TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2164, 15 August 1895, Page 29

TALK OF THE DAY.

BY MAZEFPA.

*** One year more and the New Zealand Grand National will have attained its majority 1 . Last week's race wns tbe twentieth of the series. During that time 182 horses have started in the race, an average of nice and two over, or, to be arithmetically co<tr«ob, nine and one-tenth. On four occasions has tte field numbered 13; never more. These were in 1877, when Fakir won; in 1887, when the sturdy Paugb.-a-ball*gh did the trick ; in 1892, when littln Ahua c»mb home with Clark on his back ; aDd in 1893, wl.en Waterbury dete&ted Norton. The smallest field was four, in 1884-, when Tbe Agent won for the third time. And that was the year in which tbe National finally went to Riccarton aad ceased to be a movable feast, dependent tor its location on the consideration of which place coalil offer the greatest inducement to the irresponsible coinmiuee who had charge of the fixture. The longest odds at which a winner ever started was 18 to 1, and that wab two years since, when Waterbury paid a dividend of £19 odd ; and the shortest price was that of The Agent in 1884-, he being quoted at level money and paying £2 9s 6d in the machine. EigJht,y-three jockeys have ridden in the National, Toaimy Lyford heading the poll with 14 mounts, followed in order by Tommy Sheeuau with 11, Horace Luim with 8, and T. Stewart wilh 7 ; and then come Fred Hedge (dead), Sam Osborne, Jack Poole (dead), Charley O'Connor, Hickey, arid W. Clark with 4 each; Roddy M'lvor, P. O'Neill, T. M*K»y, M'Coy, W. Hankius (dtad), J. Cotton, Redmond, R. Kingan, Ellinghana, Hope, and Holmes with three each ; and Charley Joyce, Albert Lyiord, F. fir&ttbews, Armstrong, Cullen, A. Keith, P. Jones, Pearson, Jim Allan, P. Higgine, J. M'Ginnes, Pell, P. Johnston, A. M'Moran, Stowe, Alexander, Gillttt, A. Williams, and H Peteis with 2 each. Well-known riders who come in on the M one " list are Wattie, Clifford, Hobbs, G. Murray-Aynsloy, Jack Rae, Fergus, Charley Rudings, Dan O'Brien, Frank Cochraue, Harry Hnines aud S. Gollan. Tht> following figures show the riders who have been placed more than once: —

* # * The highest w&ight carried to victory in the Natioucl was Canard's 12.10, abd the lowest Daddy Longlega' 9.7, the average weight being list Oib 2oz 6£dr. What was the best horsa that ever won? Well, Ido not think that any straight-out answer bo that question would escape contradiction. Canard would be entitled to compete for such a distinction ; be was a commanding, noble-looking kind of horse, and when be won he beat a really gcod one in ' F»ugh-a-b&Uagb, who in turn was a thorough workman, and one of the reliable class under any weights, yet Canard gave him 181b and a three-lengths' beating. Bat though Canard was brilliant, it it questionable whether even in that respect he had the advantage of ClareDce, and the latter was undoubtedly the more consistent and perhaps as sound a steeplechaser as we ever had. Mr Lunn's epinion as to the relative merits of this pair would be worth having. Foe my own part I think I should take the Ravensworth gelding for choioe, having reg«rd to the whole career of both. But what about The Agent? He was quite flrst-olass in his day, and probably would hold his own ag&inst even the modern horses. I shall never forget tho great finish he fought out over the National country at Awamoft, in the National of 1879. The whole field fell into the w&ter juoep each time they came to it, for the creek b»-S by r»iu been converted into a small river, and tbe takeoff was simply a spongy marsh. If my m&usory serves me rightly Royalty— a sure fencer, but M slow as a top— was the first to get extricated from the wateT, and Eversley emerged next, while The Agent did not feel solid ground under bin feet until Royalty had established a long le.icL Very fsw of those of us who were on the hill expected to see The Agent make up bLs disadvantage, but he was bunged along in earnest by Billy Hankins (»abs?<:uestly

killed while riding Magic) and got home by a length. That was one of the best performances ever made in the National. Mousetrap was a very clever horse, and bath Faugh-a-ballagh and Chemist deserve to bo ranked in the first flight, but Ahua, to my fancy, was better than |any of thesa three, and ho would have been thought more of thaii ha was but for comit g so "nearly at tbe same time as Norton. This lnst'mentioned horse is apt to be somewhat underestimated owjig to his defeats at Auckland and in the l&*t NSuoual, but those who know him ■best will not listen to any arguments as to bis tiaving a rival, and there is a deal of sense in the contention. If pushed into a corner and compelled to say wh<ch of the National winners shonld be awarded the palm I should decide on a tie between Clarerce and Norton and leave it to Mr Luon, who hao handled bath, to give a casting vote. The Agent, Ahua, and Canard would go next in my placing, and I should not bnow how to separate them.

