TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 23

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZBPPA.

%* An advertisement in fchis issue gives particulars as to the D.J.C. Champagne Stakes of 1890, nominations for which close on Monday, the 27th inst., at 10 p.m. .%* Sporting men in these parts were taken by surprise when, on Saturday morning, they read in the daily paper the circular forwarded by the Colonial Secretary conveying instructions to resident magistrates as to the rules that should be observed in granting totalisator licenses. We had no idea that Government interference was even contemplated. If it be not treason to criticise the act of a Colonial Secrer tary, I should say that the instructions are iasued prematurely. The metropolitan clubs themselves took the matter in hand last September, and framed a code of rules which came into force in January; and the Government might at least have waited to see whether these rules would effect the desired result. The Colonial Secretary and the metropolitan clubs are evidently aiming at the same object j and it seems a waste of energy to- set, executive machinery in operation to do a job that is commenced in a, shipshape manner, and would probably have been carried to completion by the clubs themselves. The rules have been in, force ■only four months and a-half f and in Otago the benefits ,could nqt be. seen till next spring; so that it cannot be urged that the . efforts pat forth are yet proved to be ineffective. I must . say 111 1 regret that the work undertaken by the metropolitan clubs is cot to be allowed a fair trial. */ The chief variations between the Government circular and the code of rules drawn up by the clubs are — firstly, that the circular prohibits the use of the machine at all meetings at which less than £100 is given, in stakes ; and, secondly, that the magistrate is not to issue a license for the totalisator at a pony race, or a hack race, or a trotting race meeting, nor at a meeting proposed to be held "in an isolated place." As to the first of -these, provisions, it will' be remembered that some of the metropolitan clubs were from the, first of opinion that there should be a fixed amount of prize money as a minimum at all race meetings, bat the D.J.C. for one objected to that requirement, and, with the view of making compliance .with the rules as easy as possible, it was at last agreed that those clubs that held but one meeting in the year should not be interfered with— they were permitted to please themselves as to what amount they gave in stakes. There was not a great deal in ,the point, for as it happens most of the smallest clubs give the best part of £100 in stakes, and they would not feel it any great burden to make up the balance of the century if that were the only condition on which the privilege of the totalisator were granted.* This provision, then, is neither here nor, there. The other one, however,. that which prohibits the use of the machine "at a pony race, or a trotting race, or hack race meeting/ is of ' serious significance, and is indeed the kernel of the "instructions." It is a clause that requires some interpretation. What, for instance, is "a pony race meeting"? Is it any meeting at which there is a pony race on the programme? I presume that is not what is meant, for it would be ridiculous to say that & meeting at which there are, say, thirteen ordinary events and one pony race is a pony race meeting; but, on the other hand, if a mixed programme is allowed, the promoters of what is to all intents and purposes a pony meeting- may evade the prohibition simply by interspersing the pony races with two or three events cor horses. A definition is clearly needed as to what is understood by. " a pony race meeting." I think r that, the Minister, intends ,to prevent the use of the machine at pony and trotting meetings pure and simple— the only alternative is that deliberate measures, are to be taken to wantonly depreciate the value of all the pony and trotting stock in the countny ;— but we must have the law on the point clearly worded, so that everyone interested may as he runs read and understand. , ; . . %♦ But if the Minister's intentions with regard to ponies and trotters are doubtful, his utterance regarding " hacks," is still more so. He hasgiven the magistrates a poser in instructing them that "licenses. should never be given to use. the. totalisator at a hack race meeting." There are a few gatherings in the North Island that are professedly confined to hacks ; but if, there being no other objection,; the issuing of a license is to depend on whether, races are or, are not called hack races, the. promoters of the fixtures to which I refer will readily overcome the difficulty by dropping. the use of the "hack," and, the magistrates will then havja, to fallback on a definition ,pf their.i pym. And, how will they settle- the ; matter.?. Racing men themselves.are sometime^., at. a loss,. tp^know^Qw.a.cer^aip, ; ,.<?ag|lfo to be: "classed, jan§' r varying , definitions', of \ the ;term .

