TURF GOSSIP.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1248, 30 January 1896, Page 24

TURF GOSSIP.

By " Te Winn." NEW ZEALAND. Mr T. Quiolivan, the nominator (and former trainer) of Brooklet for the Wellington Cup, lias issued a writ against Mr W. Douglas, the owner of the mare, for the recovery of the amount of the stakes won by Brooklet in the Wellington Cup, and has served the W.R.C. with a notice to withhold paying the stakes over, pending the decision of the suit. Mr T. M. Wilford is acting on behalf of Mr Quinlivan. The owner of Bavaria, the winner of the Juvenile Handicap on the second day of the Wellington Meeting, is Mr W. H. Chittam, the gentleman who owned and raced Dan many years ago. The win of Bavaria was a very popular one. The mare was bought by her present owner for a mere song. Old Liberator made common garden hacks of the field in the hurdles on the second day. Directly he started to come, it was all over, and he finished in quite his old form. Mr 11. Hayr, the popular owner of Fish- , monger, informed me at the Wellington j Meeting that he intends taking a trip to I Australia to see his game little horse perform over country during the autumn. J

Dan O'Brien was a visitor at the Wellington Meeting-, and intends selling 1 off over in Australia and returning to Riccarton after the V.R.C. Autumn Meeting. He has not bad the best of luck during his sojourn on the other side.

As showing the quality of the horses engaged at our Summer Meeting, one has only to look back to the Spring Meeting, when The Shrew, with over 9st in the saddle, did just as she liked with her opponents (with the exception of the race where she was left at the post), and was looked upon as quite a top sawyer. At the Cup Meeting, with a stone less, she was quite out-classed, and this is another illustration of the old and true saying that the art of racing successfully lies in " placing " your horses with judgment —in otherwords not flying at too high game.

Mr J. B. Reid was very indignant at the weight allotted to Skirmisher for the second day's event, and wired instructions at once to have his horse scratched. There is not the slightest doubt that Mr Evett treated Skirmisher very badly as compared to Saracen. In the Cup Skirmisher carried Sst 61b and Saracen Bst 31b. The latter was second and Skirmisher unplaced, yet Mr Evett raises Skirmisher s.>lb and Saracen only 51b. As both horses are supposed to equally prefer the shorter distance it is difficult to account for the adjustment. Skirmisher should have at least received 31b from Saracen for his Cup beating, and with Saracen at Sst 81b and Skirmisher at Sst 51b it would have been difficult to separate the pair.

Davis committed an error of judgment in withdrawing Leda from the Farewell Handicap, and relying on Kent to down Pompom and Co. The St. George horse has quite lost his form, and in asking Kent to give Pompom 121 b was a task quite beyond him in his present form. Pompom is evidently on the improve, as he ran more than respectably in the Cup for a mile and a quarter, and won the Farewell with ridiculous-ease, leaving the mile behind in lmin 45sec.

Strathbraan is a horse that likes to go his own pace, and does not relish being pulled about. In the Second Welter, with Free Holmes in the saddle, he got bumped about considerably during the race on account, of being pulled back to the rear division at the start when he felt inclined to sail to the front. Of course with list 21b it is not as a rule good policy to cut out the running, yet I fancy if the horse iiad been allowed to run in front as is his wont he would have just about got home with all his heavy burden. It was a mistake to take oft' the horse, as the boy had ridden him well in all his previous efforts, and Strathbraan always ran kindly with Higgs, and, although he would have had to put up a lot of dead weight, Strathbraan would have done himself more justice than with a stranger up, even though the latter was a first-class horseman like Free Holmes.

Leda, by Castor —Welcome Katie, the breaker of the New Zealand record for one mile and one furlong at the Wellington Meeting, only cost her present owner 55 guineas last autumn. She has since won over four hundred in stakes alone, and is worth more than five times the amount she originally cost. More than one would-be-jmrchaser asked her owner to put a price on the mare after her recent brilliant display, but naturally ho is not anxious to part with his handsome little mare.

The connections of Home's stable threw in for a big win when Ebor 11. got home in the second day's Hack Race, although going down badly over Lorelei's failures.

The connections and followers of George Wright's stable must have had a terrible time financially over the late Wellington Meeting. They considered the Cup as good as avou by Stepfeldt, and were astonished at the good price she was paying in the machine. They had a lot of money straight out about her chance, and were responsible for most of that in the totalisator, the public not backing the mare to any great extent. It was a real facer for them when she failed to get in the first three. Acone, in the six furlongs, was their hope for a recovery over the Cup losses, but again were they doomed to disappointment, the St. Leger horse suffering defeat at the hands of King's Bowman.

