TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 14 August 1890, Page 25

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEPPA.

%* This is the lstst opportunity I shall have of reminding owners that nominations for the handioaps at the South Canterbury Club's meeting close to-morrow (Friday). The programme having been well advertised, it is unnecesßarj to say muoh about it, 1 and it will ba sufficient to remark' that the meeting takes place on the 18th and 19th September, that the races are well varied, including events to suitall classes of horses, and that the nomination fee is in no case higher than one sovereign. The club is making complete preparations for this meeting, and from all that' I can make out it iB going to be a success. %* There is also another announcement of the kind to make. It is that nominations for all the handioaps at the Otago Hunt Olub meeting must be in Mr Sydney James' hands before 10 p.m. on Saturday (the day after tomorrow). As before observed, the stakes in these raoes have been increased, and the money is well worth going for, It may also be worth remembering that, several of our best horses being away in Australia, second and third-raters have a better show than usual. This fact will not be overlooked by the majority of owners, and we may expeot a liberal response to the club's action in raising the stake money. For the obief events the nomination fee is £1.

* # * Two leading bookmakers in England are thus spoken of by an exchange : Mr It. A. Fry, the wealthiest and most successful sportsman of the day, is as unassuming in private life as he is Belf-aeßertive on the turf. He owns a large and spreading white house, known as Grecian Villa, on Beulah Hill, with a good deal of ground attached to it, and is buying up a considerable amount of land in the Norwood district, out of which he will probably make a second fortune in building operations. All who know |tim in private life give him a high character aa (Titian, a husband, and a father ; and Mb reputation for generosity is widespread throughout Norwood and Sydenham. He is especially open-handed amongst the poor, to whom he gives largely at Christmas and other seasons ; and he is fond of getting up free concerts, and distributing presents amongst the audience. He has eight daughters and two or three sons. No sporting man bandies more money, and he is considered as safe as the Bank of England. Colonel North is his newest client. His income is supposed to be not less than £30,000 a year. A different stamp of man is Mr "Dick" Dunn, another sporting leviathan, who has a fine house at Kingßton-on-Thames, and is to be seen riding out with his ohildren most mornings when he is at home. " Diok's " style is large and a trifle loud j and when he starts out for the course in a merry mood, he likes to have a flankey behind him in the trap blowing a sixfoot horn. He has a hoßt of " paler spends freely what he earns easily, and has bad a picturesque and somewhat varied career,

\* The list of horses remaining in the I Welcome Stakes was not quite complete as published last week, It seems that three addiI tions were announced on the day following that on which the entries closed— a faot whioh the press agent did not inforjn us of. The additions are Mr D. O'Brien's Yattaghan, Florrie, and Flinders. The omission to inform us of this was, I suppose, an oversight. From the remarks on the Bubjeot made by a phristohuroh paper I gather that the question is raised whether the payments for the horses were received in time, Having been raised, it would be as well that the question should be answered explicitly and publioly, to save future complications. I have no doubt that Mr Penfold or whoever is now in charge of the secretary's office can dear up tbe doubt in a manner that will satisfy everybody. %* The Auckland Olub'is cantiously moving ahead in the ..matter of stakes, and has made a Blight inoreaße Jn eaoh of the three chief handioaps of the ooming season, the Cup added money being now brought up to 600sovs. The programmes issued by this club are suoh as do it credit, a special feature in them being the encouragement given to breeders. This is doubtless to some extent due to the faot that the Sylvia Park Company is there, and it is to be hoped that when that company ceases operations, which seems to be a likely event of the near future, the club will continue .to do all that is possible in the way of giving induoements for the rearing of the best stock. Auckland has an advantage in one respect over the southern portions of the colony, in that the foalings come earlier, this making an appreciable difference in the ability of two-year-olds in tho early part of the season ; and it is worth an effort to retain that advantage. %* Mr Harry H. Hayr, secretary of the looal Tattersall's, and otherwise a prominent man in raoing oiroleß in Auokland, is the proprietor of a new paper called the Sporting Review, the first number of whioh has come to hand. It is a quarto of eight pages, and is apparently intended to take notice of sport in all its branches. The