TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2107, 12 July 1894, Page 28

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY HAZEPFA

*#* The result of the iiujuiry into the running of Timothy in the Wellington Hunt Club's Open Steeplechase is that the trainer (Kenneth M'Kenzie) is disqualified for six months, John Gravestock (the rider) for three months, and the horse for three months. Mr Henry, owner of the horse, is entirely exonerated. The Wellington Racing Club, as the metropolitan of the district, at once endorsed the disqualißcations thereby preventing Timothy from racing at the Wairarapa Hunt Club meeting, but in doiog so the W.R.C. added that it considered the suspension as altogether too light, wherefore the Hunt Club was recommended to reconsider its verdict.

*#* On the question of firing horses, recently alluded to in these columns, Basil Gray has a few pertinent remarks in the Australasian. I am glad to find, he writes, such undoubted authorities as Messrs H. W. Hooper and O. W. Blake have discredited the very brutal and worse' than useless practice of firing horses for all or any ailments they are subject to. I have long since tried to impress this on those of my horsey friends who believe in this cruel treatment for unsoundness. It may be that the time given to recover from this treatment does effect a cure, but the treatmeut never. The stock argument of its advocates that it acts as a permanent bandage does not hold water for a second. All it can do is to destroy the elasticity of the skin so far as it is cauterised, but the strip between, say, half of the whole, is still left elastic, and called upon to do double the duty. Ido trust that veterinary science will shake' off this horribly inhuman and useless treatment, and use those much more efficacious and humane remedies which I need not point out to them.

*#* Apsley, winner of the V.R.C. Grand National Hurdles on Saturday, is the horse that showed winning form at the last Caulfield meeting, after which he was made a strong favourite for the Flemington event, and started at the comparatively short price of 3to 1. He seems to have won easily. Ixion, in whom the hopes, of New Zealanders were to some extent placed — I ssy "to some extent," since, though they backed him, it was rather against their judgment, as he has been too long on the shelf — finished third, and that is as much as could be expected of him. But those on the scene of action who stickby the Maoriland representatives would have a good day of it after all, as Steadfast, ,the half-brother to Lochiel, won the Winter Handicap. Mr W. R. Wilson's patience with this very disappointing horse has at last met with some slight reward, though he will have to do something further to make himself out quite worthy of his parentage. ' A Melbourne cable states that the following is the betting on the Steeplechase :— 5 to 1 agsb Corangamite, 7 to 1 Frantic, 10 to 1 Mikado, Trojan, and Dondi, 25 to 1 Mutiny.

*** Mr John Henderson, of Waitaki North, is willing to dispose of his stallion Taiaroa, the well-known) son of Tubal Cain and Ace of Hearts. What a sterling performer this strapping chestnut was) and how he lasted, notwithstanding his great size. He must have been uncommonly sound. Up to his own distance there were few better horses in New Zealand in his day, and he was not altogether destitute of staying power, as witness the way in which as a young four-year-old he hung it out in" the St. Andrew's Handicap, beating* Lady Emma by a length in the respectable time of 2min *3sec for the mile and a-half, and, further, the manner in which he disposed of Rubina that season in the Publicans' Handicap, then run at a mile and a-quarter, the big horse beating Dan O'Brien's slippery mare by six lengths, and Salvage, who bad just previously won the Auckland Cup, following the pair home. I well remember, a'so, Taiaroa's clever performance the next season in the C J C. Craven Stikes, then a mil 6 and a-quarter. Those that followed him homeon that occasion were Johnny Faulkner, Nelson, Rubina, and Marion. But his special weakness was for welter handicaps at about seven furlongs or a mile. .As a consistent performer, Taiaroa was a great pet with the public. I should imagine that for such a horse there will be no 'difficulty in finding a purchaser. If not sold, Taiaroa is to travel this spring in the Maniototo district.