On the second day they again planked their dollars down on Panoply in the January Handicap, but the Splendour horse was not equal to the task of pulling them through and failed to gain a place. They were not so confident about Stepfeldt in the W.R.C. Handicap, but still had to support her in case of accidents, and again went down. Doris, in the Metro2)olit;;i.n, was their last chance, and they jjiayed it up accordingly, only to get deeper in the mire. It was real bad luck in bringing such a team down from Auckland to have to return empty- handed. They will probably prepare something for next year s Wellington Meeting in the hope of getting their " own " back, and a little of some one else's with it by way of interest.

During a chat over the Wellington meeting with Mr Tancred, the owner of King's Bowman, he mentioned the fact that he supported the horse to win him a good stake in the Anniversary Handicap, one mile, but King's Bowman ran very disappointingly. In the Telegraph Handicap, three-quarters of a mile, the same afternoon, Mr Tancred, not liking the way the horse shaped in the mile race, only had a modest fiver, and Bowman won handsomely. On the second day the owner reckoned the Metropolitan of six furlongs a good thins: for King's Bowman on his previous day's brilliant victory and supported him accordingly, only to meet a better one in Solitaire at,the weights.

The following are the highest prices realised for yearlings at the Auckland Stnd Company's sales during the last ten years!-^ Gns. 1897—Forest Queen, by Musket-Sylvia, Mr T. Chirnside ... iIOO 1887—Beryl, by Musket—Onyx, Mr T. Chirnside .. ... 1040 1888—Necklet, by Musket—Locket, Mr J. Marshall GSO 1889—Steadfast, by Nordenfeldt—Nelly Moore, Mr W. R. Wilson ... 1025 1889—Zalinski, by Nordenf eldt-Frailty, Mr W. R. Wilson 900 1890 —Monsquetaire, by Nordenfeldt— Frailty, Mr S. H. Gollan ... 2025 1891—Culloden, by Nordenfeldt—Nelly Moore, Mr S. H. Gollan ... 1050 1891 —Tireur, by Nordenfeldt—Florence McCarthy, Mr &'. H. Gollan ... 950 1892—Havoc, by Nordenfeldt—Frailty, MrW. R.Wilson ... 2200 1893—Nordenfeldt filly, Mr S. Hordern 900 1894—Castor—Frailty colt, Mr S. Hordern ... 1575 1894 —Castor—Necklace colt, Mr S. Hordern 1050 1895—Castor—Frailty filly, Mr George Wright 450 1896—St. Leger—Sapphire colt, Mr J. P. Lowry 510 £105,000 is the amount won in stakes by horses bred and sold by the Stud Company since its inception. Harry Moore, who went over with Mr Gollan's team to Australia when Kimberly was a member thereof, and who rode the latter in his victories, has been engaged by Mr J. Driscoll, of Hawera, to train Buckley's Chance, Off Chance and one or two others, Being a careful and competent trainer, he should pick up a few races for the Hawera sportsman. The connections of St Hippo are confident of defeating Gipsy Grand and Saracen in the Dunedin Cup, and consider the big horse has a capital chance of winning the race. Mr Murtagh, whose starting machine will be used at the forthcoming Egmont Racing Club's meeting, purposes being present some days before the races, and will give several trials so as to accustom horses to the barrier and its working.

If the Metropolitan clubs decreed that no cup or big handicap horse could be scratched within a week of the race, or at the" eleventh hour," without a valid excuse from the stable for so doing (under penalty), says the Bulletin, the bbtting public—the lambs of the turf— might consider themselves in a measure protected. But what entertaining reading some of those excuses would make on publication.

John Loughlin and George Campbell (of Dunedin), Leonard Smith and Timothy Hayes were charged at the Invorcargill Police Court on January 15 with betting on the Winton racecourse. Inspector Pardy prosecuted. The facts were admitted., but Mr Solomon, for the defendants, contended that as they moved about among the people and had no fixed place for betting, no breach of the Act had been committed. The magistrate reserved his decision.

Fred Deuiuth, the trainer, has just had an addition to his team, the new-comer being Nightingale, a racy-looking mare that ran at Stratford the other day. She was bred in Australia, and is by Forest King from Holiday. She met with a mishap once, getting her hindquarter badly ripped by a bullock, but the result of the wound does not seem to affect her galloping.