horsa-raoing department is under the supervision of " Old Turfite," who claims to be the oldest raoing man in the colonies. " Four years ago," says this writer, " I retired from sporting writing with the intention of never again resuming the pen. I was trammelled in my articles, and bad to write to suit certain persons who I knew from experience had no knowledge of raoing ; one or two in particular, who in the Old Country had been apprentices to some trade and had never seen a racecourse until they oame to the polony, were particularly obnoxious. Having made a little money since they came here, they Jtook to raoing, ergo they thought they knew everything, and that one must coincide in their ideas, threatening all kinds of penalties to my employers if they did not do what they wanted. The inducement to resume writing at the present time is freedom of the pen." I hope my friend will have a more pleasant experience on this occasion, and that the Review with which he is now connected may win for itself a plaoe among the sporting journals. On the lines of a review there should be an opening for it. %* The Victoria Racing Olub had an important meeting on the 4th, at which a quite unusual degree of interest was manifested. A proposition was made by Mr James Grice that the provision as to the minimum weight in handicaps be abolished. This was generally held to be a move on the part of the Millers, who have a big stable, of which many are - weeds, and who desire light weights to give these animals a chance of winning. The Australasian led tbe opposition to the proposal, whioh was lost by a very large majority amidst much excitement. The other business was a motion by Mr M'Kean in favour of the totalisator, which, in a meeting of several hundred, was carried with only one dissentient — viz., Judge Molesworth. of the Insolvent Court. But of course tbe sanction of Parliament has to be obtained before the instrument can be used. ' ' * + * At the 1 annual meeting of the Tuapeka Jockey' Club the secretary (Mr N. O. Potts) read the following report prepared by the outgoing committee : " Your committee, in presenting their seventh annual report, very muoh regret to state that the club is not in suoh a good position financially as at the beginning of the season, when it started with a credit balauce of £83 115, 7 d; but owing to the falling off in nominations, together with wet weather, this balance has been reduced to £35 3s 4d, thus showing a loss of £48 83 3d. Our greatest loss was in the returns from the totalisator, the re- j ceipts in 1889 being £232 175, while in 1890 they were only £145 4s 6d— a difference of £87 12s 6d. The nominations and subscriptions also show a decrease of £46 5s and £7 83, respectively. It is worthy to note that the expenditure shows a satisfactory decrease of £22 12s lid. The stewards deserve great praise for the very satisfactory manner their duties were performed in connection with the last meeting, as also Messrs Craig and Dwyer, who so satisfactorily undertook the onerous duty of collection of subscriptions. In conclusion, your committee think it would be advisable to fix the date of our next annual race meeting for the 21st and 22nd January 1891." The accompanying balance sheet showed that the receipts from all sources, including £84 fixed deposit and interest, amounted to £458 17s lOd, the chief items being: Nominations and acceptances, £121 15s; totalisator returns, £145 4s 6d; subscription?, £47 Bs. The expenditure totalled £413 14s 6d, the chief item being prize-money (£361), leaving a' credit balance of £35 3s 4d, of which £30 was lying at the Bauk of New South Walos on fixed deposit. After some discussion it was agreed that the club's annual race meeting be held on Wednesday and Thursday, 21st and 22nd January, the secretary to notify the Gore Club to that effect. The following office-bearers were appointed:— President, Mr J. O. Arbuckle; vice-president, Mr F. Oudaille ; secretary, Mr N. O. Potts ; treasurer, Mr B. Hart; committee — Messrs Craig, Arbuckle, Oudaille, Nichols, Montgomery, Chalmers, Johnston, B. Hart, and Dwyer; grounds committee— Messrs Oudaille, Craig, Diyyer, and Nichols ; judge, Mr J. C. Arbuckle ; clerk of course, Mr T. Dwyer; clerk of scales, Mr T. G. Robertson; starter, Mr B. Hart (Mr Craig declining to be reappointed) ; handicapper, Mr G. Dowse ; timekeeper, Mr H. J. Ponsonby ; stewards— Messrs H. Craig, J. Johnston, Jas. Chalmers, J. T. Nichols, Ronald Moutgomery, R. Webb, T. G. Robertson, J. Roughan, B. Hart, S. P. Craig, B. Browne, P. Skinner, H. Hart, T. Arthur, D. L. Christie, R. M'Keich, D. Beaton, D. M'Ponald, O. Nash, S. Caldwell, C. Ward, aud J. Laffey. *** The new racing season is not only nominally but actually begun, the first meeting having been held on the 6th inst, under the auspices of the Ashburton Hunt Olub. The weather was fine, the attendance such as to gladden the heart of the treasurer, and the general arrangements of the committee as carried out by Mr Fooks, the secretary, are spoken of with approbation. Lyndoora, a big lanky mare that may win short-distance hurdle races when she has had more experience— she is a daughter of Bundoora— was made rather a "better favourite than Incbkeitb for the Hunters' Hurdle Raoe, about two miles, but she overjumped at the first obstacle and oame down,