*** The Victorian Parliament has once more declined to allow the totalisator to be legalised. The second reading of the bill introduced to the Lower House by ; Mr Murray and Captain Taylor bas been defeated by 28 to 16 on its second reading. The small figures seem *"* to indicate that the question was not viewed with much interest. The bill thus thrown out provided for one-third of the net profits derived from the machine being paid over to the Government for distribution among the charities. Very odd it seems, when one looks squarely at the position, that the opposition to so useful a measure should be sustained. Do the legislators pretend to think that there is no betting in Victoria, and that they are acting in the interests of morality in declining to allow netting to become a custom ? Or is it arguable that betting which all takes place in the ytar, for cash, and oq the racecourse a'one, and which can be measured to the last sovereign, is not to be preferred to that class of wagering at present obtaining ? Very strange, indeed, it would be, were the refusal to legalise the totalisator associated with any such considerations. Not so strange, however, is the situation in the light of the simple truth, which explains the whole system of humbug, that the influence of the Ring is compelling legislators to vote against The People's Friend and the Bookmakers' Enemy. But perhaps it does not properly become a New Zealander to say these things when the fact may be read in every daily paper that the lawmakers of our own colony, which enjoys the benefits of the machine, are having set debates as to whether the totalisator should or should not be regarded as an 1 evil. If our members truly represented ! the People they would let well alone and alknf

the truth to be manifest that the tot&lisator has made racing a comparatively clean and decent sport in New Zealand, thus permitting ouv experieuce to have some weight in directing the course of events on the other side.

*** The two stallions which the proprietor of the Warrington s ud places at the service of the public this season are St. Clair and Rubezahl. Both of these thoroughbreds have valid and tangible claims to patronage. Of St. Clair it may be said as a prominent recommendation that he is a Musket. The bare fact is sufficiently eloquent, but I may again remark that it is Musket blood that English breeders now want. But St. Clair is also exceptionally well bred on the maternal side, his dam being the imported Pulchra, who was selected in England by so sound a judge as Mr Stead. What great names stand out in her pedigree — Rosicrucian, Formosa, and Buccaneer ! There is no finer array of quality in any horse's genealogical table. Besides being exceptionally well bred, St. Clair has got racers. Beadonwell is , a representative that would do credit to auy sire. And if further facts in his favour are needed, I would remind the public that St. Clair is an unusually vigorous horse of excellent constitution. This counts for a great deal. Some horses when sent to the stud have passed through such a wearisome career on the turf that they would be thankful to lie down and sleep out the remainder of their existence They are in somewhat the plight of the much-harassed maid of all work who, when on her deathbed, was asked by the minister as to her views about heaven and replied that she was going to do nothing for ever and ever. St. Clair was notraced off his legs, but retired fall of spirits and animal vigour, and he is now in his prime. That is the sort of horse to breed from. The other stallion which tbe Hon. G. M 'Lean offers to the public is the highly-bred Rubezahl, who also left the post for the paddock at at early stage. He is sire of Dilemma, one of the fastest horses ever started in the colony, as was proved when he ran second to St. Hippo in that very fast New Zealand Cup of 20 months ago. The terms on which these stallioDs' services can be procured are not unreasonable by any means, and I expect the pair will have a good season.

* # * The last has been seen of Wakatipu, the 1884 brother to Chic* go, bred by Mr Reynolds, in New South Wales, got by imported Drummer from the New Warrior mare Corisande, this horse having recently died in the Tauranga district. Wakatipu made his first appearance on the turf in the Juvenile Plate at the Canterbury Spting meeting of 1886, being then a two-year-old, weighted at 7.7. Ho had no say in the result. The race was won by Mirella. Mr Pilbrow then brought him to Dunedin for the Cup meeting, and had a go in the Hopeful Stakes, for which he carried 6.10, and again failed to secure a place, the race being captured by Teddy Yuille 7.5 No better luck attended his venture in the Russley Stakes at Riccarton in the autumn, and he retired to winter quarters with a threefold defeat to his debit. Absolutely his first win was in- the Consolation at Geraldine in 1887, when he managed to get home by a couple of lengths from Presto, who was conceding a couple of pounds, and hiß second success was in the St. Valentine's Handicap at New Brighton, after which he settled Haka and others in the Maiden at Dunedin, and in the autumn secured the Con* eolation at Christchurcb, by which time he was running in the nomination of Mr J. R Brown. As a four-year-old Wakatipu ran 10 times, and his only win was in the North Canterbury Autumn Handicap, in which he carried Mr Lunn's colours, and was ridden byßobby Ray, who also had the mount when this disappointing horse scored his^ solitary success as a five-year-old, this being in the Place Handicap at the Wellington meeting in February. In this season, carrying the jacket of Mr R. Ray, Wakatipu was, however, placed in the Exhibition Cup, behind Occident and St. James ; he ran second to Sultan in the Midsummer Handicap ; was third to Cynisca and Dudu in the Wellington Cup ; and second to Dudu in the Wan ganui Cup. Performances of this sort encouraged some people to keep on backing him, but he never brought off the expected coup, and when he was finally sold to go to Poverty Bay he owed his southern backers a nice little sum. Up north he did much better, placing to Mr Parsons's credit the Park Stakes, of lOOsovs, at Gisborne, and the double of the Turanga Stakes (200sovs) and Tradesmen's Handicap (120sovs) at the Poverty Bay meeting. These were his last wins, and his farewell appearance, after running unsuccessfully through his e even-year-old season, was in the Birthday Handicap at Waerenga-a-hika in May of 1892. Since then, I understand, Wakatipu has been at the stud, located latterly at Tauranga.