I >",hack "are adopted ,by different' clubs/^And, 'besides, what ; was a legitimate > hack at the -beginning of the ; season is sometimes a fall- 1 blown racehorse at the end of it, and vicever'sd;^ and apart from those cases in which horses improve or decline in estimation, it is quite a common .occurrence; to. find leading races upcountry competed- for by horses that rank as hacks at city race meetings. So that the, magistrates or their superior officer must not only tell us how many hack races it takes to damn' a programme, but must also, give us a common interpretation of the term •" hack." It will not>bfr sufficient to say that only a certain percentage of hack races will be, allowed, or that a hack programme is prohibited, for. if, the matter, is put that way >, pur hack races >will be dubbed " cups," and no one will confess to owning "a a hackV And how , on earth is anyone, even a magistrate, to know what horses are going to race at, a meeting until he sees the entries?. Suppose he has the entries, before him, how will he set about the task of determining, hacks from, other ho.rses ? And is. it to be imagined , that any country cluH ,will proceed, so far with -the baseness arrangements of a meeting as to obtain lists, of entries before knowing for certain that the permit will be issued ? The thingis preposterous ■ and laughable. What will happen is just this : that magistrates will decline the responsibility, of saying what are and what , are not hacks, and will practically rely for guidance as to this, and other matters on the knowledge of the metropolitan chibs, whose recommendation, it will be observed, is required in all, cases. As I. under-, stand the present position of affairs, the "instructions " do not nullify ..the metropolitan clubs' restrictions, and I suppose both will remain in force. If bo, country clnbs will have two masters to please instead of one. . . *** The, old-fashioned Chester Cup, one of the most ancient of the English handicaps that survive to the present, was run this week, and resulted, as will be Been elsewhere, in a win for the light-weighted Millstream, a mare that has been prominently before the public on j accoant of her having gained second place to Tenebreuse in last season's Cambridgeshire, though never since she 1 was a two-year-old has she won a race right out until the present. This Chester Cup is the race in which Kitchener rode Red Deer to victory in 1844 at the handicap of 4st. Nancy was weighted at but 4.10 when she won in 1851, and the following year Goater was first home on Joe Miller, who carried 410, the same weight as Epaminondas had in 1854 when Fordham had the winning mount. !

%* The cable also informs, us that Ayrshire has carried off the magnificent prize offered by the Kempton Park executive in the ' Royal Stakes. In this event he would have the maximum penalty of 101b, and so would Seabreeze —one as winner of the Derby, the other as winner of the St. Legerand Lancashire Plate; , so that Ayrshire .was conceding the sexual allowance and yet managed to turn the tables on his old adversary. Some English writers will have it that Ayrshire was lucky in winning the Two j Thousand and the Derby. Perhaps he was ; but with Friar's Balsam on the shelf Ayrshire was distinotly the best of last season's runners, and if he was lucky in one way he was unlucky in another — in being "off" at the time of the Leger and Lancashire Plate. It is at the commencement of their four-year-old season that Derby winners begin to prove whether their success in that race was well deserved or only a fluke. Ayrshire has begun well, and it needs not' the foreknowledge of a Daniel to prophesy for ( h;m a, profitable season, especially as he is in .thesame stable as Donovan'. > ' .' Itissatisfactorytolearnthatthereisno foundation for the rumour that some of the New Zealand Cup nominations were received after the proper time for closing the stake. The secretary of the C.J.O. informs the Canterbury Times that he has made the fullest inquiry into the matter and is satisfied that " none of his , delegates permitted any irregularity " ; and by inference he may -be supposed to tell us that he permitted no irregularity himself. This is assuring, and we may now presume that no question will hereafter be raised as to informal nomination. Would it not be a wise thing to makeitarule that owners must raise such questions before a race is run ? I think it- would. In the case of the New Zealand Cap there is a period of about six months in which to settle any doubts that may arise, and a club could not be accused of unduly restricting owners' privilege's if it said that objections should under ordinary circumstances' be barred unless, made before the fall of the flag: *** Drenching rain fell at Ashbarton on Thursday of last week, and there was talk of postponing the races, but the stewards very | properly decided' to carry out the programme. The public made Satan first favourite for the Hurdle Race, but the investments were pretty I evenly, distributed among five of the eight starters, which is generally the case in wet weather. Strange to say, Torrent was allowed to go out at the nice price of 100 to 8, and when he romped in the easiest of winners the cute people cursed their folly in accepting the Timaru running as a guide to this horse's ability. The .Wakanui Stakes was contested by a field of 11. Doubtful and Pennine showed the way almost from flag-fall, and had the race pretty much to themselves, the light-weight eventually winning by a couple of lengths. It was not a very wonderful performance. The public went down also over the Autumn Handicap, for which they backed Escapade and Quibble. Esoapade gave ' great promise fora mile, but was then done with, and Adulation, who was then left at the head of affairs, won jast as she liked. Dave- Price landed the Novel Race with Cymaro, but would have done almost as well to - have kept ■ his horse out of the race, as he had to pay £30 to retain thß son of Haraha. r .

