TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 13 November 1890, Page 25

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEPPA. *** General entries for the Danedin Jockey Club's Spring raseting, at which a number of valuable stakes am to be run for, close at Mr Sydney James' office on Saturday night. %* The Auckland Club has resolved to license bookmakers to bet on its couree, and in so doing has taken a new departure, the effect' of which will be watohed with intoreot. It ia, I think, the first time that New Zealand has followed tbe practice in this respect obtaining in the Old Country and New South Walos and Victoria. Tn those places thera is of course no totalisator as yet. It will- come to them "as euro a? eggs is eggs," but for tbe time being they stick to the old customs. How will licensed bookmakora got on in a tolalißator country ? That is tbe question. lam pleased ! that the experiment is to be tried. Although a staunch advocate of tbe totalisator I should be very glad to see it demonstrated that respectable bookmakers can also get r, living, if only for the sake of ovmerß, who would then have a cbanco ' n i investing at pome sdvantoge over the outside public instead of being o-m-pell?d to g e t on at ptartinpr prices. Owners naturally grumble at boiug plftee^ in 'bat predicament. They argue, and vVh j-ieiic?, thai tha man who buys a horoo, pays for his oats, his shoes, his training, his physic, his nominations and acceptances, and his travelling, snd then takes the sole hazard of a breakdown, should be recompensed for the manifold rieke be runs by bainc: ablo to make a legitimate use of the knowledgo he should posaesp, and get the beßt and earliest price obtainable, leaving those who neither toil nor spin to glean in the market, The totalhator puts owners'

lon an equality in this respect with the man who does not eveu know the names of tha horses until be goes on to the course ;. and this it unjustj it ia the one great fault of tha totalisator system. This is a strong reason why bookmakers shou'.d not be crushed ; and, besides, a little healthy competition is good. The problem is whether such competition is possible. lam afraid it is not. A man who is licensed to wager cannot be prevented from regulating his priceß by the totalisator odds, even though he may profess not to do so. That would be expecting too much from human nature* And if the prices obtainable from tha men follow those shown on the machine, some of the business that is expeoted to go to the totahsator will be interrupted. That is where tha trouble will begin. However, we will hope for the best. The continuance or otherwise of the new practioe will depend largely on the behaviour of the lioensed bookmakers, If they are discreet, and adhere as closely as possible to the terms of their agraement, whatever they may be, trouble may be avoided. I for one hope that it will bo so. V The genial " Pendragon " has something to say about numbered saddle cloths. An Australian correspondent, be says, blows me up for something I wrote long ago— two years, certainly— adverse to the introduction of the antipodean system of making racers carry numbered saddle cloths. ' I went agaiust the plac at the time because of the riaks incurred by handing about one cloth from horse to horse —an objection that therein lay danger of comnunicating Fkin or worse disease, which waa deemed foolish and visionary. My friend from —or, rather, at— the other side of things terrestrial cannot make out why I Bhould be so fanoiful. Fanoiful lam not, but lam dead against fanoy business calculated to do very little good, and likely enough to do a great deal of harm. The idea of passing round saddle cloths provided by the management of a course is distasteful to clean trainers who know how roughly some horseß are kept and how poorly done. As to ruling absolutely that horHfls running at a meeting muat use the official cloth, that ia ridiculous. Carrying a number cloth of your own is different. I trust that Rafereaders follow me. They, will no doubt when I tell my colonial correspondent that at tbe praßent moment a lot of horeea over here are off colour with sore backs, humours warbles, and the like, indubitably incurred through contact with tainted saddles. A faahionablo jockey rides many horses day by day, and in Ibrb dpgree so do other riders. A saddle is taken off one horse one minuto and laid on another gee right away. If one animal is wrong, the very bast time to carry infection, or what is oalled contagion, 1b while a creature is sweating. To make sure of inoculation you could not desire more likely conditions than obtain during a race; and there you are. A trainei friend of mine assured me recently he had a whole string of thoroughbreds none of them fit to saddle, because of skin trouble, due, he was certain, to the onuses indicated here. I trust