NEWS AND NOTES.

NZ Truth, Issue 133, 17 August 1907, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Concluding day at Riccarton to-day. Idealist is bred .well enough to win anything. , ' : Idealist had a runaway victory m the Winter Cup. St. Albert led from start to finish m the Trial Hurdles. The owner of Silkweb recently refused £300 for that animal. Irish fell after traversing two miles of the big Steeplechase. Don Orsi'iio was the only horse scra-tched for the Winter Cup. The weights for the Avondale Cup will be declared on August 28. Kaikomako was the best-condition-ed hunter seen out at Riccarton. Bonhe'ur is still at Trentham, and is making good progress, towards recovery.. . . Great, Scot is s^ill racing hi England, but. he seems, to be a light of other days. Tjhe Lincoln Steeplechase will be the principal jumping, event at Riccarton to-day. . . . . . Canton out jumped his opponents m the opening event and won m the simplest manner. . Starlight is a beautiful jumper. He is owned by Gerald Stead, who rides him m Iris races. Roan Banner, a slow-looking customer, fell at the first fence m the Hunters' Hurdles. The going a/t Riccarton was splendid, despite the fact that a lot of rain fell last wetek. Mr Robert Wynward .will adjust the weights for the Avondale Club' for the .ensuing season.' GreusQt, with McCombe m the saddle,, bolted four times round the track one morning last week. The. New . Zealand Cup candidate,. Maniapoto, has been handed", to Powell' to prepare ak Wanganui. I/ioniheart \is back m Sydney again. His owner must, have profited considerably by his Melbourne trip. Regulation sprung a tendon at Riccarton, and Joe Gallagher decided to scratch her for hex engagements. A full sister to Aqua Regia will sport silk for the first time m the Avomdalc Stakes on September- 21. ' All going well,' 1 Haydn will be shipped to Sydney next month to take part m the A.J.C. Spring meeting, At present it looks as if Boiviform and Count- Witte will' foe the bost three-year-olds seen out this season. Whilst 'doing a gallop on Monday morning, Le' Beau tore his. coronet, and 'his owner Jiadto v> r ithdraw -him. Tho owner of Loch Fync has <leokiecl to raop his horse m Australia. and Tim I-iowajT'd will go over to ride him. Asteroid v, r as not taken South because of a knock she received m Wellington during the melee m the' Jumpers' Plat Race. Early ' i'n the • week the owner of Shrapnel, offered to. bet an even hundred that his horse, beat Merriwai m the big Hurdles. ' During R. J. Mason's absence m Australia, the Yaldhurst team will be supervised by R. O'Donnell, head lad of the stable. A Christohu.roh sport recently wired to Auckland inquiring the price of Miss Willie, taut the reply was that she was not for sale. When Subterranean won at Epsom, another New Zealander, m Swimmer, was made favorite in> the Steeplechase but he could only run a poor third. Phaetonitis failed m the Steeples, as a lot of good judges, predicted he would. His connections made an er-. ror m not giving; him a race. There is no doubt of that. The smart Maoriland sprinter, Con- ; tender, was offered for sale m Melbourne at the end of last, month. McLaughlin put a reserve of 500gns . oh hiiim, 'but 260 was the best bid received. , ' ■ Joe Gallagher informed meat Riccarton that Regulation had broken down badly and would not race again. Her suspensory ligaments is the seat of the trouble. . The local bookmakers bave issued new rules, which are much m . keeping with the former set brought out. A wag suggests that one rule should be, "No whiskers, no. bet." Contender 10.0 ran second m the Welter Purse at Moonee Valley. His starting price was 10 to 1, and he ran a capital race. Paddy McLaughlin's luck has been right out since he went to Melbourne. . ■Talking to W. Wilson after the big event on Tuesday, he told one that when- he was coming to the last fence foe thought Ms 'horse was sure to win, but after landing he stumbled and' was then unable to go on. Ability 'toad: (been responsible for some souJJid work . on the track, and m consequence was made a very strong order for the Trial Hurdles, but his backers did not get a run for their money, as Mr Buckley's horse was left at the post. Speculation was not very briski m the Hunters' Hurdles Race, but the bulk of what was gambled went on Kaikomako. He was galloping well, and was m front, when he- toppled over at the second fence. His rider, H. Carr, escaped unhurt. A. McConnon had downcight bad luck at the National meeting, and nearly everything that he was engaged to ride broke down before the meeting. First the Porirua horses went out and then Le Beau and Hutana followed suit. I,n the end he had a solitary r"ide, and that was on Starlight. Writing of the finish of the Ascot Gold Cup, during which Eider and The White Knight attempted to savage each other, Mr John Corlett says •-— " 'What is born m the bone, comes out m the flesh' is an old-pro-verb, and it applies to The White Knight and Eider. They are grandsons of St. Simon, and their sires, Desmond and St. Biis, both had the reputation ot being savage. It may be unfair, however, to 'blame Desmond for the temper of The White Kiiight. Pel'la, his danv, is. by Buckshot, who was such a savage that for a' long time he was nob allowed out of his 'box, and up one dared to go near him."