*** The English budget last to hand includes a report of the Whitsuntide Plate at Manchester. La Sagesse, whose previous appearances had all been successful, was made an odds on chance, but she made a very poor show in the race, which was won by Mr C. Trimmer's Hopbine, a colt by Despair out of Vixen, who was making his first public appearance, and raced so well that good judges now think he could have beaten the favourite at level weights. At Newmarket, however, La Sagesse was set an easier task than she had at Manchester, and with odds of 2 to 1 betted on her she readily disposed of the opposition in the Breeders' Plate, having the verdict safe, in fact, more than a quarter of a mile from home. The daughter of Wisdom and St. Mary has now won five of the six events in which she has taken part this season, and has proved a bargain to Sir J. Miller, who bought the filly for slogs when the racing stud of thelate Mr G. A. Baird came under the hammer last year. For the Newmarket Handicap on the same day, in a field of six, Beauclerc's three-year-old son Clwyd upset the odds laid on Contract. The attraction of the second day was the Newmarket Stakes, in which Ladas made his appearance. But it was only to look at him, not in the hope of a race, that the public rolled up, for 100 to 8 was betted on the crack, and the second favourite went out at 100 to 6 against. As expected, Ladas won in the easiest possible style, and the time was miserably slow. Tho winners of this event for the past halfdozen years are a3 follows : — 1889, Donovan 9.0 ; 1890, Memoir 8.10 ; 1891, Mimi 8.11 ; 1892, Curio 9.0 ; 1893, Isinglas 9.0 ; 1894, Ladas 9.0. J. Watts, who steered Ladas to victory, won the race on Memoir in 1890 and on Mimi in the following year. On the third day the Payne Stakes came up for consideration, and of the seven runners Lord Cadogan's Stowmarket, who was made favourite, simply played with his field, as when allowed to have his head he left his opponents in the lurch, and was a hollow winner by half a dozen lengths from St. Hilaire. The winner was bred at the Yardley stud and bought by his present owner at 500gs. The field for the Payne Stakes has never reached 11 since Mr Stead's Splendor won in 1883. At this meeting the Bret by Plate was won by The Undecided, a colt by Royal Hampton or Harpenden from Bonnie Rosette, a Barcaldine mare, now in the St. Albaus stud Since she arrived in Victoria Bonnie Rosette has foaled a colt to Hagioscope, and she is now i" foal 'o Trenton.

*** Haying gone through the New Zealand Cup handicap and noted the way the best-known horses are brought together on weight and form, it may be as well to devote a little consideration to other questions of importance to backers — as to present condition, soundness, &c., so far as there is information to hand. Beginning with Merganser, it is obviously wise to leave her alone in the meantime She has been on the shelf for a season, and the public can have no assurance of her soundness. Let Mr Rathbone gather the cream of the market if he wants it. Prime Warden, too, is not a particularly good investment. He has never been seriously amiss, but his erratic performances at Dunedin may have some cause, and anyway he is not an improving horse. Au Revoir, on the contrary, is showing better form every time he races, and those backers who are determined to take a long shot might do worse than invest a little on his chance. So, also, with Hippomenes, this being a horse that has not yet run his best race. I hear it whispered that he may go to Riccarton a month in advance this year, so as to lessen the chance of his going off his feed at the eleventh hour. As for Liberator, I would soonetlback him at the post than now. He is not the sort of horse that can be expected to keep his form, and there is a risk of accident every time he runs in a hurdle race. Rosefeldt's only chance of repeating last year's victory is in coming to the post in tip-top trim and meeting a poor lot> At present there is no assur* ance tha l ; she will have such luck. Backers should wait for posit ye news about Clanranald's soundness before speculating on his chance. Skirmisher will be a fair medium of investment shoxild the owner positively decide to keep this colt in New Zealand instead of sending him to Melbourne; not till then. Saracen has b'.en for some time regarded as likely to visit Australia, so we will not have him in the meantime A long shot at an outside price aboutßangipuhi might pay; but I shall expect him to pay a decent dividend at the finish if he gets home. One of the best horses in the race to back early, if a man will adopt such a course, is Pegasus, of whose soundness no doubt is entertained. I would by far sooner have him than Vogengang. As to Lady Zetland, I have no advice to offer. Beadonwell and Impulse should be left alone for the present, and the same remark applies to loh Dien and Dilemma. I have rather a liking for Royal Rose, though on form he is not a model of consistency.

