SPURT AMD PASTIME.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 13, 15 July 1905, Page 14

SPURT AMD PASTIME.

The Turf, [By Lochiel.] RACING FIXTURES. August 15, 17, and' 19— New Zealand National Meeting. WELLINGTON STEEPLECHASE MEETING. Large fields and close finishes gave character to the opening day of the Wellington Steeplechase Meeting, which will probably be the last meeting but one that will be held on the present course. The continuous showers of two or three weeks preceding th,e meeting liad made the course cloggy, but some fair times were recorded," notwithstanding- this deterrent. It was a -day out for long-chance bettors. The actual favourite won only one race in seven; the second favourite only ivon once; the third favourite once, and nemi-outsiders four times. The one first fcivourite who filled first place (Wet Reef) •was served up hot, and he came through the mud like a street broom. The event Tras" the Stewards' Handicap, in which he tras backed down to even money plus one fihilling in a field of eleven. The repre« Bentative of the Ormond stable (Tonderghie) ran a creditable second, but the 1 Gold Reef horse could have won by bigger margin had he been extended. All ten acceptors stripped for the Miramar Hack Handicap. Blythemaid, a fine upstanding three-year-old possessing the characteristic markings of her sire Clanranald, ran with gameness, cut down Sir Percivale's lead in the last fifty yards, and qualified for first place by a head advantage. The first favourite (Recreation) ran like a commoner, the mud not being to his liking He finished with the last three, and let Pj-derewski, Claremont, and Dulcinea head him, besides the placed horses. Two of the nine acceptors for the Steeplechase were scratched on the day of the race. Slow Tom was one, and in some quarters his chance was looked on as being rosy. Creusot broke a .bloodvessel, and though the injury is not like8y to be permanently serious, he had to be withdrawn from the big event. Waitarere (£g88) was sent out first favourite, but Nor'-westr was only a couple of pounds sterling behind him. Kiatere (£217) also received solid support; and £137 wen* on Phaetonitis. The latter horsa fulfilled the Post prediction that h.e might do well for two miles, but was at present a bit too beefy to get to the right end of three. He shaped nicely, but failed to respond in the lost mile ■when, a late run was needed. Waitarere ran gamely, and when he landed over the last jump about a length behind Kiatere, 1 it was thought, that his well-known fast pace on the flat would land him the stake. But the mc-ase-coloured son ' of Castor footed it bravely with his younger rival, and Waitarere "had to be content with eecond money. His backers lost 3s in the '£. The early stages of the race were contested by the light-weight division, Lurcher holding pride of place for about half of the total distance, with Ronga in Attendance. Both horses failed to see the finish, Ronga falling at the log jump the fir3t time round, and Lurcher failing to negotiate the last hurdle in the last round. Old Nor'-west, whose recent .training track exhibitions' suggested a winning chance, crashed heavily through the coping of the water-jump before the race was thoroughly in progress, and from that point he laboured along last until the falling out of less-experienced 'chasers gave him, chance to finish in fourth place. The time put up by Kiatere (6min 36|sec) was a sterling performance over such a heavy course. The pace was made fast from the word "go," and the result waa hard to forecast all the way up the straight, as the top-weight and Waitarere fonght the finish put yard by yard. Kiatere stayed well, ho eyer, and in the last held a two-lengths ad-vantage. As he came on. to the lawa he was greeted with hearty applansß.that was thoroughly deserved. He is the second horse &at has won the event la two successive years, Gobo hay-_ ing put up tie same performance in 190/1 and 1902. Nor'-west, who won twice at intervals (1898 and 1903) is the only ether horse that has won the event twice. The Parliamentary Handicap (one mile and a distance) waa won by Shrapnel Shell, after a dingdong go with Asteroid. He seemed beaten at three-quarters of a mile, but in another furlong he 6hot up suddenly and finally ' wrested fi.rst place from Asteroid. The return to winning form of the nuggetty mudlark was foreshadowed by his running at his last public appearance (Otaki, in May last), when on sticky soil