TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2130, 20 December 1894, Page 37

TALK OF THE DAY.

.* # * Two oia-time racers have died within the present month. The firsk to which I shall »f er is Aritl, the 1872 son of Dainty Ariel and Un», by imp. St. Anbyn— Miss Rowe, by Sir Hercules. Ariel was bred by Mr Alfred Bu- Inland, of Auckland. As .» two-year-old <h° colt did nothing worth speaking of, but in his nevt season he appropriated the first Anckl&nd Derby, also the D.J.C. Handicap, in which he was ri-'den by Matthews at 6.12. As a four-year-old he won the Auckland Cup, carrying 8.2, and beating Danebury by a couple ot lengths. In his ueat leason Auel .run second to Mata in the C.J.C. Handicap, and at the same meetiog had ample revenge by beating Templeton and Mata in Canterbury Cup. This result was a great surprise, the bi-tting being 10 to 1 against the northerner, yet he wou easily by three leDgbhs. On the third dny of the meeting Ariel tried to give Templeton 51b in the Metropolitan, and had to put up with second place after a close contest. Comirg fiuther Bontb, he was handicapped with the top weight of 9.7 for the Dunedin Cup, and ran a good race, being beaten by only Mr R*y's pair, Templeton 8.3 and Titania 7.3. He could not, however, have had any ahow of winning while Templeton stood up, for in the D J.C. Handicap the Jatter gave him 71b and a decUivo beating. Still, Ariel was not a bad 'un, for he came out to victory with 9.3 in the Forbury Hand'cap, doing the mile and a-half in 2miti 45sec, whi'-h in those days was a good go. At that time, by the way, Ariel was the property of Mr H. Redwood, who had Longlands also doing battle for him. Ariel's next win was the North Otago T.C. Handicap, in which he had 10.1 and beat the great FiAhook, to whom he was conceding half a stone. * At six years old he won the Auckland Cup for the second time, carr>ing 8.13, and bsatiDg Gillie Callum aud Don for places. He was then owned by Mr A. M 'Donald. After that race Ariel went amiss, but, being patched up, he won his third Cup in the following year, being then the property of Mr M. B'^g^r. His weight was 8 10, and he won by four lengths from Laertes 6.0. In the Auckland Cup of 1880 he made one more attempt, and after be'ng interfered with finished third to Foul Play and Maid of Honour, but in jumping over the fallen horses — it was the race in which Nolan, the rider of Libeller, was killed — he trenched the siuews of one of his legs, and on flniakiug up the season he was bought as a stud horse by Mr J. S. Buckland for use in the Waikaio. Iv that capicity Auel has not been a marked success, H&kinsiiua aud Purepo being ab-ju l ; the best racers he has eired.

*** Ariel was the horse that actually caused Jockey Nolan's death at Auckland. But it wss not his fault. The horße3 were entering the cutting for the last time, the pace becoming warm, when Kinp Quail, who had been lyiDg about fourth, rushed past Maid of Honour and Jiibeller, and gob on to the heels of Yat^pa, yjfho had forced the pace from the start, and fras then actually lt-adiuu. Iha collision

brought King Quail down, also Libeller, the latter falling so violently as to roll over twice. No'an, his rider, fell clear of both horses, and was rising to a sitting posture as tbe next horse, Ariel, approached. Ariel made atremmdous'leap and cleared both the fallen horse's, bub inhisdigbt one of his feet struck puor Nolan oa the head and fractun d his skull. He was picked up dead, and his remain* were sent to hit friends in Australia. Cairaigton, wbo hae since become prominent es a trainer, was the Tider of King Quail in that race. He a'so was hurt, but nob seriously, for he was ridiug again on the Sf cond day of thr me ting a week la' or. In respect to the Cup before that— viz., the one in which Ariel sccivd for the third time, it is perfectly true, as above recorded, that he wou by four lengths ; but according to a local report which I have preserved it was rot true form that he should have boa* en Larries hy S3 much as that. Laertt-s, accustomed to stop at tbe Bcrnping-shf d entrance wh n exercising, tried tokucckdf as be reached tint jont. That wj'S pne reason for tbe fmir lengths, a. id <i other wns thah Wi.ly Butler, thou rid'-ng Lacrlci at G 0, Lad his eyes full of mud, the race ha\iug been all along a scramble through the dirt, and could no' stc whxt he wos up to. Thus it came about that what promised to be a dosr finish was spoilt. Ariel wa-5 doubly indtb'ed to the wf t course. It was mud tl>at he wanrpd to give him a show with th"sepatchodup limbs of li's, and he not only got it, but he had the help that came from a dab cf mud blinding the rider of his most formidable opponent. I may remark that it was Frtd Matthews, not the Matthews now ridiug for Cutls, who rode Ariel in these races.

