TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 25

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZBPPA.

%* Those who still lay the odds are having a singular experience over the New Zealand Cup this season, in that there is a genera^ hanging back on the part of the sporting public. No one seemß to know anything, or, the Bame thing from a bookmaker's point of view, no one wants anything, Inquiring of a prominent fielder the other day as to whether there was a market, and if so what prices were obtainable, the answer supplied waa that so far he had booked only one wager, and had only about £10 in his book, aa against) a couple of hundred or so this time laat year. The question naturally suggests itself that if this state of things ia to become the rule there is very little advantage, if any, in taking the nominations for the Cup ao early aB at present. It ia a tax on ownerß, who for the sake of securing every possible chance nominate all the horses they can .think of as at all likely to have a look in, and thus spend money which would be saved if the nomination date were fixed three months or so later. So much the better for the club, it will be said. Yes, but the club is not so ooor as some of the contributing owners, who must find it bard work to make ends meet now that they have no advantage in the betting market over the outaide public. The contribution does not amount to much, certainly, but in horse racing, as in all forma of business — for it is now a busineaa firßt, and a pleasure only in a secondary aenae— the leading principle ia nothing for nothing and ac little as possible for half a crown, and I expect we shall sooner or later have a proteat from thoae who Buffer by the present arrangement. The argument holda good aa applied to our Birthday Handicap, nominations for which, taken in February, attracted the engagement of several horses that are not now in work : Miss Ann for example. *** But this is not what I had in my mind to write about when starting the paragraph. What I wanted to say waa this : that, though business on the spring events is at presentexceptionaHy slack, there will probably be a market in a month or so on the Victorian aa well as the Canterbury races, and we shall again find people taking all sorts of absurd wagers about horses that cannot possibly have a chance. Anticipating this state of thiDgs, I desire to give a bit of advice. It is that for those who will do a foolish thing — for 99 per cent, of the wagering on events months ahead is foolish — there seems to be no better investment at the present time than Gatling for the V.R.C. Derby. This son of Petroleuse is, I firmly believe, an exceptionally good colt ; he is bred like a stayer ; he is over on the other side in plenty of time to become acclimatised; he belongs to a man who can spend money to train him properly and who is sufficiently well off to be able to afford to forfeit his chance of a big handicap for the sake of annexing the Blue Riband of our colonial turf ; and moreover he is not first favourite, and good judges write as though they suspected Titan's gameness. Theso reasons are, I consider, good enough to warrant the advice I now give. The best thing a backer can do is So hold off altogether until the day — of that I am convinced ; but those who will gamble cannot have a better show than that now indicated.

*** Yes, I have reason to believe that Mr Gannon, unless cursed with bad luck, will find Gatling a good bargain even at 2000gs. Over-suspicious folk may say that, as Dan O'Brien was willing to sell at this figure, the colt cannot be all that others of us expect Lim to prove ; but I don't know that there is much ia euoh reasoning, 16 would be just as fair to

assume, on the other hand, that Dan's sticking out for his own price is a proof that he has a high opinion of Gatliug. Two thousand guineas, though not a stiff price for a tip -topper, as prices go, is a fair sum for anything that walks on four lega, even with a chance of the Derby thrown in. The fact is that O'Brien's readiness to sell is no proof of anything. He is a clever buyer, and is probably always willing to sell at »s good a profit as he made on Gatling, for whom he paid only 260ga. Some people are talking the veriest rubbish as to his having made a mistake in Belling Carbine at 3000gs. If he always makes aa profitable a deal he will doubtless be well satisfied. So long as he can make his bit he is probably quite agreeable to the next man having a good profit. Dan's reputation as a * r , er » was m »de by his giving purchasers value for their money.

