AUSTRALIAN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1763, 5 September 1885, Page 20

AUSTRALIAN.

The New York Spirit of the Times, in making reference to the doings of Commotion, is oomplimentary to the Australian Colonies, as the following will, show :— " When Macaulay wrote of the New Zealander on London bridge, he could have had but little conception of the growth of the Australian colonies, which promise to become one of the mightiest empires of the earth, and while we claim their people as kinsmen, can well regard them as formidable rivals on the turf. Wherever Englishmen and Irishmen settle, racing finds a home, and in its proportions the turf, of Australia and New Zealand is quite the equal of England. Her breeders imported Fisherman, the best horse of his day in England ; the St Leger winners The Marquis and Hawthornden, also Gang Forward, who won the Two Thousand in 1873, Tim Whiffler (ahorse whose praise our old friend Colonel J. B. Pryer has sung many a time and oft to us) ; Epigram, Musket, Cadogan, Bethnal Green, &c, and in The Peer they secured one of the best-bred sons of old Melbourne. In no country is racing more systematic, and from all we have read, and from the representations of friends, we can only conclude that the Australians have some great racehorses."

The Yankee offer of £3000 for Darebin has been refused.

A correspondent of the Australasian writes from Sydney :— " The Hon. W. Robinson's horses are five as grand specimens of horseflesh as you could wish to look at. Mason gives them 'popper,' with clothes on, long striding work quite different to ours, and more like what Mr John Tait gave his horses in the old days. Liverpool is a raking, fine chestnut, livercoloured, a lovely mover, and never gets up. Of Thunderbolt and Winchester I like the latter best ; ho is not doing the same strong work as Thunderbolt. A capital judge here likes Vanguard best. I fancy the best of them will be hard to beat in the weight-for-age races.

Altogether there are about 170 horses working here."

There has been a good amount of business this week (says the Australasian of the 22nd inst.), principally on the Caulfield Cup. The wagering was, however, confined to a trio of horses hailing from Adelaide — viz., Lord Wilton, Juanna, and The Israelite. ' Monday saw Lord Wilton the first of the three introduced, for a commission was early thrown into the market, and all the money at 100 to 3 was secured, followed by 100 to 4, and down to 100 to 5, till fully £15,000 was booked, and the horse is very firm at that figure. The following day's transactions were notable for a big stroke of business in favour of Juauna, to the extent of £10,000 at 1000 to 30 and 1000 to 35. On Wednesday The Israelite came to a like tune, and about £8000 went down at 100 to 3. Hurricane has steadily declined, and 100 to 3 was unheeded on Tuesday. Although the Melbourne Cup betting has not been so important as that in the great Caulfield Handicap, some genuine moves have been made about the New Zealanders Trenton and Thunderbolt, as also Normanby at 1000 to 30. The Hawkesbury Handicap wagering is not yet iv full swing, but Honeydew and Wing have each been substantially befriended at 1000 to 70, likewise Kathleen and Prince Imperial at 1000 to 60. For the V.R.C. Derby the bulk of the money has gone on Thunderbolt at 100 to 9, 10 to 1 afterwards being wanted. Uralla crops up now and again, whenever the operators spring Bto 1 ; but Newstead is friendless at 9to 2 offered. A few hundreds . have been appropriated about Matchlock at 100 to 8. The fol- ' lowing ate the prices : —

