NOTES BY BEACON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1832, 31 December 1886, Page 24

NOTES BY BEACON.

The Waikouaiti Race Club will give £160 in stakes at the annual meeting on St. Patrick's Day. All but two of the events will be open to horses outside the district.

The Referee states that Mr E. T. Rhodw has purchased the Welcome Stakes runner-up, Kimberley, from the Hon. W. Reeves. The price paid was about £400.

The following gentlemen have been balloted to retire from the Dunedin Jockey Clvb :— The Hon. G. M'Lean (president), Mr John Stephenson (vice-president), and Messrs Meenan, Davidson, Fleming, Taggart, and B. Wilson. These gentlemen are eligible for office again, and the vacancies will be filled at the annual meeting of the club, which takes place on the 11th of January.

Of the summer races of the Dunstan Jockey Club our own correspondent telegraphs : The Clyde races were fairly successful, but the sport was somewhat marred by wind and dust. In the Maiden Plate, for which there were four entries, Little Jack was first, with Mystery second and Mount Iron third. In the Publicans' Handicap, out of 11 entries only six accepted, and of these only three started, Knickerbocker Sam (with Bst 101b) coming in first, with Garibaldi (Bst 51b) second. The other starter,' Cheap Jack, was distanced, his rider, George Rivers, on turning into the straight coming into collision with the distance post and getting a heavy fall. In |the Hack Selling Race three started, Tichbourne coming in first, with Altare second and Marrnion third. For the Trot 13 faced the starter, Mr Cameron's Nelly (45sec) winning easily, with Mr Darlington's Polly (60sec) second, and Mr Old's Jack third. For the Flying Handicap the following five started : — Cheap Jack (9st), Foul P]ay (9st), Bagshot (Bst), Sweetbriar (7st 31b), and Lilac (6st 101b). Bagsbot won, with Cneap Jack second and Sweetbriar third. This was a good race. On the second day, in the Selling Stakes five started, Sweetbriar winning easily. For the Trot 14 entered, and 12 accepted and started. Mr Mountney's Maggie (55sec) came in first, with Mr Darlington's Polly (55sec) second and Mr Dungey's Jimmy (40sec) third. The totalisator paid a dividend of £25 13s. For the Dunstan Raciug Club Handicap six started, Knickerbocker Sam coming in first, with Garibaldi second and Don Jose third. The other starters were Foul Play, Dunluce, and Archie. In the Hack Race three started, Skipper winning, with Royalty second and Little Jack third.

At the Blenheim Boxing Day meeting Orient won the Hurdles ; Patricius the Waipu Plate, with Fay second; Lady Agnes the Hislop Cup; and Refrigerator the Sporting Handicap.

At the Masterton races about 2000 were present. The results were: — Derby: Ferester, 1; Honeysuckle, 2. Owake Stakes Handicap : Rumour, 1 ; First Water, 2 ; Rollo, 3. Railway Plate : Forester, 1 ; Rumour, 2 ; Little Scrub, 3. Masterton Handicap : Forester, 1 ; Rollo, 2 ; Honeysuckle, 3. At the Oamaru Tradesmen's races £650 was put through the totalisator on Boxing Day. Maid of Erin won the Maiden Plate, Paddy the Boxing Day Handicap, Butcher Boy the Trot, Lucy the Novel Race, Rosespur the Tradesman's Handicap (carrying 21b more than in the Boxing Day Handicap, when she was beaten by Paddy). Miss Baker's Tommy won the Ladies'" Bracelet, and Freebooter the Consolation Race.

At the Kakanni races on Boxing Day, nearly £600 was put through the machine. Barna^do won the Trial Stakes, Pauline the Kakanui and Publicans' Handicaps, Bob the Trotting Race, Tommy the Farmers' Pu«e, and Kino the Con aolation Handicap. Breeders and owners of racing stock should not overlook the fact that entries for the Great Northern Derby (for now yearliugs), hi which

750sovs are added to the sweepstakes, and for the Great ' Northern Poal Stakes, in which 300sovs r^re added, close on the 7th January. Entries can- be. made with the seoretary of the Dunedin Jockey Club.