* # * The racing on the Second day is thus described by the correspondent of the Lyttelton Times :-—" Sport commenced with the County Hurelle Race,' in which Squib 'was a slightly better favourite than the erratic Waireka. The, 'latter, - who cleared 28ft— by actual measuremenfc—in his preliminary over the stand hurdles, ran so kindly in-'Kingan's hands that his friends were occasioned scarcely a moment's anxiety. There ; were only two triers in the Disposal, Stakes, and as a matter 'of coarse one of these won'; • while • the "waiting' division" was co cleverly handled "> that' the stewards ' detected nothing calling for ; inquiry. Adulation, with all. her weight, was • selected as : 'the good thing inthe Grand Stand : Handicap, and the filly certainly looked .nothing the worse' for her exertions on the previous day, but' before they had gone a quarter of a mile she pulled up, appa-. rently broken' down behind. She afterwards walked backtothepaddock,toallappearance having strained the muscles of her back or loins, probably a result of the treacherous going. In the meantime Escapade was again cutting oat the running at a strong pace, but Erin-go-Bragn— whose trainer had been the very loudest in abuse of the handicap— got on terms half a mile- from home, and lasting the longest won by a length. .Semolina hadthe Trot won at the end of the first mile, and from that point everything, else was trying how far it riould keep away from the, ■winner, Red;JEnsign was favourite for the' vWelte* Handicap*; but/ signally failed 1 tfo .carjy her weight through the nmd,and Brin-go-Bragh' ;Wou eonievrhftteasilyf rom the ridden-out Alpine ROW' Md Torrent;: Aparima, s good-Iddkin'g

sister to Vinaigrette, '^hatmay ieSare'mot^im-,^' pbrtant stakes next season, wori v the; Harvest ' Handicap comfortably, 1 and so concluded a meeting which, but for the weather, would ha Ve been ; most enjoyable." - ■• ' -" '- %♦ Training operations -at the Forbury generally start about 9 o'clock in the morning now, but on Monday, 1 wh6n' I paid the course a visit, ' I found local . trainers astir rather -earlier than usaal, tH'ey;'' be*' ing anxious to make up for /the time 105t., , while the coursing meeting was on, for when the doggy men have an innings they tun alley-, ways and wires over the course and completely ' atop all galloping. When I arriyefl Garibaldi .[ had just come in, and was being scraped down. I had a good look at the old warrior, and was • please to see him completely recovered from the knocking about he got when he r feU'at'ih'a February meeting. The horse neVeV looked.,, better during his career at the, Forbury. Mbn Loup was also looking well, and I r was especially pleased to see Arthur Smith leading out' Dis- '• pnte for a gallop. This is one of- the unluckieat ; colts in the country, but by no means a bad one \ at, his best, and if he can manage to keep as well till race day as he is now he will be worth watch"' ing.' These three and Campbelltown, of whptn : < I have not a high opinion, are all that Smith' has .in hand just now! Poole has Evening Star and Waitangi. The last-named has ac last regained; ■ the bloom of health, and may win a race daring the winter season, though I do not expect to see him really fit until pretty late — perhaps about Grand National time. ■ Allan: has the Don and Cinnabar • ■ at work, and I saw them do a flutter in company, with which, by the way, I was not deeply impressed. Cinnabar is the better of .the two, but' I think she is, a; little overrated. Harry Good- . man. just came on to the ground as I left, brkig- : ing with him; Don Cassar,. Apropos, and Black:-' Jack. Mr Turnbull's horses -were on the ground— St. James very muoh en evidence on ac- •' count of his playfulness— but neither <ihis team - nor Stuart Waddell's had worked up to the time ' I had to go to town. ■ . * # * Strolling away in- the -direction -of Stephenson ' and Hazlett's- stables, I was lucky enough to catch Stuart Waddell at home, and he 1 very kindly offered to- Bhow me the horses that ' had not left for the course. The first I saw were' the three foals by Le Loup out of Outda, " Titania, and Fallacy. Ouida's colt is the biggest of the three, though the youngest, and I must say that, though he is not quite so stylish , as; some foals, I took a fancy to him, for he ap- ' parently is the makings of a powerful horse.' The other two show more quality— at least' thd critic would fancy so — but it is on the cards that when - these three likely youngsters assume the shape of racers the plain' big fellow may look as well as his mates. 