MAUSER'S RETIREMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11400, 18 April 1899, Page 3

MAUSER'S RETIREMENT.

Many horses of greater importance, than this son of Maxim and Auray leave the post for the paddock without any notice beyond a mere passing comment, but this big fellow was at one time regarded as likely to develop into a great racer, and the termination of his career suggests a readable paragraph. To begin with, Mauser was strangely unlucky iv coming in a season when the owner had more good ones of the same age thar. he knew what to do with. Bloodshot, Musketry, and Mannliclier were his contemporaries. It was at the C..T.C. Autumn meeting of 1895 that Mauser made his debut, and his mission.was simply to carry the, yellow jacket in the Russley Plate, Mr Stead relying on Mannliclier and Musketry for the more important task of opposing Gipsy Grand in the 'Champagne Stakes. Mauser won pretty easily, the only candidate he had to beat being Euroolydon, who at that time had not come to his best, and t'.ie Olago colt was conceding 71b besides having a big handicap in the fact tiiat the going was heavy. That was Mauser's one appearance as a two-year-old. I reckon that his owner thought something of the Auray colt, for in the following season lie associated him with Mannlicner in the attempt to capture the C..1.C. Derby won by Kuroelydon, and later on sent him to Auckland, where, amongst 'other disappointments, he got floored in the Derby won by Fabulist. As a matter of fact Mauser did not win a race all the season : yet we were hoping on and believing in him to some extent. Mr Stead, however, got full up. and sold the colt to Mr Ai'ur-ray-Aynslcy, who won with him the St. Clair Welter at Dunedin and the Shorts or. Waiuku's N.Z. Cup day, and then sold him for £Vi to Mr ,T. Harris, but the horse continued to run in Mr Murray-Aynsley's name, picking up three or four' races that were well worth the winning, though relatively of email importance as compared with the game ho at first flew at. The truth is that Mauser wanted careful training and also careful placing in his after life. If Mr Stead, two years earlier, had had only Mauser to depend on we might have had his name on- one. at least, of the rolls of classic winners. He was and is a powerful upstanding horse of great substance and quality, a .perfect king when shown alongside a lot of the weeds we often see on our racecourses.