* # * In regard to Lottie this may be remarked, that we very often see mart s who run well up to the end of one season go right off in the ensuing spring. Lady Emma used to do that regularly. To those who do not object to mares on general principles I should say that Dreamland is a better investment than Lottie. But I would sooner have Monte Carlo than either. This fellow has »n outside chance. They tell me that Pinrose is heaps better than' his form would make him out to be, and that his party have secured over £2000 from the ring about him. I mention the matter so that the public may know all that is to be known, but would at the same time add that I cannot endorse a recommendation which largely rests on private form. Pinrose has so far done nothing to warrant me in giving him a show. Shoula Raugiatea show up well on the tracks in a couple of months' time, I fancy he may be worth taking a shot about. Three Star is in Australia. It will be time enough to think about him when he returns. Scot Free is not worth backing now, for should he start and win he will pay 100 to 1, or pretty nearly that price. Captive also will be an outsider if he comes to the post. Outpost is a risky inveitment till proved sound, and as we may see Magazine racing next month, a consideration cf his case can stand over. We now reach a crowd of candidates regarding whom very little advice can be given either for or against, for the reason that we don't know very much about them. Some of them look really tempting to speculators on the particulars furnished in the list Lakeshell, for instance, a four-year-old son of Lochiel and Nautilus with only 7.3, and Reflector, another Lochiel of the Fame age, with bub 6.13 ; and Goosander, sister to Merganser, with 6.12. If either of these should win we shall have backers telling one another afterwards that they might have guessed it — such a well-bred one with a very light weight. Then we have the really good saplings, such as Casket and Pompom— are they not worthy of attention ? And what about Hybrid ? Here is a five-year-old from Lady Emma, with nothing to carry, and the more likely of the pair entered to be Mr Stead's representative on the day. If Ich Dien is amiss this owner has nothing else to depend on. I cannot, however, pretend to advise about the cattle thus referred to. They are conundrums, and every man must figure out the answer for himself. It may, perhaps, be of assistance in working out the problems presented to view the handicap from the weight-for-age point of view, as given in another column!

*** When the news came by cable that Ladas had been scratched for all engagements after winning the Derby some of us sporting writers ventured to suggest the possibility that the reference was to immediate engagements — possibly at Ascot — and that there was a hope of the colt being retained in the Leger and other important races later on. That suggestion is now verified. We have news this week that Ladas ran and was beaten in the Princess of Wales Stakes at Newmarket, tbe raca going to Isingbss, with Bullingdon second and Ladas third. This is the latter's first defeat so far as we know. And the explanation thereof may be guessed with some degree of assurance. Ladas would have the maximum penalty, and the chances are that he was not quite himself. That there was a screw loose with him is ,plain from the latest advices by mail. Eleven weeks before the Two Thousand date he twisted or sprained one of his hocks, and we read in the account of the Newmarket Stakes that though he pulled up sound and well he was bearing signs of disfigurement on the injured limb. Moreover, I find this ominous refer-.- nee in "Rapier's " notes : "Of course it now looks, as if Ladas would win the Derby, but there must always remain the question whether he will stand, and it will not in the least surprise me to hear that he has given way. Most assuredly it would be unwise to back him at the sort of prices which are likely now to be offered, for with those hooks thtre must always be a doubt " In the light of these facts the scratching of Ladas of which we were advised by cable is easily understandable. That terrible Nonconformist conscience had nothing to do with it ; the Rev. Mark Price Hughes's denunciations are knocked out to 100 to lon offer. The whole business is as simple as AB C Ladas was giving his trainer anxiety, and as a precaution he was eased up in his work and scratched for immediate engagements. I thought at the time that this might prove to be the case, and it is pleasant to have the verification now furnished, since it means that Lord Rosebery has not allowed himself to be bullied by tho shepherds of the Cold Tea Party. The Premier has been strongly pressed to abjure racing. Fanatics have threatened him ; his own political friends have told him plainly

