ENGLISH SPORTING LETTER

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 9526, 11 February 1892, Page 4

ENGLISH SPORTING LETTER

UV OUR RORRKHI'ONDKNT : ORVIO.VIjK. N.Z. Mail. London, 11th December, 18!li. I shall only describe one event—the lost Hat race of interest in tbu now dead season. The rnco L allude to is the Manchester November Handicap, of which I append full particulars, Ma.ni hksikr Novkmchr Hand-uai* of 20 aovs each. 10ft, with 1000 added • winners extra; the second received lOOsovs out of the.stakes ; entrance, 5 sovn. Lup course (1 mile and 0 furlongs. 23 subs. Mr Vyner’s hr m Lily of Lumley, by Unona nr Thurlo—Lady Lumley, syrs 7st2lb (ear 7st 31b) (O- Cha oner) I Mr T. Jennings’ oh f Catarina, by loulot -Queen of Cyprus, »y«. (B g Mr A Taylor’s ro f Madame D’Albany, by Buchanan—Lady Charlie, 4yrs, Bst lilb .. ... (K. Chaloner) 3 Mr Vyner’s Hedge Chat, 4yrs. C«t 61b (S. Obandley) 0 M,J. H. Houldsworth’s Alloway, 4yrs, Bst 410 (M. Cannon) 0 MrJ. Cnarltou’u Silver Spur, syr«, Hat ~|l, (C. Loatos) 0 Lord Hastings' Breach, 3yrs, Mr J. B. Burton’s Barmecide, syrs, 7st 01b (Colling) 0 Mr Kilsyth’s Penelope, syrs, 7et 21b (G. Brown) 0 Mr J. O. Wardell’s Narraghmore, 3yre, 7st (C. Grey) 1 Kir J. Duke’s Peacebearor, 4yrs, Git 71b (P. Chaloner) 0 Count Cb. Kiaalty’s Grey well, syrs. Get (jib (A- Watts) 0 Sir It. jardinea Enniskillen, 3yre fist 3lb ... ... ... ... (Smedley) 0 (Winner trained by Osbornes.) BETTING AT THE START. H 4 agst Madame D’Albany 100 100 100— 11 Greywoll 10 1 Catarina 100 8 Sedge Chat 1000 ;)0 1 Penelope 25 —. 1 Silver Spur 25 1 Peaoebearer 1000 40 1 Breach 40 1 Narraghmore

Tho course was exceptionally heavy, and to thin we probably owe tho alow time, 3mio 29 3-stbaecs for a mile nod three-quarters, nud possibly also the defeat of Madame ci’Albany, who started such a hot favourite. At first Lily of Lumloy forced the pace, but Catarina wrested tho lead from her before they bad Rone far. In fact, Mr Vyner’s inaru and Catarina were fighting for the lead all the way, and the manner in which they took their followers through the mud soon established a considerable tail. In turn Milvor Spur, Breach, Feacebearer, and Narraghmoro dropped far astern while the favourite was early seen to be totally unable to race with the loaders, though she ran on gamely and finished a bad third. The struggle between Lily of Lumloy and Catarina •waa a very tine one. Beth horses were com* pletely done, and they crawled home looked together, Catarina interfering considerably ■with her rival, till young Bradford dropped the whip and rode the three-year-old home with his hands. There was groat uncertainty >-s to tho result until tho judge hoisted No. 0, and gave Ida decision won by a head. Had tho result boon tho other way a protest, and probably a successful one, was certain. Certainly the honours were with Catarina, who ■was only receiving Bibs for 2 years ; she ran on like a game and bonost lilly. The winner has appeared on seven occasions this season, winning twice, i.e., in the Manchester Cup, ■with 7»t np. and on the present occasion. Sho was third, with Got 101 b np, in the Caoaarewitob, and was fourth in the Chester Cup, Gst 101 b; Ascot Stakes, 7st 51b; and Northumberland Plate, 7st 71b; while she also ran unplaced in the Great Ebor Handi. cap at York. Madame D’Albany, though beaten, was not disgraced, and it was tho heavy going that spoilt her chance. lIEVIBW OF SEASON. Now I intend to briefly review tho past season. It has been consistently wet, save on a few memorable occasions. Perhaps the chief feature of the