*** The other racer whoso dece3se ha« to be chronicled is Mr Reid's mar« 3 Titania, who succumbed at Eldersl c to an attick of inflammation, which set in after foaling. This mare was bred by Mr Delamain in 1873, got by imported Maltou out of imported Mountain Nymph, by Sir Tat' on Syk< s— Gistllo, by Stockport — Stajs, by Whalebone. This pedigree makes her half s'ster to Mies Flat, dam of tbe renowned Welcome Jaok. She. did not race as a two-yi-ar-uld. In the following season she appeared in public, with her owner's colours, 11 times, and was beaten all round, excepting in her races at O&maru, where the pulled off a treble in prefct-y fair company, liaviug such celebrities as Guy Fawkes, Fishhook, aud Punga to go against. By the next eeason she had changed owners. Some said fch&t she had been bought by Abe Schneider, bur^all that he g<nn'al pubic knew was that she had passed into Bob Riy's stable, as a chum for Templeton. She startsd well for her new own* r, who ever he was, by landing a double at the Wellington meeting. This gave her a penalty of 51b for the Duuedin Cup, bringing her weighs to 7.3. but eveu with tin; extra it was hUpposed, and with reason, that she wns well tre-Oed, und the public wen* much exercisud us to whether to back her or Templeton. At first tbe horse was the more fancied ; then he declined and the mare came on, till about acceptance day they were at tbe same price, neither, however, very firm, for backers were fairly in a quandary as to what, the stable were doing, and th» secret was well kept, the rank aud fie of bettors being iv the dark till old Bob made hi 3 declaration at the Sfale?. I well remember how anxiously that declaration was waited for. It meant a real good thioff for one Darry, and for the other serious liabilities from which there was no escape unlcw bysomecbauce the stable declaration should be beaten by the o'her one. That •oit of thing did happen occasionally, sometimes in good faith, as for instance in this very race, Mr Redwood dtclaring to win with Longlands and having to cimi vith Ariel, who sot tbird place. But Bob Ray made no mistake. He declared with Templeton, and won with him right enough, but Titania was second, and it was as much as the boy could do to stop her from shooting past the old horse. Such a tbing would, of court e, not rw allowed now.

*y* In tho?e day?-, however, it was not only considered legitimate, but expecttd of an owner, tbat he should stop his second horse in order to allow Irs declaration to win. Thank goodness that system is reformed out of existence. It opened the door "to a lot of baivFwc-d swindling, and at the best was ndt conducive to good racing In this particular instance the d'clsration won, as I have said, and no one could object to what wag done in the race. It all came out according to rule. There were, however, circumstiuc s connected with the race which caused a lot; of talk both at the time and for ever so long afterwards. Cert»in bookmakers, it was discovered, had taken great liberties with the mare ever 'ince the fUcl»rarion of tho weights in the spring, and if she had won there is no doubt whvever that they could not have met their liabilities. The more they laid the more they had tJ lay. Practically, then, many of those who backed Titania hsd no chance of winning Wh-it these layers knew, or fancied they knew, can only be guessed, but, whatever their information was, it was apparently not quite comp'ft?. Tbcy did not reckon on seeing Titania making such a close thing of it, and did not half relish the look of the finish, in which there was no hing between them and ruin but the muscle of young Nichols and the reins with which he held the mare back. Those who, standing on the lawn, heard the agonked remark, "Gojd God, what's tbat horse doing there ? " will never forget the force of the giveaway exp-'cssion. The complete history of this race and the events that led up to it have not yet been written, and perhaps never will be. for the principals are not now before the public, some beng dead and othera in retirement, and no useful purpose would be served by raking up all the unsavoury details, but I may remark that tho.'e who go a- racing nowadays may thank their stars that their lines are cast in pl*-asant places, that they have racing which by comparison with the period when the ring was all-powerful is as innocent as the proceeding* of aSuuday School, aud that they m»y thank the totalisator for the cleansing process. But I must pass on.