Cuiragno walked home lame after working on Monday. , Pas Seul is looking, -better now than ever I have seen her. Fire-iron is to receive a special preparation for the N.Z. Gup. The Avondale Jockey Club have a credit balance of nearly £5000. Inniskillen ran off at the log fence during the running of the G.N. Steeples. : , Lady Hune and Me'rriwai were, the best looking of the Jumpers' Flat field. Lady Annie ran badly . ; She was the last to leave the mark, and finished m the rear. The time for the Winter Cup was 1.43 4-5, and constituted a record for the race. Tire surprise of the Steeplechase was Needlework, and' the biggest failure Evenlode. Southern Cross was bleeding at the nose during the week, but his ailment was ve>ry light. Top Rose fell at the first jump m the Trial Hurdles, but Wfritehouse escaped unhurt. Everybody agreed that this . year's G.N. Steeplechase was the best ever seen at Riccarton.' ' " Buccleuch ran a smart seven furlongs m tho Winter Cup, but after that he was fading out of it. Loch Fyne fell at the second to last fence m the Steeplechase after running prominently all the way. ' Albury, yron the' '„ TallyrHoPlate, is a fine-looking bay. .gelding, Who can both juiri^and gallop. .'• ;' Romany Lad unseated Telford 'at. the second fence, of the double the second time round, when going well. Phaetonitis, Inniskillen, Evenlode. and Romany Lad were the favorites m the order named for the, big Steeples. • .. ' J. McCombe Leaves* next Friday for. Sydney to ride Boniform and Co. at Randwick. As yet, Me Combe has not ridden m Australia. . Munjeet is being exercised daily, but will .not be sc'.?n. out till she ■ is sent to the post to contest the next Stewards' Handicap. A' two-year-old .'brother to Count Witte was broken m at Yaldhurst, but had to he turned out again, as he was growd^g too fast. ' ■ Lucky Star was a good favorite ir. the Tally-Ho Plate, but he finished shockingly, and his owner, Mr Evars. had a very hard ride all through. The Ellerslie trainer, T. Williams,will m all probability take a trip to Sydney this Spring, and Inniskillen. and iShrapnel may 'accompany him. Silkweb was goiiK great guns on the track before the Winter Cup., but he had a fall on Tuesday week, and this must have affected' him considerably. • , , A private cable received at.Riccarton announced the, safe arrival of the Yaldhurst horses. They are quartered at the Royal Hotel stables at RandvWck. Subterranean, late Submarine, who. won- the July Handicap at the Epsom meeting, was backed from 4 to- 1 against down to 7 ? t040n, and Dave Priec.and Co. netted a royal win. Slow Tom was putting m good work six furlongs from home m the big Steeples, and he looked a likely winner at that point, tout the sod wall was too much for him, and over he went. ( '.•'■• Jack O'Connell got off Needlework to ride Nadador, and it is just possible that had he been up Mr Douglas's horse might have won. I .-. <lo Inof wish \o detract from his brother's merits as a rider, but he was hardly vigorous enough for my liking. Both Seaman and Helen Portland gave very creditable displays on the first day. Neither had any luck v during the race, but both ran the race of their lives. The finish between them for second place was a rich tyreat, but Seaman got the verdict by a head. . The honors of the big Steeplechase rested with Kiatere, on whom W. Wilson rode a splendid race. He kept him m the rear throughout, but at the last fence he was with Needlework and Eclair, but here the weight told its tale, and m the last 100 yds he suffered defeat.. •Mataari was the first- out m the Winter Cup, but Idealist quickly got to the iron*, and at one time held an advantage of eight lengths. He finished up a winner by three lengths. At the barrier he gave a lot of trouble, ( but Jones was fortunate enough to get him ■well away; ; On Tuesday last Eclair looked as nice as I have seen him. In the earlier stagey of the race he was kept m the rear, and J. Hall was riding, a nice f|ui©t race on him and cutting oft a lot of ground at the corners. He was with Needlework and Kiatere at the last jump, and here Hall made great use of his hooks and. spurs,' and m a punishing finish he gained the verdict by a couple of lengths. The start for the Jumpers' Flat Race was delayed considerably by