TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1952, 18 April 1889, Page 23

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEPPA. V 1 The Dunediri Jockey Club's prjoppsai ito get up a race meeting which, shall' be something, out of the> common, as an adjunct to the' Exhibition' festivities, will not fall- through or suffer in my.way for want of sufficient notice and preparation. A definite start wjth the scheme was. made on Monday evening. The matter was brought forward' at the ■ ordinary meeting of the committee, and as the result of' the deliberations. instructions were given to the Programme Committee to set about preparing a bill of fare for three days' racing, the added money not to exceed £5000. This is the largest sum ever given to a race meetjngin New Zealand. The chief event on the first.day.isto be endowed with 1500sovs, 300sovs going to, the second, and 200sovs to, the third horse; /and the distance is to be a mile and seven furlongs. On the second day the principal race will be a mile and a-half ; and that of the third day is -to be a mile and a-quarter. These are the general instructions to the Programme Committee, and that, body will doubtless strive to arrange all matters of detail so as to ensure as far as possible the patronage of owners and the public. %* The enterprise of the club in promoting the scheme thus outlined will, 1 should think, meet with general approval in most re: speots. The only, matter on which differences of opinion are likely to arise is that of the distance of the Exhibition Cup— this is the name the public have already given to the race. Some folk may wish to have the. course the same as the Dunedin Cup; others, will- perhaps desire to shorten it to a mile and a-half. Of these alternatives I should prefer the last-named, if for no other reason than , that it would be an entirely different trace to the New Zealand Cup, which will immediately precede it. But I really do not see any sound reason why the new distance should be objected to, and perhaps I shall be , agreeably surprised to find substantial unanimity on the subject. %* A remedy against the propagation of roarers appears to have been discovered. It is to take them to sea and throw, them overboard. Two well-known horses have, according to latest accounts, found a watery grave—via, Ossory and Prince 10.. The famous Belladrum, who was also a roarer, was , (remarks an English writer) nearly terminating his career in a somewhat similiar manner. .Whilst being unshipped at the Cape he fell into.-the sea, and> apparently being^ disgusted with the treatment he had received, he struck out boldly for sea, probably with the intention' of. swimming home again, and it was a long time before a boat's crew could recover him! A much greater Kingclere celebrity than Ossory, who died on his way into exile, was that sterling but much-abused, horse. Blue Gown, who suc-r cumbed during a gale and was thrown overboard when within 100 miles of New York. Another very famous animal that did not arrive at the country to which .he was shipped was Buckstone, whose race with The Marquis for the Sti Leger,; and subsequent dead heat, with the final victory, over Tim Whiffler for the Ascot Gold Cup, are memorable events in turf history: He was bought, to win. the Oriental Cup, in China, and died on the way. The perils of winter storms will be avoided with Ormonde, who will probably be sent to his new htone about July. * # * I must confess to being very much surprised- on learning this week that the Western (District Racing Club had removed the disqualification from- the jockey Duncan M'Nab. This rider got into trouble at the Otautau meeting of December 1887, being convicted of one of the 'most extraordinary offences that I have yet seen described as " foul riding/ To quote a local paper of that date:— "The 1 Novel Race 1 r proved a runaway, affair for old.Swede, who was followed homely: Kurawa ; the other two starters came in riderless. We trust a' thorough investigation will be. held, 1 and"-if foul riding has taken place the offender be dealt with in a manner that will stop such practices in future. It is alleged that; young Moffet, the rider of Florence, was'cle-, liberately shoved off his mount by M'Nab, who* wae riding bare-back on Taipo, and who himself afterwards came to grief, and who was taken off' the course somewhat bruised;" Assuming that' this version is correot, M'Nab was lucky at'the; time in that his outrageous conduct did not bring him before a magistrate ;' and he is lucky again in being whitewashed after less than' lß, months' disqualification. I think it is & mistake , to remove the ban so soon. The present posi- 1 tion of the affair is this : The Oamaru Trades- j men's Olub has' written to the D J.C. intimating' that the Western District' Club has taken off the disqualification;' and asking if the' D.J.C. will endorse the action. The D.J.C. has replied ■ that it can only act on a -communication direct; from the Western District Club. There the; matter stands for the present. 1 I do not know; how the Oamaru. Clab comes to be mixed np in . matter, unless it is that M'Nab has gone to reside in that district. I think the Western District Club should, in the interests of decency, give the publio its reasons for seeking to' have , M'Nab restored to his profession. ' The case was ; on its face a very bad one, unless the report; quoted above— which, by the way, was not called, in question, so, far as I am aware— is an exaggerated statement of what took place. V TKe'VvR.O. has s de&decl to follow the example of 'the Australian I ' Jockey Club, andt after the3ofch instant pony-racing 'will not be recognised by the premier association^ So says " Asmodeus,"' who adds : " This is a step which , was recommended in these columns some months ago, and the leading club is to be congratulated on having washed its hands of a sport which has descended to a' very low status.'. As I have' previously intimated, pony-racing is at beat a hybrid pastime, and whatever favourable traits it may at one time have possessed the same have entirely disappeared owing to the numerous doubtful transactions which have cropped up in connection with th.c decisions of pony contests. The liliputians and -theft adherents will henceforth" be left to themselves/ and the action of the V.RiC.wiUlesjdto the formation of a Galloway ana Pflny '-'Woeiation. ' Ket^the ad-; mirera of pony runninc by aUraeansen^oy their amusement to the fullestextehtibutilitis well the, pastjme should be kept separate from the mor^

