THE TURF.

Evening Star, Issue 12028, 28 October 1903, Page 3

THE TURF.

Bore — October 29. Poverty Bay . October 29 and 30. Master ton October 29 and 30. [Gossip bt Oed Idxntttt.] The four New Zealand Cup candidates that I have a liking for are Canteen, Pampero, Melwood, and Laval ette, and if Achilles be added it seems to me that this selected five are to be preferred to the remainder of the horses engaged. I include Achilles simply on the general principle that a first-rater is always dangerous. Canteen has already gone to 'Riccarton, and by the time this is in print Pampero and Bombardo will be well on their way. Pampero did a good mile and a-half gallop on Saturday, merely playing with Bombardo. For the Stewards’ Handicap it is bard to pick one to heat St. Denis. He will be an improved horse bv the dav of the meeting. The Caulfield Stakes’ was a great race. “ Terlinga " thus describes it: Wakeful got out of the barrier as quickly as Ibex, and the two went at each other from the jump off. With good horses behind them, it was only to be expected that this game would result in both being beaten. In the last Cumberland Stakes Great Scot and Abundance cut each others throats, and The Victory came and won when they knocked up. Wakeful and Ibex went, right awa y at Caulfield, and were lengths in front of the others for six furlongs, but at the home turn it was plain that both were tiring, and that the winner was to come uxnn behind. Wakeful fcd into the straight, but she was done, and soon all eves were on Abundance and Emir. The colt was struggling on with the gameness of a bulldog, hut he was in sore distress, and at the distance began to roll on to Wakeful and Ibex. This made no matter to the race, as both were beaten, but Postillion was not, ami had he obtained a clear run we might have seen a great finish. As it was, the Positano horse, whose sides showed the white paint annexed while he was scraping the rails at the home turn, was out too late to get a chance at Abundance, On the Thursday morning 1 saw Abundance and Postillion do a gallop over the Caulfield Stakes distance, with Clifton as pace-maker. For the last two furlongs Abundance and Postillion fought ouo a far better battle in this rehearsal than we saw in any race c-n the Saturday, and if Postillion had not met with bad luck in the Stakes we would. I think, have seen just such another fight. Postillion is a great stayer, and it is to be hoped those dicky forelegs of his will stand to him through the spring meetings. A party of nine turned’ out for the Debutant Stakes at Caulfield. It was the smallest field for thirteen years; but with the exception of Rifle Bird, who recalled the diminutive Meg. the juveniles were rather a select lot. The king of the party (savts the Argus ) was undoubtedly Svivanite. Having been well tried with Class,’ Sylvanite quickly deposed Koopan from the position of favorite. It was a very fine race. Boabdil showed a lot of pace, and held his own till past (he half-distance, where Koopan got the better of him, but had no sooner done so than he was tackled by Sylyanite, wbo i finishing with great determination. won by a head, with Boabdil, a neck away, third. Sylvanite was some distance behind the leaders turning into the straight, but that, it appears, was accounted for by toe ract that Lewis somehow lost the rse of the stirrup-irons soon after the start. In the circumstances, therefore. Svlva.nite’s was a very meritorious performance, and despite a penalty, he may add the Maribvrnong Plate to his laurels. Boabdil and Koopan bumped about the distance, or Svivanite might have failed to catch Mr Wvnne's colt.

Only five competitms were announced for the Caulfield Guineas. Tlure lias never been a smaller field. ScobicV stable supplied two—viz.. Sweet Xell and Hautnrier. The hitter carried 31b extra, and Belah, for winning the A.J.C. Derby, had to put up a 71b penalty. that Sweet Nell had an advantage. Sweet Nell was made favorite. Belah was the second favorite, and ’.he Sydney division were confident that he would maintain hts reputation; bnt he failed to do so, and was even beaten bv Jacobite, who finished a long wav behind ibe leaders. Hautnrier made the running, attended by Belah, to the home turn, where the latter bent a retreat, and Sweet Xell, joining Hantnrierut the distance, won rather easily by a neck. In the Eclipse Stakes, on the second day at Caulfield, Vvakefnl was not sacrificed as she was in the Caulfield Stakes. There was no Ibex in the field to tempt her rider to adopt entting-down tactics. Dunn kept l.er well back until the home turn was reached, when she quickly disposed of Postillion, and won at her ease from Hautnrier, who lost several lengths owing to interference about half a mile from home. Wakeful was meeting Postillion on 101b worse terms than in the C;ail field Stakes, so that form, as far as these two were concerned, did ret work out at all correctly. This makes fbe twenty-fourth race Vv akeful has won during the fonr seasons she has been on the tnrf. She has run second eleven times, third four times, and has only been three times unplaced. Abundance was a trifle sore before going out for the Eclipse Stakes, and his chance was not improved by the warv he was interfered with by one of the runners as they went out of the straight. The race he ran, though unplaced, was a very creditable one, seeing that he was carrying a 51b penalty. He had to make up a lot of ground in the last six furlongs, and from the half-mile put in a fine run. Including his St. Leger victory. Rock Sand has won eleven races and lost two, and has earned in stakes 25,899 sovs. Of this sum 18.425 sovs have been placed to lbs credit during the present season. The value of the St. Leger was 4,775 sovs, as against 5.275 sovs won by Sceptre a year ago, the difference being owing to the number of subscribers being twenty less. In the first year of the race only a dozen subscribed and ten ran, and in the following year six entered and five went to the post. The highest number to subscribe was 274 in 1879, Rayon d’Or then winning 6,525 sovs, while the field totalled seventeen. Although the A.J.C. Derby winner, Bela.li, made an inglorious display in the Caulfield Guineas, it docs not follow that he is altogether out of court in connection with the V.R.C. Derby. The history of these races for three-year-olds shows that during the past twenty years only twice have the Guineas winners succeeded in capturing the Flemington event, Strathmore doing the trick in 1891, and Wallace four years later. Last year Abundance, like Emir on this occasion, wan sent for the Caulfield Stakes, and while the Pilgrim’s Progress colt beat Great Scot in the Derby, the latter, who was unplaced in the Guineas, tamed the tables on Strata Florida and Oafcwood, who filled first and second prices in the mile race at Caulfield.