*** Titania ran in three Dunedin Cupn. The first when, as a t K rc°-yftar-old, she finished un-plsce-l bt-hind Fishhook ; the second, the race just ref-rre d to ; the third in her six-year-old season, when, carrjiHg 7 4 and ridd^-u by Wattie, she started at even money in a field of 10— think of that, my boy*, and compare, it with totalisator prices!— and iv an exciting finish along tbe rails was benten a head by Mata. She had made the running for over a mile. At the same meeting Foul Play was so biidly chucked in for the D.J.C. Handicap that the rare reßultfd in a walk over, and in order to fill the programme a new ra?e was improvised, calhd the Stewards' Free Handicap. This was wot? by Titania, who in a field of five started ab 3 to I on. Nice odds were going at that meeting. The longest price that any winner started afc during the three d&ys was 3 to 1 agaimt! The race just spokeu of was the last one that Titatiia ever capturod. She passed into Goodman's stable after the Dunfldin meeting, and niter fiiushiujj ud the seasoji and bavine a foal

to BOrne horse of unknown pedigree — this w«s her second foal, she hnviog been -at an earlier stage of her career put to a pony on an emergency — she became the property of the late James Shand, who raced hoc once and then put her to Le Loup. The rosult was a dead foal. Bhe thrn parsed into the band* ot Mr Stephenson, who bred her for several years, the best of the lot got ffom her in this term being Fairy Maid (by Albany), who was tried to be speedy, and produced that fast bub uulurky filly Ambush, winner of the Duuexlin Stakes last geason. Outpost is another of Titauia's progeny, f-iivd by Vanguard after the mare went into Mr I\< id's hands. Toil colt was in the front rink of thu two-year-old'! of his reason, but, afterwards met wi*h an accident which bas so far interfered with his success. He may, howewr, yeb do the old mare credit. So m<.y Uojal B»lute, her twn-year-old filly, who has the makings of a fair racer. Titania wns afc her l)Mt ver> f«st under a light w^ighr;, and a belter stayer than the average. Her fault was nervouantss. Once, at Duncdiu, sin had her wits frghtened out of her by the uoisa of a pas ing train, ai.d she wns always delicate and su^ceptib'e t o surrounding influences. This was what m.»de her -such a b -d spi c for h°r owners. Put in figures, TiUma's record is — 39 starts, 10 wins, 9 seconds, G thirds, and 14 times -unplaced.

*#* Mr S. G. Smith and Mr J. M'Krtwen have dissolved partnership, and a<sa consequence the racohoraes wbioh they have mutually owned are to be sold by auction, without refcerve, l>y Wright, Stepheusonand Co , on Saturday cf this wck. There are f even trotters and four gallopers. Six of the trotfcra are tried, and Ml these are winners Colac, who its supposed to be by Blackwood Abdallab. (I do not guar»n*of t v ii«, how«-v< r), has done three miles in Bmin 20seo. Cabetfoidh, who is said by some to be by Hilarious will be remembered as winning the doub'e at Tahuua Park last February, when he trotted two mile* iusooin 33iec. Inftroo, a son of Hambktouian, did three miles at the Xaieri la»t soison in Bmin 27soc. Dawn and Monowai h kve also proved their worth in public, and Major, a eon of 81-.ckwcod Abdallrh, was oorcieckoned a parti' ulm-iy fast horse. The flat raoirs are Stockfish, who won the Selling Race on Otago Cup day ; St. Ronald, a eon of St. George nud Fleurange, and a couple of good youngsters — a colt by Sheet Anchor (sire of the V.R.C. Derby winner) and a nuggcty and altogether nice filly by St. Oiair from Molly Bawn. I liku this filly very much. She is Hnall, but all quality.