*** Of the 20 winners of tho National now in the litt, all are geldings excepting Kosciasko nnd Ahua. No mv« has ever won ; only once, indeed, has a mare secured a place, this being Squib, who finished third to Daddy Longlegs and D&rnley in 1890. As a mutter of fact, only some seven or eight marcs have started in all "these years, and the sole representative of class among the sex was Jenny, miles?, perhaps, an exception is made in favour of Auchlond Kate, who was Dan O'Brien's monnfc in 1876 As to tbe breeding of the winners, Clarence and jKaterfelto f prang from RtvenswcrLh, and Freeman was related through Gny Fawkes to the same sire, while The Fainter gave us Chemist and Ahua. No other stallion lias scored twice. 1 Cleanness of pedigree - Is, of conrse, not the one thing needful In steeplechasers, and it is more aa a curiosity ;snan anything else that I note which are the .thoroughbreds on the libfcef wirners. Royalty, 'the first winner, connts as one — that i*, bis •name appears in the Stud Book. He was bred . by Mr CavetbiU at Amnri, got by the Arab torse Blcod Royal from Peeress, the daughter of The Peer that in later years gave birth to and Tongariro. Another winner whore name is on the record is Mousetrap, who •wan got iv 1866 by Bay Camden from Creepmouse, a dr.ughter of The Peer and Molly Bawn, the latter by the Arab horse Crab. Then ■we have a long spell, down to Canard, who was bred by Mr Mallcck in 1877, got by imported Anteros from the Tradncer mare Gossip, dam of such approved racers as Leonora and Forester. Another intnsrval and tben we come to Abua, who was foaled in 18S0, got by The Painter from Camellia, by Tru.du.cer — Policy, by Potentate. This is a Stod Book pedigree. Norton's is net, though he is a well-bred horse ; and I do not find the dam of Mutiny (Lady Maxwell) named in the Stud Book. She is by ."Clymeneus from Lady of tbe Lea, by Pacific from a mare got by an imported Arab ; and as IMnte, the tire of Mutiny, is from the best Australian blood, this year's winner is by no means poorly bred.

* # * Mutiny was bred by Mr W. Dsugliu, his •present owner, who won the National two 'years ago with Water bnry, and is now nine .years old. So far as I can discover, his first appearance with the colour* up was when, as a '^ix-year-old, he won the Maiden Plate at "Wattara. He was xidJea by Crocker and won j easily from Austral, a horse (two years his jnnior) that wan opposed to him in tbis very 'National, At that time Mutiny was raced by jMr J. Ke*wick. The same day he polled off •the Clifton Handicap, a mile, ridden at 7.0 by 'R. Johnston. Going on to Taranaki he was thrice placed, but failed to score a win, b-ing defeated by Melaa in the Maidfn,' by Shiela ia Ithe Flying, and by. Melas and Cingalee in the 'ladies' Purse. At Opanake, however, he came r in for a fine ran of lack, appropriating three traces in the one afternoon, and he followed this up by collaring tbe Cup at Stratford, Melas failing to concede 41b, and finishing second to in the Flying after a dead heat with her and* Chatterbox. These performance* brought kirn to the top cf the h»udioap for tho Hack 3£ace at Egmcnt, and he had to carry 9.8. bat once more he won, paying a dividend of £16 12s ; '■bnt on the second day, being burdened with 10 2, he went down decisively, and no wonder, $or he was giving a stone to Melas. Twice again he tasted defeat at Taraueki, bat at Ptmg«rfchu in March he had his revenge by securing the Cop and the Final Handicap. At 3Pat-ea also he won the Cap at Easter, beating flfelaß over the mile and a-half course, and he ran a third later in the day. At Marton he was second to Jackin the Flying and ran Monte Carlo to half a length in the mile and a- quarter race, the winner conceding only 21b. • After that he was placed in the Winter Oats at Wang anni. Hiß next appearance was at Auckland, as a candidate for the National Hardies, and, ac will be remembered, he won easily by nearly a dozen lengths, being ridden at 9.8 by P. Johnson and beating such cattle as Balmont 10 0 and K*pua 9.8. He had to accept defeat on the fl-fc the next day, and thus wound up a season's work ■with the good record of wins out of 23«t»rbs and a total of. £510 odd in stakes. In the next eeaßon Mutiny appeared in Mr Douglas's colour a, And ran only tkree times, being third with 10 7 in the Grand National won by Waterbury 10.8, unplaced be"hind* Liberator in the Hurdles, and second to his stable mate Couranto in the Hurdles at Wanganui Then came his trip to Australia, which resulted in his winning two steeplechases at Rand wick, and, returning to his native land, he finished unplaced 11.2 in the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase won by Norton 12.9, and< then ran second 11.3 to Tiritea 11.10 in the Napier Park Steeplechase, -after which we have the- crowning performance now placed on the records.