the vagaries of Lamllock and Stronghold, and when the tapes flew up Levant, Landlock, Merriwai, Waipa and Cavalry were all right. Stronghold dashed off m front" with Lady Hune. Amd Ben Johnson next, and with H miles to go the latter went to 'the front, but soon ' gave way to Lady Hune, who led into the straight, followed by, Southern Cross and Ben Johnson. Southern Cross quickly confounded the two Auckland horses, and fought out a determined finish, amid victory rested ' With 1 Coleman's charge byjahalf length. ■■ • "Dick" r Wootton gave the English bookmakers a good solid hitting up when the time came for Slipping Fabric. The race chosen for the Bill of Portland horse was not one of any note, but merely a Handicap Plate, value 25050v5., one mile and a half, at Newcastle, on June 27. There was a v^ry moderate class field of nine runners, and as the Sydney Tattersail's Club Cup winner was mat the luxurious weight, of 7.4 it was. small wonder that there was what was des-' cribed as being an inexhaustible commiss;ion for Ihim, and he was backed from ' 7to 1 down to 5 +;o 4, and, with young Wootton up, he won without ever 'being extended. Up to the time of this success Wootton is reported as having had anything but a good time of it with his horses this season, but the win was such a very solid one that it would set him well on the right side of the ledger. We venture to say this will not be the only big haul that the astute' Richard will have with Fabric, who most certainly should have won the Melbourne Cup thai -went to Blue Spec, and it is quite an the card., he will take Orte of big "back end" lmndicapsj

While Lie is now trained by V. .CaHello at Hastings. .St. Albert would have had. a chance m the National Hurdles had he 'been left m. Lucky Star is hampered by weight, but he shows a lot of pace on the tracks. . Sir William Russell has four two- :] year-olds by Birkenhead m work at" Hastings. Ninety-three ■different horses faced Starter Harry Piper- on ' the -opening day at Ricbarton. Nad ado r was suffering from a cold' at Riccarton and was unable to show her best form. Evenl ode broke his fetlock whilst contesting the G.N. Steeples, and his racing career is finished. It is stated that Starlight beat Leonore m a gallop at Hastings before being shipped South. .G. Price was over anxious m the Winter Cup, and his anxiety cost him £2, which sum the starter fined him . Owin.fc,' to Cuiragno's break down W. ; Wilson was able to take the mount on Lull m the big Hurdles on Thursday- ; . ' ; . The start for the Winter Clip was a splendid "effof.t, as was tha,f for the Hack Handicap, but LancUock spoilt tho Jumpers' Flat Race. Armamento ran like a pig m the Hack Race on Tuesday.; His party backed him for a lot of money, and the public followed -the, lead.. '■'■[. ! Outer finishedlike .a shot put, of a £un .m the Hack Handicap on Tues-; day, and had she got a .clear run she might have troubled the winner. Says "Melbourne Tru,h" :— "When the time comes for backing 'Pink 'Un, he should prove just as much of a "'dead-bird " as Subterranean was at Epsom. ... ...-' . • At Melbourne recently, W. C. Yuille and Co. held a clearing sale of blood stallions, and Sir Davei, by Sir. Tris-tram—-.Grand Dove, fell to a New Zealand buy/er at 210gns- t '■ ■ - „ ' Waihuka did as good- a gallop on Monday morning as ■ has been done this season at Riccarton. He .is a very good beginner, but six furlongs is the length of his tether. ■ The Wanganui trainer, Harry Jackson; was schooling I-lutana. at Riccarton last week, when ,the agieid one' turned turtle, and Jackson got a nasty fall;, but was about as usual next day. ; ' : If he is found to have suffered no ill effects from Ms Riccarton racing, Phaetonitis will be sent >o Sydney to take part m the A. J.C. Spring Meeting. '" • Tih-e bookmakers' prices would indicate- that Seal Rock will bo the Yaldhurst horse for tho New Zealand Cup. Early backers should have a care, as the big fellow is not too sound and may go out aii3 r day. Lyceum is tho name bestowed on the two-year-old by Stopniak—Faraway, m the Yaldhurst stables. She is a, beautifully-shaped black filly, • but is growing very flash, so her trainer decided to give her plenty of time. Astolat, a half-sister to Isolt, by Royal Artillery, who was formerly