*** It was with much pleasure fchafc I perused a very readable book of colonial tales by Mr Walter K'iay, a Dunedin author. One oi' the tales deals with an up-couutry race mteting in the early days. The author has the following touching jockeys: "Le. those who speak dmdiugly of pokeys and the lio»euess of th^ir profession ri member that iv all trades «nd professions are fouud men wbo by their actions degrade the sunn, and let those who judge, hnishly call to mind the fact; that Corrigan had one of the largest funerals ever seen in Australia ; thai his virtues were extolled from th^ pulp>t— aud also bear in mind (hat /ie was a jockey." Yes, it is quite true that mauy of our moat accomplished horsemen are men of iuti'grity ; but there are others again for whom the mauy temptations surrounding ttie sporb of kings have proved too stroDg. ■

*#* The "knowiDgness" of racshorsps is a fav< urito topic of conversation among trainers. iSid Bishop siys that Hipjjomeue9 knows well enough when a raco meeting is cjining on, by seeing s'range horses about th» tracks. Wolverine, I have been told, used to regularly gaze over the fence towards tho Forbury on being brought out of the stab'e, and if he saw the flags fljing he would tremble and become pxcited, as though mutely indicating that he kn«w what the signal meant. And Ike Foulsham tells one of the Sportsman writers that Malua coukl do everything but talk. "And s'elp me if he didu't try to do tb*t sometimes. He was the knowingest horee I've ever seen. You could always t"ll when you took him out, in the morning whether he felt like work, Whenever be dawdled along you might as well take him back to the stable. No ; he wouldn't; sulk, but he'd jusb let you know as plainly as thiiigh he said it in so many words that be eitner was not inclined tor work that nioraifg, or wasn't well enough for it. S'elp me, it wa3 wonderful. And in a race he could S'ghX aa opening in the ft>ld quite as quick as his rider, and make for it at once. And he fecmnd to know, too, just where to make his run fr.im for home. He was the wonderf ullestihorse I've seen."

#** Wonderfully fast limes continue to be made on the American turf. At the New York October meeting Magician, a two-y^ar-old by The lllußed from Maguet'sm, carried 7.12 and beet eight opponents in the Dunnvnv Stakes, six furlongs, worth to the winner 5360d01, >\ml the official clock returned the time as lmin lO^sec. At the same meeting the^e were 16 st-rters for the Matron Stnkfs, a race for the produce of mares covpred iv 1891, six iurlongs The .itake was one of the riehost known to rhc American turf, 31,170d0l going -to the fir«t horse. The winner was the Mesn-s Keeue's colt Agitator, by Exile— Athleue, 7.13, and he covered tho distance in lmiu llsec. Some tolk discredit American performances that are phenomenally fast. I do not. As a diligent reader of States papers I have come to the conclusion tbat the timing is quite as reliable theiv, if not more so, as in any other country. It ought to' be, for the Americans muke timing races a special study, havhig derived the custom ffom trotting men, with whom the watch is everything.

*** Prime Warden and Saracen have for t,he last few days had thoir pipe-openers on that pretty Eilerolie oouive where thay are to race on Boxing Day. I have no hesitation in making a chuico as between this pair. It is Ward' n. He has a very nice weight and a fnir one Sane n has ratter more than ho cud manage with ho far as bia rercit form enables us to judge of his capabilities, and I would rmu-h rather b*ck anything else in the race. The prospect is of a good contest. Sioce Warden has actually gone up and sjrvivod the peril of a sea trip I faucy him more than when the weighs came out, and he certainly must have a big show. He will, however, require to be at his very best to beat Form?, the light-weight of the party. I intimated last week that if this mare kept well she would be my selection in one. In the interval she feema to have satisfied the watchers— for one thing she dished Royal Rose in a six-furlong spin on Monday. This proves that she ia well. I therefore write it down formally that Formk is my tip for the Auckland Cnp, and add that tho one Bhe has to beat is Prime Warden. Iv making this selection lam fully aware that I go against precedent, for no mare has yet won the Auckland Cup. But never mind that. No mare ever won the Melbourne Cup till Briseis did. Forme may be Auckland's Briseis. The Derby looks like a really good tlvngforßluefirc, whatever starts against her. and for the Steeule-

chase I take Roscius and Fishmonger to beat the othsra. There is, I notice, a pajment of lOsovs at the po^t for the Auckland Cup.