he ran fourth in a sbc-fur-ongs' race, and third close up in a onemMe go. On Wednesday he was neglected in. the machines, and he paid his supporters - £13 lls for each sovereign invested. Only eleven speculators coupled Irim with. Kiatere on tie double-event machine, where the dividend amounted to £78 15s. The most noticeable feature of the Winter Hurdles was a splendid late run by Tupara. He was footing it with the rear division two furlongs from home, but he came strongly on demand and cut down his opponents one by one until only Pushful was left, but he failed to beat him, and had to be content with second money. Pushful's limit has been reckoned to be one and a half miles, but he showed himself a stayer on Wednesday. Kohunui, who made the running thrpugh•ut, finished in third place, well up. He •was paying close on £25 for a win. Pushful's dividend was £8 sa. The Hack Hurdles were won by Jewel Sun, from the better-backed Outer. There was only a long neck between the two. As the placed horses were finishing there •was some jostling going on that waa more easy to pick than the winning double was. It was a fine field that faced the barrier for the Te Aro Hack Handicap, of fiwe foriongs, only two of the twenty acceptors being absentees (Clem and Claremoat). There were several "strong ordera" on the totalisator, but the winner, Banzai, was not one of them. Jolly Friar was first favourite with £235 on him out of £1882, with Fontenoy (£226) and Aotea (£218) close up. Banzai found £115 of support, while Blytbemaid (who ran ■ second) carried only £85. The race was won from end to end. Of the horses that failed, Tonderghie, Claremont, Waiwera, Te Kainui, Tupara, Kohunui, Lyrist, and Mango showed form that suggests probable wins for them at early dates. Although Mr. Stead has not yet de- . finitely made up his mind regarding the contemplated "visit to Australia, tihe probabilities are that the Y»ldhurat gtring will -consist of Nightfall, Sungod, Noctu-iform, and Multiform. Slow Tom has been eased ia his work at Rkcarton owing to his having developed lameneea. His connections aro hopeful that ho wiH 'bo well enough to sport silk at the Canterbury meeting. Signalman is again in commission at Riccarton. Kiatere's performance on Wednesday stamps him as one of the front rank 6tecp)echJUsere in tho colony. Only on on& previous occasion, in tho history of the race 'haa a winner carried more than. 11.12— viz., Plain Bill in 1900. The Castor gckfe^dfl i iKj;ifled4?y.iA J: . HalL

Percy Johnson, who rode Waitarere in 'the Wellington Steeplechase, had the mount' on Nat and The Friar when they won in 1896 and 1897 respectively, and on Whalebone, who deadheatsd wirfi Oeo in 1891. Johnson 'handled the- Porirua .representative with considerable skill on Wednesday. Tho mishap to Greusot caused a good deal of regret to a number of admirers. 'Mr. Lowry's horse had been allotted a solid burden in the Steeplechase, and there were many who weTe anxious to 6ee how he would acquit himself. Levant's appearanco on the tracks ju3t prior to the meeting gained him many friends in the Wellington Hurdle Handicap. He, however, performed disappointingly. According to a private cable message received in Christchurch on Saturday, the owners of Machine Gun were faced with the same trouble as Mr. Lyons encountered with Up-to-Date through their failure to produce co the Victoria Racing Club a certificate of identification for ■ their horse. Ais iMacbine Gun started in the Lawn Handicap it ia evident -that the matter was satisfactorily arranged. Regarding Machine Gun, the Chris-t-chuTch. correspondent of an Auckland paper learns that an offer of £1500 was refused for him in Australia last week. Trnnipery rather iagloriously chased the field home in the Winter Hurdle Handicap at the Hutt on Wednesday. It is expected that M-ahntonga will be shipped to Australia .next month. A copy of the Masterton Racing Club's report and balance-sheet is to hand. The year's operations yielded a profit of about £800, but if the increased valuation of the club's land is taken into consideration it works out to over £1000. The October meeting, which it was generally agreed was the wettest on record, returned a profit of about £100, while the Autumn Meeting the phib's" coffers to the extent of £700. The sum ol £2000 was paid away in stakes. The Hawera-owned Recreation, on the strength of his performances ac Otaki, h*d a strong following for the Miramar Hack Handicap at the Hutt on