ENGLISH.

Otago Witness, Issue 1581, 11 March 1882, Page 20

ENGLISH.

The principal 'Spring Handicaps have^'received tne following entries :— -rrr, T~T ! ,"~j ,i i . . 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 Lincoln'ffandieap.. ,}O3 122 'l2i 'io? g* ,114 ' *6 Liverpool Sfc'ple-ch. 77 ,62-63 '67| 57 '47 48 Suburban 124 i 27 118 103 108 108 76 Gt.'Mbtropolitan .. 61 63 '62 43, 88 35 40 Newmarket H'cap.' £>8 1 47 67 .38' 42 47 .36 Chester Cup. „■ 101 ,92.7* 69, ,63 47 63 Some 'persons' may : hastily 1 have Jumped to'the conclusion that a'decadence'oi.theTurf ia 1 , indicated,', but, really the diminished number, of entries for 'the early' handicap's may ;be accounted for "by the almost unprecedented operiness of the winter^ which has enabled trainers vi different directions to train 'on and try a large number of horses,' and ao save their owners the expense', of entering those which have' not shown themselves "likely." Mr Lorillard lias entered Iroquois and Gerald for the City' and Suburban, Iroquois and Mistake for the long-distance Great Metropolitan, Mistake and less notable horsesof his For other handicaps. Mr Keene has nominated Foxhall for the City and Suburban, while the best English horses entered among these handicaps seem to be Petronel, Scobell, Prestonpans, Reveller, Peter, Peregrine, and Buchanan. Bend Or is not as yet entored for anything, but if his leg stands he may race later in the season. His great adversary Robert the Devil is of , course at the stud, where his subscription list is full. The Ascot Cup contains among its twentythree entries Foxhall, Iroquois, Petronel, Thebais^ Chippendale, Exeter, Tristan, Geologist, Town Moor, and eight sealed nominations. The' Epsom Gold Cup has almost identical entries, xhe rich Alexandra Plate at Ascot also has the two Yankee cracks engaged in it. The latest betting on the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby is as under :— GUINEAS. 4 to 1 aget Dutch Oven I 6 — 1 — Gerald 6 — 1 Marden 8 _ l Troll. DERBY. 6 to 1 agefc Bruce 15 _ 2 Gerald 100 — 7 Dutch Ovon 100 — 7 Troll 100 — 5 Marden 100 — 8— - Antarctic 100 — 3 — Little Sister 200 — 5 Southampton 100 —2 — — Golden Gate. R. I'Anson has decided on giving up his training establishment at Epsom, and intends taking up the p»:it of starter. Ho will reserve to himself the right of riding in two or throe of the principal cross-country events to bo de-, cided during the early part of this year, but will then abandon riding entirely. The turf has lost another devoted habitue in Mr Bernal Osborne, the witty member of Parliament, whose familiar figure will be missed on all our great racecourses. He loved racing for the sport alone, and its enjoyable surroundings, but cared little or nothing for its gambling associations. He was an excellent judge of a racehorse, and had public " form " at his fingers' ends. With regard to the case of Barrow v. Smith, better known as the Bend Or libel case, the sum of £1500 damages has been paid by the defendant. It will be remembered that the plaintiff did not press for the full amount of the callages — £1750 — and the mailer was eventually left to the Hon. Sir William V. Meld, the judge who tried the action, and on his certificate that the sum of £1500 ought properly to be paid to the plaintiff, the defendant handed over that sum in settlement of the action. It is stated that the Duke of Westminster has forwarded £500 to the proprietors of the Morning Post in part payment of the expenses they have incurred. The birth in London of a eon and heir to Earl and Countess Roeebery has been cele

brated with great rejoicings at Epsom, the Lord of Durdans being deservedly popular in that "downy" district through his kindly manners and great generosity. A huge bonfire was lit on tho Downs near the grandstand, and a pyrotechnic display followed. Real hearty enthusiasm was the order of the day, or rather night. Robbie Burns, who once seemed likely to develop into one of the best of modern racehorses, and has been for a long period a costly b6tc noir to numerous backers, recently died at Richmond, Yorkshire. M. Malapert, of Tours, has boon for the last three seasons the most noticeable purchasor of tho best animals disposed of at the Euglish sales, and tho extent of the uudertaking in which he has embarked may be imagined when we state that there are now 91 mare's in tho stud, purchased at an average of about 800 guineas.