a member of W. Clarke's stables, being owned by Mr G. Palmer, has been resold, and has joined Mason's team. The filly shows -a lot of promise, and should score first time out. . Prior to the Winter Cup being run, W. Pine oponly announced that wherever Helen Portland and Lady Annie finished Buccle'uch would' be m front of them. It appears that the lastnanied ran a ■ mile ' from a standing start m 1.46 and had Bst 121 bon his back. I suppose that if Boniform wins the A.J.C. Derby and the field for the A. J.C. Derby is a weak one, that Count Witfte will be sent out to represent the Yaldhurst stable, and Mason will keep the bay colt for the Canterbury Cup and Auckland Derby ; Mr S. H. Gollan won the ' Perkins' Memorial Plate; one mile, at the Newcastle (Emg.} meeting, m June,, with a filly by Bill of Portland out of his colonial bred mare Freda. She started second favorite at 5 to 2, m a field of six. The filly was ridden by the Australian lad Wootton-, and .trained by F. Day, who also hails from Horsetralia. At the 'bloodstock sales held m Melbourne on July 30th,. Mr J. J. McGrath, of the Wattle Vale stud, near Wagga, .gave 170'gns for the New ZeaWagga (N.S.W.) gave 170gns for the N.Z. bred horse, Lord Delaval, by. Seaton Delaval (imp.)., from Taihoa ; and Mr J. -McLaren, of. Yarra" Yarra > Station, New South Wales, secured Brighton, , by Euroclydon ■ from MaBelle, for lOOgms. No mistake was made when the time came for Subterranean to be slipped. This was on Wednesday, when m a weak field for the July Handicap, the sturdy looking New Zealander was backed down ta 7 to 4 on, and duly won without ever being extended- The stake itself is evidently of small importance where the horses under D. J. Price's care .are concerned, and this owner-trainer and his friends do not bet m marbles when they fancy their horses ; tout it may : be [doubted if they were able to win quite, as much as they anticipated m this ihstance".T-"Melbourne Truth." "Rapier," m the "Sporting and Dramatic News,." is one of Hewitt's most outspoken critics. Referring to the Hurst Park enquiry, he says : — "His excuse was that he thpught Major Edwards would not like the mare knocked about. Major Edwards/ I am sure, would not like any mare to be knocked about, but he likes just a little suggestion, of energy thrown Into a finish/ Hewitti, notwithstanding that he won on.Lally,' appears to be an exceedingdy expensive importation, and we really hay© enough disappointing (jockeys without him." Good old Conservatism. It dies hard. In a recent issue of the "Australasian," "T.erlinger" deals stoush to Skinny Moss and Co, ' who are now paying Melbourne a ''visit" . — ''The same punter will mot take even money about an unknown horse like Uro, but the solid Sydneyites behind the big Mack knew they had a certainty, and bet accordingly. There are three or four Sydney ..men with us just now ■ft'ho say Melbourne suits them better than Sydney. They say the Sydney bookmakers will not bet with them. Judging by the way these 'astute' professionals ha-ve despoiled the Victorian ring with Yiielba and Uro, it is not surprising to hear that the Sydney penoiilars are not anxious for their custom. Mr Maitland had Uro m the last Welter Race at Caulfield at the minimum. Uro's party would not go for this certainty, but waited for two certainties at the Valley/ 1

Gold Dust ran a capital race m the Jumpers' Flat Race, !,ut the Auckland pair always had the race won. The winning jockeys on Tuesday were 'G. Pine, J. O'Connell. F. Jones, J. Hall, L. OrbelL A. Phillips, A. McConnon and S. Reid. The fields at Riccarton on Tuesday were exceptionally large and many horses that failed to leave the mark with the leaders had no ohance afterwards. Starlight broke down badly during the running of the. Enfield Steeplechase, and. everything considered, backers of the goad thing were lucky m collecting. As far as condition went Sen Sim looked the fittest horse m the field for the Hack, Handicap on Tuesday, and he carried a lot of money on that account alone. H. Hickey was asked to put a prioe on Eclair after (winning the big< Steeplechase and named £400. The would-be buyer wanted the horse for the A J.C. Spring Meeting. Kaitere was well backed m Auckland on Tuesday, and his failure enriched the coffers of the bookmakers. The old horse received three rousing cheers on returning to the scales. . Rosemorn was made favorite m the Enfield Steeplechase, but why it would be difficult to say. The mare looked very light, and even had she stood) up I do not think she could have won. . A lot v of. "hea'(ls." r , . declare, gaiko-.. mako was not a trier m" the" Hunt-^ er's Hurdles; : The fact-. that sbma of feh'S chestnut's connections backed Canton might have ■ influenced the decision. •, ' • '.'