IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1973, 12 September 1889, Page 24

IN A NUTSHELL.

—Vandal is scratched for the Oaulfield Cup. — The steeplechase mare Ruby has visited Malua.

— Crossbow is being schooled over jumps at the Forbury.

— That first-class selling-plater Windsor is again in work. — Johnny Taggart has undertaken the training of Patiick.

— Messrs H. Partridge, J Chapman, and R. Thomson are to handicap at Lowburn.

—Among the Bothwell Castle's horses for India are the racers Owhiti, Queenie, and Sykea.

— Dave Price is at the Forbury training a couple of ponies. Merry Boy and Merry Queen.

— The C. J.O. meet on the 23rd inst. to consider the proposals of the Wellington Conference. •

— The English purchases for Morpbettville are expected to arrive about the 20th of next month.

— The Ashburton Racing Club declines at present to affiliate with the Canterbury Trotting Association. — Redleap has sufficiently recovered from his attack of laminitis as to be able to take walking exercise. — A gelding named Venus ran at Heathcote. This is the very worst that could be invented in the way of names.

— Kingfish, by Piscatorius out of Yatterina, won the Grand Stand Plate at the Queensland Turf Club's meeting. — " The straight " at the Forbury has been top-dressed with sand, which seems to me to be a doubtful improvement.

—The gelding by Gorton out of May Morn that James Cotton is training is one of the most compact of the Gorton tribe. — Tirailleur is well spoken of by those who have seen him lately. He is one of the " hopofulß " of the New Zealand Cup.

— Spendulix has made another record at the high jumping business, by cleaving 6ft 3|in, which is the best ever accomplished in Australia.

-^-Scots Grey is the only Southern horse entered for the Hawke'a Bay spring handicaps. He is also engaged in the Guineas ; and so is Oorunna.

— No less a sum than £14,545 was given away for prize money at the race meetings held at Moonee Valley between August 1, 1888, and July 31, 1889. — The O. J.O. are talking about substituting a hurdle race of two miles, with a prize of SOOsovß.for the Tally-ho Steeplechase in the Grand National programme.

—A BfealHon named Bob Lee, on J. B. Haggin's Rancho del Paso, California, holds the record as a foal-getter. He served 26' mares in 1888 and the result was 27 foals.

— Mr Andrew Jopp, of Roxburgh, notifies me that he has sold his Cromwell Derby candidate, The Wizard (by Bucephalus — The Witch), to Mr J. Rivers, of Alexandra.

—A Mr Hart is suing Weatherby, publisher of the Racing Calendar, for £5000 for disseminating information which is alleged to be untrue and likely to injure the pursuer. — It will be seen from the statistics in another column that, with his New Zealand winnings included, Musket's stock has won more than double that of any other sire, his total being olose on to £20,000, while The Drummer comes next with less than half.

— The annual meeting of the Wellington Racing Club stands adjourned for a fortnight, as the stewards are arranging several matters with regard to building a new grand stand, and will be prepared to lay further information before the adjourned meeting. _ —Smith: "De Binks, why that satisfied smile ? You don't look like a man that has just been fined 40a and costs for furious driving." De Binks: "Why, man alive, I just sold that old nag for £10 more than he wa» worth. Did it on the strength of the fine. Who wouldn't smile ? "

— Says the Sportsman : — "Singapore's ignominoua^ defeat in the Spring Handicap at Randwick on Saturday has led to the deposal of the son of Martini-Henry from his position as first favourite for the Derby, his place being now nominally occupied by his stable companion, Dreadnought."

— After disposing of the Hunt Club privilegesMessrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. offered at auction some racing and trotting stock, but the following were the only sales effected : — Levant, by Sorcerer— Venture, £16 10s, Mr T. Aitcheson (Waikouaiti) ; trotter, by Killarney (imp.), £28, D. and J. Bacon ; trotter, by Performer, £16 15s, D. and J. Bacon.

— At Elsternwick on the 30th ult. odds of 6to 4 were laid on Hard Times for the Time Handicap Trot, despite the formidable field of 23, but Mr Keith's horae had to put up with third place, Black Jack winning a more than usually exciting race by half a length. The winner's time for the two miles was 6min 7Jaeo. Hard Times was 20sec behind scratch, while the winner was ssec behind.

— A motion is to come before the Canterbury Trotting Association to the effeot that in future no certificate of measurement of ponies be given unless such measurement be made by three delegates, in the presence of one member of the press, who shall see the measuring. Any owner feeling aggrieved by any decision of the measurers, can have the pony or ponies rameasured upon depositing the sum of 20s, to be forfeited if the objection be proved frivolous. — The privileges in connection with the approaching Hunt Club race meeting were disposed of at auction by Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Co. on Saturday with the following result: — Grand stand booth, £36, A. Owen; booth No. 1, £11, S. Conway; booth No. 2, £13, J Liston ; booth No. 3, £8 10s, P. Fagan ; booth No. 4, £2 10s, Pacey ; fruit stall, £1, G. Elliott ; race cards, £37, R. Langley ; stabling, £1 10s, T. Landels ; — total, £110 103 ss against £46 10s for last year.

—Horse racing is an amusement, or a business, which has invariably attracted some of the worst specimens humanity, and the evils of the turf are so inseparably a part of the system that they cannot be wholly eradicated without putting an end not only to the gambling but also to the racing. The turf moralist is, in short, a contradiction, and the turf reformer a paradox, for its morals are an unknown quantity, and its reformation an impossible undertaking. — London Figaro.