legitimate sport of hprs'eracing ; and, all wellwißhfetto^het'arf^nag^ee^thmejriW^ngiha't' the V.K.O. has dpiie the right thing in' alienating ' itself from a reiSpdnsibiiity which was neither dignified nor essential, I will venture the ' opinion that pony-racing; now that it is to be left to its own 'resources, will' carry on a very precarious existence and perhaps die a natural death." 1 '',' '. " * # * The' Hawke's Bay. Jockey, Club has notified the D.J.C. that the d. J.C. has forwarded a /recommendation to the effeot, that the propdsed conference on racing matters should be nSld, not 'in Napier, but 'in Wellington, at the time Parliament is in session., The question,came before the Dunbdin Jockey Club's committee on Monday night, and it was, decided to intimate that' the p.J.C. acquiesced in the C J.C.'a recommendation. The Hon. G< M'Lean will act as Danedin's delegate^.aj; 'the conference. ,_, ''.' v l ■ .' j, vv , ' ' * # * The .Americans" have all .along, been well pleased with their purchases in the Australian horse market, apd it is not a surprise to hear that, there is some talk of more ventures in tlie same direction, <That.tb.is is meditated is apparent from a communication sent from 'Frisco to the Leader. , The writer 'says:— "I saw Sir' Modred and Darebin at Sacramento last week," and , many of their yearlings and foals^ Mr Haggin endeavours to have the mares foal as early in February as possible, and has so far lost none of his. youngsters from; cold .weather or .disease. He will, ship six qarloads, of yearlings ioNew York in June, next, and, to judge from the prices of la,st year, will find a better market there than any where^else. The desire for Aus- ;. tralian-bred horses is gradually on the. increase,; and I was, asked the other day. what < strain of blood I should desire to import if the money for purchase of a stallion were placed at my disposal. It, took me some time to decide, but I ' finally got down to, a son of any of four sires — Musket, St. Allans, 1 CHeater, and Goldsbrough. Hence you need not be surprised to hear that an offer, has been. made in good faith for' Cardigan, Cranbrook, Sheet .Anchor, or Carbine before this letter appears in type. The great bone and; substance of . Australian thoroughbreds as exemplified in Sir Modred, Darebin, and Cheviot; has caused our more intelligent breeders to put on .their studying caps ; and although American racehorses never carried as big weights or, made as fast time as they have done, since 1880, reducing the records at all distanoes except four miles, yet it is palpable that an .outcross is needed in every possible direction." > * # * The final payment for the Sydney Cup is not likely to cause a serious thinning of the list. ' There, were 28 horses engaged on Wedjnesday (names published' in another .column), and it is highly probable that ' at least 20 of ' these .will survive the ordeal .and that the field will at the lowest number 15— from that to 20. The latest ecratchings of importance are The Queen, Cardigan', and The Yeoman, a dangerous trio if well. The cables tell us that Abercorn is doing splendid work, and considering this horse's past record it is no .wonder that he is a firm favourite. , Writing of this and other promising, horses:' " Augur " says :— "(The Honl James White's pair, Abercorn and Carlyon, btith have rosy prospects, for 9.4. in a handicap will be a luxury to Abercorn, ' who will fairly revel in his work if there be a strong 'pace. I should like this good-looking son of Chester to remain on' the turf for another season 'or two, so that he might have a chance of raising his winnings to £10,000. jhaye heard his owner 1 talk of saving Orahbr'obk for a sire, but I should prefer Abercorn, for 'the reasons that he is 1 a much better ' horse over a distance, and more truly-shaped than the gigantic son of La (Princesse, who also labours under the suspicion of a! defect in%is- windl "■ Carlyon, who' on6e was supposed to have, broken down, has stood the' test of Several 1 strong preparations remarkably, well, and 8.12 ought not to trouble ;so good a horse in the Sydney Cup. It is very gratifying to hear from - our. neighbours' training ground that another good horse in the Australian Peer' is dding well,'&Kl if he 1 should ,. standthis work there will be additional interest centred in the! weight-for-age races." I shall not forget 'very readily how he performed in last year's Sydney 1 Cup,' when" he carried' 8.6 and won easily. Being now more matured, the extra 121b ought not to be much of an impediment to him. He,, too, likes a strong pace, and it he be the best of, Mr William Gannon's quartette,' the cream and) maroon stripes will be very prominent' as they near .the St. JLeger 1 stand. l| I hear very rosy' accounts of Yabba',a Queensland horse, of some 1 repute, and the residents of Barianaland are! verysweet'Tapon his chance. Mr John Mayo is> very often dangerous in the' autumn, and witbj TheQueW in' aY Bst '[since scratched] and Honeydewat 7:10 he should this season make a; bold bid' for victory. There was/ 'a time when; the latter was regarded as very little below first- j class, but he has 'not kept up his "reputation.; Some people think he has altogether lost his j form. I don'tf."',As to ! Lochiel, very contra-, dictbry reports have been received in New.Ze'a'-J land. From one 'source we hear that he is dead off ;' from alnbther,' that'he 1 is doing.gbod work. ' Concerning 'this member, the authority from, whom I have quoted' iaa^s : — " New Zealand will: have' an excellent representative in Lochiel, •'who ought to run a fa^t'.two miles, for he has 71b j less than.when he wob the Autumn Handicap at the V.B f C ( meeting. Thathe can 'stay he proved when he made all his own running and won the Australian Cup, thG distance being a quarter of a! mile further than the Sydney Cup. His trainer, ! R Mason, has not yet made a move /towards Randwiok, because he has heard fabulous tales of the 'mosquitoes', who are said to be more than