that my fri>md at a distance will kindly accept this intimation, I mean explanation. ♦*•' Of the dozen Middle Park yearlings submitted to au'otion last week only six found purchasers, but it was not a sacrificing Bale regardless of prices, for the company refused to part with tba brother to Thackeray at 175gs and also held on to Fair Noll's oolt by St. George, deeming him to be worth more than the 475g5, bid after a spirited competition between several would-be buyers, including Mr Ray and Mr Ormond. The average obtained for the Apremonts that were quitted waa over 87gs and for the St. Georges 30gs. These are not high prices, and, as I have Baid before, I think it would pay the company to reserve more of its lots and race them in preference to selling at a low figure ; but it must be remembered that the withdrawal of a couple of the best ones brought down the average. None of the yearlings came to Dunedin, but Mr M'Master owner of Riohlako and Sincerity, aeoured one of the batch for the Oamaru distriot. Of the Russley yearlings, Mr M'Master paid top price for a filly by Albany out of Siesta; and Mr D. Rutherford got a bargain out of the miscellaneous consignment whdn he scoured Ixion at 200gs. %♦ The conference held at Ohristchurch during race week did nothing of importance excepting to enact that the added money to only one selling race per day be computed as part of the added money for the purposes of Rule 22. This ib reasonable and neoossa y to prevent club' dodging tho obligation of those rules whioh govern the issuing of totalisator licenses, and it is in accordance with provisions lately brought into force in other countries. The question of revising' the rules with regard to defaulters, and adopting the English ones in preference o our own, was relegated fco another conference to be held during the Parliamentary session at Wellington ; and the important proposal to ostablish a New Zealand Jookey Olub also stands over. The motion by Mr Clifford to adopt the constitution as drafted at the last conference was n;et by an amendment by the Hon. G. M'Lean that consideration be postponed, and after a discußsion, in whioh the delegates from Hawka'a JSay 5 Wellington, Marlborough, and Canterbury supported the motion, while those from Dunedin, Taranaki, and Nelson favoured the v amendment, Mr Clifford withdrew his motion, and the amendment was carried. The proposal is therefore shelved for six months or thereabouts. There is no reasongivan why this course waß preferred to taking a direct and final vote on the subject, but I euppoße the idea would be to obtain mote fuily the voic? of tbe wholo oouutry on the question. So far us we know, Otago is the only district in which fcho rui3l constituencies have been formally consulted. Bofore leaving this eubject I may be permitted to remark that the plan followed at this conference of taking tbe voting on the h"i«is t f one voto for each olub does not seem to be the wisest course that could have beat* adopted, In Canterbury and Otago there are subordinate clubs which are to all intents and purposes larger concerns than the smallest metropolitan clubs, and to give Marlborough and TaraDaki an equal voica at the conference with Canterbury and Olago is unfair and opposed to tho practice obtaining in ordinary business. %* The annual meeting of the Clutha Club was hßld last week. The seoretary, Mr Dunne, read a statement of the receipts and • expenditure for tho pact year, showing that all the y oar's accounts had boen paid, as well as one or two items left over from the previous ynars, and loaying a credit balance of £46 4s 6d. Mr Fleming ?aid tbe balance shoofesdiscloaod a very satisfactory state of affairs, which he attributed to the energetic and capable munner in which the secretary bad carried out his duties, wh^m he regarded as the right man in tho right place. The e'.eoiion of officebearers resumed as fo'lows :— President, Mr S nclair "/right ; vice president, James Taylor; treasurer, Mr John Dunne: secretary, Mr W. F. Dantso; barter, Mr A. Hcv/itacn ; jpdu-o. Mr D. T. Flnming ; clerk ' f scales, Mr W Maker : clork of course, Mr Simon Wright; rte wards— Mearrs John Dunce, Simon Wright, O. Dabinott, G. Thomson, J. Morrinon, D. M'Donald, H. C. Cameron, Jobn M'Corley, and P. H. Black-ley. Mr T. A. Rob^rtßon wrote resigning his position as handicap per, and the same waa accepted with regret. Mr G. Dowse was

ppointed to the vacanoy. tt was resolved to . ote Mr Robertson £5 in appreciation of his ervices for the past year, and it was also re olved to allow the secretary 5 per cent, on the total receipts of the past year. The annual race meeting was fixed for Saturday, January 3. Last year's programme was adopted, the money being increased in two or three races, and an extra race, a maiden trot, inserted. It was agreed to join the New Zealand Trotting Association.