According to Mr F. F. Dakin, the exVictorian racing man, all doubts as to the breeding of Gorton, who got Euroclydon, are set at rest. Mr Dakin has seen a copy of a certificate from Mr CaLedon Alexander, who sold Lyra to Mr Fergusson, of New Zealand. This sets forth that Lyra was only covered by Thunderbolt, and not by The Speaker and Thunderbolt. The mistake arose through Dundee''' Katie, brought out at the same time, having been covered by the two horses. ROUND THE WORLD. Mr Dan O'Brien's A.J.C. Derby winner Bob Ray is reported to be in strong work again in view of autumn events. Although having an unsightly knee, it is expected that the Welcome Jack gelding will train on. The Queensland Turf Club has disqualified the racehorse Splendide, together with the owner (G. Rose) and the trainer (P. Nolan), for three years for inconsistent running at the late Q.T.C. meeting. On the first day the mare ran absolutely last in the Newmarket Handicap, and on the second day came out and won the Midsummer Handicap easily. This is the second time Splendide has been disqualified.

Not a single representative from New Zealand has been nominated for the Australian Cup and Newmarket Handicap. It is the first time for many years that New Zealand has not been represented.

Auraria is to be specially reserved for the champion race. Stevenson, the jockey whe rode her during her successful spring campaign, and who was recently disqualified for misbehaving himself, appealed to the V.R.C. for a mitigation of his sentence without success He intends taking a trip to England to fill in the time.

Bert Holmes, the leading light-weight iockey of Australia, has been specially engaged to ride Wallace in his autumn engagements.

A writer on the Melbourne Sportsman has been interviewing Holmes the jockey, and hisopinion of Wallace is that he is the gamest colt he has ever ridden. Holmes

also considers The Admiral the best stayer and weight carrier he ever rode. But for speed and dash Mostyn, up to about a mile and a quarter, is the most brilliant animal he ever threw his leg across. He didn't win at Sydney—the Doncaster simply because he declined to gallop the reverse way round. Cobbitty he reckoned one of the best horses of his day, but a very difficult horse to train. .. _... .

Holmes speaks in the highest terms of his four principal patrons, Messrs Hickenbotham, Wilson, Cook and Purches. For Mr Sam Cook he has ridden The Admiral, The Parisienne, and The Officer. And whenever Mr Hickenbotham doesn't require his services, Mr Cook has the call on them. Neither of these gentlemen, by the way, ever hampers him with instructions. " They always allow me to ride my own race," says Holmes.

Mr Cook's special pet is the Maribyrnong Plate and Derby winner, The Admiral, whom the squire of Pytchley Lodge fairly worships. Win or lose, the only instructions given by Mr Cook to the subject of this sketch were —" Don't knock the old horse about."

Holmes is twenty-three years of age, goes to scale at 7st 41b, and does not require to waste to keap down to this low weight. He has a light pair of hands, is a vigorous finisher, and, above all, uses his head in a race.

Mr A. Drake's, the ex-New Zealand bookmaker, Lord Glasgow and his jockey, Neeson, were disqualified for six months for suspicious practices at Launceston, on December 28. The nominator satisfied the stewards that he was not to blame for Lord Glasgow's defeat.

Mr Clibborn has issued the conditions of the Doncaster Handicap and Sydney Cup. The added money is 1000 sovs to the Handicap and 2000 to the Cup. Entries close on February 10.

The yearling filly by Robinson Crusoe from Pet Girl, which was won in the St. Albans lottery by the Duchess of Portland, has been sent to England. If she turns out as good as her dam her career on the English turf should be a profitable one.

Division (by Robert the Devil—Helen), who has been an unprofitable inmate of Mr W. Kelso's stable for over two years, died recently of tetanus. His last appearance in public was at Rand wick on Boxing Day, when he started in the Hurdle Race and fell.

Commenting on the horses of the present day, Mr Campbell, the well-known blood stock auctioneer of Victoria, says :—" I remember the horses of thirty-eight years ago. They were a splendid stamp, especially those from Gippsland and the Manaro, in New South Wales. You would not know where to find such horses now. In those days the horses were mostly ■ bred by squatters, who devoted the utmost caie and skill to it, and they had excellent country to work on. It is no use trying to breed good horses unless you feed them, and they need better country than either sheep or cattle. Every time a horse puts down his mouth he ought to be able to fill it. Starve a horse and you'll have a scrubber."