usually aggressive this season. I know that'they' are very troublesome ta visitors, bipeds as well.as quadrupeds, at this tinie of the , year, and as' the going at Ffemington, has been first-class, Mason, ho doubt, was quite justifided in delaying his departure for the scene of action." The mosquito yarn may be Bei down ,'as a little bit of pleasantry, tlie real reason for i delaying Lochiel'B departure for Sydney being, I ! suppose, that he w^s 'able' to get good exercise ' at Flemington. : Anyway, the horse is ,now in . Sydney.and "evidently doing fairly well, format last advices' he was ' as go,o'd a f avp.urHje as. anything bar 'A'bercorn,. Carbine^ alsp, must be , doing good work, for he is on the 10 td i mark . in the betting quotations. ' Qur three?year-old ' repres'entativeVMariton,'has suffered rude treat- ' nient a* the, hands of the Ring, and is com-; pletely" knocked out at 100 to 3,' which 1 seems'tb ' iri'dioate that he will be a non-starter. I was afraid of him from the very first,, and other 1 scribes also did not hesitate to reoord their opinion that h,e could not 1 be quite fit. He doe -not seem to have gone wrong— at ariyrate there is no mention of such a mishap, and it is not probable, seeing, that he was galloping on Mon- . day, morning. 'The fact i?,, it may be pre^ ; Burned, that the Randwick touts,whb are pretty fair judges of condition, have come to the conclusion that Ma'nton is not fit/ If they have reported to that effect there will be heaps of money, for the colt even at the post, and the more that is taken the more there, wjll be to' lay/" '|f I may be allowed to r ' express an opinion as to the result ; 'of , this Sydney Cap, I should say that "'the/,, mart likely horses are 'Abercorn,- Keith, Hbneydew, Lbns- - dale, and Yabba. As toiwhicti of these'nas the 1 best show ifc would be rather' presumptuous for

,me to §ay, but I- have some conildence,-in thus >' reducing the, number to five, believing, thiat this :' little bunch 'contains the., winner. '„ Keith has a 71b penalty for winning the HawkesburyHabdi'cap, which bringi' his weight up to ,'8.2, 0r,'. 61b less than" he .carried to victory at Hawkesbury. It "should be remembered^ however^ f 'tha£" the Sydney Cap, is two miles, and the, Hawk'esbury only a mile, and a-half. , " . . \ , • \{\ c , ', ;/j.**.* Tbe Sydney Referee has b'^en,interviewing Mr, Jack Thompson, the bookmaker, on ttie question. of, introducing the j, totalisator, to New South Wales. In answer te I; tte,<. .query, What do you think of , this.totalisator question and its bearing on public .mora^ty,, the best interests of , the turf, and tbe.^usjnes/of you mammoth .tobjsmak'erß? thJßi^^etvJiejw^dijmade, as might hav,e, been * exp'ecte'd,, a j.chaifotHwifltio reply, in the* f,ollowing"tepns M I %ink and have thought a good, deal about this subject; and more than th'at.,l h'ava seen nts : working in South Australia and Queensland, anjd I don't ,likeit a,bit. To take its moral influence, as that is the first. sid,e. you., present: The -legalised totah'Bator is, neither more nor less than legalised gambling !of the very worst natur^gambling that is spread seductively, before tjhs eye, that excites, the nerves and stimulates the senses. The intoxication of sjpecujation reaches its some under such circumstancep, and the , grayest ;and least speculative are dragged into the vor,tex,with almost' as little resistance asj is offered by the hot-blooded gambler by nature! A man, bets with bookmaker on credit. He. loses andoannot pay u,p promptly., What does he do ? .Why, conies up like a man and says, ' I'm phort; so much of what I owe you, but if you give me time I make out to pay inside tbre'e months, and. he -generally does. 1 But to go on the totalifiator the same man needs cash! He has' charge 1 of his firm's Jor employer's |casb,'and'he * borrows' a tener arid loses it. - He tries' next day with, more ' borrowed ' money to get it back and make good the defalcations. Fortune is never kind in such cases, arid he is worse in the mud at the end of the second day than he was in the mire,, on the first. Again, no respectable' fingman will bet with boys, whereas the maohine is simply a machine, and the men in charge mere; automatons. They don't look at the customer, but at the cash, and boys of tender years can bet as readily as grown men!" The rage for speculation, the spirit of gambling that is inherent' in all human natures is brought directly in contact with the opportunities for its gratification, and hence the totalisator is a strong Incentive to the gambling spirit of the age, which! its supporters claim to be endeavouring to suppress to a certain extent." •"' '" ' ♦^♦•In giving 'the judgment 'of the^court on the question of costs/raised as a, subsequent issue in the famous case of Wood and Cox, the Master of the Rolls said:— «'. The ( B<iiei issue before the jury' was whether the. plaintiff had pulled a horse on two occasions, and!, tjejjury found that he did not. He would take it, that the jury found that he did not puU, the horse on either occasion. The verdict.was conclusive as to thaj; issue. .There were other m'at'iiera. before them, which' they did not find, but' wmqh they took into consideration. It' was said 1 th"at evidence of bad reputation ought not to have been admitted. He was not going to say whether that was so or not ; he desired to leave it open whether that kind of evidence was, admissible. But upon these' appeals as to' costs, they must take the verdict as proper; and found, upon proper materials.' ' They must' take it, that the evidence was'properly admitted, then, they must see what the verdict ideant."— ln following J^nd concurr ing Lord J jstie'e Bpwen' remarked': — V.^ 8 a matter of business no jury Would 'give a plaintiff merely a f arthiijg damages if , they believed that his evil reputation was not founded npdjd'.trutfci. Looking at the verdict in ttija w^y heioapa©' to the conclusion that the jury nieant 'that! this jockey had this evil reputation^ and, inatith'ough the defendant had not made out' that, )ie,' pulled the horse f oh" th'ese" two, occaßionß, v yet he had been in the habit of 'dqingit befo^re/and'th'ey gave him one farthing."