CAULFIELD CUP. 100 to 5 agst Lord Wilton (tk) 100 —4 • St. Lawrence (tk) . 100 — 4 Velocipede (tk and off) 200 — 7 Juana (tk) 100 — 3 The Iraelite (tk freely) 100 — 3—l- Anchorite (off) 100 - 3 Grace Darling (off) 100 — 3 Mozarf (off) 100 — 3 Plausible (off) 100 — 3 Archie (off) 100 — 3 Hurricane (tk and off) 100 — 3 St. John (off) 100 — 3 Claptrap (tk) 100 — 3 Lesbia (off) 200 — 5 Blink Bonny (off) 100 — 2 Marie Louise (off). 100 — 2 First Light (off) 100-2 The Brdker (off). V.R.C. DERBY. 100 to 22 agst Newstead 100 — 14 Uralla 100 — 10 Thunderbolt 100 — 10 Monte Christo 100 — 10 Dunlop . 100— 8 Nordenfeldt 100 — 8 Isonomv 100— 7 Winchester 100— 7 Matchlock' 100 — S Sunny Days 100— 5 Lady Claudia' 100— 5 Manchester 100— 5 The Pencil 100 — 4 Ringmaster 100— 4 Remns 100— 4 Arsenal 100— 4 First Prince. MELBOURNE CUP. 100 to 6 Coronet 100 — 6 . Commotion 100 — 4 Normanby 100 — 4 Trenton 100 — 4 Stornoway 100 — 4 Sardius 100 — 3 Liverpool ' ' 100 — 3 St. John 100 — 3 July 100 — 3 Prometheus " ' 100 — 3 Arsenal 100 — 3 Reginald 100 — 3 Monte Christo 100 — 3 Uralla 100 — 3 The Broker 100 — 3 The Israelite 100 — 3 Lord Exeter 100 — 3 Fryingpan 100 - 3 Lord Wilton 100 — 3 Manchester 100 — 2 Myles-na-Coppaleen 100 — 2 Coriolanus 100 — 2 Newstead 100 — 2 : St. Lawrence 100 — 2 Plausible 100—2 Willeroo 100—2 Velocipede 100 — 2 Thunderbolt 100 — 2 Despot 1 00 — 2 Sunny Days 100 — 2 Dunlop ' 100 — 2—l- Vanguard 100 — 2 Off Color 100 — 2 Calma 100 — 2 Vergy 100 — 2 Bristol 100 — 2 Warwick 100 - 2 Hilltop 100 — 2 Blink Bonny The Melbourne papers to hand contain the full entries for the Hawkesbury and A.J:C. meetings, and much to the disappointment of New Zealanders, the names of Vanguard, Liverpool, Oudeis, and Thunderbolt do not appear among them. Winchester is entered for the Trial Stakes at Sydney, while Welcome Jack is . in the Spring Stakes, Craven Plate, Randwick Plate, and some of the handicaps, including the bigevent— the Great Metropolitan , Stakes in which he has the honour of carrying top weight. The following are the acceptances for the METROPOLITAN STAKES, sfclb • stlb Welcome Jack ... 9 3 Copra ... < 610 Reginald ... 9 o Lord of the Lake '." 610 Merlin... ... 8 12 Lord Exeter 6 9 Tom Brown ... 8 10 Happy Thought 0 n Moonshee ... 8 6 Kathleen ' 6 8 Soldier Boy ... 8 2 Old Gold • '" c a Kingsdale ... 7 12 Coolabah " 0 8 Honeydew ... 7 11 Highland Mary Z 6 6 Silver King ... 7 8 Prince Imperial 6 6 Favo ... ... 7 8 Cardigan "64 Sloth ... ... 7 8 Lifeboat "' 6 4 The Broker ... 7 6 Hazard '" « I Despot... ... 7 6 Cairo '... '" 6 2 Petronel ... 7>6 Cerise and Blue .'." 6 2 jy? ng ™-- -7 3 Kagobert -...02 Qlen Elgin ... 7 2 Recruit... 6 2 Myles-na-Coppaleen 7 2 Percussion "' 6 0 Brown and Rose ... 7 0 Umbra a 0 1 Espiegle ... 7 0 Fareweif "" 6 0 * Acolyte ... 7 .0 Wheel of Fortune... 6 0 Coronet ... 7 0 Astroea... . ... g 0 A writer from Queensland has the following in the course of a letter to the English Field :— The Australian thoroughbred is much the same in appearance as his English relation. One seldom sees a "Barcaldine" in substance, but they are fairly off for quality— certainly superior m that point to the Yankee specimens one sees at Home. English thoroughbreds are accused of imsoundness, but in this respect they are outdone by Australians. Roaring is not so common as at Home ; but limb diseases are more so, and from the same cause— viz., the excessive gallop, ing of two-year-olds ; but in Australia the evil is aggravated by the greater hardness of the ground There are no Newmarket Heaths or Berkshire Downs, with that velvety turf we are accustomed to. 1 ains in the temper, too, are of frequent occurrence, and one has only to see the jockey ship to discover the cause; the cutting and spurring of beaten horses without a million-to-one chance is enough to make one sick To do the colonial jockeys justice, they don't know what tear is ; their cross-country men ride hurdle races from end to end, over posts and rails fixed tight in the ground, which would make an Enehshman think about ordering his coffin. Their horses certainly jump" cleaner' than ours and.