1 There. ' we're three others in the stable : a rising two-year-old gelding by Albany out of Fallacy, a filly of the same age by Cadogan out of Titania, and the three-year-old Franootte by Musket out of L'Orient. The last T named raced once in September, but he went queer in one' of 'his front legs immediately afterwards, and was at once turned out for a spell, which has only fust terminated. Whether Francot'te is or is 6ot a racer is a question I caunot determine; but he ' seems to be quite sound, he is as strong as ft castle, he is bred on what' are undoubtedly' fashionable lines, and all his work is' yet left in " him. These are promising facts, and it may be ! ' that Francotte will be heard of next season. The brother to First Lord is a perfeat beauty— a symmetrical racer already, with as well-shaped a body as one could wish to see— long underneath and broad across the saddle, trad an excellent set of legs ; indeed, he is one of the modi; evenly proportioned youngsters I have ever, seen,; and in that. respect he is : better than hisdis-' ' tinguished relative, who had the appearance of being- a 1 «bit top-heavy.' Waddell has this* youngster in prime health, 'and anybody with' half an eye can see that he is to oe Jgot ready for racing tariy n'&ft spring, r Th& Titania filly is also forward in condition, and is : a compact well-developed little lady that "is sure to reveal her form early in her" two-year-old career. She has not' 'the commanding appearance of her chum the' 1 gelding, bub is nevertheless, as far as one can 1 judge at pre- \ sept, the makings of a speedy young lady; I fancied she hadsome resemblance' to Chic, but' perhaps a knowledge of the relationship' ptat ' J that idea into my head. 'Stuart is naturally; very proud of his present team, and jiistly bo, for it is undoubtedly the most promising lot of ' horses he has ever had at one time. ' I Sincerely wish the stable lack next season. ' , ♦ # * The Canterbury Times says that at the South Canterbury meeting an , objection w«a lodged against the winner of the, first Trot on the' ground that his. nomination had not been accompanied by a list of his previous- performances. There was obviously no attempt at fraud on the part of the nominator— he simply , said the horse had never won a race, this was ; true^ — but the handicapper stated "that he had • failed to identify the animal intended .to be de; soribed, and ihe stewards considered themselves „ compelled to allow the objection. Possibly this decision was correct--tbat, after all, is only a' matter of opinion — but it would have been, very much better if the nomination had ,never been accepted, or Mr Dowse had declined to handicap a horse of which he admittedly knew nothing. It seems to us. a handicapper has no right to come in after the decision of a race in which he has made a mistake,., and plead that the nomination was incomplete; As, a matter/ of fact, a very large proportion of nominations . do not contain all the particulars by. ( the' special condition' attached to'.'ih'e South Canterbury programme; and while 1 these; ate - accepted without any demur it is very harsh to, make an omission, which is the rule and not the' exception, a, ground for disqualification. The' objection, we may add, was not made ' by the handicapper, ' but by the owner of the" .third horse ; and one is inclined to ask how the latter t discovered the'flawmthe winner's nomination. ' Having made the discovery, it would have been , more sportsmanlike to lodge the objection at , once and not' wait the result of t&'e, race. ; . . V The'appeal made by Mr \W. ,^'Kewen" to the Dane'dih Jockey Club, that they call on., the Taieri Club to , give, an explanation of the. , reasons that' induced them to .disqualify, his mare Rose in the Trot^ on the*.22nd ,ult.