*** It was purely on private reputation that "Brhrwss made favourite for the opening tvtiijt of the Nfction-el meeting, and the calculations were wofolly ont, for in what seems to have fceen a truly-run race the Lass o' the Hills gelding finished a bad third, in spite of the horsemanship of Mr Hugh ■Goorley, who rarely mures a point, and may always be relied on to side a good race in contests of thi« sort. One of •the crowd «tarted at 270 to 1, bat bar him the winner was the outrider of the party in the lawn machine. V*gsbond did not ran last sen son, and in the previous s ear his only performance was to get second in a steeplechase at Aehburton. Dnnedin ab-o snppl'ed the favourite for the Maiden Hurdles, the public -choosing Victim for that honour, and this time they might perhaps have gob home but for bad lack. The horse got shoved on to tbe rails shortly after starting, and Jim Cotton, his rider, hud his leg hnrt This practically put the black gelding ont of the rece. There wn« a fine finish, Invader getting home with \\'ry little to spare, and Gillie and Variety fighting out place honours very keenly. The result was as I prophesied a fortnight ago when the weights appeared — what I wrote being this : "In the Maiden Hurdles a very low mtximnm is found, and if Invader is really sound enough to undertake the journey he ought to take a lot of doing, even though he is at the top of the list." Invader's time for this -race, 3min 36J«3, is the record. Cajolery took 3nrin ilseo; Libe-

rafcor, 3min 43£ se c; and Barnardo 4min 40seo. It may be worth noting that Ward an cc played an active part in cutting out the pice for about a mile and a-half, and tba 1 ; Variety shaped very well indeed for a maiden hardier, and one that has not quite completed Ler novit'ate. As to the National itself not much need bs said. Rjscias and Despised made the running for two-thirds of the j mrney, when the latter, being in front, was challenged by Mutiny, and white disputing for the lead came to grief in lan Jing over a sod wall. This left Mutiny at; the head of affairs, and there he kept, wlnn'ng Teiy easily from Roscius, Norton easing up and being content with third place. If Mutiny had come down or run off, and he was very near each of theße mishaps during the race, there would have been a big set-to between Koscius and Norton, and the latter might have won. There is no telling. Mutiny's performance is a record so far as time is concerned. Prior to 1891 the course was about four miles. Since being brought to three miles and a-hslf the times have been : Freeman Bmin 29Jsec Norton ... Srain isec Ahua ... 7miu 42 sec Mutiny ... 7min 2(3 sec Waterbury Bmin lj»ec So that Mutiny has knocked 16sec off tha record. That i* a big slice. As to the other events on the first diy, I note that Jawel, winner of the Ladies' Bracelet, is well enough bred to win a Canterbury Cap, being by the Musket horse Artillery from the Traduoer marc Trinket ; that my alternative eelect'oa for the Eufit-ld Stieplechaee— viz., Marechal Niel (Kulnine did not run) got ho:ae pretty easily ; and that Vogengang, my selection in one for the Winter Handicap, was also successful, bsating a baker's dozen. Hs may not have had a gie%t deal to spare from Triton, but he decidedly held all the o*fters s&fe, and as the event proved he was toj leniently handioappe j, though perchanca one or two of those b-kkicl him were nob desperately anxious to clme him home.