and thenoeforward Inohkeith, carrying 10,10, had matters all her own way, winning by 120 lengths from Mr Cain's Tommy (11.0). She

| was ridden by her owner, Mr M. Patterson, who had never before ridden in a race. The Hunt Olub Steeplechase, about three miles, was a good medium of investment. Mr Hoskins' The Mount (11.2) was a deoided favourite, but the other three were pretty evoniy backed, Mr Moore's Morok (11.0) boing really the least fancied. For all that he won. The story of the raoe iB briefly this : that The Mount and Glen fenced clumsily, and Pioneer (10.7) came down twice, and thus leaving Morok, who showed a fair turn of speed beside some capacity as a steeplechaser, to oanter in a couple of hundred yards ahead of The Mount. Morok is by Rapid Roan. The dividend waa £6 7s. Eleven candidates were sent to the post for the Haok Race, and the best of the lot proved to be Mr Olaridge's Nelly Gray, a daughter of Idalium out of Fair Nell (not the Middle Park Company's mare, but one of the Bame name by Python, and known as the dam of Red Cross). Four started for the Maiden Steepleoha3e, about two miles. Of these Beaufort and Blackwood came to grief, Beaufort at the very last fence, and in a fairly interesting finish 'Mr Murray-Aynesley's hunter Glen had rather the best of Mr W. Ohrißtie's Glentui, The next event was the Ladies' Braoelet, and for the two trophies offered there were nine competitors, including Morok and our old friend Snapshot. The winner was 'the Don Juan horse Enterprise, with Sorella second. Enterprise was nominated by Miss Bond, and Sorella by Miss O. T. Osborne. Mr Olaridge rode the winner. In the Consolation Steeplechase, about one mile and a-half, The Mount (12.7) won easily by a length from Glentui (11.0), with Lyndoora (10,0) third. Messrs Mason and Roberts worked the totalisator, and passed through it the sum of £772, or £31 less than last year. *„* About this Rapid Roan, sire of Morok. His name does not appear in the Stud Book, from whioh faot I infer that he is not quite thoroughbred. And is the spelling of the name here given oorraot ? I suppose it is, for we know of a Rapid Bay, and one name suggests the other. But I aßk the question because one of Cassandra's sons had a name that sounded somewhat the same, only it was spelled Rapid Rhone, and it may be that' it ib by a confusion of ideas that we get the name of Rapid Roan, Rapid Rhone was foaled in 1866, and therefore belonged to a past generation, and he was gelded, so I do not suggest that the two horses are identical, but as a matter of curiosity I should like to know, how Morok's sire spells bis name. Perhaps his owner will answer for him. It is not at all uncommon to find horsey men a bit " mixed " about names. I remember, that when Glenara first came here I asked a man who at that time had something to do with him— it was not the new owner, I may remark— what the horse's pedigree was. "By Rolling York, sir," was the answer. " Rolling York ! " I remarked ; "rather a strange name, isn't it? I never heard of such a horse. Is it Rolling York or Roland Yorke ? " My informant could not tell mo, though be knew the sire; and, pressing him on the point, I was vouchsafed the explanation |that the horse got its name from the peouliar rolling movement he had when galloping 1 • '%* The Ascot Cup, a race that until recently was one of the chief events of the English season, was established in a very unpretentious way. ' I read •in the Licensed Victuallers' Gazette that it was in 1771 that the Duke of 'Cumberland and some other noble sportsmen subscribed sga eaoh for a Gold Cup to be run for at Ascot in the following year ; it was from this small beginning that the great meeting started, and this single contest has risen from one event to six-andtwenty. It was not until 1807 that the Gold Cup came to be of any considerable importance ; it was in that year that Mr Durrant's Master Jockey won, only four starting, and in faot the number of starters was for years muoh below the average of other racecourses. The Prince Regent was the first great patron of Ascot; yet even in his days there was no grand stand, and the gorgeous tinted tents taken from Tippoo Sahib's palace, pitohed for the meeting, served all the requirements of shelter ; a canvas-covered booth did duty as a weighing room, and the races languished for want of funds. . The kennels and a few wretched huts were at that time the only signs of habitation near the oourse ; stunted firs and heather, a few poets and railß, with Windsor Forest in the distance, made up the picture. The journey that the railroad now Enables us to accomplish in less than an hour was then a weary pilgrimage over the vilest roads, swamps in wet weather, granite rocks in dry. The Cup Day in the year 1829 was the most splendid ever known up to that time ; the entry comprised