that they regard his connection with the turf as a source of weakness to the Liberal party. But Lord Rosebery is evidently not amenable to such influence". If he had sold Ladas we should have heard of it. He keeps the colt and races him, and all but those who, through lack of knowledge, view racing as au unmixed evil must admire the man's sturdy independence. What a contrast there ii between Lord Rosebery's manly action in scorning to act the humbug and the obsequious service to", the votes of the goody-goodies that we occasionally see.

*** It is reported that during the discussion on Sir Robert Stout's bill the author said he had been reliably informed that there was a larger amount of betting by "tote" booKs than by means of the legalised totalisator. His informant told him th't 10 or 12 bockmakers in the colony made £2000 a piece out of this form of gambling. I am quite sure that Sir Robert would not demean himself by exaggeration, but in respect to this statement of income his informant has, I should think, made a grave mistake. The hugeness of the figures struck me, and I have t*ken some pains to inquire in the best-informed quarters as to what incomes these men earn, with this result : My informant, a tote bettor himself, nevertheless an entirely trustworthy man, tells me tint since last New Zealand Cup the traders in these lines have just about held their own in tote betting un'il quite recently, when they made a little. He does not pretend to know other, men's incomes to a T, but is absolutely positive that the figures given are ridiculous. At bookmaking and to f e betting combined a man is lucky and quite satisfied to make a decent living. And - that this view of the case is the rational one commends itself to my judgment from facts within my own knowledge of which lam not at liberty to speak. 1 observe also another strange statement, credited to Captain Russell, who »s reported as saying that recently "two men fell out in a Napier hotel, and during their quarrel it camo out that one man had drawn £8000 during a certain period. The other member of the firm had also drawn £6300 from the gullible public. Thus £14,300 had been taken by them during a certain period." The hon gentleman was referring to tote betting, but will he venture to vouch for these figures ? I very much doubt it. There are, so far as I know, only two betting men of any consequence in the district he speaks of, and I understand they have done exceptionally well — not altogether at laying odds, but in making hauls by owning horses that have won — but the sums mentioned will have to be verified before general acceptance. If such statements were actually made they may be treated as simply " blow." The danger is that someone will seize hold of the figures and treasure them up and trot them out some day as ascertained statistics. It is to be regretted, I tbink, that this subject of horseracing generally does bring forth all kinds of loose and unwise remark?. Ou the whole, however, Captain Rus'ell is to be applauded for the attitude he adopted during the debate. He evidently was not afraid to defend racing, and we may be sure that his advocacy was not without effect. Mr Carncross, too, deserves our our thanks. His speech stands out as particularly forcible, in that he spoke plain English, and relied on facts rather than sentiment.

*#* A writer iv the London Post says : That sensational racehorse Rosebery has joined the majority. He was, I believe, aided and abetted by a bullet, having met with an accident which induced his owner to believe he would be more comfortable in his angel plumage. Bred by Mr Green, he was first sold at Doncaster for 200sovs. It is assumed that he was not wanted during his two and three year old days, and therefore, like unto Brer Rabbit, he "lay low." In his four-year-old career he became, however, the horse on every man's lips, as he was the first of the immortal trio to win the back-end double event of Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire. There was a point or two in connection with this victory. Admiral Rous handicapped Rosebery to carry 6.5, but hearing from hisjidus ackates, the lato Mr Verrall, that the horse was a flyer and would win the Cesarewitch, he increased the impost 141b. This, as everyone knows, did not stop Rosebery, who won in a walk, with the late F. Archer in tbe saddle, supplementing this by putting the Cambridgeshire and a fortune to the credit of his owner, Mr Smith, a fortnight later. This little tale has a moral. Mr Smith went into trade, purchasing the Bon Marche, »t Brixton. He did in the fortune and more besides in bolstering up this wretched affair, and had to compound. We hear so much of the curse of tbe turf, and magistrates accept betting as an excuse for crime on the part of every whining thief who cares to plead it. Mr Smith, straightforward Englishman that he is, said in effect, *If I had stuck to the turf instead of going into trade I should have been a rich man still.' Here endeth this little lesson.

