THE TURF. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 48, 26 February 1908, Page 3

THE TURF. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

At the present time thero are quite a number of owners and trainers on the look-out for decent gallop* k to fill vacant boxes. They are finding it a matter of great difficulty to .buy what they want at anything like a reasonable price. Land valuc3 aro said to hare jumped somo in Xew Zealand during the past few years, but th© jump in racehorses which havo performed well has been even more pronounced. For example, several parties have been nibbling afc Motoa, -but his owner trill not put a price on the spsody Conqueror — Marionette horse. H© lias dachned, so it is said, siy hundred. If that be correct, ,tlu>n Motoa must have shown Messena something pretty good. Taking his brace of defeats by Ballarat at Rangitikei a*ud Egmont, six hundred ought to repre&ent the brown horse's fair value. It must be admitted, of course, that in beating at nearly equal weights a smart filly like Sister Anne in . the City Handicap at the Trentham summer meeting Motoa nut a few hundreds on to his value, but on the other hand he is no'w'an exposed horse, and the filly was conceding a year. It is a, wonaer that under the circumstances buyeis do not turn their eyes to tho English market, where sprinters of almost the highest clajss aro now to be picked up' at ridiculously low prices. The English studmasters have evolved a. big stylish type of animal, somewhat leggy «nd delicate perhaps, but capable of tremendous speed over short distances. At the conclusion of tho flat-racing season big cleanng-out sales are held, and at Newmarket hundreds of lots are quitted at bargain prices under the hammer. The mares usually command, good puces, for the Continental buyers are always prepared to go to a thousand or, two for the blood, but stallions 'and geldings are uot, bo sought after. The Indian and Australian buyers have awakened to the opportunities which, ate presented at Newmarket, and elsewhere in England, and quite a number of horses have been i. icured on their account. " ~f^> show what bargains there are, In | '-jlember Saxham, a young horse, only m£ee years old, oeo of the best-looking in training, was absolutely given away for 300 guineas; and, mark, Saxhnm is one of the best/ sprinters in England ' and over a six furlong straight track ■ would run tho distance under lmin losee. But the wealthy owners in England will not psrsevere. If colts or fillies do not win by the end of their three-year-old career they are cleared out to make 1 room for the younger stock. At the saiu-j time that Saxharo was sold, a really nice horse, Achilles, right at the top of the " second-class division, was disposed of for 400 guineas. A flying two-year-old such as Manpas brought only about the same figure. Others cbuld be mentioned, but these' three will suffice to give some idea of the Bargains. Each of these horses would command on the New Zealand basis not less tlian a thousand guineas. Then, again, roarers in England appear to throw off their affection" 'in these milder climes. Take Traquair. At the top of his two-year-old form this commanding son of Ayrshire and Chelandry might have been sold by Lord Rosebery for as many, thousands as later oorn r he Tfalised ir>. hundreds. As a two-year-old Traquair won five races right off the reel, •and he was talked and written of -as a prospective Derby favourite. Yet we find this splendid animal when he gets a little touched in the wind sold for export for 'a paltry few hundred*. It would not be a surprise if Traquair captured' • one of the biggest sprints in. Australia when his trainer gets the English horse well. •, Antonio was another bargain afc 250 guineas, He was bought for stud purposes, but when Earnshaw looked him over ' that astute tr.iir.er thought there was a good race concealed in th? son of Prisoner * and .Padua. When only half well in the 'spring Antonio ran third in the Epsom to. Melodrama and Mooltan in very fast' time — a. great performance, for ho was so sore that fop a week before -the race Earnshaw could do little eke but swim him. And row Antonio beats the cream of Australia^} anji New Zealand sprinters in the rich Futurity. In India thia season, the English horses have knocked, spots oft the-.Auatralian horses in the sprints. In the distance -races it, is quit© another matter, 'for here the sounder-legged Australians' easily hold the field. ' ' . The, Futurity .Stakes is interesting to us in another way, for the running gives us a splendid line as to the nierits of Elevation and Mountain King, who, it is to W hoped, will meet «t Eandwick-ip April. The big - Australian colt would, start a hot favourite fn the Futurity, for over thero he is reckoned the" fastest orer seven "fur}(ji)gs and .a milo ever seen, not excepting even the great Marvel. Carrying 151b in excess of wei^ht-for-age, Mountain King was'a head in ffonfc of Munjeet, the colt having 9.6 and" /H. Price's mare 9.5.' At tho most, this running makes the Australian champion out to be not more than 21b better than Mun«";et over this'distarice, And now to hark a-ck a little. In tho Jubilee Cup,' one mile, run under weight-ior-age conditions, at Riccarton last November,, Elevation 1 with a stone penalty, carried 9.0 and beat among others Munjeel:, who had 9.7, including 101b penalty. There was about three-quarters of a length between them, Elevation being second, and' Munjeet foutth. For the three-quarters of a length over a mile allow 21b. ..which ■makes Munjeet in November sib the better. In the interim, however, Elevation by the scale should irtiprove by exactly that amount. He may, therefore, be e"stimatrd <tr ths equal of Munjeet at lavel weights over the Futurity Stakes distance. On paper,, then,, the" New Zealand champion up to a mile appears on collateral form — and Munjeet is rare tiy-ing-tsckle — to he r. couple of, pounds infeiior to Mountain King. What a contest it will bo if the two chestnuts meot at Raadwick ! . . The cable man in his description of tha big Canlneld rsoe, laconically telegraphed "Scotland fourth." He might nave graciously condescended to say haw far away from Muujeet the Newmarket "dead bird" was. At Flemington Scotland will meet Antonio on 151b and Munon 111b bc'itor terms respectively. This concession in weight- in equivalent io a five and four lengths' advantage in 'distance, and it in hardly likely that Scotland would be' ds far away from Antonio and Munjeet as that. A local p-intor has backed the c-oincidencn double, Scotland and Peru, for a • fairly large amount, and if it materialises he ■will have cause to bless his geographical studies. If O'Connor's chanip'.oii wins the .Newmarket, the many Sro,ts at Flair.ington will fill the air with "Scotland for ever" and 'similar warlike and orultant cries. With Tartan, who is in the same stable as Mountain King, repoltpd amis*, the top. weight in the Australian Cup will be carried by Apologue. Tho ex Aucklaitdcr ran into 'third place on Saturday in the St. Heliers Stakes at Canlfield, Pern, a three-year-old in Payfail's stable, winning. Peru was highlj thought of by the Rnndwkk trnrk -ex pprtK 'early in cbe spring, and lie niav yet vindicate their judgmen* '