two Derby, one St. Leger, and one Oaks winner. It waa calculated that the eight ! which came to the post bad had 24,000gs refused or paid for them at one time or another, a sum which, although it may seem very moderate in these days, was considered gigantio 60 years ago. There was the famous Mameluke, for whom John Gully had paid 4000gs to Lord Jersey after he had won tho Derby; while The Colonel had paused out of Mr Pake's hands into the King's at 4000ga for the sake of winning this one big prize. The Ohifneya had sold Zinganee to Lotd Chesterfield for 2500ga on the eve of the raoe. The attendance was enormous ; the carriages were in some places 20 deep by the side of the cordß, and it waß said that half a mile of them, so great was tbo crush, did not sucooed in reaching tha course until the race was over. Affcor threo false starts, George Edwards on BobadiHamads the running until far beyond the Swinly post, Zuiganeo lying off obout sevonth, and Wueatley on Mameluko watching him so jealously that whenever Sam eased bin horse for a few strides he instantly followed suit. But three-quarters of a mile from home Zinganee suddenly went through his horses like a bullet. Mameluke still hanging on to his quarters until half-way up the bill, when be could live the pace no longer, and Sam Chifney landed the Bretby colours a clever first by two lengths. %* They have in America a hearty way of doing things that in its zeal to do the thing that is right, and to do it at once, gets ahead of precedent and tradition. An illustration to the point is the new State law in Indiana with reference to the service fee of stallions, requiring registry of stock horses with the clerks of oirouit courts. One of the requirements of the law is »» follows : That a copy j>t Buch license, embracing such sworn statements and pedigree, vith tbe foe that the owner proposes to charge for pervico, shall be posted by the owner of such sire in two or more conspicuous places in tbe vioiuity of the place where the sire is kept for eervicn ; and should any part of eaid sworn statement bo, to the knowledge of tho owner of such Eire, false in any particular, the owner shall Dot be entitled to collect any fee for such service ; and the falsity of such statement, or any part thereof, may be pleaded as a bar to any contract or account for services of such sire. ♦„♦ At the Geelong (V.) meeting on the 2nd inst,, tbe Winter Handicap of lOOsovs, one mile and a- quarter, was won by Stanley (8.13), witb Nerisaa (6.10) second, and our old friend

Bultan (9.T) third. The winner of the Dunedin j Cup was ridden by Pearson. The other starters were : Fishwife, 6yrs, 9.4 jGtoen Isle, aged, 8.4; Pingara. 6yrs, 6.13 ; Terrific 11, aged, 7.3: Leona,syr S , 6,12; Gratuity, 6yrs, 6.11; and Helmsman, 4yrs, 6.9. Leona was favourite. Helmsman was quickest away, with Stanley next. Leona went up to Helmsman as they left the etraight, and the pair out out the paoe, Pingara being next, while Sultan and Green Isle were last. Fishwife went to the front as they turned towards the straight, where Pingara' and Sultan joined in. As they came into the straight Stanley got to the front, and though Sultan, on the outside, and Nerißsa, on the inside, made a race of it, Stanley won by a head from Nerisßa, Sultan being a length away, third, with Fishwife fourth, Pingara fifth, and Terrific II next. Time, 2min 21seo. Sultan, I may remark, was as big as a bullock. %* New Zealand was again unluoky in the succeeding event, the Steepleohase, for which Secretary (11.8) and Waitangi (10.7 wore equal favourites at 3 tol oach. Doctor and Elcho went away in front, but Oohban led over the first fence, over. whioh he blundered. Dootor fell over the fence. Ooliban led past the Btand with Waitangi and Eloho next, and Sheoak last. Ooliban led for the reminder of the way, Waitangi and Secretary filling the places behind him. Ooliban, making no mistake, came home an easy winner by 10 lengths from Waitangi, Secretary being a poor third, with Sheoak a long way behind. Time, 6min 23360, Waitangi was ridden by Jack Poole. To make up for these'defeats in some measure, New Zealand, had a turn in the Trot whioh was won by Alf. Keith's Tommy 111, who started at 2 to 1 on in a field of 15. %* The Queensland Bulletin tells the following extraordinary story concerning something that occurred at the late Charters Towers race meeting :r-The stewards noticed an undesirable character on the grand stand td-'day, and requested her to withdraw. Her companion said she was respectable and he was going to marry her. The stewards then said he would have to do it at once, and he said be would. A clergyman was sent for by the etewardß and oame out, and the wedding was to have taken place in the stewards' room. On the way out "he met the pair, who had left the enclosure ; the bride was " willin' " but "Barkis" waa not, and the charitable efforts of the stewards in the oause of morality were defeated. A race olub as a marriage promoter is something novel. i * M * Of all the queer announcements that the papers contain, this is about the