— ln liord Justice Flr'y^ view a defendant ought, not to be made to pay the coats of an'aetiion thatougQ^'n^erto haye been brought against him. Where the smallness of the damages indicate^ the view' of the jury that the action ought not ; to. hope been brought 1 , in f his opmipn good cause' to deprive the plaintiff of costs existed. " l " ' ' '. *** The Geraldinemeeting'provicie^ rather poor racing, which is |n6,t,',to be .wondwre'd at, seeing tfi'at most of 4 ,tb!e!,be'st horses ,were'bejpg reserved for the Easter gatherings. Monteagje lost a lot of ground at the start in the Hurdle Race, and yet was able'to'wiriina 1 from the very moderate Korafr; bnt on .the secoti'dl day he was beaten with' ridiculous ease by the veteran Presto. Brin-go-Brilglii/whh Ispiaking a big effort to secure tlie distinction of ! tlie most-rabed horse Of *the' season; won tfie' phWf event on ; the" fiat each day. And hfe r wbn both races very easily. In' tha; Pdblicanf ' Handifeap he is reported to have done' the finile,' with 9.13 upj in lmin 48scdi, which! ls '^ , a .more than 'average petforman'cei < 'AKessrs M<woh J and Roberts passed £983 throu I gli j 'the'tbt'aKs'atwr during the 'two' diys, '' ' ' I: '' ' li! "' • '' *** The.Resident^agistrate's Oouri 5 case in which a bank clerk sued.a p6lice,conßtable for a totalisator dividend alleged to b*ve been wrongfully collected has, been witHdrawny the,' plaintiff having given notice that he discontinuea $he action, •'" !l '' '' ' , ■.%* Mr 6. Dowse, has 1 scored 'a great; success with his Taieri handicaps, there' being W, verylarge percentage of acceptatiees. For ths President's Handicap the four nominated have all paid up, and there is not one ! withdrawal from the Stewards' Purse, while Romance id the solitary malcontent in the Norelßioe, *nd biily six have gone out of the Trot." My selections are as follow I Pla^e, Ish'mael ; President's Handidap'V' Crossbow* ' Novel Race, Patrick;- Trot, 1 Milton^ f Daisy; ( 'Stewards' Puttie, Cinnabar. There is sure to be a large attendance from town if the weather keens fine. ' •• . ;<•• • " 1 _%* There is reajly very.little betting on the Qreac Autumn Handicap, but so iar as I can make out the' following are- something, like ■the Odds obtainable P- * " '' ! ' ' ' \l;\ l ; 3 to 1 agst Kavenswing '"" 4 — I —^Vandal '' s^l — i-jßaby '.' , , , ..ftr-lr-rrMonLoap ' • 8— 1 St.Olair -„ ;, 8-1-7— rßriHeh Lion 10 — 1 -7- .Wakatipu^ Dudu is not quotable. "' ' * # * Some of those pwsons who are forereir prying around hoping to, discover ulterior motives in other arsons' actions may possibly suspect that the Donedin Jockey Club's declaration of its, willingness Jho pass, mixed programn\es of fiat and races emanates from a desire to justify itself in having* trotting ?aces on its own programmes. , Speaking for the benefit of those .people of this class who are m the habit of forming cpriclusibni,. prior tainstead of. after, informing themselves.pltthejfaets -»-and it is wonderful .how many iperaons, there are who indulge in this cartrbefqre-thethorse kind of argumentrrl. may ,mention, that; the added. money for the Spring, Autumn, Aoniversary^and meetinga a^jaublished.in the D.J.C. book programmefor this^Masop. anjounta to £6085, giving an average §t :»7^j,l^ 6d\<per diem. , Of 1( tjtie addgd jx^fkey r JS^^j^ given top topttinp. ra^ |f wh|o^Vl^Bgr.|iw?i? t ed le*T«^

£5766, or an average of £720 per diem.. The rale governing such cases in passing programmes for four meetings states that £500 per annum must be given; bo that if the twitting races were altogether excluded, and nothing put in their place,' the D.J.C; would be giving *220.per day; more' than the regulations require. , Whether it is or' is ' not advisable for the club to have trotting races on its Spring agd Winter pro* grammes, or indeed on any of its programmes, is a' point that it might not be unprofitable to sfrgue; bat should the question- arise it may be 'diictl&ed purely as a, matter of policy, and on its tiieHts., Other, clubs have no right to insinuate'that the D.J.tJ.is actuated 1 by selfish' ' motives in passing, mixed Jpxbgr'a^Qmes. There ifj ; '"afeo ?r aiibth'ei aspect of the question; 'and 1 thaHsV 'supposing mWop^Htkn clubs do not ' recognise" trotting 'ineetinfes,' what is to prevent "" them 1 ' degenerating into small ' meetings for totafisatbr purposes only? Take Way the rtttnuning influence of the supervising' l .body,' and' we should probably h&ve trotting meetings all' oyeV the country— meet-> ibgg ' at Wibfch the amount of ttie stakes would bei no consideration ; indeed, lean well understand thatewnersof £10 hacks' would be willing to enter and start— l would not guarantee they would all race— without anyaSded money at all, just fqr the sake lot the excitement of the totalisator. This 'trotting' question is a very wide one, and a ' deep one, and a long one, and one that might well occtipy the serious, thoughts of our delegate's when they meetjin conference again. It would be f better to leave the subject alone than to play with it. : %* The mention of a conference reminds me that still another question is said to have oropped up' at the Napier corroboree, some delegate having mooted the idea of forming a New Zea^nd.jJociey Club. The Auckland correspondent of the Weekly Press forwards this item, and adds that, from what he is told, the delegates were unanimous that such a club was sadly required. We are left to guess what the requirements are that such a body would bfe supposed to satisfy. The question wasshelved, and, there being no .complete nor authorised report of the proceedings, no oae can say wha£ arguments were advanced for or against the proposition. In passing I may take the liberty of remarking that this very slipshod way ( of dpinj; business is far, behind the times. The, public ljave' a right to a report of the proceedings of legislative "bodies. , When the final conference is held^-the one of which that somewhat irregulaf .and^ertainly mysterious confab at Napier was thVprecursor— we may, I should hope, expect to have the transactions made public, and be supplied with a summary of the debates and ad analysis of the voting on each question, instead of bejhg put off with a bald statement of th? resoluti6ns. Delegates of clubs who may be appointed to confer as to the desirability of altering racing law are distinctly