THE TURF.

Evening Star, Issue 14004, 10 March 1909, Page 3

THE TURF.

Napier Park March 17 and 18 South Canterbury March 24 and 25. [Gossip by Old Identity.] Criehton has started his stallion career most promisingly. Fifteen months ago he was.mated with Spring Guu and Invicta, and each now has a fine colt foal. The proposal to put a steeplechase on the D.J.C. June programme is leading to warm discussion. Most if not all of the committeemen favor steeplcchasing being introduced. The difference of opinion is as to whether it should We done this year. The top-weight in tho Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase this year is Mr C. G. Assheton-Smith's Jerry M., with 12.7; Ascetic's Silver having 12.5, Cackler 12.3, and Mount Prospect's Fortune 12.0. Rubio, last year's winner, has 11.7. There are 84 horses handicapped for the event, which will be run on March 26. The brood mare Aura (Richmond—lnstep), whose death was reported recently, ww twentv-two years old.

Curtain Lecture, though he pulled up very lame, did not quite break down in the Newmarket Handicap. He will not, however, race again, but will go to the stud. Mr G. P. Payne has reached Melbourne with nino horses, which are to be trained at Aspemlale Park by D. J. Price. They are Nobel (half-sister to Solution), Golden Cairn (by Clanranald from Golden Crest), a two-year-old filly by Stepniak from Gipsy Countess, and six yearlings. Mr S. P. Mackay. owner of Soultline, •has purchased in Perth the imported horse Rhubarb for stud duty on his station in West Australia.

The cause of Delaware's injury was that he " knnckled over" and wrenched his pastern joint while galloping at Caulfield. Kilmarnock, winner of the Wanganui Cup. was not the great outsider some take him to be. In the machine he had a steady following of men who remembered his wins at Patca last season, his success at Taranaki three months ago, and his necond in the Egmont Cun. As a fact, the order of favoritism i:\ the Wanganui Cup was : 1 Sir Tripsin, 2 Apa, 3 All Red, 4 Downfall, 5 Blue Ribbon, and 6 Kilmarnock. The winner thus stood in the middle of the field according to the order of backing, there having been twelve starters. All Red assumed command after going a furlong, but Uhlan do rushed to the front in tho straight, where Kilmarnock lay last. When three furlongs from home, however, Kilmarnock commenced to make a business-like mvive, and then, says " Glencoe,"' his paco was astonishing. In less than two furlongs he had paesed the whole of the field, and was running right on, and had he not been steadied he might have equalled Truce's record for the race. Kilmarnock boasts no fashionable pedigree, being merely classed as by St. Paul—a sire who was not clean bred himself. Kilmarnock's dam is believed to have been by The Australian, but that is as far as his lineage can be traced. He is deficient in looks and breeding, but staying is his forte, and it enabled him to beat his more fashionably-bred opponents, with their heavier imposts and their crack riders. Ballarat, who won the Flying Handicap, was also an outsider, so that the bookmakers would scarcely be hit over the double.

The following is a list of the winners of the Wanganui Cup since the distance wa*= reduced :—IBBB, Dnrlu, 6.8, 3min 8£ sec: 1889, Lady Norah, 7.12, 3min 7sec; 1890, Dudu, 9.2, 3min 9sec; 1891, Dndu, 8.12, 3min Bsec; 1892, Crown Jewel, 6.12, 3min 6see: 1893, St. Katherme, 7.11, 3min sseo; 1894, Liberator, 8.9, 3rain 6 2-ssec; 1895. Lady Zetland, 8.3, 3mm 9eee; 1896, Spindrift, 7.8, 3min 4 4-seec ; 1897, Blarney, 8.5. 3min 8 3-ssec; 1898, SwoTdfish, 8.9. 3min 4 l-ssec; .1899, Douglas, 8.4, omin ssec : 1900, Advance, 7.8, 3min 4sec; IGOI. Nobility,* 8.2, 3nrin 9 4-ssec; 1902, Nonette. 8.11, 3nrin 3 3-ssec; 1903, Mara, 7.7. 3min 3 3-ssec; 1904, Ghoorka, 7.2, omin 4seo; 1905, Quarryman, 7.11, 3min 3ser: 1906, Boomerang, 7.2, 3min 3 l-ssec; 1907, Trace, 7.1, 3min 2sec; 1908, Uhlando, 6.8, 3min 3 4-ssec; 1909, Kilmarnock, 6.10, 3min 3eea

On the second day at Wangantri Kilmarnock was raised 151b, whilst All Red was down 21b and Master Delaval down 4!b, and both these beat the Cop -winner, though he ran well and finished close np. Provocation beat Gold Crest very easily in the Jackson Stake*. The two-year-old jumped away in front, and waa never approached. But the Gold Crest he beat was not the GoH Greet of a year ago. . He has a dicky leg. The most important event at the Wanganni races was the death of Apa. It deprives the Dominion "of one of the best of its handicap horses. I have always likened Apa to Occident as a stayeT under medium weights, and there is little doubt that but for the owner having Frisco in the same stable Apa would have won mfjr« than he did.