racing has been tho success of outsiders in various important event*. The first turu up, I cun recall, writing as 1 am without any statistics before me, wsb Mi mi’s victory in tho On© Thousand Guineas, when sho defeated better favourites than herself In Siphonia and Belvidera 11., for Common's successful debut in the Two Thousand Guineas was by no means nnex* peoted, particularly" by those who knew the colt. Then Mimi followed up her first surprise with another victory almost equally unexpected when she defeated Orion and com* pany in tho rich Newmarket Stakes. Another great surprise of the Spring was Nunthorpe’s victory in the City and Suburban, for which event Sherwood's stable had much more fancy for L’Abbesaede Jouarre than Colonel North’s horse, who started at 25 to 1. Nunthorpe then effected another turn up when ho won the Kempton Jubilee Stakes with nine stone in tho saddle from eighteen others. Another rather sensational race was the Manchester Cup, in which Lily of Lumley carried Mr Vyner’a colours to victory, beat, ing Houndaditoh, Kagimunde, Silver Spur, and Old Boots, all better favourites. According to many who were present Old Boots should have won the race, had he been pro* perly handled, but his subsequent form proved that he was better on that day than at any other period of bis career if he were really unlucky in not winning. At Ascot Laureate ll.’a victory in the Royal Hunt Cup» for which ho started at 33 to I, was a surprise to the general public at least ; whether it was so great a surprise to his owner, astute Jack Hammond, is not so certain. It was certainly bis turn to win ; he baa not scored too frequently since the time when he scooped tho pool with St, Gatlen and Florence. At the Leicester Summer Meeting Mimi first experienced defeat after three consecutive victories, when she finished last in the Prince of Wales Stakes, behind game little Reverend, who barely defeated the unlucky Deemster and Orvieto. Since then Mimi has completely lost her form, only winning one from the moderate Benvenuto at the Newmarket First October Meeting. In the Eclipse Stakes we were treated to a double surprise, for Snrefoot showed his true form, which is almost first class over a mile coarse, while Common suffered hid first and only defeat, finishing third behind Surefoot aqd Gouvernear. At Brighton Nuntborpe gained his third unexpected victory this season. He had been fairly galloped oil bis pins between the Jubilee Stakes Meeting and his victory in the Brighton Cup, but he again established a record for inconsistency when he defeated Houndaditch and Mark Price. The Lancashire Plate was perhaps tho greatest reversal of form which the season of 1891 witnessed. It was booked a good thing for Orme, but Signorina (or the first time since her victory in the Middle Park Plate of 1889, showed her true form when she romped home in front of Orme, who only defeated Marfcagon by a head for second place. This was not Signortoa’s single claim to notoriety, for, when she finished last behind Orion in the Champion Stakes, and thereby lost her position of first favonrite for the Cambridgeshire, she gave the plungers a bitter pill to swallow, while Orvieto also failed to run np to form when he succumbed to the well bred son of Bead Or and Shotover, and also failed to beat Bel Demonic. The Caosarewitch victory of Ragimunde waa another of the many reversals of form which sporting scribes bad to record during the past season, bat the surprises did not end there, for the ex-Selling Plater Penelope, after making all the running, finished second.