queerest I have seen for many a day. It is an extract from the London Weekly Times and Echo. "It may have been noticed that we discontinued our sporting notes last week. They will not appear again. We must, of oourse, BtUl continue to give results of races— a newspaper cannot pick and choose its news ; it is obliged to record a race aa it does an execution, or any other disagreeable or disreputable oeourrenoe. But we do try— after an imperfect f&Bbion enough doubtless— to hold up a standard of life in these columns which the world may profit by \ and we do not see that we can, Consistently with that effort, any longer pander to j the vile and dishonest gambling Instinotß whioh are so oraf tily taken advantange'of by •rioble'Bportsmen' who live on theTietting public. Probably nine out of ten of the people who bet,' and who follow their favourite tipster with the blind faith of a baby, do not know, as we know, the utter Wttenness of- the whole system.' ■ If. they did —if they were aware of the vast organised conspiracy into the hands of whioh they were so blindly playing, and whioh they enrioh with their losses I—they1 — they would probably resolve to have no more to do with it. We have; at any rate, and we do not think we shall, lose many readers inconsequence. There shall be henceforth one leading newspaper in England which disdains the role of the bookmakers tout," ' Something must have happened personal to the writer to produce such i a; statement. > I cannot believe that the English turf is in suoh a bad way as he would have us

believe. • ' ".,,,. \* An interesting story is told by an English writer. -'In the summer of 1888, he says, a friend of mine, whose great ambition it is to get hold of a really good horse, and win a big race— for the honour and glory of the thing, for my friend races from pure love of the great game, and does not bet— went to the yearling sale at Hampton Court. He thought he should like a Springfield, and looking over the youngsters, spotted two which specially took 1 his fancy. Money was no particular objeot-r-that is to say, he did not care whether he gave a few hundreds more or less, laid out £1000 or £2000, particularly as there was always the chance of the horse turning a remunerative in- , vestment. However, of the two be had pipked, a colt and a filly, the former was put up first, and he bid fbt'W'w tosooga. Thisaprofessional adviser thought was about the value of the colt. vi John Porter; too, had evidently set his mind on it, and 1 ultimately tbe Kingsclere trainer secured the colt for 550gsi Soon after the filly was put up, and this my friend bought for 250gs, The animals, were' duly put into training. The filly, a pretty little mare that-; should have been useful, suddenly dropped down dead one day* tbe colt- was S»moin» winner of the Derby 1 ' Perfiaph the*<moral to : be drawn from this is that a man, if he is a judge of thoroughbred stock and means to buy, should stick to what he fancies % but then who can tell how a yearling will' turn out ? \ %* This week's mail from Australia tells . us tbat on the V.R.O. settling night Carbine was backed to win about £3000 at 100 to 6 in the Melbourno Cup, and 100 to 7 was the boat offer at the finish. Prince Consort had friends, who accepted a couple of thousands at 100 to 5 ; a line of 5000 to 125 was written about Correee ; and Gresford was fanoied to the tune of £3000 at 100 to 2, After tbe acceptances ' were out Cuirassier was a shade easier, and 100 to 5 waa obtainable about this bod of Frailty ; 1000 to 40 was booked about Tantallon, and 100to3oould be had about any other. . For, the Oaulfield Cup 1000 to 30 was wanted about Chintz, and 1000 to 40 was available bar one. Doncaater waa a noaninal favourite for the , A. J.O. Epßom Handicap at 1000 to 40, ajnd bar the son of the The Drummer 100 to 5 was on offer. For the double, the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, 5000 to 10 was 1 booked about Shootover and TiUn. V This paragraph is written by "Augur." "When Mr Brodribb purchased Titan I imagined that ho would reserve the celebrated gelding for tho V.R.O. Derby, but he informs me that in the event o' the eon of Chester keeping all right ho will send him to Randwiok to contort the blue riband of the A. J.O. Everybody « ill be anxious to see whether the groat two-year-old of last season has retained his form, and if he prove that them has been no deterioration, then the V.R C. Darby will be deprived of much of its interest. The a'take of our neighbours ought to be nearly lOOOsovb, i\nd thoraforo should be worth winning, but unleßS his owner and friends care to lay liberal odds I doubt if much money wil! be extracted from he Ring. There are several good performers engaged, and one of them is Mr G. G. Stead's colt Medallion, but the asfcnte New Zealander will probably reserve him for the Victorian event: but Dan O'Brien's Whimberel is on the spot, and doubtless ne will oppose Titan, for