%* Continuing our summary of English raoing, it is to be recorded that on the 6th September, the day of the S&ndown Park meeting, the Abbey Stakes, a five-furlong raoe of 5008OVS for two-year-olds, brought out a field of six. The public could not pick the winner, and odds of 3 to 1 were obtainable about either Kenley, Tudor, or the Prince of Wales' filly Nandine. Of these, Tudor could boaßt of having finished third in the Gimcrask Stakes at York to Royal Stag and Junius, and here in an exciting finish be just struggled home by a head from Epping Forest, with Kenley a length from the pair. Tudor is a eon of Avontes and Miss Elizabeth, and having furnished a sharp competition he was knocked down to William Stevens for 670gs.

%* Three days' spell for sportsmen enabled all with money to spare and with time to spend to journey to Doncaster to the St. Leger meeting. The weather was gljrious for tbe opening day on the 9th, the only fault being that the heat was overpowering, The second race of the day brought about a particularly popular viotory, the Prinoe of Wales, notably Unlucky at raoing, having the satisfaction of landing the 200aovs in the Clumber Plate with a two-year-old filly called Pierrette, by Mask out of Poetry. She started at 6to 1 and got home nearly a length from the favourite, Yorkshireman. The Great Yorkshire Plate, of lOOOaovs, a handicap run over the old St. Leger course, brought out 10 starters, Padua being top weight with 9.0. Tbe favourite was Mr Hammond's Crimea (4yrs, 7.9). Mounteagle (Syrs, 8 10) made the pace for a mile and a-half, when five others dosed on him, of whom the last was Silver Spur (4yrs, 8 5), but this filly had the luck to get a clear run on the inside from the distance, and she made such use of her opportunity as to rush right through and win by a length and a-half from Curfew (3yrs, 7.10). having compassed the course in a shade less than 3min 21seo. Silver Spur is by Chippendale, out of Silver Peel, by Friponnier, out of Novice, by Marsyas. Last year Mr J. Lowther's Houndsditoh (3yrs, 6.11) won in 3min 14 4-ssec, and credited his owner with £930; while in 1888 the Duke of Beaufort's Button Park (syrs, 7.6) ocoupied 3min 15sec, the stakes amounting to the same sum ; in 1877 Mr Wardle's Merry Duoheas (syrs, 82) won in 3min 15seo, the race being worth £790. The battle between Orvieto and Haute Saone for the Champagne Stakes was invested with a great deal of interest, but though he had been looked upon as the ohampion oolt of the season, the odds betted on Mr Houldsworth's Orvieto were upset by the French-bred daughter of Tristan and Hauteur, who finished the race in the gam'est manner. Tbe only other starter was an unnamed colt by Galopin oat of Patchwork, and tbe field of three was the smallest since Cremorne's succesßin 1871. This Champagne Stake was instituted in 1823, and has been won by suoh notable horses as The Colonel, Beeswing, Flying Dutobman, The Marquis, Lord Clifden, Ely, Achievement, Kaiser, Camballo, Oharibert, Hauteur, Minting, and Ayrshire. %• A report of the race for the St. Leger has already appeared in these columns, and therefore it is unnecessary to again go into details. It was proved, against the judgment of many racing men, that Memoir's stoppage in her work did her no harm— perhaps the reverse was the case — for tbe race was run at a sound pace throughout, so sound, indeed, as to find out all the non stayers and dicky-legged oneß, and Memoir was not one of these, inasmuch as she covered the coarse in 3min 13 3-ssec. Donovan's time last year was Smin 133e0. The value of the stake was £5150, the largest since Iroquois won in 1881, Gonsalvo furnished the surprise of the raoe in finishing third, his chance having been considered co hopeless that 200 to 1 was procurable about him at the start. Last year Miguel, a colt also belonging to -Mr Gretton, somewhat unexpectedly ran into second place when representing a33to 1 chance. The field of 20 that contested the Portland Plate on the third day was the largest since 1876, when Lollypop won, and