; The rain cleared off just before the racing commenced on the opening day of the V.R.C. meeting at Flemington. Aringa, winner of the Hurdle Race, was one of the favorites. A protest against Aringa, on the ground of interference, was dismissed, and the £2 deposit declared forfeited.

The 6ix f farters for the V.R.G. Leger were a moderate lot.. Golden Gate, -winner of the Launceston Cup, was made favorite because it was thought that, he would stav. The favorite made the pace to the straight where Even Time inn up and challenged! and won by a neck. Both finished very tired, and at the end were comintr back to Monohel and Trafalgar. Even Tune is bv Maltster frooi Egale, by Goldsbroucrh, and cost 220gs as a yearling. He Ls big enouan, for htrrdle racing. Irishman was a decided favorito for the Newmarket Handicap, and finished close up third. remarks: "If the owner of Irishman had let the Oakieigh Plate alone ho could have won the Futurity Stakes and the Newmarket Handicap By winning the Oakieigh, for which his horse was unbankable, he threw away the otheT two races, and the nice stake in bets ho would haTo won in the Newmarket. Mr W. R, Wilson did the Fame thing with Resolute in 1898, but he did get both the Futurity and Oakieigh Plate for consolation."

Soultlino's performance in the Newmarket is highly extolled bv all the writers. It was a hard race for him under his big we?ght, tho wind being ahead and the course soft, but when Dunolly brought him to the whip in a close finish he got there like a first-class racehorse.. noticed, too, that M'Lachlan fumbled a little before ho got his whip into play in tho finish. Soultline did what no other horse had ever accomplidied in carrying 9st 111b to victory in a Newmarket Handicap. Boz ran second with lQst lib up in Churchill's year, and the highest weight ever carried to victory previous to this was 9st 71b bv Pendant in 1906.

Golden Slipper finished sixth in the Newmarket.

_ Mala, who won the Sires' Produce Stakes in a canter, displayed brilliancy in the spring by winning tlie Debutant Stakes at Laulneld, an 1 running (second with a 101b penalty to Brookong in the Maribyrnong Plate. He is by Maltster from La France by Carnage, from the Newmarket Handicap winner Wild Rose.

Signor, our New Zealand candidate started favorite for the Easendon Stake*' and ran second to Pendil. Some thought that Cameron did not handle Signor too well, but it will be observed that the form was repeated in the Champion Stakes and Pendil probably won on hie merits. ' The day's i-acing concluded with the Brunswick Stakes, which resulted in the two favorites, Yabba Gabba <ind Seddon fightui? out the finish. Seddon, however' won quite easily in the end. He was bred m the Dominion, and is a full brother to Wairiki, the horse that broke his shoulder in Acrnsia's Mclbourno Cup. On the second day of the V.R.O. meeting Soultline suffered a decisive defeat bv Parsee in the All-aged Stakes. It is quite likely, remarks "Goodwood," that Soultline was fcelinj the effects of liis severe ,iace in the Newmarket Handicap, but it was only after his defeat that it was alleged that he was " looking very wearv." Parsee was interfered with in tiie Ne\voj: he jrould-iave made

a much better fight, than he did in that went In ?J iy catS Q ) he was benefited by his race in the Newmarket. He must certainly have come on a lot, or Soultlino wont back, as in the Newmarket Paoreee was getting a stone from SoultJine, while in the All-aged Stakes there was only 6lb between them. The distance was certainly two furlongs further; but on all public form Soultline was just as much at home over a. mile as is Parsee.

1 here were other surprises the same day, 6a ?' fi ,'\V"' lin g a -" Mr MArthur's highpriced Maltster colt, Braeseur, caused No 1 surprise Jn the Hopeful Stakes. There was nothing in his running to suggest that he would win, but the two-year-olds are so much of a muchness this season that no resuit should cause surprise. Then camo the start of Waiter Hickenbotham's triumphs, and two of them were gained with horses that had been badly beaten on the Saturday. Some people said things about re•°u fom ' but fortu nately Hickenootham has been mixed up with racing since he looked after The Duke, who won the A.J.O. Derby of 1868.. and if ever a man connected with the turf is entitled to be pronounced clean, Walter Hickenbotham is that man. He may be a compara lively rich man, but if he is his wealth has been acquired bv savinz, not by backing horses. Ncsnka\s ridiculously easy win ~, the Autumn Handicap was 'a great surprise, after her poor running in the Lssendon stakes, but that w; )6 a wei<dit-tor-age race, and a poor race at that. Did not most of us think that Sinnor should have been much nearer to Pendil? Anyway, i,ushka met a very weak field in the Autumn Handicap, but she certainly beat them easily The inquiry i„to the running ot Karanaud should never have been held, but it served to prove that, thinking ho had very lutle to beat, the owner of Karanaud and his friends had put £3OO