the colt'a owner feels satisfied that .we have not yet seen the best of the son of St. Albans and Curlew,' Then there is Mr Donald; Wallace's filly Wilga, who once defeated Titan, but how Bhe defeated him is one of those turf mysteries whioh will never be unravelled ; yet in the meantime she will improve more than Titan and if so there may be another surprise ,in store for tbe Titanic brigade. Many good judgeß think that if Mr Brodribb's representative is to be defeated it will be by Gatling, who is now the property of Mr William Gannon. This colt is by Nordenfaldt from Petroleuße, by Oxford from Hartshorn, by Mountain Deer, and when not nearly himself he ran a very fair second to Titan. Then theie ia Newmimter's son Oorreze, who promised bo well at the cojnamencement of last season, but went off afterwards, and never quite regained the brilliant form he displayed' ia the early part of his career. This youngster may recover after the interregnum ; and if he does, then ,oveu Titnn may have to look 4 tb his' Inurjla, Argon \is another of whom' great', things nro expected. He is the good-looking brother of Blink Bonny, of whom I formed such 'great expectations when he was a' yearling; and though he has scored but one victory I do not despair of him turning out first-class. When I was at Randwick last spring there was another colt that struck me as being a real good one, and that was a son of Goldßbrough and Lady Laura, a wellfinished, lengthy youngster, with all ihe attributes of a racehorse. Still another was Ethelbert, who had met with a slight aooident which sent him into' enforced retirement for a time. He is by Goldsbrough from Ethel. , I like anything with a drop of Yattendon blood in its veins, and inasmuch as the dam of this coltloan lay claim to descent^from a real good family, I shall expect 1 to see him win a big race for Mr Gannon some day. Ethel is by Yattendon from Lady J Ho,oton, by Stockwell, and I expect it was because the colt's dam way sister to Sweet William that Mr Gannon bought him, albeit 'the Bweet one was bo badly treated by handioappers that his owner seldom had'muoh of a chance of winning with ' him. Ethelbert* is full brother to'Elderdale, who has not disgraced the family, and he is closely related |to Winifred, who won so easily , onSaturday, bo that he oomes' from a family which has produoed winners. There are others whose olaims are entitled to some respect, and the magnificent Gibraltar is one of them. Nor can St. Blaize be altogether overlooked ; but fit and well Titan ought to be able to give a good account of most of them, Whimberel and Gatling being the most dangerous of his op'po-, nents."

%* Last week mention was made of the feats performed during the season by Tirailleur, and how he had undoubtedly established his position as champion of the year. I propose to now say something of a few of the' other norsaß tbat distinguished themselves, and in looking round for what may be entitled to rank as the second best horse of the yeav— excluding' tbe two-year-olds for the present— we must, I' think, select Merrie England— a colt th%t though not really fit won four out of the six raoes in whioh he started, and earned credit even in his losses. This valiant son of Rupee— a great racing family this mare is the mater of — was supposed to be on tbe sick list all the early part of the Beason, and as a matter of fact did no' work of 'any cbfiiequence until' about the New Year, when' Lunn commenced ' toaend him', along with the view of taking part at the Dunedin Cup meeting. The inducement to get the colt fit if' pdßsible was all the greater when' the handicaps appeared, for it was evident that' 1 Mr Dowse had given him a good show. When, he came down everybody was on the look-ou^' to see what sort of trim he was in. .1 saw him do bis first gallop after arrival, and it was quite sufficient to satisfy me that ha. could win the 1 Publicans' Handicap if wanted, and that he 1 , was too backward to do anything in the Oup. That propheoy .turned out correot. Lunn wisely saved his colt for the shorter event, and won it with 'something tcMpare from Blizzard; - If the Oup bad been rue a fortnight later'the 1 result would, I think, have been Merrie. Etijj-' land first. On tbe second da; of the meetiqg hiß weight was. raised ,,tp, 8.8,, ipc the Jockey Club Handicap," and this. was jbeiievedLby the public to be too much for, him, aB he went out not so good a favourite as either Lady Florin or Occident. As it turned out, however, he beat all but the, underrated Blizzard. It was .really an excellent performance on the part pf Merrie England to get within a couple of lengths of Mr Goodman's colt when, the post was reached, as' Merrie 'England,' though the more backward of the pair, waVbonfceding 341b to one of his own, age. Slow to believe in the, excellence of this son of Rupee, the public preferred Pygma^io^.w the Railway' Plate, and went down' 'accordingly, \the hen-favourite winning without a' desperate 'effort. Thiß, however,.. was not : Pygmalion's best form, as. was subsequently 'proved by the running at .the. O, J.O. meeting. Merrie England's ' fourth, ■performance at the D. J.O. meeting waa in' the Marshall Memorial, and'- in this he