^' met- with the reception it, deserved. The v metropolitan club, declined to interfere^. ur? w less requested to- do'~sq by the ( ,du6 that .; originally dealt witti'the matter.' Thw.resol^-,!, tion is strictly within, the letter,' and ,ff»iri.t 'gt, f Rale 128, which lays down that the club a^.wnos^" meeting the dispate.occurs is the proper body to , decide all questions of fact ; the function of tho metropolitan club being to in^rf6repnly i .wlien / ihe point at issue' is as to the interpretation of : Jie rule 3. ' And the reason pf^ this is plain^ The stewards bn the spot have the best opportunity . of procuring evidence, and in'the absepce of 3vidence, or eveniriih evidence^ they,can,decido ' a dispute by what they, see, if l toe^y>noose ; 'tp' ,; take that course ; and, farther, it would b^ ; nn- s fair lo saddle the metropolitan ( "cldp^wifb," the duty of conducting expensive and delkymgliu-.. guinea unless the costs; we're borne by tte partieii . to the' quarrels, tmve'iji v a previous i|ifitteißX? c , pressed* 1 the Opinion tha^j the I 'Taieri f a\»jnr^ c "made & mistake in\djbqua^Fyipff Ko<wi feat; then' 'didßoiri^^

and tarn not sorry to see Mr M'Kewen fail in his' application to the D.J.C. *#*',The last number of the Referee- has fche following :— "The South Canterbury Jockey Club's stewards held a meeting last Friday nighti,.,when the proposal, , of the Kowai ( Fass Jockey Clob that the S.C.J.C. should^ remove the'SMqualificationfrb'm Mr George Rutherford over the. Princess Royal-Miss Arundel case was discussed' at length. A motion was carried to the' effect that Hhe S.CJ.C. see no reason for removing Mr Rutherford's disqualification.' , M. and ,H, r Kerr, Who were, disqualified at the sanae time^as Mr, Rutherford, and in connection with the same., case^lirsked, that their disqualification be removedjand the stewards, by a majority, of one, resolved to remove the sentence inflicted on them. This, sentence was that, they should bs disqualified during the pleasure of the club, and it was' in November 1887 that they .were so disqualified;"' ,'.'-. %* Lpchieland Rose Argent came back to New Zealand ,by the iWakatipu. Mr Butler returned by. the same steamer, but he left Manton behind in the obargo of Jimmy Monaghan, from which; it may be inferred that the hand* some.son of Tres, Deuce is to make a spring campaign in Australia. By that time he will - probably be, all. serene again and well acclimatised.^ If so,. he, will show the Melbourneites that there is another Musket besides Carbine. V Betting, orer the next V.R.C. Derby and Melbourne Cup has already begun. A start was made by the "books" on A. J.C settling night with the double, when 1000 to 15 was laid against the two Rudolphs, two Dreadnoughts, and two Sinecures. At 1000 to 20 Dreadnought and -, Dreadnought was baoked to win about 20,000.. vSineoure and Carbine and Dreadnought and.Catbinej t about 10,000, secured at 1000 to 8; Right ,out for the, Derby, Dreadnought was-* flnn ); favourite at 5 to 1. Another paper adds that one plucky adherent of the Kirkham stable took, £1000 to £500 that Mr J. White would win both- the A', J.C> and V.R.C. Derbies. * it * Speaking of the horses that gained fcha .places jinjh© <Sydney Cup, the Sydney Referee has the following:— "Soanning him over both bef bre.ftiid after his defeat, Abercorn looked a king amongst his opponents, and his beautiful glossy . chestnut, coat shone like, a brand new sovereign in. the sun. ,, Never before has Tom Pay ten, had him in such buckle. Hearty as a lord, har,d ; and muscular as a Hercules, are but faint., words ,to convoy an idea of how well he looked, '. Should. the, Hon. James White, ever be tempted ,to part with him, and, bis destination is outside Australia, we fear .that in his loss, similar to,; the losses of, Sir, Modred and Darebin, we will have, cause to regret it, for he has every qualification and requisite to hand Sir Hercules', his great grandsire, name to posterity .with credit. And speaking of Carbine, what a contrast the.two.equines did present when walking together on the heath, or when stretched to their utmost with the whips flying and the steel pressed