seldom chance their fences : but when they do hit one, it knocks them about terribly. The Australians are very keen about racing, and the Queenslanders are determined not to be behind the times, so they are going in strongly for breeding thoroughbreds ; there is a horse called Epigram, a son of old Blair Athol, getting them some very bloodlike stock. At Brisbane they have a capital grandstand, quite after Sandown Park; but the racecourse is dreadful — all on the turn, with most dangerous corners. The totalisator or betting shop is a great institution there. You go to one window, aud put your money on your fancy, aud receive a ticket ; when the race is over, if your horse wins, you go to another window, hand in your ticket, and receive your share of the sum total which has been betted on the losing horses in the race. From this sum total the race committee, who manage the machine, deduct their commission of 5 per cent, before it is distributed. It is, of course, a great boon to the general public, the small bettors, who thus avoid being victimised by the welshers, and it does not seem to affect the business of the substantial bookmakers. Private totalisators were found not to answer in Adelaide and Melbourne, where they got a trick of suddenly shutting up, like the banks do ,• at Home. An Englishman is always inclined to ' ridicule the time test, but he is more than ever inclined to do so in the Colonies, when he sees a lot of wretches that would not win a hunters' race at Home run over a mile and a-half, all round turns, and is assured that they have done the distance in 2 mm. 41 sec. — that is to say, in 2 sec. faster time than the fastest Derby. It puts one in mind of those Yankee celebrities that beat the best, on record in their Two Thousand and Derby trials, but somehow or other in the race forget the winning-post. A telegram to Auckland gives the following as the acceptors for the HAWKESBURY GRAND HANICAP, st. lb. sfc. lb. Merlin... ... 9 0 Prince Imperial ... 612 Moonsb.ee ... 8 10 Highland Mary ... (3 12 Soldier Boy ... 8 10 Fair Ellen ... (j 10 Blsinore ... 8 4 Cardigan ... 0 9 Houeydew ... 8 2 Eagle Grange ... 0 9 Kingsdale ... 8 0 Liieboat ... 6 8 Rapid ... ... 8 0 Calcade ... 6 8 Hurricane ... 7 12 Cairo ... ... (5 7 The Broker ... 7 11 Hazard ... 6 7 Faro ... ... 7 9 Dagobert ... 6 7 Wing ... ... 7 8 Cerise and Blue ... (5 6 Despot... ... 7 7 Percussion ... 6 5 Brown and Rose ... 7 6 Hands ... 6 4Acolyte ... 7 5 Recruit ... 6 4 Geelong ... 7 5 lago ... ... 6 2 Astroea ... 7 2 Wheel of Fortune 6 2 Cornet ... 7 2 Fengirl ... 6 0 Lord Exeter ... 7 1 Humbra ... 6 0 Kathleen ... 7 0 Honeycomb ... 0 0 Happy Thought ••' 7 0 Farewell ... 6 0 Ellington ... 7 0 Minerva ... 6 0 Old Gold ... 7 0 Jean ... ... 6 0 Anglesey ... 7 0 Folly ... ... 6 0 Lord of the Lake... 7. 0 Milabas ... 6 0 Coal Street ... 7 0