no race could have been productive of a more exciting finish. L'Abbesse de Jouarre ran in the earnest possible manner, and beauti fully bandied, by Watts, who iB just now in rare form, she won by the shortest of beads. She carried 9 0, and ran the five furlong 152 yds in luoin 12 l-saeo. There was a regular riot when Noble Chieftain came in first for the Whamoliffe Stakeß. He is a regular in-and-outer, and in come instances the remarks concerning the inconsistency of his form have led to libel actions being instituted by Lord Penrhyn against oertain newspapers. On this occasion the public would not believe that bis tunning the previous day was " straight," and when he cantered in a winner their feelings boiled over to suoh an extent that groans and hisses took the place of the customary cheers as the horse made his way back to the weighing room, with Mr Clayton at his head. Nor was the disaffection cooled ia tbe time afforded for reflection whilst T. Weldon was weighing in, and no sooner had the "All right" been declared than there was another outburst of bad feeling, an i a rush was made for Mr Clayton, wbo manages Lord Penrbyn's racing stud, and who stood near tbe horse. Fortunately for the gentleman in question there was a good posse of police at hand, and they surrounded him and undoubtedly saved him from the violence of the excited crowd.

%* From well-informed visitors to the Ghristchurch meeting I learn that tbe purest information at the last moment about tho New Zealand Cup was to the effect that either Jet d'Eau or Orackshot would win. These were the two that were supported by their respective partisans with the greatest spirit. Jet d'Eiu's trial is S'.id to have beea of a very high order, but he ran a r3al bad one, not only in that he seemed to bo not fast enough but in that he showed temper. We cannot disbelieve the reports of his work in private, and the only explanation of his rightdown worthless performance is that he is an arrant deceiver, totally unroliable. Such a boree as that is" of less value than a slower one who is honest, and it ionot to be wondered at that his party did not follow him up in the Metropolitan. One Buoh exhibition as he gave them in the Cup was sufficient to choke anybody off. As lo Crackshot, well, in the light of subsequent events he' ought to have won, and yet his defeat fa amply explained by the fact that ho hit him&olf badly in the race- lam told that he has a prodigious stride, and brings his hind feet so far forward that when ijoing at top he Btrikes his foreleg*, just m Maxim used to. When he walked in aft9r tho Ouo his forelegs were bleeding and had lha appearance of having been epokeshaved down the back sinews — that ib how one of tbe bystanders described tbe look of hi:n to me, If that is ao, his defeat is easily accounted for ; and probably it is true, since Crackshot was altogether out cf it at the ".owli, and that was too b»d to be his real form.

Exception has been taken to the manner in which he was ridden in beitig raced from the fall of the flag ; but I am 1 told that the colt had been tried to beat Manton's record, and that Mr Butler had seen enough of him to be satisfied as to bis ability to stay the whole journey. In view of this, perhaps it was not so foolish as it seemed to be to Bend him away from the jump-off. His game was to burst up his opponents in the first mile; and but for bad luck it is likely that he would have done so, and cantered in a winner. Then we should have applauded the judgment of his owner and rider. As to Crackthot's subsequent form, he hit himself again in the Derby, I am told, and that was enough to explain his defeat ; but no Buoh bad luck befell nim in the Canterbury Cup, and perhaps the day's rest also helped him, so that he was able to turn the tables on Medallion and Freedom. If these statements are true, and I am satisfied that they are, then the seemingly inconsistent running of Medallion, Freedom, and Orackshot is fully explained without coming to the conclusion that the owners were parties to a conspiracy.