Wednesday,, but the Clanranald filly Blythexnaid upset) calculations. The Ric-carton-fcrained Sir Percivale made matters very interesting in the closing stages of the journey. In the Te Aro Hack Handicap Fontenoy was regarded a "a good thing," but failed to get a place. According to a Greymouth paper, W. Mitchell, trainer of the Handsome Jack colt Roseal, had rather an anxious time of it during the recent flood. Mitchell's stables are situated near the racecourse, which was under water to a depth of 9ft, but he got his charge shifted to a vacated stable on a small hill opposite the course after some difficulty. The following is a list of the horses eft in the Great Northern Guineas, to be run at the A.R. C. Spring Meeting in November: — Mr. D. O'Brien's Multifid, Mr. C. Hewitt's Dardanus, Mr. A. Lennard's Carl Rosa, Mr. T. Fenton's Hildebrande, Mr. T. Fenton's br c, b Phoebus Apollo— Musket Maid, Mr. E. W. Alison's Foremost, Mr. J. Warner's Amorelle, Mr. S. Bradley's, Punui, Mr. W. Foss's Master Delaval, Mr. J. E. Thorpe's Apolouge, Mr. Win. Verran's The Raven, Mr. E. J. Watt's Boomerang, Mr. E. J. Watt's King Billy, Mr. A. Morgan's Hiro, Mr. F., W. Arnold's Annette, Mr. T. H. Lowry's eh c, by Seaton Delaval — St. Amy, Mr. Win. Dayis's b "c, by Stepniak — 1-eda, Mr. Win. Dayis's b c, by Stepniak — Wish, . Mr. T. H. Lowry's br f, by Merriwee — Lady Helen. That handy little publication, Mr. J. Miller's Annual Sporting Pamphlet, has been issued promptly on the declaration of weights for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups. The pamphlet contains the placed and unplaced horses in the two big Australian events, and a quantity of other interesting and valuable information. According to a Melbourne writer, Wakefield's next mate will be Wallace. There is no doubt now that she has missed to Positano. "Special Commissioner" in the London Sportsman makes the following interasti»g comments on the race for the English Derby : — "After all, the Derby resuited in a most exciting contest; and j drew to witness it more people than I have ever seen at Epsom. Reports* as to the improved condition of Jardy began at last to give seme sort of encouragement tq the backers of the French colt, and it cannot be denied now that they had reason, for if ever a horse gave his supporters a good run for their money, poor • Jardy did to-day, though one could but feel sorry for him in his adversity. It is well on the cards that he will never forget the bitter struggle. The idea as to his being scarcely, if at all, amiss may be at once dismissed. He coughed several time in the paddock, and oh ac least one occasion blew mucous discharge from his nose. Moreover, he was dull in his coat, and when he cantered down he did not got half ao resolutely as when he went out for the Middle Park Plate. Finally, he was running at the nose when he returned to the weighing enclosure after the race, and he had not had a gallop worth the name of a 'Derby 'gallop for more than a week before the race. Notwithstanding all this the game son of Flying Fox and Airs and Graces made a glorious fight, and, in my judgment, the three-quarters of a length by which the winner got home represented the utmost possible. While all Englishmen must be in a sense glad that Cicero has won, we mutt not be so foolish as to claim that he is thereby demonstrated the best colt. "Not you, but Fate has vanquished me 1 is a quotation suitable for Jardy to address to Cicero. Rouge Croix shot up with a fine turn of speed, and as they rounded Tottenham Corner was upsides with the leader, ntfar to whom Silver Streak had always been lying. But Cicero was always within easy striking distance, as also was Signorino, and when it came to real business there was no chance for the leaders. On came Cicero, with Signorino running well on the near side of him, and the victory of Lord Rosebery's champion was loudly acclaimed, when suddenly Stern once more loomed on the scene, and on Jardy, having sat and suffered as long as he dared. For a few moments there was an uncertainty, for Jardy made a brilliant effort, which carried him to Cicero's girths, and looked like carrying him further,, but sheer weakness caused Ms effort to die out in the last fifty yards, and thus it fell tha* Cicero got home by threequarters of a length after an anxious struggle." Cicero's time was 2min 39 3-oaec, which constituted a record for the race, and t&e value of the stake to the owner, Lord Rosebery, was 6450 soys.