the servant^ of the/public, and if there is any more of this childish secreoy the whole affair will be treated with ridicule. As to the proposition to which reference has been made, if it did really come before I 'the. meeting, it was, J, suppose, simply 4 suggestion to incorporate the metropolitan clubs for the purpose of attaining more complete concord in the dwehavge of their administrative] functions ; or, perchance, the notion was to form" a sort of Privy Oo'unoil of the turf— a superior body to which appeal might; be made by or from the individual metropolitan clubs. I can underj stand thaft such a body ". would , be a useful an^ , perhaps necessary element in a complete system of 'turf, government; but, to endow it mm vitality and maintain' itjs independence the memj 1 bers would have to be paid, and there would ' have, tb'be 'a fund ,to cover travelling and other expanses':,' The existence of a supreme tribunal woijildj'indeed, presuppose a complete organisation among the inferior bodies— the metro-, politan clubs ; and that we have not got yet; so 1 the proposal, if of the character I suppose ifc; was,' appears to me to be untimely. Further; information as W \yhat is ; proposed to be done may perhaps leak out before the conference sits.; It is' very desirable that it ; should, for, when an) important! proposal like this seems to be is in the first case thoroughly discussed beforehand) there is the greater chance of a wise decision 1 being 1 arriVed, at. I may perhaps be pardoned: for 'Bugg&ting that in the event of a project of; this kind v coming up for consideration some' inembet'wiUliaVe the nerve to break away from* the bondage of tradition and propose a more! suitable title than "Tha New Zealand Jockey, Club," * # *' The two Quibbles were engaged at the, Reefton meeting, but neither managed to win I a iraca. The daughter of Nafeator is still a long way inferior tp her .namesake, for in the Goldfields Handicap, Mr Hobbs' horse carried 9.0J into' second place over a mile and a-half course, < while Mr Beeohe's mare was .unplaced with 6.7. j The result's at the; meeting are of very littler interest to the, general; .reader, inasmuch as the; quality of .the- fields was distinctly poor 5 but I may remark that in the chief event, the Autumn Handiqap, one mile and three-quarters, Steel- 1 bone carried 8.8 and won easjiy.from Mr Hobbs' j Quibble (9.0), the time- beipg"3min 16sec; while' in the Flying Handicap Mr- Hobbs' represent/a-! tive 1 , College Boy, failed to, give 51b. to the local ' mare Honesty. Bir WJlliam, who must be one of the'olde^t horses in training, won the Haok Race each'aay. \* Writing .of betting, past and present, an English paper says :— Within the last 20 or 30 1 years good horses have more than doubled in. value, and yet the money that can be won upon them is not one-half, or even a third, of what coulfi formerly be gained. Those of the present day can scarcely comprehend the money that , owners won, or stood to win, on their horses in ; days gone by. - The 'late Mr Carew, the once owner of, $6 lordly estate of Beddington, and ' who', was a permanent steward at Epsom, told us, just' before he took his last journey to Boulogne, where he died with less than half-a-crown in his pocket, that he would have won £180,000 IE a horse called Old Robert,* who had been highly tried, had been successful in the Derby. The most money the late Mr F. Swindell ever backed' a horse for was £150,000, which, he thinks, he would have won on Wallace in the Derby of 1860 had the horse not been left behind, or nearly so, when the flag fell. The Times, in reporting the victory ofJThormanby in that race, said that Mr Merry's winnings were £100,000, and it is, we believe, the fiict that £100,000 was taken out of the Ring by'lMr Naylpr whenMaca.roni won the Derby of 1883."Mr William Wright, who was only one of the commissioners for Lecturer; has", we believe, hanging in one of his rooms a cheque' drawn by him for £70,000, and ' on the back is the simple endorsement " Hastings." These are figures that are now impossible. Not oae man on any one run' last year won £20,000, or anything like it. ' It is said that this sum was ' won on ithe;series of victories gained, by Goldseeker. As a matter of fact within the last 20 years the whole character of racing has changed, and keeps on changing. Not many years ago, to back horses, was to be on the road to rum, and the'idea of anyone making a large income by ! it would have been laughed to scorn. The "professional backer" was a being unknown. Now there is 1 one attached to almost every stable, , which is, pethapS, better thari having a; ( bodkmakM attshe<l 16 ft, as used to be the case. Ttie'verV,fftcti : isat> ther^ate inen;wh6se only ih- ■ otfe 1 is dMffl' from baclriß^; horses is in itself

proof thatthe pahny days of the Ring are over. The big stakes that have sprung up have hit the Ring severely. With a £10,000 book it was always possible for the bookmaker to "skin the lamb." The new £10,000 stake is simply bookmaking in another form, but with this difference, there is no " skinning the femM One or other owner must win the' mbnjftifnd the' result id that he subscribes, to thpef stakes instead of gdihg to the: bookmakers. , V A question of interest to country clubs is asked and answered in this issue. It is 1 whether a ciub,can dodge the stipulation |as to the amount of stakes if it grains from /using, the ibtajisatpr at its second meeting. I have consulted authorities on the subject^ and believe that a sbcond programme within the year wonld not be approved of unless an average^ £200. per diem Was given in stakes. The. question came from' Winton. After ft was received at our oflice a telegram was sent to Mr Sydney j James the Winton r Olub askiHgthis ques- 1 tion': "If we hold a race meeting on 1 Qjueen's | Birthday, programme about £90, can we h'bid races in November also ?" To this message the following'reply was sent:'" You can hold 1 nieeting oh 24th May, £90, also in November if you then give £310j making an average of £200 per. diem." This is simply oarrying but the r 1 ale the working of which was explained when ' the Tapanui programme was apprbved, of. Whatever is short of ihe average in the first pro> grammemust" be made up in the second. The law could not be administered in ahy.other way, , for the metropolitan club cannot be supposed to have foreknowledge of the arrangements each club is going to make, nor to assume that there will be more than the one meeting. All it oat do is to deal with each application as it is made. ♦*♦ The nominations for the D.J.C. May meeting make a good display ; yet they 1 are not ! up to the number's of last year—nor, fo'tf thp i matter of that,' of the previous season. My I friends the trotters are represented in great i force, and in this connection it may be remarked I as peculiar that the nominations for the' threes ! mile journey are precisely the same" as for each I of the two previous years'; but there is a falling off in all the flat races, as the following figures I will show :•— >■ I ■ ' 1887. 