n-iS« T 7 ? a ? dlca P B*™ the bookmakers another windfall, as Sucre, who was quite an outsider, led almost from the start and ,»- on easi[y . Theu R Loch P ate, in which Trafalgar completely reversed the St. Leger running with Golden bate and Mor.obel, and won the nice I was not a bit surprised at this. Trafalgar lost the St. Leger through bad ridin- or bad instructions, and in the Loch Plate W. tl. fenuth rode him, and probablv had a tree hand to use his own X, one who watched the St. I. lrfer ' c should nave been surprised at Trafalgar reversing that running. b The Pendil st..i-! 0 did not mind .showing their hand in the Lssendon Stakes, and Pendil, having won that ra(je an(J havin , p such a pull , n weights, went out a strong favorite for the Australian Cup, Signor being next ,n demand. Little Lad was responsible tor nearly all the running but as soon as the straight was entered Pendil took the lead. He looked like coming in an easy winner; but a little further on Delenda put in a strong claim, and he seemed to have an excellent chance of catching the tavonte. Delenda. however, is a very hard horse to ride, and though A. C. Thomas, who had the mount, is a strong lad, he could not keep hrm straight, the' colt running all over the course. He finished straight enough, but died on his run. and Pendil won with a little in hand bv half a length. Signor found the weight too much He ran a good race, but was beaten by two lengths for second place. The V.R.C. stewards held an inquiry into tho running of Pilot in the Steeplechase, and after hearing the owner, trainer and jockey, severely reprimanded Cahill for not riding the horse out. Cahill was fined £2 for_disobedience at the post. Pilot carried 13.5, and finished sixth.

It was intended to give J. Hopwood the mount on Little Lad in the Australian Cup but he was suspended in connection w'th his riding of Doughty in the River Handicap.

At the Melbourne sales Mr G. P. Payne (N.Z.) bought the mare Everlasting e i<rht years old, by Padlock—Azalea, for 180gs. Aurora was passed in at a reserve of 1,500g5.

Trainer R. Wootton figured in the Epsom (.ling.) Police Court recently, owing to a quarrel with Mr J. M. Bell, a well-known owner of horses, likewise resident at Epsom. From the evidence it appeared that Wootton formed the opinion that Bell was touting his horses, and endeavoring to <*et information about them from his staole boys; also that Bell purposely exercised a horse of his own suffering from influenza close to Wootton's stables, thus causing danger of infection to his horses. Anyhow, Wootton, it was said, knocked Bell down in the road and hammered him. Wootton was eventually bonnd over to keep the peace in two sureties of £SO each. It is not often that a horse comes out of a milk-cart and wins a race, but (savs Hobart ' Mercury') Lyrist, who scored "in the Steeplechase at Mentone (Vic), belongs to this class. He has always shown the possession of a fair amount" of pace, but was thought to be more useful dragging a milkcart around Caulfield than running in races. He was rescued from that position some weeks ago, the consideration given by F. W. Begg being £3O. A. Skirving gave the gelding some schooling over fences, and he won his race by a hundred yards. It must not be inferred from this that there was anything brilliant in Lyrist's form. Indolent had him badly beaten at the back of the course, when he fell; two other dangerous opponents in Stately and Paddy having previously come to grief. Lyrist is a very poor jumper. He blundered at nearly every obstacle, and the English jockey A. Robertson, who rod© him, did well to keep in the saddle. An important betting appeal was dealt with by an English Court of' Appeal lately. The question was whether betting on horse racing could be regarded as gaming according to section 17 of the Licensing Art of 18(2. Mrs Martha, koeper of the Swan Inn, Lewes, was convicted by the local magistrate for allowing two men to make bets upon horses while in her house. She appealed against the conviction to Quarter Sessious, who quashed the conviction; and it was against that order the appeal was made. The Act provides that any licensed persons suffering any gaming to be carried on in his premises, or using his house in contravention to the Betting Act of 1873, shall be liable to be convicted and fined for the first offence a sum not exceeding £lO, and for the second or any subsequent offence a sum not exceeding £3O. In support of the appeal being upheld, counsel contended that betting in horse racing was gaming according to the meaning of the Act. Mr Justice Walton said the difficulty in this particular case was that no game wa-s being played. Mr Humphreys said there was a prohibition against making a bet. The words of the Act were: " Who suffers any gaming on the premises." Without calling on Mr Marshall. K.C.. for the respondent, the Lord Chief Justice said they had come to the conclusion that the magistrates at Quarter Sessions were right in quashing the conviction, and the appeal would accordingly be dismissed. In America blinkers for racehorses are now made in the colors of the owners. It must be something novel to see racehorses come along in blue, green, or pink blinkers. The Grand Prix de la Ville de Vice, a 22m steeplecha.se, of £4,000, was run at, Nice on January 18, and resulted in a deadheat between the two most fancied horses, Chanoine and Wild Aster, with the third horse only three-quarters of a length away.