*** Since last week progress has been made with two of the proposals brought before the House of Representatives by members who, with more or less excuse, seek to reform the turf. One of these— Mr W. Hutchison's proposal to abolish the totalisator — has in the short interval matured, depayed, and dropped into its grave, there to lie, it may be presumed, till the resurrection of next session. We need not bother much about it. If such a motion is ever carried it will soon have to be rescinded. Racing is the People's chief amusement, and they prefer it honest and clean, or as nearly so as possible ; wherefore we need not fear either that racing will be abolished or thab the antetotalisator system will be forced upon us. The other proposition, the one made by Sir Robert Stout, is still with us, his bill to diminish the use of the totalisator having passed its second reading. It will be observed, by the way, that Sir Robert has consented to a compromise in its terms. Originally 75 days was tbe limit to be covered by permits ; but he his altered this to 100, and thereby gained the support of one legislator, who testified to his innocence of the subject by contrasting racing of the good old days with the .racing of to-day, which he declared to be not racing — " it was running a horse and sometimes pulling him ! " This "good old days" line of argument always settles me. It is comprehensive and conclusive, and so firmly based on the lines of Democracy and Reform that it must have impressed our representatives when Mr Crowther brought it out. Any sort of argument seems to be considered good enough to use against the totalisator. Some of the statements advanced by its opponents are simply not worth discussing. They are at the best unauthorised inferences, the presumptions of babyish ignorance. Such, for example, is the assertion that the machine encourages children to bet. The idea is absurd, and could not be put forward by any responsible person who had inquired into the facts of the matter. Other arguments employed, however, have the guise of fact, and are generally accepted as correct. Of this class is the assertion that the introduction of the totalisator has led to an undue multiplying of race meetings. This week I deliver myself of a promise made some time ago to look up the facts of this subject, and here is the result, set forth m unchallengable figures :—: —

* Totalisator introduced. Lest the accuracy of tho flgurss should be questioned, I state my, authority. The population returns down to 1891 come from the Official Handbook prepared by the Registrar-general by instructions from the Hon J. Ballance, the then Premier; the figures relating to the two succeeding years are from returns published in the Gazette. As to the number of meetings, I rely on the statistics prepared by "Pegasus" and myself and on the reports of the Turf Register. And it miy be excusable to make one or two remarks about these figures. Firstly, observe that the percentage of race meetings to population- is, roughly speaking, about the same in these later years as in tho o which saw the beginning of the totalisator. Fluctuations are seen in the relative figures both before and since the machine came ; tho general increase in meetings has been about commensurate with the growth of population. Where, then, is this terrible increase of racing of which so much has been made ? Is it in the jump of 53 meetings from 1891 to 1892 ? Hardly, because it would 'not be fair to refer to that, the difference between an exceptionally low and the very highest year, without at the same time noting the related fact that the top score of 290 is only seven in excess of the total of 1887. It may bo further pointed out that one of tho biggest in.creases occurred between 1877 and 1878, before the totalisator was seen ; also, that we have in the last line dropped from the limit to a total below tbat of 1885. Moreover, I desire to make this point, that the number of meetings here given is tho outside total, including even that held at Cbatham Islands, and many of the .meetings so counted in do not use the totaJisator, In the 263 put down fon 1893 there were 29 such gatherings— no totalisator at all. Many of them were holiday outings got up impromptu for the amusement of men who cannot afford to travel to a centre to enjoy a big meeting. Ag^in, the number of race meetings is, as remarked, stated at the outside and most comprehensive limit, whereas the population returns exclude the Maoris, who at the last census numbered close on 42,000. And in this connection it is to be noted that several of the race meetings counted into the total are got up by and expressly for the benefit of Maoris. With these explanatory notes I leave the figures to tell their own story.

