IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1891, 1 May 1890, Page 24

IN A NUTSHELL.

— Jimmy Monaghan has bought Daniel for 280gs. —Don Caesar, Mr Goodman's horse, is still, in the paddock. —Frigate, a Liverpool Grand National winner, has at last gone to the stud. —There were only 247 thoroughbred foals in Germany last year, of which 19 died. —A Maiden Trot has been added to the Winton programme for the 24th May. —Mr T Hughes, an old English owner just dead, was one of Archer's first patrons. — Mr D. O'Brien has returned from Sydney. He left Whimberal and Gatling in Allßopp's charge. — The sum of £9249 was passed through the totalisatore during the two days of the Auckland Autumn meeting. — Not a blow Btruok yet in connection with the New Zealand Cup. The bookmakers have everything to lay. — Langley baa been a little lame, but Cotton will soon have him well again. This colt is speedy up to half a mile. — Forbury, the two-year-old by Albany — Fallacy, has been temporarily thrown out of work owing to a weakness in his understandings. — Eclipse's immediate stook won over £158,000, exolusive of countless cups, during the 23 seaßonß whioh they were before the public —In the North Canterbury Autumn Handicap Ahua has 8.13, Buby 7.12, Catamount 7.7, Count d'Orsay 6.10, Beauty and Hakaway 6.0 each. — Fifty-three entries have been received by the Auckland Racing Club for the Northern Champagne Stakes 1891. Mr Gollan is the principal nominator with five. — The Dunstan Times says that Mr Charles M'Kenna, the well-known owner of Haricot and other racehorses, haß been committed to the Seaoliff Asylum. — Jack Thompson, the Melbourne bookmaker whose death is just reported, served in the Union army in the Amerioan Civil war, and fought at Gettysburg. — A subscription on behalf of the widow and orphans of the deceased jockey Wm. Carey was opened at Ellerslie racecourse by Mr M. Gallagher, and yielded about £30. —No fewer than 43 yearlings were sold in England in 1889 at prices of lOOOgs and upwards, as against 26 in 1888, and 21 in 1887. The highest figure reached was 4000gs, paid by the Nitrate King. — There was a trotting match from the Botanical Gardens to Blueskin last week between Manager and Templar. It ended in a dispute, and on being referred to arbitration a draw was declared, — At Mr Markey's sale at Ashburton last week a yearling colt by Johnny Faulkner from The Fly was knocked down to Mr J. M'Guinnesß for 70gs, and a two year-old filly by the same Bire from Zephyr brought 40gs. — Mr Meiry has bought three more mares for America — Catherine Wheel, by Wellington from Fhizgig ; Harmony, by Tho Drummer — Wistara ; and Spinach, by Atlantic— Sea Kale. Catherine Wheel is in foal to Dunlop. —Beware, my friends the public, of sending money across to Sydney consultations until first assured of their genuineness. The country is being flooded with circulars advertising consultations, some which Badly need a guarantee. — An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the New Zealand Stud Company is to be held on the 16th May, when a motion to the effect that the company be wound up voluntarily is to be proposed. The formation of a now company is spoken of. — The French Jockey Club has lost one of its oldest members by the death, at 82, of Count do Hodonville, who was interested in the " Lagrauge confederacy " during the period when the owner of Gladiateur took several of his friends into partnership. — A sporting (?) par from a leading English paper: The cows on the Duke of Westminster's two home farms at Eaton, 85 in number, yielded 51,025 gal of milk last year. On Grange farm the average was 648 gal per cow, and 580 gal on Woodhouße farm. —Admiral Eous, than whom there was no firmer believer in the progress of our thoroughbred, wrote : " Tbe form of Flying Childera might win now a £30 plate, winner to be sold for £40 ; Highflyer and Eclipße might pull through iv a £50 plate, winner to be sold for £200 " —At the Canterbury Park (Sydney) races,

held on April 9, the New Zealand owner Halcrow and the pony Pearl and her rider, James Laing, were disqualified for six months for suspicious running in the pony race. Some Australian papers say the punishment was not deserved.