On a day when form was somewhat difficult to follow (October 10) one thing stood out very clear at Caulfield, and that is that James Scobie has again a stable full of good horses. Three of the six races on the card fell to him, while inmates of his stable also secured a couple of minor places. The ‘ Australasian,’ which is the recognised authority on such matters, quotes Air Motor as the actual favorite at the start for the Caulfield Cap, because at one time she touched fives. But at the rise of the barrier she and Elderslie were equal favorites at 7 to 1, while Sweet Nell was on offer at 8 to L

The drawers of placed horses in TattersalF s consultation on the Caulfield Cup were: Hayne and Gooch, Castlereagh street, Sydney, £6,000; Halliday and CoL, Perth, W.A., £2,000; A. Rhynd. care of the s-s. Moeraki at Sydney, £I,OOO. At Cleveland (Ohio), on September 14, Lou Dillon, 2min, paced by two racing horses and driven by MHlacrd Sanders, lowered to 2min ssec the high sulky trotting record of 2min B|sec, maae by Maud S. in 1885. The sulky used by Lou DiDon weighed 521b, 81b more than the sulky used by Maud S. Time by quarters, 33jseo, burn 4sec, Imrn 35sec, 2mm ssec. The death is announced in Australia of the stallion Niagara (by Anteros —Frailty) from a_ severe attack of rheumatism; Niagara wasnineteen years old, but last year was twelfth mi the list of winning sires, with

Ah Befhlekem (Pa.) cm September 11, Alert paced a mile in 2min 3isec, 8 -record -for -a haltmlfe.

First forfeit for the V.R.C. Derby resulted in fourteen standing in. Scobie hud allowed four of his—Emir, Hauturier, Sweet Nell, and F.J A.—to stay. Ha wfl] no doubt be able to make a more definite selection when the final acceptances are due, though it is quite likely that at least a couple will start from his stable. The. list is as follows:—J. H. Davis’s hi c Corroboree, C. L, Macdonald’s ch c Scottish King, Sir Rupert Clarke’s b c F.J.A., E. Clarkes br c Emir, W. Bailey’s br c Hautorier, J. East’s hi c Betah, E. Frazer’s br c Jacobite, R. Phillips's b c Sunderland, A. Lawrence’s b g Constantine, R. Crawford’s b c Czarevitch, P. Reynolds’s br c Raeburn, F. M‘6rath l s borbr f Lovelawn, Sir Rupert Clarke’s br f Sweet Ndi, A. Wynne’s br f Praleen.

Wakeful’s monopoly of the weight-for-age races has come to an end. She was oat of a place in the Caulfield Stakes for the first time since she ran fifth m Revenue’s Melbourne Cup year—nearly two years ago. There was some further record-breaking at Shecpshead Bay (New York) last month. A two-year-old named Jocund, with 6.0, easily won a mile race in Inun 58|sec, which beats anything done in America by a horse of that age. At the same track Van Ness ran a straight six and furlongs in Imin 18sec with 7.9 on his back. The Minnteman, another two-year-old, ran a mile in Imin 383 sec, carrying 7.1, and beating tho erode four-year-old MUhesney, 8-lfX Revenue, who received such severe injuries in the Australian Cup of 1902, is joining C. L. Macdonald s horses in training at Caulfield. The V.R.C. Committee held that the falls of Duke of Grafton and Czarevitch in the V.R.C. October Stakes were purely accidental.

G. Grant has taken up Bnrlton and Rexie; and a young trotter just put into work, the two-year-old filly by Aimont— Cling, promises to develop into a fast pacer. This gait site gets from her sire. Cling was a true trotter

The American crack, M'Chesneyv. was hi good form last month, and among the races he accounted for was the rwm City Handicap at Sheepsbead Pay iNew York!. He carried 9.3, heating ten others easily in 2min 4fsec for the mile and Or-quarter. His owner, Smathers, ia credited with having won 50,000d0l in bets. At the Doncaster yearling sales last month a colt by Carbine from Donate realised 1,200g5, while a couple of other youngsters by the same sire also sold w*>U. The highest price realised at tho sales was 3,000gs for a colt by Flying Fox from the Oaks wiyner, Lonely. Next on the test was the GaUmnle—Meddlesome colt, who realised 2,800g5; while another <»lt by that horse changed hands at 2,000g5. The Caulfield track must have Leen very fast on the first day of the recent meeting. Lx winning the Guineas iq Imin 43s*;c Sweet Nell put up a record for the race, improving half a second upon Strata Florida’s time. Prior to Saturday, a filly had not been successful since Vbtiey scored in 1888.

Edith W. broke the world's record for pacing mares on a half-mile track at Anderson (Ind.), on September 4, in the free-for-all pace. Her time by quarters was 35* sec, Imin Dan Patch made an attempt on Augnst 31 to lower his pacing record of Imin 59see. Conditions were favorable, bat he failed to do better chan 2min, This season Dan Patch h’s paced miles in /burn Ojscc, Imin 59sec, 2min and 2min. last season ho did bettor than 2min J.sec on seven occasions.