♦ # * As to other horses that ran prominently at the meeting, Wolverine won the Cup very easily under his light weight, but the handicappers quickly got his measure, for 8 4 found him out in the Metrop., and with 9.0 he was unable to get a place in the mile raoe on the third day. From which series of facts we are warranted in concluding that he is no wonder. Strephon is another who cannot abide a serious uplifting of weight, or so it would seem from his defeat with 8.7 in the Jockey Club Stakes. Occident neither gained nor suffered in his reputation. He ran only once, that being in the Cap, in which he had about half a stone more than he could manage, and was just beaten for places. I think that bar Oraokshot be is as good a stayer tinder a reasonable handicap as anything that Han at the meeting. Freedom was admittedly at bis best, and as hiß performances were only moderately good we may conclude that he is no wonder — a good seoond-rater, perhaps. Dudu Bbaped fairly well ; Whisper ditto ; Kotuku proved that she is hardly equal to holding her own in the best company ; and of St. Andrew, the conclusion forced upon us is that he is a good miler and nothing more. *«* Concerning the two-year-olds, there is no one bright particular star amongst them. Na Moa won the Weloome, but was nowhere in the Electric Stakes ; and the relative form of Florrie, May, Lebel, and Cajolery is snmewhat puzzling. We have yet to discover the champion two-year-old of the season. Among the jumpers The Spy was undoubtedly the hero, and good judges are quite in love with him, conoeiving that he will prove an out-and-out stayer and up to any moderate weight. It is said that he was rather short of work, and had not quite finished his education over the sticks. We may look out for him at the back end of the season. Leaving our correspondent to speak further about the doings at the carnival, I dismiss the subject with one more remark, and that is that ,the handicapping on the third day seems to have been very much above the average, and that in regard to the handicapping generally the results in many instances showed that the committee's judgment was superior to that of backers.

**♦ Thereportof the Taierimeetingappearing in another column is'so complete that there is very little left for me to say. Galtee, ' winner of the Maiden and Stewards' Welter, is one of the best horses the district has produced. He is a nice-looking colt, with good action, and as game and honest as they make them. When he is more forward in condition he will perhaps be heard of in more important contests. On the other hand, Honeysuckle, the other debutante, is a disappointment so far, though she may improve, for she is not altogether devoid of promise. Jack, who broke down in the Maiden when holding a strong lead, is an aged . stallion by Maribyrnong, the sire of Wildboy. Ha was particularly fit, and had done a trial good enough to beat Galtee's time, though the latter could have gone a bit faster if pushed. M'Grath rode a very fine raoe on Milord, and just got up in time to beat Oinnabarfor the chief handicap. Many of us thought it was a dead heat, but Mr VV. Smith (the judge) gave us his decision without hesitation, and only waited to see the horse brought bank before publicly declaring it. The verdict was a win by half a head in the last stride. M'Grath oeemed to cut the finish too fine, but as a matter of fact the horse stumbled in the straight when called on for his final run, and it was a wonder that he got up at all, as Cinnabar is a bad one to beat when she is leading. Dunville ran very badly, and was apparently in difficulties all the way. As to the rest of the raoing, all that need be said here is that several of the trotters seemed to be out for an ailing, that Gazelle would probably have won the Flying but for the accident, and that the public had reason to be displeased with the poor performance of The Don in the Stewards' Purse. He really did not seem anxious to interfere in what was to all intentß and purposes a match between Galtee and Linden. The amount phased through the totalisator by Messrs Mason and Roberts was about £120 less than at the last November meeting. %* Concerning the Winton meeting, the Southland Times, whose report in an abridged form appears elsewhere, states that there was a gocd attendance, and over £2000 was paused through the totalisator by Messrs Mason and Roberts. The improvements effeoted since last meeting added greatly to the comfort and convenience of owners, their steeds, and the public generally. A long oovered-in shed has been erected at the back of the saddling paddock in which waiting horses can be comfortably sheltered, the secretary has now a enug little den of hiß own, and the judge oan perform his duties unmolested by the eager and intrusive spectators. The heavy rains had rendered the ground sloppy— in aome places the horses bad to .splash