1888. 1889. Hurdle Handicap ... 12 14 15 Birthday Handicap ... 21 20 18 Three-mile Trot .., 38 38 38 Tradesmen's Handicap 24 30 21 Provincial Handicap ... 18 24 23 Two-mile Trot ... 39 31 39 St. Olair Welter ... 24 33 19 176 .190 173 As to the quality of the horses nominated, it is at least as good as, could be expected ; and it is satisfactory to note that the neighbouring pW vincial district is exceedingly well representedi Some of this contingent are strangers ' here —I refer to Louis, Satan, Monteagle, Zealot, Murat; Alcinous, Mikado, and, one or two others— bu^ we shall be very glad to welcome them to, the Forbury, and will not begrudge any .success^ which may fall to the' chare pf '.either these or pur old, visiting acquaintances. Mr Dowsed handicaps will appear on the ,7th May. *t*. The" chief attraction to,, Southern racing men at Eastertide will be the Canterbury Jookey Club's meeting, to be held on Monday and Tuesday of next week. , Business, will begin with' the' Hurdle Race, for which there ; are but two acceptors, Irish King and Sockburn. , I shall take Irish King to win, but, a3 remarked last week, he is no certainty, and if there are any fives to one to be picked up the other way, 1 would take that price in preference to paying iti The next event is the Templeten Stakes, one| mile, and for this I like nothing better than CHUDLEiGH.'the colt that ran a mile at Napier^ with 7.4 up, in a tick over lmin 42sec, and then had something to spare. If, he js well he should take a lot of beating; if he is. not well I suppose he will pass'out, and in that case I should take Repose to be the best, of , those remaining! Sultan could, if at his best, go very near winning this stake, but he is supposed to be slightly off i and I have a prejudice against top unless 1 under exceptional circamstances. The eight, final acceptors for the Great Autumn Handicap! are still engaged at the time pf writing. A fortnight ago, and even less, it was 6 to ,4 on Dadu starting an "odds on" chance; now, we are hourly expecting to hear of her being 1 scratched. Some of her admirers profess to find comfort in the hope that she may come to life at the 'eleventh hour, but if the money test were applied to their profession, and they had an opportunity of selling off their Dudu money, I think they would jump at the chance, even, at a] sacrifice. For myself, I hinted at the possibility; of Dudu's defeat even when she was all the rage? and honestly speaking, I don't think,. she can; defeai Ravenswing; ov^a mile and a-half course ( at a difference of two stone— that is, both fit and, well. British Lion also is regarded as a doubtful; starter, though his gallop on .Wednesday may! cause his owner to have a cut in. ; Ruby, was a' little easier in the market a few days- ago, but' he v suddenly revived, on the , strength of, a* good gallop', and it is now; commonly believed. that' jhe will go to the post' and run, a gop^ rape— anj ' opinion which I thoroughly endorep, though I, do: not think he can win.' Vandal is hardly so much in favour as be was a week ago,' and I, shall not be surprised if he' starts'; at, a longer price than some people have paid the bookmakers for .an 1 interest in the sonof Rubina. This lijitle ho^se ; has been four times in, succession defeated bnj his merits, and, his only chance, is to. get among 1 a weak field, which will not be his luck on the» present occasion. It will be a small field, but! there are, three or four travellers amongst .them,! and I BhaU'expeotto see a very fastrace.if thOj weather is fine and the course in decent order. Vandal is, however, I think, a certain starter,! and I should not advise anyone to play the risky! game of offering knock-out prices about him, for! the little fellow is game and fairly honest, if not^ brilliant, and with the help of a bit of luck he may effect what would to me be a surprise. Ravenswing was my selection in the W.itfiess of ■ the 21st, March, and as she is according to all afecbunts keeping' well I' shall stick ibo,', her,; s but I, must'cohfess to a doubt as to whether ! she will be able to dispose of St.,Clair. .Latest accounts about thi? little horse are. of .fijie, most < assuring nature, and I shall fully expect to see him, run "very" for ward, -if he 7 does' not wini strai'ghtout'. . On^the^hole.hoyireyer,.!; rasejri prefer Ravenswing, influenced to a great, extent by the consideration a that she has had a : long and gradual preparation,, while , St., Clair may 1 perhaps be short of a gallop or two, and,! further, there is 'no, certainty that the son or Pulchra will not go wrong in his very last pre-i paratory spin. MohLoupwent up on Wednesday morning, looking, very, fit, He will^l think, be ridden by Tommy Buddicombe, whp will do • him justice, flion Loup did a very satisfactory) gallop with Apropos and Cinnabar on Thursclay mbrning last, arid on the strength of this lam so fa^ prepared to alter my Views concerning him as to allow that he' has a very good show of running into a place, but I am half afraid that he will find the pace too „warm, for him in the , first , mile, , and be , too, far away when, the pinch comes to have a, show of winningi He -"is," however, a determinedjgo,errrr ! npne- more v sol' and ( if he. can kee^" near, c hfe; bppo'nenta' untu^h^; atrajght is' reacbed he will ■ hot be leasiiy'd^prisedQfj " Wakatipu' I,, am po'ti so, B^js I ! pn l^;i J was,f(ir f frbmMt panj^at hjß is'not' quite' forward "enough for this meeting.