* # * To the general sporting public the most important thing about the Lancaster Park Trotting meeting on Saturday was the breaking of the world's record for four miles, accomplished by the Australian-bred horse Specification. The feat was performed under disadvantages, for the track is a small one and the going was rather heavy owing to recent rains, but Specification, though apparently not going at so fast a gait as he has shown previously, got to the end of his journey in lOmin 47sec, thus beatiDg by s£see the record made by Satellite at Keokuk, lowa, on August 12, 1887. So for the first time in her history New Zealand holds a world's record in horse-racing, It would not, however, be wise to brag much about it. The Americans do not, excepting on odd occasions, bother about long-distance records. They have Jots of horses that could if wanted set up better times than those now registered, and sooner or later they will cut a big slice off' the record at this particular distance. All the same, it was a good go for Specification or any colonial horse, and the Lancaster Park executive deserve thanks for inaugurating these sort of tests. People will readily go to see good trotting, and I foresee a profitable result tbe first time a championship meetiDg is held. Specification was accompanied by pacemakers, one for each half of the distance. The pony Tonga acted for the first two miles. Apart from this exhibition the trotting was unusually interesting, good form being shown by several, especially Tikaro, the A'hburton gelding who made a bit of a sensation on his first appearance in public at Carisbrook in May of 1892, when he won at two miles in sm in 40^sec His time last week, without being aske-i to go in the last 200 yds, was smin 22£ sec. The whole meeting was a great success ; but the Dunedin pair, Berlin Abdallah and Monowai, could not manage to win. The sum of £2065 passed through the totalisators.

*** The Grand National weights appearing in another column will afford plenty of material for di«cussion. Any handicap professing to bring together such an odd collection of performers as we have in the Steeplechase must necessarily lead to argument. As to Norton, for instance. Here is a horse that with 12.12 was second in last year's National, with 13 0 ran a dead heat at Riccarton in November, and with 12.7 got home over the same course at Easter — three firs*>class performances, but to some extent discounted by Inter public trials, Norton falling with 13.0 at Wellington and being unplaced with 12.11 in the Hawke'sßay Steeplechase. Opinions are sure to differ as to how much allowance should be made for the recent defeats. My own notion is that Mr Henry has just about hit the mark in giving Norton" 12.8, and the reason for saying so is that it seems to appraise the chestnut at the form he showed in the last National. The qnestion therefore remains whether there is anything in the list likely to repeat Waterbury's trick. This was the horse that beat Norton on the occasion referred to. But the answer to such a query is not easy to make. I must confess that it is beyond me. In other woi'ds, the handicap is one that, so far as my knowledge goes, is fairly puzzling— that is as much as to say that it is a good handicap, as I believe it is. Morag has a show on the Hawke's Bay runniDg. They tell mo that he can be improved by a good deal in the interval. Nanakh, also — surely the Wan ganui form gives this candidate a chance, and if so, Booties is in it as well ; while Belleacd Bombadier, as recent winners, deserve the attention of backers On general principles I should say that this is the contingent from which the winner is most likely to come, and of the lot I feel rather inclined to name Norton 'and Morag as the cost dangerous, not that they are chucked in, but they are horses from whom an uncommonly good race may be expected sooner or later. In the Hurdle Eace, also, I can find little to question in Mr Henry's calculations. Everyone will not agree with the placing of Magazine so much above a horse like Perkin ; but I am not prepared to argue that the handicapper is wrong, and taking the handicap as a whole it will stand close examination. My first; impressions are Kulnine and Empire, but, as with the Steeplechase handcap, I consider it wise to speak with reservation, and I

shall not attempt to pick a likely double till we know what horses are probable starters.

' Year. 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 ISBI 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 Racing Population. Season. ... 399,075 ... 1875-70 ... 408,616 ... 1876-77 ... 432,519 ... 1877-78 ... 4(32,729 .. 1878-79 ... 484.564 ... 1879-SO* ... 500,910 ... 1880-81 ... 517,707 ... 1881-S2 ... 540,877 ... 1882-83 ... 564,304 ... 1883-84 ... 575,226 ... 1884-85 ... 589,386 ... 18S5-86 ... 603,361 ... 1886-87 ... 607,380 ... 1887-88 ... 616,052 ... 1888-89 ... 625,508 ... 1889-90 ... 634,058 ... 1890-91 ... 643,344 ... 1891-92 ... 665,048 ... 1892-93 No. of Meetings. ... 119 ... 11« ... 147 ... 164 ... 179 ... 208 ... 230 ... 230 ... 248 ... 267 ... 260 ... 2813 ... 270 ... 268 ... 265 ... 237 ... 290 ... 265