*#* If my readers are not yet tired of hearing about Carbine, I will tell them something about hia sale. After he lost the Derby to Ensign, and thus put New Zealanders to a man on their beam ends, the colt was understood to # be seeking a purchaser. Mr S. G. Smith, cur clerk of the scalea, was then in Melbourne, and, aa a friend of Mr Gannon, sugßfeated to that gentleman that he should become a purchaser, giving it aa his opinion that it would be a payable spec at almost any price. Mr Gannon did not at first take very kindly to the notion, but eventually consented ao far as to authorise Mr Smith to go and price Carbine. " How muoh will you take for the colt if Mr Gannon wants him?" was the query put to Mr O'Brien. This was on tha Friday after the Derby was run. "Well," replied Dan, "he can have him for two thousand " ; and it was agreed that the offer should remain open till the Saturday night. "If I don't get an answer before Monday," added Mr O'Brien, " I'll not take less than three thousand from any man on the face of this earth, and if no one will give me that for him, I'll keep him myself and take down all their cracks with him." Mr Gannon was not dismayed at the price asked — he owns a dollar or two and doesn't mind spending them if he sees his way clear — but somehow or other he did not catch oil very readily to thi3 offer, though there is no saying but what Mr Smith's pleading might have ultimately persuaded him had not a third party put in his oar. This was Mr Lowo, one of Mr Gannon's friends, who happened to call at the hotel where they were all stopping. Over the dinner table the subject of Carbine was introduced by Mr Gannon asking Mr Lowe's opinion. "Mr Smith," he said, " can talk of nothing but Carbine. He tells me Carbine is the bast colt ever produced in New Zealand, and i 3 almost going down on his knees to get me to buy. What do you think?" "Don't touch him," replied Mr Lowe. "I have gone into this thing, as you know, and he comes under the red," Mr Lowe forthwith proceeded to expound his meaning, producing Carbine's pedigree lines underscored in red and blue, the red indicating non-stayers and the blue those that had proved able to get over a distance. A preponderance of red was shown, sure enough, and, if the premises were reliable, Carbine was bred as a non-stayer. "The thing is aa pain as a pikestaff," continued Mr Lowe, " and here you have proof of it. Carbine won all before him in his own country, but the first time he is asked to race over a distance he is put down, and so he always will be." The argument caused Mr Gannon to hesitate, and in hesitating he lost the horse. Mr Wallace, blissfully ignorant of the red and blue theory, has pocketed £10,000 over the transaction, to say nothing of bets, and still lias his horae, apparently as good as ever. The atory is given as related to me,

*«,* Speaking of the V.R.C. Derby, I can already tell my readers of one oandidate that will not start— viz., Forbury, the brother to First Lord. Before turning him out, aa reported laat week, bis owners had him fired, and he will declare forfeit for the V.R.C. Derby and Leger, the two Australian stakes for whiob he was entered. Stuart Waddell did not like the look of his legs, and recommended this course in preference to risking a break down by keeping the colt in work. I have grave doubts also aB to the likelihood of our other Forbury-trained candidate, the Remnant colt, going across to the other side ; but Mr Stead's pair, Palliser and Medallion, may very likely undertake the trip if all goes well with them during the winter. Medallion, at any rate, is regarded as almost sure to be a traveller. I am not speaking by inspiration, but he is a really good colt, and as such must be a better speo on the other Bide than to keep in this colony.

*** We have a splendid list of acceptances and general entries for the Dunedin Jockey Club's Birthday meeting— l 37 as against 109 last year. There will be time enough to give a tip in next week'a paper, and in the meantime a very few remarks will suffice. The Hurdle Race will be an open affair, though now that Ixion haa dropped out his Burviving stable companion Ahua will naturally be reckoned a good thing. A few days ago there was a rumour about that Occident had gone amiaa, and several folk prophesied that he would not pay up for the Birthday Handicap ; but there he is in the list as largo aslife, and he may be heard of, though the shin soreness which one of his ownera tells me he was troubled with will not help him. He was at work on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Wolverine, engaged in the same event, was given a roußing gallop with the rugs on on Wednesday morning, and there is no doubt he wanted it, for he is rather backward in hia work. On the same morning Forester, the next on the list, stuck up after going a mile, and then got into the ditcb. Stonehenge, who follows in order of weight, broke a blood-vessel in his head — the third time he has had this mishap — on Saturday, but is still, I believe, in work. Mon Loup is said to have livened up a bit flince Easter, Blizzard seemed to be beaten by Belvidere over a mile and a-half on Wednesday, but I do not know what weights were up, and the horses were not quite racing. Catamount and Mies George had not arrived at the time of writing (Wednesday afteroon). The Trot we will leave alono for the present, save for the observation that Count is dangerous if well. La Rose, who now beads the list in the Tradesmen's Handicap, is in capital nick, and will take some beating. Lady Bell is also lively, and so is Milord, who would not settle down to work on Wednesday until Poole got on him. Of the Two-year-old Handicap members, all here are well, Watercress is fast improving, and so is Pique, who is a perfect )ady. The K9mnant colt — shall wo call him Fragment, or have you n. better name, sir?— is tftk^n out of the basidicap and put in the Selling Hace, which has not helped him much in regard to weight. This (should be a good race. Apology II is the daughter ol Apremont and Gilda, heretofore known a3 Apology. In the Maiden Plate we have a couple of fairly good ones in Chain Sbot and Preston ; tho Selling Race ia ontared for by a great host of all sorts and sizes ; and the Selling Hurdle Race on the second day should produce a close contest as between two or three of them.