Btarted at '3 to' 2 on and won' pretty easily, on being shaken up, from Freedom. > "That was the last we.saw of Rupee's aoh. Until Ih'e Easter gather-,, ing at Obrißt'oDUrahpwben''hef set the seal to hiß fame by( beating Dudu in the Great Autumn Handicap, 1 '■ Forthat event he seeded to be a good thing bo far as book f rirm went, and. I tipped him in the Witness, but I mußt con" f ess that on going up to Ohristchurch and Beeing him manifestly still short of perfect condition, while Dudu was' beyond'doubtas fit as a fiddle, I thought it was odds that the mare won. So did everyone'on the course who knew what wbb being done. One veteran trainer summed up the knowing folks' opinion aa to Merrie England's .chanoo when ha said, " If he win, it n not on the work he has done." Well, he did win, and thuß proved himself a .wonder, not bo much because he had a stiff weight, for we can tind an intrinsically better performance in Gipsy King's D.J.O. Handicap, but because he was only half fit. I think the effort he was oftHed on to make when White asked him for a continued run from the distance took something out of him, and left him a trifle jaded for the Challenge Stakeß next day, but apy way it waß no disgrace to be beaten by a pair bf two-year-olds that on that day were. If think, superior to any pair we have ever had in the colony. I verily believe that Merrie England is within 51b of Tirailleur, and at that difference, both fit and well, I would back the; Rupee boy against Florence Maoarthy's son. ' # * # Scots Grey must Qome next in order of merit among the all aged contingent His, New Zealand Oup Dorformance entitles, him to that diatinotion. Prior to that event ihe had maSo backs of Repose, Rosebud, and Wakatipu in the North Canterbury Oup, but it was in the more important handicap decided at Riocarton that we saw the knowing-looking son of Maid of Athol at his best, It is to his credit tbat, giving away 81b in weight, he forced Tirailleur 2o his top speed in tbo last quarter of a mile in fcbat event. In the light of Bubsequent i performances no hotter proof of Scots Grey'd ability noed be asked for. I do not know that .the Derby helped hiß roputation much, for itwas,not it Rreat feat to put down tbe disappointing Cynisoa, and Renata turned eutjto be )» fraud for the time being, while neither Peerswick nor Alsaoe oan be accepted aB good Derby) candidates. But Soots Grey ran a good racj in the Canterbury Cup, getting within three-quarters

of a length of Tirailleur in the fast time of 4min 3seo, and it was something to beat Dudu ro easily, even granting, as I now do willingly, that this mare is not a first-rate stayer. I declined at the time, and see no reason now to think otherwise, to regard Soots Grey's performance in the Exhibition Oup as hiß true form. The oolt had not, I think,, been trained for a long race, and when the first pinch oame, half a mile from horne 1 , he faded away almost as soon as he commenced to 'try at top speed. It was bf course a foregone conclusion that he would be beaten in the Onslow Plate, he being in tbat event asked to meet Tirailleur on equal terms ; but his 1 opportunity came in the shorter Jubilea Plate, in which ! ne iJaade a very fast run in the straight, and just pipped the unfortunate Reoluse. As Soots Grey was carrying 9.0, 1 put down his performance as a really good dne. The only other raoe in which Mr Stead's colt competed was the 0.J.0. Midsummer Handicap, for which, being! handicapped at 8.4, he Went ouf^rathtfr a better favourite than Sulcan and St.' Jameß. It is reported that the oolt was unluckily blooked at half the distance owing to Darrett endeavouring to squeeze him up on the inside. At any rate this was the point at which he was done with. He fell away last,' just' behind Sultan, and, though he made another run on the turn, it was of no avail, as he was oasily beaten in the run home by 1 Sultan, and even failed to catch Wakatipu, who had assumed the lead on Pursestring retiring from that position. Scotß Grey^B record for the season, put into figures, standsthus: Ran inlOraoeß, was thrice first, thrice second, twice third, and twice unplaced, and in stakeß he collared £1200. With Tirailleur out of the way Soota Grey would have been at the top of .the list of winning horses for the season, and I think he may: fairly ba placed third in point of excellence among the horßes on the' turf during 1889-90. %* After Scots Grey it is difficult td place the performers accurately in order of merit, and I do not know that we can find any worthy of being extolled as superior to Oooi Jent4-at any rate, whatever the relative abilities of the orackß may be, Occident is entitled to a place among them Beeing that he stands'seoond only to Tirailleur in "the order of the amount won in stakes. Perhaps this prominent position is somewhat due to luck, in that he had but weak opposition in the Exhibition Cup [for instance ; but on the other hand it was by pure , misfortune that he lost the Dunedin Oup, whioh he ought to have won by a dozen lengths. But lucky or unlucky, however, he is a good horßeiOf