hard into their sides. . Most undoubtedly Abercorn took the prize, but here he; had reluctantly to s,top. Beauty, as, is often said, is only skin deep, and handsome is, as handsome does. This, quotation, so facias Jiooksand formation go, cannot iq,jinyfW»y-apply w> Carbine,jas,he does not possess one redeeming point outwardly. He is a bay horse,, with a thin blaze terminating in a snip, with a whit© near hind foot., Art .regards shape, mn^e,,or bone, he preßent* anything but a taking (appearance, and, were he. put into the sale yard to-morrow without any performances, would not realise £100 .through his appearance. Quiet is no word to convey an opinion as to his docility, .as a child could approach and orawl all overborn. He is! as innocent as a foal, and shuffles along , iji. a most unpretentious manner when walking about, heedless of ,all that is going on around him. After his various . victories the nest of judges invariably held an interview with, the renowned ,piaorijander, and one and all left without finding a raoing point in his qqreass. As disproving the fact that; the ideep-ohested horse is requisite for weight-carry ing and compassing a distance under trying circumstances, we may state that in Carbine the ,ide,ajs. thoroughly exploded, as it is with .difficulty ; that a- girth short enough to saddle him up. with can be found. Nevertheless he is a racehorse, or, we may be pardoned for. saying, a gracing machine." Melosalso proved himself to t 'be a colt, above the ordinary, and had he not incurred a penalty of 71b in the St. Leger he should have won with ease. His owner, Mr W. Gannon, is very partial to the Gold«brough blood, as he should be seeing that Arsenal placed his name on " the scroll *of Cup winners, but we , doubt wry . much whether Arsenal could ever hold a light to his relative. That he ha* incurred the— shall we say displeasure ?— of the handicappers needs not be said, for he must not be treated. too leniently. This, as his owner must admit 1 , is hard lines, for they get nothing for going straight, and now that Melos has shown his hand he. will be called upon to take his place with the " upper tens." Melos has the stamp of nis sire showing out in every point. He is a dark brown horsei standing nearly 17 hands high, with remarkably good barrel, head, and legs, and is one of the most active and goodtempered horses that ever participated in a race, and with maturity must be hard to beat in «veight-for-age events. *** The same paper says that Hales, and Hales alone, is responsible for losing the Cumberland Stakes, and not Abercorn. If any etarter in the world had sent Lochiel, Carbine, and Abercorn away from the five furlong post in the order they were he would have been hooted off the course, and 'justly so. The idea of laying fully seven lengths behind Locbiel .and four further behind Carbine at that, part of a race when'allwere cantering is ridiculous, and does not reflect good judgment on the part of the man who is always held ( up as the " great " horseman. It's needless to say he had no show, bnt the way in which Abercorn answered under such difficulties was truly amazing, and stamps him as" a wonderful horse. His place should have been on Carbine's* girths, and had he started off with them there he must have won. We are all. liable to make mistakes,, but mistakes riuch as these' are unpardonable on a racecourse. ' " ' • „ "V'Qssbry and.Prince Io were, shipped to America in c^rge of a man named Brett, who has crossed the, Atlantic with 1 horses on eight previous occasions. He t thus relates the story of hojv the'hprses were lost : — " I h^ve no doubt the horses wbuld^have landed safe ,and well had the steamship company, stopped the hawser hole through which the anchor, chains ran. This was left open, and the water came in with a rush every time the ship buried. The horses were forward within 50ft of the hole, and they were soon standing in water up to their fetlocks. Added to this, the noise of the water rushing in and out 1 terrified them, it wrought them up to that state that they broke out into a sweat and then had chills. I went to the captain and asked him to We the hole stopped, but he said he could not do it that night. The next day they plaped some boards against the hole, but the water came.in as bad as ever. Ossory got a cold fronf sending in the water, and it produced inflammation 'if the kidneys, and he died the fifth day out? Pr)nce to.*, developed the, same com- < plaint. W^cpqld'keflp no bedding under them; the wiior 1 j^i&fcfi, iwy.^e tried ,f»wh dust, ind^e' '^te *' qWej^fc" thai oif, top, : W? cU4