V I may remark that extraordinary efforts are to be made to get the races off to time. The first event will Btart at 12 sharp, and the times of the other events are— Maiden,

12.45 ;Birthday, 1.30 ; Two-year-old Handicap, 2 ; May Trot, 2.45 ; Selling Race, 3.15 ; Trade ■ men's, 3.45; and Post Stakes, 4.30. Another ! matter for mention is that the trotting races are to be run on the tan. The distances are already marked. The start will, of course, not be in front of the stand under this arrangement.

*** In England thoy now have a pony ar<3 galloway racing calendar in which all registrations of horses are published. The figures shown by the volume just issued, which ia itself a perfect history of the season's trotting, show that the sport is becoming more popular as it ages. The number of animals registered in 1889 was 499, as compared with 695 in 1888, and as compared with 285 in ISS7. Of this number, 48 were galloways of 15 hands; 57 were 14.3 ; 87 were 14.2 ; and 58 were 14,1— making 250 galloways in all. The remaining 249 were ponies, distributed aa follows : — 92 of 14 hands ; 52 of 13 3 ; 39 of 13.2 ; 23 of 13,1 ; 20 of 13; and 23 of less than 13, Of the 499 registered, no less than 252 were six years old and upwards, 84 were five years, 79 were four years, 79 were three years, 4 were two years, and 1 was unspecified. It is astonishing to find the very large proportion of mares. The numbers are : Horsea, 46 ; geldings, 112; mares, 334. As to breeding: 125 are thoroughbreds ; 88, in addition, are Bired by thoroughbred horses ; 8 are aired by Arab horßes ; and in the case of the remaining 278 the pedigree ia unknown. The amount of added money given throughout the year reached the respectable total of £11,155 10a, as compared with £5191 10s given in 1888, and £774 18s given iulßß7. Thus the value of the stakes has been more than doubled in the course of a year. As to the returns of racing during the year : There were 75 days' racing and 230 races, as compared with 67 days' racing and 253 racea in 1888, and 15 days' racing and SO races in ISB7. The total number of horseß running was 603. The number of different courses upon which races were held was 45. The list of winning owners is headed by Mr Boyd Alexander, who won in stakes £734; Mr F. Fitzgerald follows with £598 ; £583 wont to Mr George Andrews ; £517 to Mr J. W. Haskins : aud £510 to Mr R. W. Ethelsfcon, These are they who won a " monkey " and over.

%* Looking through the new volume of tho "New Zealand Stud Book," one finds eevoral matters worthy of comment. In the first place the index shows ub 272 instances of repeated names — not an extremely high percentage when it is considered that the work embraces the earliest records and also includes Australian importations; but in many caaea the duplication is very apt to produce confusion, though with the aid of Mr Elliott's book the chances of this are materially lessened. Illustrations of the liability to gefc mixed up may be found in such a case as that of the two Beeswings, both at the stud, one bred in 1879 and the other in 1881. The owners were not to blame in the first instance, because when Mr Drumm named his mare there was no other Beeswing in the colony, and Messrs Stephenson and Hazlett'a maro brought her name with her from Tasmania; but for all that a distinction is desirable. Then we have two Flintlocks, both by Musket, one foaled in 1881 and the other in 1884. This is a bad case. I observe that Mr R. W. Brown has renamed his mare Jena, the daughter of St, Albans and Miss Hill, who is now known as Albane, thus preventing confusion with the defunct lona (by Musket — Repo), who gave birth to Don Pedro. Mr Brown's judgment is to be commended, and other owners might with advantage follow his example before their mareß begin to breed. Another notable instance of double naming was at first chargeable to " the father of the New Zealand turf," Mr Henry Redwood, who called hiß 1887 colt by Natator— Rosalind " Mußk Rose," a name appropriated for the 1883 brotherof Escutoheon Mr Redwood has, however, changed the nam to Dog Rose ; and as it happens the Aucklan*. Musk Rose has been sent to Tasmania, so that there ia now no risk of confusion, Rosebud is yet another name of which we have two or three exampleß, Mr Waltera having selected it for the 1882 daughter of Musket and Rosarina, and there being a well-known performer of the same name, a year younger, in the Canterbury province. These are samples from a host of cases that flock to the mind, and in regard to which the Stud Book is valuable aB helping to prevent mistakes.