The following shows what a great success the pari-mutuel (totalisator) has become in France:—During the last racing season in France the sum of .£19,000,000 was invested in the pari-mutuel, 2 per cent, of which (.£380,000) was distributed among the charities, During the debate on the agricultural estimates in the Chamber of Deputies the Abbe Lemire moved for the suppression of the pari-mutuel on the racecourse, but the motion was rejected by 353 to 08 votes.

At the Calcutta second extra meeting on 7th December the Australian horse Repudiation, by First King from Pilgrimage, won the December Stakes, one mile, carrying 9st 71b, and negotiating the journey in lmin 47sec. Ivo, another Australian, won the Fort Stakes for the Maharajah of Patiala at the same reunion, and was attended by Monica, The Harbour Light, Beekeeper and Herodious, ail of whom were bred under the Southern Cross.

When The Indian, an ex-Australian cross-country horse, was sent out to school in India he refused to look at a fence. He was dragged over one fence with ropes, and then ho stopped at the water. Next day he was tried again with no better result, and his new owners then decided not to pei'severe with him for the Grand National Steeplechase, but to keep him for hurdles. It seems strange, says " Martindale," to read of The Indian refusing a fence. He never did such a thing in Australia, although it always seemed an effort to him to get over Caulfield. He still takes to hurdles willingly.

The money run for in England under the Rules of Racing during the season 1895, amounted to the large sum of =£486,586 10s, or .£7652 19s more than in 1894. This dees not include second or third prizes, but only the actual money taken by the winning horses. The most valuable race during the past season was the Sandown Park Eclipse Stakes won by the French horse Le Justicier. This amounted to .£9290, and next in order was the Princess of Wales' Stakes of .£8995, won by Le Var, followed by the Jockey Club Stakes taken by Laveno, worth .£8990.

The most successful racing man on the Russian turf last year bears the name of Grabowski. He has netted .£12,000, and his stable is considered to be the best within the dominions of the Czar. Warsaw is .coming to the front in racing matters,

and intends next season to found an International Handicap of J 22000 of added money.

Cases of snake-bites have been very prevalent during the last few months in Australia, owing no doubt to the extreme heat experienced. The following is the latest: —A case of snake-bite occurred at Rand wick recently, says the Sydney Mail, the victim being The Turk, a two-year-old colt, in Earnshaw's stable. The youngster was out early for exercise, and in charge of one of the stable lads was placed irt one of the boxes near Kensington. Soon after entering the stall the boy saw the snake, which coiled round one of the colt's legs, whereupon the animal kicked, and the snake bit him just above the fetlock. The affrighted lad ran out and apprised Earnshaw of the occurrence, and the latter quickly despatched the reptile, which was of the tiger species and about 4ft in length. Attention was next directed to the colt, on whose leg the punctures of the snake-bite were plainly discernible. An incision was made in the leg, ligatures were applied, ammonia injected and other precautions taken to counteract the effect of the poison; and latest accounts state that the colt had shown no ill-symptoms owing to the timely action of his trainer.

The following taken from the Bulletin is an improved version of the episode that took place a few years ago at •'* Porirua " : —An old Maoriland racing man's story—- " I attended a back blocks meeting once. Regular bush affair. Unfenced track, no grand-stand, and it rained all day. Protests for running inside flags, etc., were so numerous that the last race arrived at dusk. It was a post-entry hurry-scurry, and a dozen went out, three or four not being backed at all, including a bottled-up certainty named Flatfoot. At the last moment the owner put on a tenner for himself and a fiver for the jock. The boy, however, was too anxious; got lined for breaking away, and when the flag fell was left standing stock still at the post. But he didn't lose his head. Taking advantage of the darkness he cut across the paddock, joided the field at the turn and won anyhow. Totalisator yield, J 2150. The judge had an inkling of what had occurred, but didn't say anything. Afterwards that jock told me all about it. Why did he tell me ? Well, y'see, I was the owner! And why did the judge keep his mouth shut ? Well, I was the judge, too, sec !"

According to the Bulletin, an Adelaide jockey, passed out for six months, modestly requested the stewards to deal with him under the First Offenders A ct.

When astute Dan O'Brien has had bad luck and just misses a few races, as he did at the late Christmas meeting, he trots his string off to the sale-yard. Then he alters his mind and fixes high reserves. Bob Ray had an atrocious looking leg in the ring the other day, but if Dan didn't think he'd get him right he wouldn't have made his price 500 guineas.

A small Sydney " cuff-and-collar syndicate " who took an early shot of .£6OO about Auraria for the Australian Cup almost unanimously swooned away when it opened the office paper and found her name missing from the nomination-list.