—The well-known hurdle racer Theophraßtus, by Outcast or Solon out of Miss Theo, has been shot at Epsom (England). He carried off the chief hurdle race at Croydon in November, 1882, when handicapped at 12 .5, and in the early part of the same year won the Kempton Park Grand Hurdle Handicap. —A singular death. Captain Boyce was thrown in a hunters' steeplechase at Sandown Park ; but, as he immediately jumped up, it did not seem possible that he was hurt. Probably the fall had nothing to do with the cause of death, but the fact remains that, after dining apparently well, he retired early to rest, and died before morning. — Foxton races were held on the 23rd. Lady Leger, a three-year-old daughter of St. Leger, won tb.9 Autumn Handicap, one mile and a-half, with 6 6 up, beating The Driver (6.12), Cruiser (7.9), and Akatea (7-9). Lady Leger also won the Publicans' Handicap. The Hurdle Race was takenj by The Drover. Totalisator, £1368 for the afternoon. —A Home writer tells us that both Kirkham and Narellan are bad walkers, and the precaution of kneecaps is necessary, and Narellan in particular stands over considerably, almost suggesting weakness. He is very high in the withers, which gives him a flattish look, but in reality he has capital quarters. Not altogether unlike Eiridspord ,he may be pronounced, but certainly showing more quality. —Gamecock, the celebrated English steeplechase horse, who won the Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase in 1887, carried 13.0 and won the United Kingdom Steepleohase at Oroydon on March 12. On March 10 the old horße carried 12.10 and won the Kempton Park March Steeplechase of 300sovs, and prior to that be had started on two other occasions in steeplechases during the season and had won both times.

—In Germany, the Zucht-Verein or Breeding Society exacts 20 per cent, from the benefits obtained from the totalisator at eaoh meeting, for the purpose of purchasing the best brood mares money oan buy. These are sold afterwards at public auction, and the deficiency between the price paid for each dam and the sum for which she is knocked down is covered by the fund so raised. No mare can be sold to a foreigner or exported. — Everybody may not know that Matanaka, whose reappearance up-country was mentioned a week or two ago, was a doubly unlucky horse for the Hon. G. M'Lean. He was a very high-priced yearling as the public are aware ; but where the cruel luck came in was in the fact that after the brute was gelded an offer of 700gs was received for him from South Australia — an offer of course which did not stand good after the horse wla deprived. —John Splan, one of Barnum's men recently in England, believes that in English mares there is the foundation for a better family of general purpose horse than America has ever seen. If they were crossed with well bred Amerioan trotting stallions the produce would have size, style, and gait, with Bpeed equal to 15 miles an hour over an ordinary road, whioh would be fast enough for oomfort or pleasure. If some of the hackney stallions in England were crossed on American trotting mares the result would be equally as satisfactory. —The death of Captain Boyce at Sandown Park prompts a writer to remark that the sort of oap worn by jockeys is totally unsuitable. " Out of some score or more jookeyß that I remember being killed quite three-quarters of them were victimß to injury to tho head, nearly all of whom might have escaped if they had been wearing a hat affording only the pro tection of the common felt hat. 1 am not an advocate for wrapping jockeys up in cottonwool, but evidence such as the above speaks for itself. Perhaps some ingenious person can invent a more suitable head-gear." — Aintree and the Grand National are to be tbingß of the past, so far as seeing goes, to many of those who have for years been accustomed to view the big race .on the cheap, and spend a pleasant holiday on the Sefton estate. In future the modest shilling or the more pretentious half crown will have to be forthcoming from the pockets of such pporting bucolics as want to have a view. The meaning of all this is that a high ring fence is rapidly being ereoted, which will encircle the entire course, and even the canal and railway banks will not afford to the curious a fair view. The stands are being patched up, and altogether great alterations are taking place at Aintree.