At the races on Monday, the Auckland Racing Club issued a notice indicating that cash betting on the and bookmakers laying the totalisator, odds would not be allowed, but severaj members of the fraternity carried on the latter means of wagering in the paddock wi^h impunity. The stewards had one of the small ' fry up before them for cash betting outside, but he got off with a caution. It is said one/of the metallicians lost over £400 laying the totalisator odds against Cremorne, the winner of the Christmas Handicap. The ring received a severe, handling during the day, and several of .their number have to bring forward heavy liabilities*ia the doubles. In the Maiden Plate Silver. Prince ran in the interest of the Hon. W. Robinson, having been purchased by that gentleman. -

After Nelson's victory in the Auckland Cup a little scene occurred in the paddock between two prominent sportsmen — the Hon. W.'Robin- \ son and- Major. George ; the former accusing Major George of unsportsmanslike conduct in working Nelson-with Waitiri in training. After a few paasages-at-arms, in which they impugned each other's veracity, the matter dropped. " Senax " has arrived at the conclusion tnat the hankering of suburban clubs after public holidays on which to hold their meetings is a delusion on their part, and that it is not conducive to .their success when the whole population is enfetefas it; is in Canterbury on Anniversary Day. The' totalisator has had the effect of increasing our race .meetings to such an extent as to render them of everyday occurrence, and instead of them being an unaccustomed treat for the display^ o£ bonnets, and a subject of interest for days and weeks before, they are now shunted i by holiday makers, when such counter attractions as cheap railway and steamboat excursions place novelties within their reach. There were about -700 people who paid admission to the | New Brighton course on Thursday, and about a third of thaf number to Plumpton Park, and these two lots put together do not equal the average of the attendance at a New Brighton meeting. So also with the totalisator, which passed through £1648 at New Brighton and £655 at Plumpton, and which added together barely equals the average amount put through at either. of these meetings, and yet on this occasion it represents the investments on 17 i events. I believe that a Saturday afternoon or any half holiday would draw a better attendance than a general whole holiday when counter attractions are to the fore. The New Brighton club were fortunate, enough to make a small profit out of their meeting, but the- Plumpton people must be £100 or more to the bad over theirs. And Ijfear a similar prospect is staring the Heathcote'olub in the face on the 27th, for notwithstanding how easy of access their course is, I feel certain they cannot command a decent attendance against the higher class attractions at Riccarton; They have entered their protest against the C.J.C. jumping their claim, but without avail,, and they had now better cease kicking against the pricks and accept the inevitable, which means the weakest going to the wall, . , . - So says this experienced writer, and I quite agree with' him — the suggestion, indeed, being one that I have repeatedly made to the Taieri club, who, /however, persist in holding their races on November 9, when nearly all Duuedin spotting folk are away attending the Canterbury races:

The Mataniatu" Raciug Club, though 1 but an insignificant body, knows how to advertise its meetings. This is an extract from the programme for .their next meeting: — The train arrangements will give the public a splendid opportunity '46t a run into the country, a view of the picturesque scenery, of the Thames Valley, the new and thriving settlement of Waharoa, the Wairiri -Waterfall, and the celebrated Hot Springs of Matamata. ' Mr Staad spends the following letter to the Weekly P/ress : — It-is to be regretted that your columns have beeq made the vehicle for an imputation against the good faith of the gentlemen who,f or " a labour of love," £11 the onerous and thankless position of handicappers of the C.J.C. I .cannot believe your contributor " Senex " realised the fuH'iraport of the words he used or he would not have penned the following : — " I do not for a mornenfc think that we are suffering from the demoralising influence of trotting races, in which it is {he recognised Custom to handicap owners and npt horses; but it unfortunately happens on this occasion that the horses belonging to a certain class of owners have, in the opinion of .the public, been better treated in the Midsummer Handicap than those belonging to •wners in a lower social scale." It is true the merits or demerits of the handicap in question cannot be proved until after the race 'has -been run on the 27th December ; but it is fair to assume that if, in the Midsummer Handicap, one class of owners has been favoured to "vne disadvantage of others in a "lower social scale," traces of similar favouritism would be apparent in former handicaps. But what are the facts ? and what shadow of justification is there in the past work of the handicapping committee to warrant the public's hinting that such has been the case. lam sorry that reference has been made to class or social distinctions in connection with our races, but now that it has been done, will "public opinion " state in which social scale it classes-the piajority of the owners of the following winning horses : —