through water pools and in others to plough their way through patches of thick mvd — but still the races were fairly good, though some of the results might havo been different had the course been firm, dry, and bard. In one event, the Trot, the time was excellent, and in others it was by no means disgracefully blow. A few showers fell during the afternoon, one or two particularly drenching in their effects, but on the whole the weather was not nearly so disagreeable as had been expected, and there wpb no cause for serious complaint. The various officers of the club discharged their duties efficiently, and if the receipt and payment back by the totalisator of money invested < n scratched horses be excepted, no hitches occurred to mar one of the most successful meetings yet held in Winton. %• The following are the results of the Momahaki race meeting, which took place on tho 28th October :— Handicap Hurdle Race, of £20, one and a-lmlf— Whalebone 1, Commotion 2. Flying Handicap, of £20, threequarters of a mile — Sbe 1, White Rose 2, Waltonia 3. Maiden Plate, of £10, one mile—Conspiracy 1, 2, Cyrus 3. Momahaki Cup Handioap, of £50, one mile and a-half— Chrißtmas 1, The Peer 2, Satyr 3. Post Stakes, of £10,»half a mile— Kapai 1, Viola 2, Miss Dauphin 3. Railway Plate Handiaap, of £20, one mile and a-quarter— Ohrißtmas 1, White

Rose 2, She 3. Forced Handicap, of £10— i Javelin 1, Satyr 2, Cyrus 3. I %* Some Australian writers say plainly that an inqtiiry should have been held into the Reversal ot form lately shown by Enuc and Yengeanoe. Eriuo rail very badly in the Toorak Handioap oh the Oaulfield Guineas day, and then came out with a brilliant performance in the Cup which, but for bad luck, would have landed bim tbe winner. Tbe explanation vouchsafed is, chat in his first raoo he stopped dead when prodded with the spurs, and that Anwin rode bim without hooks in the Cup. In commenting upori the. Caulfield Cup race, a writer in an Adelaide exchange has the following strong remarks anent the victory, of Vengeance :— " There was a good deal of excitement over tbe win of suoh a comparative outsider, but little or no cboering, as the same horse a few days ago ran nowhere in the Victoria Club Handicap, won by Precedence. „ It was freely stated that the ntewardß ware going to bold an inquiry, but as thay were seen shaking hands with the owner, the wealthy Mr Blackwood, who was congratu lated by the Governor, the lookers on supposed that the stewards had been told of the good thing, and had their bit on Vengeance before he started. The rumour about an inquiry was circulated through the city in the evening, but as Mr Blaokwood entertained his friends at a big supper at the Melbourne Club the rumour must have been unfounded. He is said to have won £19,000 by the clever coup. Mr Harrie Smith, the new V.R.O. official steward, was on duty for the first time, and it would be interesting to learn what are his views on tbe subject, or what they would have been had the horse belonged to a labourer, suoh aB a trainer, instead of a wealthy capitalist." *** The Victoria Racing Club's meeting Was all that it was hoped to be. There was beautiful weather, a large attendance, and open racing by apparently well matched fields of horses. The first event was pretty well spotted for a Maiden Plate, for, though the first favourite was beaten, it was only by one horse, and the three placed horses were well backed. With 11 to oppose him, Carbine went out at- 3 to 1 on him for the Melbourne Stakes, and made a holy show of the lot, while Gresford, who is one of the best of the three- year-olds, bad the honour of beating Melos for second money. When the weights for the Hotham Handioap were issued Claremont was at once pounoed on as a good thing, and he remained in demand until the flag fell ; but the running proved that the handicapper had not made a mistake in this direction, as the supposed good thing did not even run into a place. By the way, there is something wrong about the time as cabled across. It would indeed be phenomenal if anything got over 12 furlongs and a distance in 2 17|. Mr S. G. Cook's friends may conBid er themselves luoky in getting 2 to 1 at the post about Tbe Admiral for the Derby, especially as Titan and Gibraltar were absentees. The race was more open than the Derby usually ib, but in a field of eight it is strange tbat the most fancied one was not made a level money dbanoe. It turned out to be a slow-run race, and The Admiral came near losing it at the finish after having his opponents apparently Battled at the distance. We shall have to wait to see what tbe spectators have to say about the raoe, but I expect it will be found that they are not quite clear that The Admiral has established his olaim to be considered the best of his ape, in the full sense of the term that such heroes as Grand Flaneur and Trident were. The following table shows tbe