In the Rose Plate the very moderate Star defeated Queen's Birthday, Ragiraunde, and Corstorphino, thereby more clearly demonstrating the uncertainty of racing. Star was ridden by Tomlinson, who was a crack light weight in the year, when St. Simon was at the zenith of his racing career, but has lately been in obscurity. In the Challenge Stakes at the same meeting Alone Meg made the backers’ cup still more bitter when she succumbed to Sir Frederick Roberts. At the Newmarket Houghton Meeting in the Jockey Club Cup Patrick Blue was the only antagonist whom Morion had to beat, and backers never tired of laying odds on Lord Hartington’s horse, but to their intense disgust Patrick Blue, though beaten by Morion in the race after a bumping finish, was awarded the stakes by the stewards, who upheld the proteat lodged against Morion. That event ended the long list of outsiders who have won the big races during the past season, hut we witnessed two more reversals of book form when Comedy won the Cambridgeshire, and when Madame d’Albany romped home in the Liverpool Autumn Cup, for neither of these marcs had shone earlier in the season. I have barely mentioned the doings of Common and Mimi, but 1 must now discuss the doings of the chief three-year-olds this year. Had anyone been asked after the Epsom Summer Meeting which was the best three-year-old of the year, he would have promptly replied that Common and Mimi were head and shoulders above the rest of tbeir compeers, but that it was impossible to know which was the better, for each had won on every appearance in public. Mimi had easily defeated her opponents in the One Thousand Guineas, Newmarket Stakes, and Oaks, while Common had romped homo in the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. Had the same question been asked after the Doncaster St. Leger Meeting, the person questioned would probably have scratched his head, and answered doubtfully * Common, 1 suppose,’ for the interval between the end of the Epsom Summer Meeting and termination of the St. Leger Meeting completely altered the aspect of affairs. Mimi had been unplaced in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Leicester and the St. Leger, while she was beaten, though not disgraced, in the Park Hill Stakes, where she was third, beaten by two heads, while Common was perhaps unlucky in suffering defeat in the Eclipse Stakes, and equally lucky in winning the St. Leger, yet if there were a better three-year-old, whore was he or she to be found ? Was it Bosphorus He had ; after a victorious Summer career.

during which lie wae thrice successful, finished only fourth in the Lcger, but many people ascribed bis defeat in that event more to the weakness of John Osborne, hie pilot, than to his own inability to win. Yet 1 should scarcely like to back Bosphorus againa Common with any horseman in the saddle and over any distance. It is the same with ell other three-year-olds, Reverend, Gouverneur. Orvieto, St. Simon of the Rock, Orion, Melody, Deemster Martagon. or any other-probabiy all ot them were inferior to Common m UR Autumn, and certainly there was no • pari-on between any thrco-year-old save Mom and Common in the spring and early summe I wish Mr Maple had given the sporting public at least one view of Common ™ xt canon; he promised to ‘“P™/® Wl ‘*V and wo want a good Cup horse badly, but Mr Maple prefers to have him at the stud, a the 20,000 guineas he has spent gives him right to decide for himself on the subject. If it be bard to decide which was the best thrse-yenr-old of 1801, it i» yet more hard to discover the second best. Of course, Mimi was second, or even equal to Common in the spring, but in the summer X think Gouverneur was next to Common up to a mile, while I rather incline to Bosphorus over a longer distance, though both Reverend and St Simon of the Rock had excellent credentials, as had Orvieto, who placed a nice little sum of money to Mr Houldsworth a credit. Orion began the season ns an arob impostor, when bo failed successively in Newmarket Stakes and Derby, but he ended up with a sensational performance in the Champion Stakes, which, if the running had been true, would have placed the Duke of Westminster’s colt among the best of his year, but I don’t for one instant consider the form then displayed as reliable. The day was cold and stormy, and a strong wind blew the rain in sheets across the course, and the going was heavy. To these circumstances I attribute Orion’s victory. -Mon» Meg showed us one good performance, and only one ; that wae her victory in tho Gold Vase at Ascot, wherein she defeated Nuuthorpe. On tho strength of that race the Australian filly was bucked for the Ascot Cup, Caesarewitch, and Challergo Stakes, in all of which she brought disaster to her backers. It is only lair to say that in the lust race she was