Mr Shermn Mr Hill Mr Tancred Mr $tbad

The above list . comprises the whole of the handicaps run for at the recent meeting and a perusal of the .names must at least dispel any idea that horses belonging to owners in what " Senex " terms a " lower social scale " have had the worst of the weights in the past. The Hon. W. Robinsop,- W. Reeves, G. M'Lean, and E. Mifcchelsony Major George, Dr Prins, and Messrs G. H. Clifford, Hammond, Rutherford, and others ran horses at the recent meeting without scoring' a win- or a single handicap, while your bumble servant, who started 10 different horses, only succeeded iv winning the Consolation out of the several handicaps his horses ran in. Surely after this experience it is reasonable to assume that 'what- has happened before will happen ' again, and therefore it is ungenerous to suggest tfiat-tliQ'hapdicappers have favoured either one

person or one class of persons to the- detriment of others in a "lower social scale." With respect to my horses having been too leniently treated I may say that I have run 31 different horses for 105 races on the C.J.C.* course in the past six years, and that during the whole of that period I have not succeeded in winning a single handicap race of the value of 200sovs. I should think these facts tend to show that my horses at any rate have not had the best of the weight?. In a footnote to the preceding letter" Senex" says that he had no intention of casting any reflection on the handicappers and his meaning would have been better expressed had he written II but it accidently happens on this occasion," &o. instead of using the word "unfortunately." For my part, I fail to see the justice of Mr Stead's letter from beginningto'end, for "Senex" expressly referred to •* this occasion " only, and said not a word about previous meetings. Nelson has, by winning the Auckland Cup, incurred a 101b penalty for the Wellington Cup, in which race his weight will therefore be lOsfc 81b. I should imagine that the Waitiri crowd must now feel very foolish at their not accepting for the Wellington Cup ; but possibly they may be in a position to know that Nelson can as easily give the mare two stone and a-half as two stone. When one looks at Nelson's easy victory in the Auckland Cup it really becomes a question whether he cannot carry off the Wellington race also with all his weight. Spade Guinea, at only 51b worse terms than in the New Zealand Cup, should have a^ show, but that she cut so poor a figure at Christchurch on Monday. The only others that I can see having a ghost of a show with him are Fardingale, Artillery, and (possibly) Silence. One result of Nelson's second Auckland Cup victory is that the Dunedin Jockey Club committee can congratulate themselves on their arranging to defer the issue of the Dunedin Cup weights until after the Auckland meeting. Fardingale has, by winning the Hastings Handicap at Hawke's Bay, incurred a penalty of 71b for the Wellington Cup, which brings her weight for that race up to 6st 71b. This filly is a half-sister to Clogs, and was bred by the Auck< land Stud Company. Captain Russell ran her without success at a couple of meetings this sea* son, but she was reported of late to be coming on— and has "come on with a vengeance. Her full cotabulated pedigree appears in another column.

The first and most interesting day of the Auckland -meeting is over, and the Cup has again been carried off by Nelson ; while second place has again been taken by Waitiri. This will surprise scarcely anyone, but it in greatly to be regretted that so valuable and important a race should have been sacrified by the handicapper as this has been. In common with pretty well every sporting-writer in the colony, I went for Nelson and Waitiri as the best in at the weights, and the pnblic also rushed the pair as soon as the handicap appeared. There is no credit indeed attachable to spotting such a certainty as this, and in the in* terests of owners generally it may be as well to remind handicappers that if they wish to bring good fields of horses together they must not be afraid to put the weight on a horse that he has well earned by the merits of his performances. A lotofnonsensejs sometimes talked aboutcrusbing a good horse with weight, but it is better to err on the right side and give many owners a show than to give one all the plums. The race in question fipems to have been one of the softest things that even the hero of it has had — he lay back lash till near the end, and then went np and won as he liked ! Of those behind him and Waitiri little need* be said. Clogs could not have won with a feather-weight up. Lochiel was either, as I suspeoted, not at his best, or else he can really be no stayer. Lady Norah's chance cannot have been .improved by her run in the Maiden Plate ; still it can never at any time have been very good, and her owner showed good sense by making a certainty of the smaller stake. Derringer still flhows no signs of having recovered the promising form of his early days. Friendship and Victoria showed a bit of pace for great part of the way, but were simply smothered at the finish, and could not have won with only the proverbial postage stamp to carry.