*** History repeated itself in re3pect to some particulars of tbe second day's racing. Thu? : A year ago Mariner was beaten in the Winter Handicap and then secured the August Handicap on the following day. That was ex*, ily what Beadonwell did this year. I don't think hi* party were over confident, for the trial b-fore he left Dunedin was nothing wonderful ; still, they backed him, and by " thßy " I mean a somewhat lengthy string of the stable followers. A second coincidence is that a Dunedin horse, previously disappointed, did th-- t'-u-.k in tho Finul Hardies Last y<ar it wai Enopire ; this time Brin, who«e success was exseedingly well received in Dunedtn, as his owner, Mr JohnBon, of Berwick, is a genuine sport. It will be seen that Norton fell in the Beaufort Steeplechase won by Roscius, and that Liberator made no show in "the National Hurdles. This, however, was no surprise. The old battler hit himself in the Steeplechase, and foronerca-'ou and another he was not co well backed as four of his opponents. The great disappointment of the race was Cour&nto. Mutiny's success led the friends of the stable tod .-a plunge on Couranto, bat he was decisively bsaten. Donald M'Kinnon, the winner, has proved a very profitable horse of Jate. Prior to last season a hack race at Gisborne had been his solitary success. But in the racing year which dored with Jury he raked in a total of £325 by wins in the Poverty Bay district, followed up by a double at Auckland in June and a race at Gisborne His -time in this Christchurcb. race, 4-min S^seu, is not the record by a long chalk, as the figures show : Ixion ... 4inin sjt sec Liberator... 3min 55 son Coirranto... 3-min 52 sec Liberator... 4min 5J sec Kulnine ... 4min D.M.'Kinnon4iniu sisec All the same it was a capital performance on the part of Mr Glover's ge!diug, and as he is a young horse there is likely to be a future before him. R'ltoma, winner of the Bracelet, is by St. Gaorge from Lady Evelyn. I mention this in order to point out that this Lady Evelyn is tnt the Hon G M'Lean'a daughter of Peilrin Wnrbeck, bnt a mare that u*cd to be racing in the Canterbury country -districts some years ago.

*** The distinction of owning or riding a Derby winner seems to cling to a select few, and this remark applies, to owner and jockey alike. Luck playa a ve-y prominent parb in the matter. Lord George Bei.tinck, one of the astubeet judges the turf has ever sees, and one of it* greal'-sfc supporters, never won a Derby ; and yet in modern years Sir James Miller, with Sainfoin, and Mr M^Calmont, with Isinglass, carried off ths Blue R>bbbn almost at the commencement of thsir racing career. Daring his long experience, and with all his great ability, Fordham only eacoceded in riding a Derby winner on oDe occasion, and th^t was unexpectedly on Mr Leopold Roti-s :hild's S'r Bsvys. Amocg the early jockeys who won renown at Epsom, says the Pall Mall Gszette, were Clift, Will Scott, Buckle, tbe Arnulls, and Jem Robinson. Clift won the Darby four times, once on the trial-biaten Timiag. who, not content with winning in a canter, could not be pulled up until he iiad taken his rider nearly in'o the town itself. Jam Robinson won six Dcrbys, but his first s access was quite an accident, as he wa« given the l-~g-upon Azor, ostensibly to mtke the running for a stable companion, bub really to deprive another owner from eugaging his services. Robmeon was the jockey who backed himself to win the Derby, Oaks, and get married in one week, and he won the bet, a feat one of our present fashionable jockeys has since emulated. Will Scott rode four Derby winners, and would have ridden the fifth but for getting off late 011 his own horse in order to slang the starter. Of the modern jockeys Fred Archer was a long way the most successf ol of bis compeers, bis fearless riding round Tattenham Corner being a great factor in hiß success. He rode five Derby winners, Costanc->. was successful on three occasions. His fkt,t Darby winner was Thor marshy, the property of Mr Merry, who won £85,000 over him, over £75,000 of which he collected on the following Monday. Poor CiHtance only received £100 for his share. The money was paid to him in the we'ghing room at Sto&bridge, and it was given him in the hops that it would not turn his head or him to go wrong.

*** The Hard wicke Stakes atAs^ot was ragarded as such a goed thing for* the French horse C» ! listrate that odds of 3 to 1 were belted on hiß "flooring the pair of his opponents. After going half a mile, the favourite went into the lead and forced the pace, atid below the distai) ce, when it was seen that Tithonus could maka no show at all, while S. Loafces hid been driving Barbary for half a mile, while Callistrate wa.B untouched, auyone would have thought it picking up m'-n'-y t,o I*> 10 to 1 on. Buoina final effort Biiba r ) colUred the Frenchman, and the latter finishing badly, got btaten by over a length. Cu^bendaU, winner of th« Windsor Castls Stakes, claims relationship to Isinglass, as the latter's dam, Deadlock, is granddam to the colt mentioned Only two horses opposed R»vensbory in the three-mile Alexandra Plate, and long oddt were entrusted to Captain Machell's horse, who, however, had bnt little to spare at the finish. This being pinched was not, how«v«r, dut to a mat of staying power on

R&venshury'fl part. It wa3 solely owing, says a Jeadiug writer, to the muddling pace, which prevented his stringing out his opponents, as he certainly could have done, a long way from homo. Many a time one has seen a longdi^tvtice rocs won by a mera sprinter when nothing has broaght them along throughout. It ia eaiy to understand that oa hard ground owners and trainers with to cave their horses as much as possible, bub the exett : on of a finish in which fprinting comes in t^ke3 more out of TUvensbury than a true-run gallop. He sweated profusely after the race though he showed no signs of di*tivs3. Probably there is no horse in training so thoroughly able to do his test on hard g r oaud, and if some modern Dick Turpia were to ride him hard on the road from London to York he would pull up sound aud also eat up at the finish, never dreaming of dying after the fashion of Bleck Bess.