*„.* I further note that the dams of Billy and Le Temps are honoured with a place in the Stud Book. Billy's dam, now dead, was a chestnut, bred by Mr W. Fenwick in 18G7, got by Scud from Alice May (bred in Victoria), by imp. Dolo out of Helen May, by imp, Romeo out of Mayflower, by imp. Rous' Emigrant out of a New South Wales-bred mare with thoroughbred pedigree, particulars which were lost j while Le Temps ia out of Highland Maid, by imp. Elswick out of Maid of Honour. In his list of stallions Mr Elliott also supplies us with a short history of the famous Sir Hercules. This son of Cap-a-pie and Paraguay was purchased by Mr T. Icely at the break-up of Mr C. Smith's stud in 1845, and served in the Coombrig Stud, New South Wales, until sold to Mr Henry Redwood in 1552. He was landed in Nelson in June of that year, and remained in the colony five seasons. Returning to New South Wales in 1857, Sir Hercules was then purchased by Mr C. G. Tindall, of Ramqrne, on the Clarence river ; and in 1861 passed into tho bands of Mr J. Lee, of Bylong, near Mudgee, where he died on the 31st January 1866 from inflammation of the kidneys at the age of 22 years. Sir Hercules was the first of a line of the most notable coloDial-bred sires ever seen.

%* A very curious case has recently been heard by one of the French law courts, a lieutenant in the 20th Dragoons, quartered at Limoges, having sued the stewards of the races there for damages in consequence of an accident which occurred to a horse ho ran for the Military Steeplechase there, He contended, says the Field's correspondent, that the hurdle where his horse waa staked had been carelessly put up, and that there was negligence imputable to the stewards. The question, which has not, so far as I am aware, ever been raised before, ia not, unfortunately, settled one way or the other, as the court decided that the plaintiff should have sued each member of the Committee of Management individually. He was therefore nonsuited, but has obtained leave to institute a new suit. I should say that it would bo most desirable to have the question argued, ao that the managera of race meetings might know exactly what their degree of responsibility ia.

*** The Dunedin Jockey Club could hardly even if so dispoaed, avoid fcakiug tho action announced last week in regard to the now celebrated " round robin." It is tho club's obvious duty to give opportunity for inquiry. Whether tho owners who have been invited to unload their minds and state their grievauce iv particular terms will comp'y with Mr Jamoc' civi request ia another question. Thoro >3 uo power to compel them to come beforo a lacing tribunal, or before a court of inquiry of any kind, unless Mr Dowse has ground for r,n action for elandor, whi<*h, speaking as a layman, 1 shoud very much doubt. We shall have to wait for the replies to tho circular before we can tell whether the inquiry is to be hold. If it is, the complaints against Mr Dowse will, it is to bo.

hoped, be put into a tangible shape, and either proved or disproved ; if, on the other band, the arrangements for an investigation fall through, we may take it that those who have raised the question of Mr Dowses integrity are unable to prove anything against him. Whatever may be the outcome, it is imperatively necessary that a deoision should be come to once and for all. It will never do to allow things to remain as they are, and for Mr Dowse to sit content while liable to be told in, say, a couple of years' time, or more, that he asked for an inquiry and on second thoughts deemed it advisable to let the matter drop. George Dowse must go right through, now that he has started, and for his own credit's sake secure an acquittal either by default or according to evidence. The correspondence appears in this issue, * # * They have some beautiful jumpers in England as well »s in the colonies. Here are three examples. Xenos, who started favourite for the Hunters' • Steeplechase at Croydon, could not be induced to jump the water, and after being walked in and out of it, he refused every subsequent fence. On reaching the water the second time he was got through as before, and was then pulled up. .... The Farmers' Plate, one of the items on tho card at the County Down Hunts Steeplechases, was somewhat of a farce. Four competitors started, all of them refusing early in the race, and it was only with a deal of perseverance that Mr W. Beasley managed to get HHart Nutd t Nut over the course. Neither of the other three competitors could be induced to jump, and they were consequently taken back to the paddock. . . . For the Maiden Hunters' Steeplechase Plate, at Leicester, there were four contestants ; of j these one refused early in the race, and the remaining three did likewise about a mile from home, and, although their jockeys persevered for 20 minutes in their endeavours to get the animals over, it was quite useless, and eventually all four competitors were brought back to the paddock, and the race declared void by the stewards. Wanganui hacks could beat that form.