The two-year-old event — the Midsummer Stakes — proved, as I anticipated, to lie between the stable companions Niagara and Bangle. Formo wan about at the finish, but the southern crack Oruchfield was quite out of it.

Harking back to the Maiden Plate, won by Lady Norab, it is interesting to note that the Hon. W. Robinson's colt Torrent got a handsome drubbing at her hands. The field was not large, but it was certainly select, the breeding of the whole six bring of the highest class. ' "

In the Hurdle Race a southern horse was at last to the fore, Master Agnes lauding the stake for Mr Butler in fine style. The Other places ' were filled by apparently the greatest outsiders of the party.

That speedy mare Mitrailleuse has evidently lost none of her turn of speed, for she put through Artillery and three other good ones with great ease and in good time.

The Christmas Handicap wns carried off by that of late disappointing colt Cremorne in the fine time of 2min 12sec for the mile and a qnarter. He beat a good field, of whom Mitrail. leuse (at level weights) gave him the most trouble, while the evergreen Libeller (in receipt of two or three pounds) was a good third. The Auckland press agent appears to require stirring up. No news of the result of the Auckland Cup reached Dunedin till 10 or 11 o'clock on the night of the race, and this is exactly what took place last year. One would think that a press agent would, independent of his sense of duty, have sufficient pride to let the public know as early as possible the result of so important an event as a big Cup race.

During this holiday season the Witness goes to press so early in the week that I am not able to comment on the probability of many of the events to be run at Auckland on Saturday and Monday, the weights being not yet to hand. The Derby on Saturday seems pretty well cut down by the defeats of Cannon, Tamora, Silver" Prince, Torrent, Catesby, and Howitzer, while' Artillery's defeat in the Railway Plate and Lady Norah's in the Cup do not speak highly for their respective chances. This leaves us apparently with only Kingfish and Disowned, of which pair the former is a cripple —or at all events he was scratched for the Cup on that plea. Then Disowned also was scratched for the Cup, for what reason a good many would like to know. A lot of money was dropped over this colt by people who backed him for the Cup after he went up to Auckland, and after such a fuss was made over the engaging of a jockey specially to Tide him. After seeing how hfi shapes during the two last days of the meeting I shall have something to say about him, and the proceedings in con» nection with him. On public form he ought to win the Derby, unless Kingfish has got over his injury ; but" I shall discard both, and give my vote for Artillery, with Lady Norah as next brat ; for if Disowned was in anything like good nick his owner would surely have 'had a cut in for second or third money in the Cup, let alone the £1000 or so that it is worth .to tbs

'] I Owner, Horse. Bcice. " ir D. O'fine'n !r Dennet6 "' [r Mason ■ , ir Dennett' [r Shorwin ■. ir Lunn • !r Goodman - [r Sherwin Peter Osbeck Deceiver Spade Guinea Deceiver Meteor Tres Sec Apropos Quibble Sextant j Spring Hurdles Criterion Stakes KT.Z. Cup Selling Handicap Riccarfon W. Hurdle Eace Lance Memorial Epsom High Weight Nursery Handicap Lndles' Puree Metro. Handicap Flying Handicap Consolation £ 200 150 1000 100 100 100 500 150 . • [r O'Brieu ■< 200 :y Shenfin i ir^Hill [rTancred • Cr 9tbaSl Master Agnes Pasha Forester Marion 100 300 200 100