THE TURF

Evening Star, Issue 14512, 2 November 1910, Page 2

THE TURF

[Gossip by Old Identity.] Beverage and Comedy King. Who has backed the double? Not many in Now Zealand. For years the Y.R.C. Derby and Cup was the principal double everywhere in the colonies. Nowadays wo don’t hear so much of it. If there had been a lot of business in that.line, Beverage and Comedy King would have been fancied a bit, of course, bat it would never Have been rushed, for when Beverage was one of the colts talked about for the Derby during the winter, Comedy King was not in demand for the Cup, and by the time that Comedy King had come into favor by overthrowing Prince Foote at Randwick the one-eyed colt had suffered defeat in his class and became neglected.' The chances are that most of tho winnings over the victory of tho English horse in tho Cup have gone into comparatively few hands. Comedy King was troubled with rheum autism, and probably the big army of punters did not know how far that trouble affected the colt’s galloping. Two racing men who saw the first Melbourne Cup run, on November 7, 1861, are Mr James Wilson, sen.,,and Mr John Buckley. Mr Wilson, says the ‘Argus,’ had not a horse engaged in the first Cup, but he was for many years subsequently a leading figure associated with the event. Mr Buckley has tho unique record of having attended every race meeting held at FJeminglon, from the time Flying Buck won the first Champion Race, in 1859, up to the present time. Mr Buckley, who carries his seventy-five vears well, possesses another record, which may be of interest to temperance people. He gave up intoxicating liquor fifty-live years ago, and has not touched it since. Ho has, all the same, “ handled ” a few hundred bottles of champagne in his capacity of secretary (and for some years previously chairman) of the Victorian Club during the settling over big events. Mr Wilson will be cighty-two years old in a couple of months, and he .still looks hale and hearty.

Four thousand persons witnessed tho first Melbourne Cup, which was a sweepstakes of 20 eovs each. Mormon and Despatch were equal favorites: Archer, the winner, one of the longer-priced division. The ‘Argus’ repriuts a report of the race': There were to have been eighteen startov.;, but W. C. Yuille’s Eagle’s Plume, '‘after he had toed the scratch,” was walked back to the saddling paddock. Twilight overpowered her jockey while doing her preliminary, and galloped a mile before being pulled up. Fireaway led around the first turn, where a serious accident occurred Despatch, Modora, and Twilight falling. Despatch and Medora wore both killed. Morrison, rider of Despatch, broke his arm, and Haynes his collar-bone. The report being quoted continues: “Leaving this unpleasant theme, wo come again to Fireaway, who led all up to the distance and to the stand, Inheritor being second and Sorcerer third.” Archer took the lead on leaving the straight, and ho appears to have slipped his field at the abattoirs, where he had all his opponents in trouble. To further quote: “At the home turn Mormon put on the steam, and his example was at once followed by Prince. The race was, however, never in doubt from the time Archer got the load, and ho won literally in a Ciinter by half a dozen lengths, Mormon corning along at a great pace up the straight, and finishing second, and Prince beating Antonclli on the post for third place. Tory Boy was fifth, and Flatcatcher sixth.”

“Terliuga” has some interesting notes on past Cups, frem which I extract the following :

In 1886 the judge (Mr J. G. Dougherty) did not place a third, and the stewards took upon themselves to place Tail’s Falcon. Their right to do this was challenged, and, on being appealed to, Admiral Bens told them they were wrong. Falcon had been heavily backed for a place. In 1869 Austin Saqui, who played dance music for the diggeie of the fifties, won the Cup with Warrior. Saqui at this time was a bookmaker. He bought Warrior in Sydney, after ho had run third to Circassian in the Great Metropolitan Stakes, anti sent him down to Bob iSevior to train. The horse was off his feed before the race, but he won comfortably, and Saqui was much elated.

Nimblefeel's was the dream year, and most people thought that Lapdog, the heavily-backed South Australian candidate, had wou. However, the Judge gave the race to Nimblefoot, and the dream came off.

Mr J. Wilson won iu 187j with Hon Juan, a horse 1 can remember seeing run (in blinkers) in a selling race in Adelaide. Ho was a two-year-old then, and when his owner died Mr Thompson got hold of him for about £SO, but he was sold again for, 1 think, £2OO, and was only leased* by Thompson when he won the Cup. A few days before tho race it was touch and go whether ho would get to tho post, but ho came round, started first favorite, and won by thfeo lengths. The Hon literally had stones in hand for this race.