. all. wexjould with Jboth horses, giving them .spirits^ and, rubbing their loins, with alcohol, .but it was no .use. Prince lo,?died too. ,The horses were both well- when -shipped, but, standing in .water i day #u$ nighth-water as cold as that, was— would . kilian.px." . * # * Abercorn heads the handicap for the' Sydney Turf Club's Birthday Cup, the son of Cinnamon having 10.3. Australian Peer comes nekt with 9.12 i Keith has 9.8 ; then comes Cardigan with 9.6; and Manton- is fifth on the list with 9.4. 'Among -other imposts I notice' that 'Meloßhas9.2, Pearl' "Shell '7.o, Clogs 6.12,> Miss Alice 6.8 and Bona Vista 6.4. The distance of the! race is a mile and three furlongs. Ido not fancy Manton, 1 and think the race will probably be won by on'e'bf the' extreme light weights. * * (> *' Ringmasterj it will be remembered, made hh first appearance on the English turf in the Trial Stakes at Lincoln. According to the particulars to hand, there were six runners, , Snaplock, who statted 'favourite at 2 to 1, winning easily, while Ringmaster, about whose chance 12 to 1 was on offer, finished -absolutely last. In the race which he won at Leicester— the Billesdon Handicap Plate — Ringmaster carried ' 8,7, the weights ranging from Lobster 10.0 to Reform- 7.0. Referring to. Ringmaster's inglorious display at Lincoln,' ths Sportsman says :— " The Australian-bred Ringmaster ran for the first time on an English racecourse in the Trial Stakes at Lincoln. He cut a very poor figure, and was last throughout. Our Southern friends will have to send something much* better to hold their own in the Old Country ; " and adds "his' tail seemed' to cause some of the little stable lads no small amuse- - ment." ; '%*'" Augur " says that some of the breeders of New South Wales are kicking against the 51b allowance^to geldings, and I i hear that two or three have threatened that they will not nominate for the two and three year, old events if. some alteration is not made. It is galling to studmasters to see geldings like Rudolph' i and Sinecure winning the rich'twoI year-old , stakes, and doubly so because they ! bejong to a man who breeds and races hie own' horses; It is contended that Mr White can afford 1 to geld his yearling colts, but those who breed for the public cannot. ° V don't think breeders have given it & sufficient trial to justify them in. making any objection now. I am quite satisfied that if our breeders were to emasculate a certain number of their colts every year, we should in time have a far greater number of good horses running in our Champion ; Stakes lf and other weight-for-age races; for ; geldings, as a rule, v last longer than entires, and there is no incentive to take them off the turf until they have utterly broken down. .Mr White is pne of the shrewdest men, onjthe turf, and shows his good sense by. gelding a certain portion of his colts every year. V£neu Rudolph and . Sinecure underwent the operation he selected Singapore and Dreadnought as the most likely' to make sires, and in. them he has two very fine colts, who will jn all probability hold their own against the geldings next season, even though the latter have a 51b allowance., %* ,New Zealanders who find fault with the totalisator overlook, the fact that it' is a standing protection against, " welshing," which has become .suoh a terrible nuisance! in some other places. .Sydney is particularly plagued with this offence, as will be. seen by the following' par from the. Referee; — "Notwithstanding the English judges have held that * welshing ' is larceny,, and but recently imposed a heavy sentence on a malefactor,, the Australian para-. site appears to be still undaunted, and carries on his nefarious game without the slightest fear. Judging by the light (Sentences. received by these thieves when they, come before the courts, it would most certainly, appear as though our justices re^d the law in a different, light to thejr English .brethren, for, iwhile the Home bench allots seven years for, the offence, the Sydney justices , consider about 1 .seven weeks quite sufficient- punishment for the, very selfsame crime. We do now, know that we would have Eaid a word on this subjeot were it not for the reason that the army of welshers is daily growing in bur midst, owingin.no small degree to the, Tight terms- of imprisonment doled out to them. . 