In selecting three to provide the winner of this., 'year's Autumn 1 1 shall therefore discard ; Wakatipu, and' take Ravenswing, St. Olair, and Mon Lpup as the most dangerous. I fancy them in the order mentioned, and shall stand or fall by the fortunes of Ravenswing. For the Champagne 1 am bound to select CYnisca, and, I think Scots Gkfey willpr6ve tti,e next best. I' think that Mikado pr'Coant d'Oceay may have a, show, in the Epsom Welter; aQ d Alsace or ; Musk Deer, the former for choice, may account; for the Rnssley' Stakek' , ' ; ', ' *i* My selectib.ti'fpr the .Auckland Easter, Handicap,! Cuirassier, ja one of the eight that, paid' the. acceptance, fee, t and I. stillithipk be can win. Possibly he may ber reserved for the St. Leger, but that event should be 'a gift" i for him if his owners dhoose,' as the only 'brie he has to beat is' HildaV arid she is in the same stable. Seeing, then, that it would be quite a reasdnablethin'g|t6_s withdraw Hilda' 'from the St. Leger, and thus make that event as good as, a walk over for the colt, I ishall not be surprised to see him start for the handicap as well. ifihV does' 'he will: about wiß: The stableto. which he and Hilda belong'can'win both'haridi-; ;cap and Leger — that is my notion-^andwith' whichever, animal they t choose, „ As,a . guess, I' should thipfc it likely that Cuirassier will be the selected 'one for both events. ' It' would not be good policy to ahoV'tttem bofch'uj) at otic meeting, andas between'the two' I "fancy Cuirassier is rather the more forward. ■■ IN A NUTSHELL. —Cinderella has been turned out for a spell. ' — The renewal of the Cromwell Derby is announced, t , , „,, , — Mr J. Wrightson handicaps for the Cromwell'Trotting 1 Club. , , ' —The sum of £2511 was passed through the totalisator at the 'Iteeftoa* meeting.- l ' ' AfMauku'(Auoklahd) races on the 2ridin9t.,; the chief event was won' by Octopus frfim seven Others. '" ' —Mr J. Mayo has shifted his training stables from Maitland to Honeysuckle Point, near , Newcastle.' — Nominations for the stakes at the DuriecHn Plumpton Coursing meeting close this (Thurs- ' day) evening. —A Sydney paper says' Ricochet and Queenie have been turned out for a spell in the neighbourhood of Windsoh ' steeplechaser Beadsman, injured at Caulfield, has been shot; Recently £400 was refused for the horse. ' —Mr O'Brien does not deny that he thinks of settling in Melbourne if he can dispose of his racing stock to advantage. •—Persuasion fell while racing at Kogarah (New South Wales) and broke both' her shoulders. She was pole-axed. — It is said that negotiations have been opened between a New Zealand studmaster and 'Mr W. Lyons for the purchase of Queenie. * — The complimentary race meeting tendered to Mr Thomas Jordan, the 'well-known South Australian trainer and breeder, realised 1 £140: ' j ■"-Nominations for : the iWahganiii- Derby of 1890 include the Hon. G. M'Lem'a Lady Emma colt, the Indolence, gelding, and the Malice filly. ■• f * —Seaward, the- Winton Derby winner, has apparently not. made his adieu to the > turf after alii for he is: entered to 1 run at /the Riverton meeting. , —At the Hawkesbury (New South Wales) meeting on. Saturday j the Autumn) Handicap was won easily ..by Keith (8.8), Plutarch (8.10) , second, and Wycpmbe (7.10) third. — Mr Goodman's trio, Apropos,' 1 Don Csesar, and Moss Rose, left for Christchurch with Mon Loup on Wednesday morning. Apres Moi is, I believe, going up at the end of the^veek. —During < the passage of the Wairarapa from Napier to Auckland the racehorse Quilt received a set ere in jury to the coronet of the foot, one of the shoes coming loose* and it is improbable he will fulfil his. Auckland; engagement. « '• —When the last mail' left England Donovan wa» quoted at! 2 to 1 for the Two Thousand Guineas* which fact drew from the' Duke' of Portland a caution that, he had not then made up his mind whether Donovan should start in that event. —Recall, the Sydney Cup horse, has changed hands twice within a week. The Leader says that from Sanders' hands he passed into the possession of Mr M> Solomons, the- well-known bookmaker, who in turn disposed of him to an Adelaide owner* Recall' remains in charge of J. Nicolson. > ■ ' „ , —Ati., .the Victoria R.& meeting on Saturdays the Hill Handicap was won by Sedition, Divi-, dend seoond, and Ginger third. The race was won easily in lmin 17seo, <• Russley finished last but one. The .April Handicap .was won- by The, Chaijmer, with Cyclops second,, and Pakeha' third. . Time, 3min 17seCi >.!:,!:;. . —A two-days', horse-taming contest has taken place at Wanganui between ' Prof essors Hiotonj - and, .Lichtwark, of Npnnanby. It was for £20 a-side and the; championship of New Zealand.' The result was that the stakes and the oham- , pionship were, awarded jto Professor Liohtwark, his, system being considered the more humane of the two. ' . j — M Augur " hears from Sydney that the. Hon; James White has been s.onnded as to,what sumhe wonld take for Abercorn and Carlyon to go; to India, but 2000gs for the ,. former and 1500gsj for the latter are figures which stop the. way,' and as the squire of, Kirkham wonld :not deliver} either until after the A.J.C. meeting, , there is not likely to be a deal. ■ , . ; — Mr Noud has renamed his Sydney. Cup; horse New Guinea, by {Guinea— Roma, Papua J The change in nomenolatur,e was brought about, by, an objection. which was,. lodged by ,Mri jj Cassidy, a .Queensland sportsman^, who four .years ago purchased a colt: by Maribyrnoog from Geraldine, at Mr. A. Town's annual sale of year-] lings, and called the youngster New Guinea. , t — The Canterbury Times, speaking of , the pro-; posal to publish a racing calendar; says : — '.' Mr! Whetham. has, of couree, no clairt mp6n the' ' copyright oL this , publication, , but it would bemonstrously ungrateful omthepatt , of thelmetropqlitan clubs if, they; should subsidise a similar work withoufc first giving this gentleman an to .avail, himself-, pf any .advantages they may- be p^eparedtP offer."- , . „ . . , >„\ f( ; — Biefore Jeapnjg^ngland .C^>lpnel NQr%gave! Lords Randolph Churchill and D.unravenj'.caT-igi blanoht to buy any racehorses', that i they thought! fit, and'thus there is'evejry t lik§>lihood of.Sherrard'sj team being materially strengthened before this' season is very far-advanced.: It, is also reported' that Charles Woodi the owner , of Ohetwynd| House, will probably sjbart racing, as- an. owner,' arid his horses will most probably be moved from! their own home, arid follow Sherrard wherever he goes. r , - ■„,..(. — " Asmodeus '' adypcates.aclose period. forj hurdle, ,. racing and steeplechasing. , Recently, there hasbeen a marked falling off in the ranks; of .the hurdle racersi an,d, steeplechasers, andjit, cannot bb doub&ed-that^the.plethora of jumpingraces during the. summer^onthais.largelyac-j countable' for, tiie deficienpy^hipliihas .mndej itseU^PP^nt./^AspeUfprihejumpU^gdivjsiQn] \v% (summertimft^ppldi b^iegwllyijajs acoept^by "asja 5h0rt;. .019864 seasp.n >fpr ; -flat; raceJts .durjng a| C^uple.of, ihft .. >y - <«., j f]Sl i,--' .0 ' ' —Poor little Oinger, one of the gamest bits