*** Doyle, fhe man who tried to work a pooket totalisator at Duntroon on the somewhat profitable principle of bagging the investments when the winner was unbacked — he should have called his machine the confiscator —got into trouble when brought before the magistrate, being fined £5 with the alternative of 10 days' choky. I understand that he offered to " square " those who complained by tendering them free tickets on the following race, but the parties concerned didn't see it. It is to be expected that these sort of things will occur now and again, but our police may be trusted to protect the public if the publio seek protection, and I don't think there is any probability of our system of betting being brought into such disrepute as the pari-mutuel appears to have brought on itself in some parts of the Old World. The totalisator is the fairest method of wagering in existence, and if not abused is certainly for the public good, or rather it does less harm than any other system.

*** A little while ago we talked a great deal about the too free use of the machine, and the evils that were flowing therefrom, but New Zealand never saw and never will see such a atate of affairs as that described by "Pendragon." The French, he says, don't seem to be lucky in the laws which they pass for the suppression of evils. Some time ago the authorities Bwooped down upon the betting man and made ready-money betting illegal. This edict was inspired by jealousy of the foreigner, the bookmaking being principally in the hands of Englishmen, The pari-mutuel was established on a legal basis in order to supply the vacuum. To-day the pari-mutuel has converted Paris into one huge betting shop. Almost every cafe and every troquet displays an announcement that commissions for the pari-mutuel are "received here." The parimutuel has become as great a curse to Paris as the lottery is to Naples. Every little employe, every servant girl, has a frano or a couple of francs on the races of the day, depositing the coin at one of the numerous commission agents. The result of every race is telegraphed to these cafes and wine shops, and the proprietor deducts a commission from the winnings. The law against betting has closed half a dozen offices and opened a thousand. So grave has the evil become, and so madly have the Parisians plunged into horse backing, that the authorities now think of making the pari-mutuel agencies illegal and re-establishing ready-money betting, with the proviso that bookmakers will only be licensed to do business on the racecourse. At night from end to end of the boulevards the newspaper men cry *' Le Resuttat complete dcs Courses," whioh is French for "All the winners," and new sporting papers, with champion tipsters, are coming out at the rate of one a day. Frenchwomen gamble tremendously on the turf, as well as at the Bourse, and the drollest sight I ever saw in my life was half a dozen respectable old ladies sitting in a cafe and reading out the names of the probable Btarters at Manchester, and arguing as to which they should entrust with their five-franc pieces, The betting in Paris on all the English races is enormous. *** There was good racing weather for the North Canterbury meeting last week, and the affair seems to have been very well conducted. It was rather unfortunate that the splendid race between Bloodsucker and Landsborough in the Hurdle Handicap should have resulted in a protest. The objeotion was on the ground that Tommy Lyford, Bloodsucker's jockey, " bad used his arm to prevent Landsborough getting up on the inside." How such a feat could haye 1 been performed it is difficult to understand. One is reminded of George Stephenson's reply to the querist who wanted to know what would happen if a cow should get on to the railway line "It would be a bad job for the coo," said George. And I should say it would be a bad thing for the jockey who essayed te stop a racehorse with his arm. But I was not there, consequently cannot speak as to the facts, and must therefore accept the stewards' decision as equitable. By the report of the racing it will be seen that Ruby and Catamount each managed to win a race. Messrs Hobbs and Goodwin passed £1225 through the totalieator.

*#* " Spectator " says that the New Zeaand trotting mare Princess will probably be seen out at the Moonee Valley or Elsternwick Park meeting near Melbourne shortly. All sorta of rumours have been circulated as to what she is capable of, and if the information I have is correct, she was tried to rattle off a mile in 2min 15aec at Ashburton, prior to her departure. The Aeh burton, we have learnt, is a very fast course intiead, but the course on whioh Princess was tried is, I believe, a private one, though it is stated that the mare was tried to do this time in the presence of a number of persons, one of the number being the representative of the syndicate who found the Binews of war to take her from New Zealand. After trotting in Australia Maud S., or I should say Princess (Prince S.), the New Zealand wonder, is to be taken to America, and if she can do 2min 15seo when she gets there sho will cause a greater sensation than any galloper has done in the colonies, and there will be a ton of money in the venture. Why should we not produce trotters &b well as gal-

