seaton Delavel from Tliyra, a daughter of Robinson Crusoe and Dagmar, the latter being by Maribyrnong from Nightlight. In his only appearance Spark proved that he is a particularly speedy customer, for he carved out the five furlongs of the Scurry Hack Handicap, with 7 0 up, in 1.1, beating ten others, including St. Brigid, Nukurau, and Impregnable, easily. From the time test point of view his performance was exceedingly meritorious, for here was a green cole getting within a second of the record time for the distance in the colonies. His time was exactly the same as that put up by Forester in the C.J.C. Flying Stakes in 1886 (when he carried 7-3), and which record held good for nearly ten years. llerminiu9, a coming four-year-old gelding by Dreadnought from Last Chance, is also a maiden, and is a fine stamp of a horse. He was seen out at the last meeting of the Waipawa County Racing Club, when whatever chance he had of winning was completely destroyed by the poor start that was given in the Hack Flying Handicap. A natural jumper, and bred on somewhat similar lines to Roller (both being by Dreadnought out of Painter mares) Ilerminius should attract attention from those who go in for the illegitimate game. His owner is not at all partial to the hurdling portion of the iudustry, or Herminius would nob figure in the sale list. Assayer, the younger half-brother to Spark, by Gold Reef (he will be three .years old at the end of this month), is a grandly developed specimen of the thoroughbred, and not only is he good looking but he can boast of the best strain of blood, as his sire is rich in the running vein, while ifc is a well known fact that Robinson Crusoe’s daughter has been particularly successful at the stud. As yet a maiden, whoever is fortunate enough to secure him will have the best of him, for he has been allowed to come on without aoy bustling, and this class of horse generally wear well.

The Dude, by Hiko (full brother to Whaitari) from Brown Duchess, by Vasco di Gama, is so well known that comment as regards him is superfluous. Sufficient to say that he has got a dash of the Musket blood through his sire, impregnated with that of such good old timers as Va-sco di gama and Diomedes, while Bay Duehes3, his grand dam, was a full si»ter to Louglands, who amongst other races won the Great Autumn Handicap at Riccarton in 1878. The Duke is a half-brother to the Dude, by Fusilade, the New Zealand Cup winner of 1885. He, like his relative, has got a blend of the much desired Musket blood, for Fusilade is a son of the defunct Toxopholite stallion.

The July Steeplechase at the Wellington races on Saturday fell to Dr. Bill, with Cairo second, Dingo and Straybircl running a dead heat for third place. The winner, who gob home by ten lengths, paid £ls 4a. Smithy won the Final Hack, paying £l6 4s. The sum passed through the totalisators amounted to £17,628 for the meeting, an increase of £3479 on the receipts at tho corresponding meeting last year. W. Higgins, of Christchurch, had his leg broken through Taplow falling in the Final Hurdles. A. Grey, rider of Sylvanus, who fell in the Wellington Steeplechase, was badly shaken. A London cable states that the Prince of Wales’s Derby winner Diamond Jubilee won the Eclipse Stakes, with Chevening and Scopus in the places. It has never been explained (says the Oo erver ) by those who impute to the presence of operating bookmakers the decrease in the tote takings at certain southern meetings, how it is that in the north, where bookmakers have almost a free hand, each succeeding fixture results in a “more or less substantial increase in the totalisator returns.

The opposition to the starting machine in England seems to be very determined, for it is stated that one prominent trainer taking the trouble to write to his patrons saying that the two-year-okls in his charge would be ruined if the starting machine came into vogue. Mr It. Sevier Avon another race with his eleven thousand guineas colt Toddington on June 2nd. This was the Kempton park Two-year-old Plate, of five furlongs Avorth £BOO to winner. There were eleven starters, Toddington going cut favorite at 11 to 10 against, and winning after an exciting race by a neck from Royal River. Toddington was reported to be very much off color after the race.