■■ '■'■ • Wild Cat had a run-in the Jumpers'. Flat Race, but- though she was m front with Stronghold' .for, '.-a -bit sho. was done with .'early, and evidently, her day 7 s of usefulness are fast nearing an. end.. . . -Sid Reid rode a great race on Hinupai, who has improved a greatdeal lately. He was early m leading position m the Hack Race on Tuesday, and he fought out. the finish m a determined manner. He should score again to-day, : None of the present Tod Sloaners over country seem to work the game with as much success as C: O'Neill used to do. W. Young arid V. Cotton both adop<t this style, but they are not so pronounced as O'Neill. Tartar Julian and Tim Howard both got ba»dly shaken, through their mounts falling. in the ,big Steeples. The former got up later on m the day, but he was obviously riot at his best. Howard did not ride again that day- ■ . F. Jones, who rode. Idealist, .vhould . consider, himself very lucky that he got such a splendid start, as he was guilty- of a lot of ''finessing I .' at the barrier, and changed his po--sition fully a dozen, times before the tapes were skied. Needlework's performance oh Tuesday was a 'distinctly meritorious brie, especially when it is remembered that he has done next to nothing of a preparation, and since Trentham, when he cut his stifles, he had not had a school at all. The chestnut mare Levant seems to have taken a new ' lease of [ life, and looked m great heart at Riccarton. I look to her to win a race when the tracks get a bit harder, and if it is fine to-day she might shake up that Final Hurdle Race. Much ' to the surprise of some people, J. McCombe : was last week granted a license by the C.J.C. and he will again do the Ya,ldhurst riding. A committee meeting was held to consider tto "grand stand" affair, and McCombe was examined, with the above result. One of the committee asked McConube if it was true that be won £800 over the result, but he was able to bring evidence to prove that he had not received a quarter of that amount. Some were inclined to. cayill at Jerry O'Connell's exhibition. .on Needlework, but those who ride m the grandstand can always show points to the boys who get their living : at the game. The only fault I found with the lad's riding was that he was just a trifle careful at the last fence and he did not drive his borse hard enough at the jump; but anyone m a similar position would . make • the same, mistake through over anxiety. O'Connell has' a good pair of harids;, and I feel sure he will ,do well m future. Should he turn out as good as either of his brothers foe won't be bad. After the Grand, National Steeplechase was decided I looked . up J. ' Hall who rode the winner and found him m 'the pavilion having a cup of tea with ' his better half. The Hastings horseman : was wry modest and a lot of pressure had to be applied to make him talk of the race, but eventually he said, "I 'am very proud that I won, but I thought all along that the old fellow had a ohance second to none, and, of course we had a lot of luck during the race by dodging accidents^ In J the first round he was not up to their pace at all, but passing the stand with another lap (to go I felt confident he would win, .. as he was going strongrly, and I was saving a good bit of ground by jumping the corners of the fences, a liberty I could take, as he would never offer to run off like a young horse would..' Entering '. the straight I must have . gained fully a dozen' lengths . . anid jumped the last fenco en the inside, being frightened that Needlework might run down it, I sent Eclair hard at it and tried to rise first,' but happily we all landed safely. Kiatere then ranged alongside of us, but I thought he would stop and I would be left with Needlework! You know the rest. I won. but there was nothing to spare."