,ofr horseflesh in theco^ntry, perished in t, ditch', a few x days ago. Mr Gardner writes that-wh^e going thrdugh his paddocks on Sunday last he missed the well-known chestnut from the" mob; and had a search party out at oace to. look for .him ; they almost immediately returned with the sad hews that the horse, was dead in a deep ditchi°'Hr Gardner tells us r Gingeif'wai one of the' best mounts he ever hadr-a pet with all at Birchwood and a universal favourite. — Western '#»••', -' l' •'. ■; „> —The V.R.C. committee havei upheld an appeal, against /the decision of the, Colaq stewards. The cirbumstances are these: Th'ereT were, only three' WfeAifteref, ' Native, Milepbsft and Terror^ for ' the" Steeplechase! % Terror baulked repeatedly,' "knd'Milepoßt ran round,' but 'although; he 1 subset^ qaently got; over he had hbchaiic^'with' Native/ who won easily. ' After gbin'g.h'alf a' mile it was , discovered that the horses' had' gone the wrorjg course'; but, the stewards refused, to disturb the ju^gp^jVerdio};, although the error was glaringly apparent; .Mr Hart, the, owner of I^ilepoSt, appeale^ ip^e V.R.C., s wifch .the^result th^tthe" governing, body declared it to b,e[ /| no iace.'fi , j 1 ' 1 wa^.th^ custodian of the' "American trotting horse,' Honesty, ijvhen he canje t6'Außferalia, Is (akys the ; Aaßtraldßian),'on ine 1 way from San Francisco with, : another hoWd 6^ ' His name is Stave. Whiffle ? he 1 i is fduc years old,' and itis said'he ha'siaVectird 6f <2min 23sec. In colour he is' brown', stands , nearly. 16 (hands, and belongs to great trotting, families, his sire being Christman's Hambletonian, dam byWhiffle's- Hambletonian. With thja i, horse comes a, yearling colt by Dexter Pripce, dam. M by. Nutw y ood ; ; granddam Lady Emma, by. Morgan Rattler. Dexter Prince is by 1 Kentucky Prince. , , , . , : — iDuring a recent hurdle race at Mary- [ borough, Buckshot, who was leading, struck the !' firsts hurdle and both hbrse and jockey,' Beb Price] 'came heavily to the grdund, Price' \vjjs -rendered - insensible, and ■ the horse twice attempted to rise but' rolled' over each' time oh the body of the unfortunate jockey. << ' The Leader sajs that Price was conveyed' to the hospital, where it was found- he had, sustained'coni cession , of , the brain, besides being terribly I bruised and .crushed all over, the body. He I never . regained consciousness, and died on the Saturday afternoon., Price was &) years pf age. An inquiry was held, and a verdict of accidental death retbrned. ' The horse Buckshot' is said to be Over 20 years of age. ' ,',''" j, —The racehorses of the States (remarks ap. exchange) are all English, 'and trace' "their descent, from the imported' horses- Her6cl, Matchem, and Eclipse. It has-been said'thap there has ibeen a diminution in the HSjSeed and Staying powers of the horse as compared with the records of th^ese, great sires. But it must be remembered that, watches are much more accurate now' than they were a few years ago, and that hordes in the old days ran only once ot at moat twice in: a season ( ; while now they run once a week or oftener for several months dur,(i |ng the season. Perhaps the racpr of 1889, wearfe ' 1 out faster. ' But be begins work. younger, and iskept longer at it than his forefathers were. > •— tifaa'fieid, the Auckland jockey, is teporbeci to have done a generous act at the Onehungi races. A writer in one of jthe local papers says 'that the hurdle 1 race was run absolutely in, the dark. Had fatal accidents resulted, .the. steward^ would have been morally liable. As it was, on 4 •poor jockey; — therideriof 6overne3s~got thrown aud severely hurt, and would in all probability have-been killed had it not been for the manly condubt of the jockey Hadfield (the rider 0' Emblem), who, riding just behind Governess a;; the last hurdle, swerved his horse to avoid jumping on Governess and her rider when the former fell, thereby giving Pica the chance toj pass him and appropriate the , race. All honouf tpthe jookey. —Concerning Frigate's win in'' the Gram National, a correspondent of ; the Australasian draws attention to a most interesting fact, which} at Qrsrsight, seems almost incredible--viz., thaf Frigate, the winner of the Grand National, is a j granddaughter of old Sir. Herjjules,' Sir HerI cules, who was foaled in 1826, got his son Gun ■ I boat' when he was 27 years of age-^i.e., in 1854 , and Gunboat in turn got his daughter Frigate ii 1 1877, when he himself was 23. It willbe se6Ji that this ; Remarkable mare, who, "alter running twice secon'il for the Grand National, has atlasi; won it, .when 11 years of age, has: suffered no loss of stamina 1 from being the progeny of ok I 1 age. Her granddam, Lady Chesterfield, was i own sister 'to Lady Augusta,' gr^fddam of Volley. GunboaTwas shot in Ireland a m his 30th year. , . „ , •.•,tr«^) »!'■ j — Poor old Swordfish, who wfcs^burned in hid box at Kanmantbo, Sodth 'Australia, was (says "/Trumpiator") onepf the best^tejepleehaseri we ever; had; Lea'vin'g^RuhjrTbti? $ v l the $&] tion as not re^ed 1 ihis ;'colpny, I I'suppose Sarchedbn, All Fours, and perhaps The Monk* and Rory- O'More are.the oniy ); 'chasers, claimeq by. us which; can, be set down/ as having been superior to the old hero, who died such a misery able death in Tbm'Kain's stables' recently Sbme racirig men'discasßing SwpVdfish the otheij evening mentioned his,age as 17, bat he rat at Apsley,4n 1880 asi a • five-year-old he could only have been 14 at the 'time of his death, Swordfish was bred in the South East, and 1 fancy, that to Ms C; Watson must 1 be allowed the honour of having 'reared. him. He must have /been used at the stud very early 1 in, life, as wher the Agent won the Grand National Hurdle Race in 1885 G'nardfishJ a six-year-old son of Swordfish, was second. While 'racing in th 4 South Elast and the Western District of Victoria the gallant old son of Little Fish gave no promise of the excellence lie afterwards displayed. . , ,