sbis plaea, being game, ,faat, and upj to a reasonable amount of weight. He commenced the' season by being twice defeated:; at jthe Hunt Olub meeting. This caused no surprise, as tho horse waß evidently unfit to raoe. Than he went ui> to Gbristohurch in November, ajnd, after running' unkindly with Chapman up' for twortbirds of the distance in the' New Zealand Oup, he .pulled himself together in time, to gain third place, which iB all he could e,ver have done even had he tried his best. After being, unplaced in the Stewards' Purse he was pulled out f6r tbe Consolation, which he won rather easily! from Ruby.' The latter was conceeding 41b, so that Occident proved bin self to be, Bay, the' equal of Ruby at a mile, which ia riot bad form. Then oame that never-toj-be' forgotton Exhibition meeting, at which | the son of The" West-carried "off the Oup and the President's \ Handicap. •' It, .is -confessed) by f everybody,, I think 1 , that he was) top 1 leniently .weighted, in', the last mentioned" event, and I think : he -could /have , won that as .easily ivith atiothe'r 51b on his baok ; but I shall maintain while my Benßes I 'remain ''"reliable that he,, would , never' hav.cf wton . the ' O ( up had Tirailleur started- , AH gcj^g'irid fit .and wellf the'tresult of, that raoe would haye Wen Tirailleur 1, Scots Grey. 2, Ocoident 3— the same &s the New Zealand Oup. <■ With Tirailleur y ith'drawn'and^Scots Grey' off 'ooldur,' Ocoiient could not well be, stopped^ for 1 they went on ; that day ; a poor lot of Tbijprses' tftat 'fin|phed in his rear, Oooident was beaten, badly in the St. Andrew's Handicap. ■■'■ The nexfctimo hV appeared waa in the Dunedin Cup, I'when1 ' when his ohanbe 'wajs'thrown awajpbya negleot'of riding orders. '.& bajcT.defeat in the D. J.O/'HaniJicap was the result ofjhe next attempt ; and .then Ocoidenv had~anoWer winning turn in the Forbury Handicap, in which 1 Jie 'made aA ex,ample of a fairly- good field, doing the mile and aquarter.in 2.13&. : Occident's last appearance for .tbe season, .was in ttje.D J.C.s Anniversary Handicap, iti' which he finished '.shird to Dis-, pute and Apres Moi. - Altogether, out pf 12 attempts, Ocoident has won four 'races, [bean twice Beoond, r> swice third, and four times unplaced. • , . .. ' "* * # * Hilda, who is another that has made a good name .during the season, did not, jnake a start until the season w,as well advanced, her first race being 'in the Auckland Oup,' for whioh she started first favourite, but was just; beaten out of a place. She had' only 8.0,^0 oarty. in that event. With 8,0 she was also unplaced in the Jubilee GapA, mile , and a-half, run in January j and in the following March, sop waa absolutely last (B.o'up) in the Wanganni t O.up,( won by Dudu (9.2) ; but at that same meeting % Bhe made amends lor previous, defeats bjjwin • ning the. Wanganui Stakes with. Bo.up,B o.up„u p, doing tha mile and a-half 'in 2.40, ana beating four good ones, including l 'P'udti;' who for her Cup witi'had been' raised to 9.12. A weakj later Hilda ran home an easy winnee.of the Hawke s Bay Oup, 8 9, doing the mile and three-quarters in the deoent time of 3min 6 2 foeo ; andwith 9.5 on her back she was second to Burd Helen (7 0) in the fast-run Burke Memorial, the mile and a-half being left in the rear in 2 39, whioh is just about as good a gallop as we saw |in the colony during the season. Tendayß'aterHildci was equal to the taßk of winning the Napier Cup with 9.5 'up, beating , a very fair Held; and she wound up her troubles for the season by a double win at the Auckland meeting, winning the Easter Handicap with 9.11 vp l in 2min 39* ec, and the Autumn Handicap with the crusher of 10.0 on her back, the mile and a quarter being done in 2min 14sep oh a heavy course, I doubt whether a much better performance than thip has ever been seen in the colony. Five wins out of 10 starts iB what Hilda haa to her credit, and she has won over £1000 in stakes. V Another Aucklander that has shaped well this season, is Leopold, though he hag had limited opportunities having rao9d at only two meetings. Thj first of these was the Auckland Spring fixt^^when ha twice ran second to Raglan, In the Prince i>f Wales Handicap he was giving his conqueror 81b and in the City Handicap there was a difference the other way of 91b, Raglan was at that time in great form, &cd it was no disgrace to ba beaten by him. His other meeting was the Summer fixture at Ellerslie. In the'Auokland Oup he was very patiently ridden by Lindsay and bad tbe finish all to himself, doinp; the two miles in 3min 33aeo ; th9n came hw defeat in the Racing Club Handicap, ha vainly endeavouring to give Lady Norah 41b|over a mile and a-half course j and his final race was tho Grand Stand Handicap, which ho won very easily with 8.9 up. This was really good form, and quite good enough to justify tbe owner in sending him ac-oas to compete for the Caulfield Oup in wbioh he will carry a pot of New Zealand money. Some people tell us that had' Leopold been', pressed he oould have broken the ,, two-mile ■record for tbe colony in the Oup,