running under two great disadvantages ehe bad been trained for the Caesarewitch, two miles and a quarter, and tho Challenge Stakes is only run over a six furlong course, while it is one of the events held on tho day following tho Caesarewitch, so tho filly was probably stale. The question as to the best two-yenr-old is easily answered. I think that a concensus of opinion points to Ormo, the Duke of Westminster’s colt, by Ormonde out of Apgelica. Ho has run in six events this season, winning on five occasions—twice at Goodwood, and thiico at Newmarket. Ho has never been really extended by any of his rival two-yeai-olds, and his defeat at Man Chester only proves how difficult is the task set a two-year-old in tho Lancashire Plate. Tho choice of tho second best two-year-old is also not very hard. La Floche —the unbeaten daughter of St. Simon and Quiver—is probably us far above the others as Ormo is superior to her. She won four times with consummate ease, but between the others it is hard to decide. Colonel North’s El Diablo, by Robert the Devil out of Tantrum, who has appeared eleven times, has been overworked, as are many of tho Nitrato King’s horses, but ho has run a consistently honest horse, and perhaps bis last performance, when lie opposed Ormo in tie Dewluirat Plate, redounds as much to his credit as does any of bis races. To be sure, be was receiving weight and was, to my mind, hopelessly outclassed, but bo ran the race out to tho bitter end, and some observers declare that he for a stride or two. 1 ratbor doubt this, but bo gave evidence of great pluck, which may land him a winner in some future contests. I lyaway, by Galopin out of Rookery, is a nailing filly, but sho bus once or twice appeared to turn it up when pinehecl, notably when beaten by Dunuro at Ascot, and again when Petroving beat her at Goodwood. However, Captain Maohell swears by the filly, and tells her detractors that they’d bo undeceived next season. Goldfinch is unfortunately a roarer, but the son of Ormonde and Thistle lias on several occasions given evidence of speed and pluck. He has run on three occasions and was only defeated in the July stakes by-Flyaway by a bare head. I cannot, however, consider him in the same street with ids half brother Ormo. Gantlet by Galopin, out ot Hors do Combat, has assisted Mimi in bringing Mr r- oel Fenwick to the top of the winning list, a position never before occupied by him. Her first performances were her worst, t-be won the Snailwell Stakes at Newmarket, the rich Kempton Park Great Breeders’ Produce .'takes, for which Sorcerer, another son of Ormonde, was favourite, and tho Clearwell Stakes, in which she defeated Scarborough at six pounds, and she ended her season by finishing third in the Middle Park Plate. Probably she will win yet more money for Mr Fenwick next season. Scarborough’s career has been somewhat chequered. He began the season well when be defeated a good field in the Molyneux Stakes ot Liverpool, but after that he failed to score in four races. Finally ho appeared in winning colours in the Glasgow Plato at the Doncaster Ct. Leger Meeting, and followed that victory up by a second in the Breeders’ Foal Stakes at Manchester. His last performance was third to Gantlet at Newmarket. Priestess, in the same etable as Scarborough, is a very promising filly. She ran seven times last year winning four times, viz., in the Somerville Stakes,°at the Newmarket May Meeting, tho May Plate at Windsor, Bradgate Park Plate at Doncaster, a Prendergast Plate at Newmarket, while her defeats were none of them disastrous as her victors were Dunure, La Flecbo, and El Diablo. She was only unplaced on one occasion—i.e., in the Coventry Stakes, The only other two-year-old whoso performances X need mention is Rued, who won twice out ot tour attempts. Ho began by finishing unplaced to Flyaway, Petrovna, and Katherine 11, in the Portland Stakes at Leicester. Next ho won the Whitsuntide Plate at Manchester, when he defeated Dunure among others. Next ho ran third to Flyaway and Goldfinch in tho J uly Stakes. Finally he won the Grand Criterium in Franco, from Fra Angelico and Rales, till then considered the best two-yoar-olds in France. I have not space to deal with the other two-year-olds of promise of whom the best were Sc. Damien, Dunure, Mortgage, Galospsis, Polyglot, Gossoon, Windgall, and Broad Corrie. Perhaps I might say a word about Loutte, who unfortunately baa no classic engagements next year. This filly is by Galliard, out of Penitent. She ran eight times during the season winning six events, and finishing second on two occasions ; once to the three-year-old Brag, and once to that good colt Qalespsis, who wae receiving twelve pounds from her. To sum up I think Ormo tho best and then La Fleche, with perhaps JLorotte ae third best two-year-old of last season.