Matthew Dawson, whose retirement was recently announced, has a wonderful record, to take the three-year-old classic races only, says a Home paper. He trained the following number of their Avinners : The Two Thousand Guineas 5 times, One Thousand Gfuiueas 6 times, Derby 6 times, Oaks 6 times, St. Leger 6 times; total, 29 times. In other races results equally astonishing present themselves, thus :—Chesterfield Stakes 12 times, Champagne Stakes 12 times, Cesarewitch 3 times, Ascot Cup 4 times, Goodwood Cup 4 times. For the late Lord Falmouth ho won nearly a quarter of a million in stakes before the days uf .£IO,OOO races, and of this sum =£125,752 was put together within the years 1577 to 1881. Nor was this all, for so great had the name and the fame of Lord Falmouth's stud become through their never ending victories that when, in 1884, his lordship decided to sell off, the grand total for 79 lots—horses in training, yearlings, mares, foals and stallions —was 111,910 guineas, an average of 1416 guineas each lot. It would fill a book to enumerate the complete list of Matthew Dawson's winners, but Thormanby, Kingcraft, Silvio, Melton, Ladas and Sir Visto may be mentioned in connection with the Derby ; Atlantic, Camballo, Charibert, Galliard and Ladas, the Two Thousand Guineas ; Cecilia, Spinaway, Wheel of Fortune. Busybody, Minthe and Mimi, the One Thousand Guineas; Catherine Hayes, Spinaway, Jannette, Wheel of Fortune and Mimi, the i Oaks; Silvio and Lady Golightly (first and second), Janette and Childeric (first and second), Dutch Oven, The Lambkin, Melton and Sir Visto, the Leger ; Trent and Minting, the Grand Prix. In addition to these such great horses as Sterling, Hampton and St. Simon were trained by him, and it needs not to go further into the question to show that such a man might well be surfeited with successes that become almost monotonous.

Sir John Willoughby, who was second in command to Dr Jameson in his expedition to Johannesburg, was for two or three years one of the most prominent men on the English turf, writes the Australasian. Like a good many other wealthy young men he entered upon racing with Captain Machell a 3 a mentor. He won plenty of races, but is understood to have been a very heavy bettor, and his career, if brilliant, was short. Queen Adelaide, a highpriced yearling, bought from Mr Chaplin, was about the best of Sir John Willoughby's horses, although Harvester succeeded in making a dead heat with St. Gatien for the Derby of > 1884. Harvester was originally owned by Lord Falmouth,

and at his sensational sale in April, ISS4, was bought by Sir John for 8000 guineas, Busybody, who subsequently won the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks, being bought the same day by the late Mi Abington for BSOO guineas. Sir John Willoughby ran two in the Derby, Queen Adelaide going out favourite at 5 at 2, while Harvester stood at 100 to 7. It is related that St. Gatien could have won the run off, as Harvester pulled up lame, but his owner, John Hammond, who was once a stable boy with Captain Macheil, went to his old master, and magnanimously offered to divide. At Ascot the same mouth both Queen Adelaide and Harvester ran disastrously. When Sir John Willoughby retired from active participation in racing affairs he retained Queen Adelaide, who has not yet made any mark at the stud.

A special meeting of the V.R.C. Committee will be held on February 10th, to consider the following resolutions embodied in the requisition presented by Mr W. Gaunson : —" 1. That all turf enquiries of whatever kind shall be open to the press. 2. That horses shall be scratched before noon on the day preceding any race, except in special cases, such as accidents, sudden illness of a horse, or otherwise, when the bona fide owner or owners of a horse shall publicly ask the stewaids to extend the time for such scratching. Should the reasons for asking for such late scratching be deemed satisfactory by the stewards ib shall be granted, and the public shall be informed of the reason thereof without delay. 3. That no assumed name or names of an owner or owners shall be allowed or permitted in any subscription or entry for any race or races held under the rules of the Victoria Racing Club. -1. That no entry shall be accepted of any horse except such entry contains the name or names of the bona fide owner or owners thereof; and all such entries shall be published for public information, and the race-cards issued to the public shall also notify such information. 5. That paid stewards shall be appointed by the committee for the purposo of supervising racing."' The requisition also impresses on the committee the desirability of discountenancing races of under a mile, and of encouraging by every legitimate; means races of a mile and a-half and upwards.

Secretaries of racing clubs are reminded that illustrated cards and programmes can be printed at the New Zealand Times Ollice at two hours' notice. Customers will find it the cheapest printing in the Colony.