Most people regarded Haricot’s win as a fluke, but subsequent racing at Wagga and Ccelong showed there was not much fluke about it. Hagworth was a starter, with 10.0, and the celebrate! New Zealand trainer, R. J. Mason, rode Lurlinc. There was very heavy betting when the outsider Darriwell won. His stable companion, Lo Loup, was backed to win upwards of £70,000 for his owner (Mr Stead) alone. Other heavily-supported candidates wore Suwarrow, Sweetmeat, Savanaka, oecundus, and Wellington. Suwarrow tried to win all the way, but Darriwell cut him down at the distance, and just wen from Sweetmeat, to whom he was actually giving 31b Mata, the hairy-legged gelding from New Zealand, was the sensation of 1880. New Zealand money poured in for him, and he did a number of sensational gallops. Whether these were done to keep him in the market or not I do not know, but the How Zealand sports got a poor run for their money, and at the end of tho meeting Mala and his party were all disqualified for ever, on the ground of inconsistent running. When Mi'illis, won with 9.9 the prize would have gone to Commotion (9.12) if Power had not cased up in tho straight; hut, on the other hand, Malua got a very bad bump coining round the turn. Mr W. Pearson ran third with Plausible, and illnatured people said Power eased Commotion in the interests of Plausible,- but this was so much nonsense. Mr Pearson backed each of his horses for £20,000, and each jockey was laid £I,OOO to nothing against winning. The 1890 Gun was the first to which £IO,OOO was added, and it was a record in several ways. Carbine, the best horse Australasia has seen, won. carried 10.5, and there wore thirty-nine runners. Apart from this. Carbine gave nearly 4.0 to Highborn, and ho was equal to winning the Sydney Cup with 9.3 at tho end of the season. Carbine made the rest of the starters look very humble beings that day. He was always with the leaders, taking any opening without tho least difficulty, and, coming to tho front at the entrance to the straight, lie won by four lengths. 'They say that Adjudge would probably have won on tho second day at Gore if he bad been ridden by an experienced jockey. Another comment by Dunedin visitors is that Warsaw seemed to win the Cup, many thinking that the judge made a mistake in declaring a dead heat. An Australian writes: I was at Doncas tea: to see the St. Leger run. Left London at 8.49 a.m., arrived 12 p.m., distance, 150 miles. The return fare was 28s; grand stand, 30s; dinner, 6s; and race book, 6d. I guess there was a crowd of over 230,000, and the only seats or conveniences are for the lords and their ladies. The public 'stand anywhere they can. Mr J. Wilson, jun., was very wrath when tho running of Diabolo was questioned in the last Australian Cup, and “ Terlinga ” says it has been understood ever since that incident that next autumn will see this owner go right out of racing. Not only will his racehorses go to auction, hut Ihoßonnyvale stud will bo broken up. Still, if Bobadea and Danaus do really well

this spring, Sir Wilson may be tempted to. alter bia mind. Tho Broom, at Doncaster fetched 1,500g5, which was only a very little less than a previous one had done, originally belonged to a coper, who gave £l2 for her. Ho, in turn, was glad to sell her at .a profit of £3, and her new owner used her for all sorts" of purposes. Sho was then sold for £2O, and being put to the stud her stock was so line-looking that tho Germans are now trying hard to buy her. This month was the _ centenary of the first race meeting held in Australia. On October 15, 1810, the first horse races on this continent took place just outside Sydney. Twelv ■ years afterwards the site of the present Randwick racecourse was used for racing. It has been decided by tho W.A.T.C. that all hurdles in the Perth and goldfields area must be padded. St. Nat and Wrinkler, two of the best two-year-olds in England this-season, arc roarers. A couple of days prior to the Caulfield Cup an offer of l,ooogs for Langloh was refused. Master Dolaval ran fourth in the Western Indian Stakes, won by the English horse Fizz. Kerlie, a New Zealander, won trie Mooneo Valley (Vic.) Cup on the 22nd October. Eyeglass, tho favorite, was nowhere. Carlton’s departure for India was put back in order that he might run in the Moonee Valley Cup, for which his owner paid a late fee to enter. Carlton was not equal to securing first money, but his second place represented £IOO. Sir Antrim was fairly rushed in the betting for tho Mastorton Cup, and on form ho certainly looked a good thing. Hu stopped badly in the last furlong, and. says “The Judge,” on his showing may bo written out of the New Zealand Cup. Iranui, who seems a very uncertain proposition, was caught in a galloping humor, and sho reversed tho Trentham form by easily defeating Sir Antrim. Ranparalia ran well, and was rather unlucky to lose. He is very well, and should win soon. Tho Grand Prix de Paris of 1912 closed with 585 entries, a largo number of which were made by English owners. The race is worth £12,009. Tho last occasion it was won by an English horse was in 1906, when Spearmint proved successful.