lopers to astonish the world ? It may be as well to sing small till she has wiped out the best of the trotters in Australia, and to add that there are few good judges who still think we have more than one nag left behind that could lower her number. Not if she can do 2min 15seo, though. %* Mr Andrew Chirnside, of Werribee Park, died on the 30th ult. at the residence of his son in-law, Mr John Oalvert, of Colac, where he was on a visit. He bad been in illhealth for some time, and although his death was not unexpected, it is none the less a matter of regret. He was (says " Augur ") a native of Berwickshire, and following his brother, the late Mr Thomas Chirnside, he came out to Australia in the year 1840. Both were wellknown as honourable and enthusiastic sportsmen, strong in their love for hunting, coursing, horse racing, and were the breeders of some of the best racers known to the Australian turf. The most notable, perhaps, was Newminster, who as a two-year-old was never beaten, winning among other races the Maribyrnong Plate, Ascot vale Stakes, and the Sires' Produce Stakes, and such a certainty was he deemed for the Victoria Derby that odds were laid on him for that ovent ; but to the consternation of his admirers he was beaten out of placp, and it was subsequently discovered that he had been " got at " a few days previous to the race by some miscreant who was instigated in the dastardly act by certain unscrupulous individuals to whom Newininster's success would have meant direful disaster. The colt was sick a long time, but he eventually recovered, and in 1878 he won the Geelong Gold Cup. In the following ye >r he carried Mr Chirnaide's blue jacket and black oap to victory in the Caulfield Cup, which was then run in April. But the horse that first brought Mr Chirnside's name into prominence was the celebrated grey mare Alice Hawthorne, who, in October 1857, ran the famous match against the New South Wales crack Veno at Flemington, The stakes were lOOOgs aside, and Veno won the day. In 1874 Mr Chirnside won the Melbourne Cup and othpr races with Haricot ; and with Sultan he won the V.R.O. Midsummer Handicap and the Newmarket Handicap in 1876. In 1880 he possessed another good horse in Zambesi, who followed up Newminster's sucoess in the Geelong Gold Cup, and also won the Lauriston Handicap at Kyneton, whioh in those days was a meeting of some importance. Mr Cbirnside also owned several other horses, but of late he had nothing of note to carry his colours except Linburn, who won the Maiden Plate at the last V.R.C. meeting. At the time of his death Mr Cbirnaide was 73 years of age. *** It will be seen from the list of Mr George Dowses handicaps for the Winton races that only country horses are engaged. I should think that Victory ought to win the Birthday Handicap if ha is quite well, and that the Hurdle Race is more than likely to be taken by Wardrobe ; but, perhaps, I may see the acceptances in time for next week, and if so, I will take the opportunity of giving a final opinion as to the probable results. There is every promise of fairly good fields. *** A yarn is told in an English sporting paper of Jubilee Benzon, who while in the Nice gaol had a visit from a friend who deposited £15 with the gaol-keeper towards creature comforts of the said inmate. The friend assured Benzon that he would get off. "No," said the Jubilee, "I'll get five years." " Everybody says you can't get more than a month," chimed in the friend, who had previously told B. of the money entrusted to the gaol-keeper. "Do they ? " said Benzon, " well, go and ask the officer for the oof, and take 1000 to 15 against my getting five years. There'll be a thou. to start with when I come out, and it's a good hedge." Another story ia told of a second visitor who inquired if he could do anything for Benzon ? " Yes, if Ido time, smuggle me in what wins the Lincolnshire Handicap."

%* Jack Rae's Titokowaru, though not a mighty performer in his own country, is quite a hero on the other side, and in this fact we may find a considerable amount of encouragement for Poole in his meditated invasion of the Australian turf. Titokowaru and Waitangi have never met, but I reckon that the latter can do anything that Tito has ever accomplished, providing the weights are not too stiff, and if Tito is an " infliction " Waitangi will be very unwelcome to the ranks if they have not clever jumpers to put against him. At the Caulfield meeting on the 3rd inst., Jack Rae's horse came in first in the Steeplechase ; and Rae's next essay was also crowned with success, as we learn by private wire to Auckland that on Saturday last he won the Steeplechase, of 15030v5, two milea, at the Melbourne Hunt Club's meeting, with Guy Fawkee, who was weighted at 10.4, Studley being top weight with 11,12 in the original handicap. Titokowaru, with 11.10, finished second. There were 11 entries for the race.