*#* Jaok Loughlift applied to the Supreme Court on Moudtiy for his discharge, but the judge didn't quite see it. The obstacle was this. On the d-btor'a fitafceinent of liabilities appeared the sum of £50 due to Campb»ll, the jockey, for wages A wage^t claim is preferential in a. baukruptcy estate, and the jndge generally asks whether all such debts are discharged. The query being put in this case. Loughliu's lawyer replied that Campbell had not proved on the estate, and therefore it was not uoctss*ry that the debt should be squared as a condi'ion of di-charge. His Honor p >infod out that Loughlin filed oh November 20, and that Campbell h«d two months from that date in which fo scni in his claim. This being the case, debtor was not entitled to his discha-gc, at any rufce until Campb-11 had had the opportunity which tbe law allowed hi. si of pr.ninjj. The uiatlor was fc'jitefpnsoi'ilur. cl 'usl'iiJ Over Jockeys should tiko a memo of the iey.il aitvice thus tendered from the b -ncli. IL may cane iuJbaudy ab civ tinu or anolher.

*** The uru il Ihing when Dun div horses enter for InvrcMrgill is to find them called on to g'tvv weight to all the southerners For the niprt'iijj to be Lcld on Boxing D^y the band tops, which »p[ear in »n->thor o^lumu, supply an exception to the rue. Mr Dowss givts Luinrftcr and Wtfi'gauui the posts of honour. .1 nm not prepared to .quarrel with the judgment thus expre-sed, for Wiuchimn is a mere p'»ny and Manbyniong fh*pod ibo indifferently at the Forbury lant meeting as to entitle him to Home di-gree of leniency. He may, however, stsip fitter than he oid at JDuiu din, and if no he ought to win one of the two rac s for which he is en*er< d. I al>ot him the Flying for choice. Dora may do him in the Waihopai Handicap if she it reserved for that event. Should she be sent for <the chief race, the Invercargill Handicap, then I take it th»t Bhe and Wiu'tatuan will tight our. the finish. These are the three horses tuat I fancy, Wii<chmin, Dora, and TManbyriioug; b*ekers Tnust find out for tln-mselves which rac<». each of theai is intended for. I have not the acceptances lo help me to an opinion on the point. Silvectail seems to be the pick of tho hurdlers.

* M * Messrs Hunter and Nolan advertise in this issue particulars of ,two important horse sales at Auckland. On Da-ember 28 til y will offer six lota on bt-half cf Major George, including that great racer The Workman and a couple of Nelson yearling*, or.o of those being out of the well-bred Sister Agnes. The same day throe youngs'ers by St. Leger, NeUon, and Castor rcspec' ively are to be se<it infco the ring by Alison Brothers. The o'her lots include a yearling brother to Hipp irueres and a threequarter sister to Lottie. Ou Denrrnber 31 four Ptaudard-bred trotting stallion 6 by Judge Bdden are to be put up, also 16 fchwe-year-olds, all of undoubted pedigree This in a rare chance to persons who think of going iv fortrott.ing on the only lines by which it can be made to pay— namely, by having high-clues stock. The days of the cab horses are>at an end so far as tke big stakes are concerned. Owners mu^t go in tor quality, and thiß is a rare chance of getting it.

*** It was after foaling to Artillery that Titania died at Eldcrslie. The fo^l, a filly, was saved, and is beiug brought up by hand, with every prospect of surviving. The only o^her mare "hose foaling has occurred since laßt advices is Sincerity, who has given birth to a filly siivd by St George. The foals on tbe farm have been mosMy suffering from strangles, but -the wtather being favourable and 4he ostate one on which they have pleufy of fref dom and the befit .attention, no sen his results are reported. It is just as well, perhavs, that the youngsters Rhould have this complaint and get over it' thus early in thpir career The yearlings are xloit^g f-xtr.i-ordinanly well, and a bf»ttßr'lot it would be harrl to find S^pniak tikes to Stud life vary kindly, and it seems to suit him, for he is the picture of health, and as to his capacity for tbe du*y not one of the mares sent to him has returned.

*** Pahnersron nee ptanefs have not arrived in time tor insertion. The paper hsd to go to press early. a«d that will account for the omission. AU in, I fancy Puramu or Exile for the chief event and Rothamstoad for the Flying.