Th 6 Wanganui Jockey Club intends to liceußo bookmakers under . the regulations drafted by the Racing Conference. Henr'o Messrs. Ryan and" DoGroen. tho Auckland bookmaker-ow ners of Cachuca, have to teka their choice— either race Cachuca in tha "hurdle events at Wanganui and viow.thc races as spectators, or scratcKthe mate and ply their calling. They will not bo allowed to do both. The Racing Conference very thoughtfully decided to remove temptaj tion from" the thorny path of the fielder. ! For smart ponies "there is always an eager Sydney demand. Hughis, who won four events and ran second in another at tho Otahuhu meeting, Auckland, was priced for' the other sido. The parties not coming to terms, ths natty Soult pony was auctiasad, and at 150 guineas was withdrawn. Impression, a double v.-inner at was bonght cheaply enough in Auckland fdr 30 guineas, and she showed her aptitude for the sin ill coursa on Saturday by spinning /froun'd the corners without losing a foot of ground. Impression, Lady Mason, Kauhoe, and Miretta stood out in a class by themselves at Miramar, and tho management will have to introduce the principle of the divided handicap to give the moderates any show at all. Harry Harrison, who was accidentally killed recently in Auckland, used to train for Major George, and was associated with Nelson when the doughty son of King Cole was sweeping all in front of him. *The old school of owners and trainers is rapidly passing away, and many will regret the sad ending of bluff and hearty Harry Harrison. . Tho big-hearted and genial Yorkshireman had heaps of friends,' and few could handle a horse like him. A new synonym for the "Johnny Armstrong" feat was hii'upon by a spoi't returning from the Woodville races last week. He spoke of a certain jockey applj'ing the "Westinghouso brake," and thereby enriched the sporting .writer's /ocabulary with a telling*phrase. At IVoodvilla on tho second day there 'were three five-furlong races in isuccessiop. Too much altogether, and the programme requires revising. Gauze was very oore, and may require a spell. Playmate will soon be holdiug his own in open company. Promising sorts that r*an at Woodville were Contour, Seaton Dale, Dream, and First Mate. Tho weights for the minor events at Wanganui will be dealt with in Saturday's notes.