'In to-day and out to-morrow' is no infliction at all ; it's an encouragement to these blackguards to commit crime, and justice is being laughed at to scorn. It is truly amazing to see the number that is living on the game/ Every .bye-way, highway, nook, and cranny to and from our racecourse is taken possession of by them, and the various tricks and devices resorted , to in order to entice.' the unwary to ' have a shot ' is beyond description. When on the course some of them ape the ' bookmaker,' and should the, horse backed be successful in winning, the place that knew them before the race does not know them . after.. ■ The poliqe, who are sent out to act as : guardians of the 1 peace, know them all— as should everyone else, for that matter, as they wear , the brand of Cain —but they let them come and go without even attempting to interfere." '%* James Cotton has received two additions to his team : the jumping horse Secretary and Le Loup's son Ixion, who is now the property of "Mr.Kildare," and is therefore to run in the same interest as Secretary. team now in work comprises Quickstep, Secretary, Crowhurat's Spot, Forget-me-not, Le Temps, Ixipn,,Trapper, and Crossbow. The last-named has been a little " off " on account of a knock on the leg received while running at the Taieri, and it is likely that he will have a spell instead of running at the May. meeting. *i* Messrs Stepbenson and Hazlett's brood mares Fallacy, Ouida, and Titania have left for EldersUe, having been taken over by one of Mr Reid's eons under some arrangement by which, so far as I understand it, the foals yet unborn ■ are to, be kept- till they are weaned and then returned to Stepbenson and , Hazlett, the mares remaining Mr Reid's property., The mares are. believed to be in foal as the result of their visit to Le Loup. . , • * , %* The acceptances" and entries for the Dunedin races are better than anyone expected. There is a promise not only of large fields but oh pretty open contests in all the races.. Sultan is growing in favour for the Birthday. Handicap, bat St. Clair, St. James, and Mon Loup will also be well supported, and in this as in the other . handicaps the, public seem. to have come to, the same conclusions as myself— viz., that the, question ,is .what will be the fittest horses. I see' no reason to vary my selections, of last week, but' I , shall reserve final ", tips " for, next issue. It has been suggested to me, and the idea seems a good one,,that it would save the course a bit if the i trotting races were run on the tan. The notion : might.be worth the club's consideration. * *** A rather unusual incident occurred on the Kumara racecourse. The local paper tells ; ns that Dodd had been engaged by-Mr HnngerI ford . to ride -, Captain Cook for the Miners' Purse, and was duly weighed out,patonhis]mount,' and sent on his .way to the starting point. Before | reaching the post Dodd was . observed to spaak to Mr Hobbs, owner of Quibble, ' which horse took part in the same race. 'Mr Hungerfor'd immediately ordered Dodd back to the saddling paddock, and gave the mount, to the jockey ,Coqhrane... Dodd demanded payment, and- Mr Hupgerfprd paid<the money under /protest into' ! the hands.of the secretary., tlmthe evening the > etewwda deci4eci to award £3 2n to Dodd, '-it f

is nnderitood "that Mr fHntfgerforcl ; arid^Mr | •Hobbs are not; on the' best of -terms, and Mr Huqgerford did not like to see, his jockey converse w\th a rival owner, jasi before the 'starting. How. far his f ear iof a .possible, collusion, was justified it. is impossible -for an -outsider to