* # * Sixteen days after the last mealing of the expired season a copy of the New Zealand Turf Register, containing a full, true, aud particular account of all the events from and including the Palmerston North Trotting Club's meeting (August 1. 1894) to the St. Clair Park Trotting meeting (July 27, 1895), was placed in my hand 6. The proprietors and publishers, the Christohurch Press Company, deserve great credit for thus hurrying up the publication of this important, aud indeed iudispensibls, work, and the editor and printers may be congratulated on the general appearance of the volume, while in all the tests I have been able to apply the result is to show absolute accuracy in what to som^ may appear mere matters of detail, such, for instance, as tho colour and sex of racers. I may be told that it is ab <nrd to suggest that anyone should consider these r o : nts as of subsidiary importanse ; bub to any such I would quote my. oil aad muoh-«fc.idif-d volumea of reiocds in bygone years, containing jopoit* in which there is what seems to be the bjeb authority For the deduction — I take an illustration at random — that Garibaldi was once a black, then a bay, and afterwards a brown, and at alternate periods he figures as a stallion and a gelding. Unlrss the secretaries of club 3 are nowadays more mindful than they used to be to furnish corrected reports, these difficulties hava sti 1 to be surmounted by the editor of the Register, and if his experience is anything like what mine has been in times past, I do not envy him tbe job. Anybody can remember wh*t horse won tha last New Zealand Cap. The things that people argue about:, and which have to be settled by such a work as the R-gii«ter, are the finail matters, and a lot of tima is sometimes t&kca up before one can be quite sure whether Barney is a brown or a *bay, or whether Ned is a horse or a gelding. It seems to me, however, that in the Register these mirmtice as well ss the leading facts are duly checked, and that in all respects the book is a creditable production. A new dpp-urturo in respect to the arrangement of the matter is th*t the reports have b'-en compiled somewhat; ou the lines of Ruff* Guide. Tae type is set in double column*, and by transferring the "bh" and "eh g" to tbe index, where the pedigrees also appear, a saving in space ia made without sacrificing any of the facts or unnecessarily sqneezing up the matter to the point of illegibility. I think the ne*w arrangement a decided improvement, and in saying co I pptak as a printer as well ssa sporting editor.

*** And now, having felt it a pleasure as well as a doty to speak of the minner in which the Weekly Press and Referee staff have acquitted themselves of their task., I may be permitted to remark tbafc in this as i>i m^st otber of the concerns of life there i* a co niterbalancing obligation, resting in this c-ise on tha racing community at large and on the clubs in particular. So far as the public are concerned, they will doubtless discharge their sh^re of the obligation with readiness. Racing men cannot afford to do without the Register, and will doubtless give it a good circulation, Bat our population is a small one, and an elaborate work sneb as this is cannot be made to piy without a bonus from ths leading clubs. Many of them recognise this, aud cheerfully plank down a small sum aunu*l(y as a contribution towards the cost of production. Obhew, while participating in the common benefits, steadfastly ignore the invitation to stand fieir quota The Auckland Club is a p-ominent sinner in that re^peefc. I single that; club for mention bec^uss it seems to be iv a fair position, and certainly would noi be mad a pjorer by sending its cheque for the small snm necessary to keep it in line with the C.J.C. and D J.C. It is to be hoped that this meanness or forgetfulness, or whatever the obstruction is, will be dropped. As a matter of fact it must be if the Register is to coutinue. The Pre^s Company cannob be expecbod to run the publication at a loss. I can well understand the position. So can others of us. Mr B'liott issued the fir&t N.Z Register in 1875. and it did not pay a third of the printing expenses. He tried a second time in 1881, and then dropped the venture From thnt fact I conclude that the second b^o'i was clso a loss to him Mr Whethata and myself revived the publication in 1834, with tha re u'b th*t 1 for one got "full up" in one act and retued, reckoning the racing public owed m« £100, if my time wai of any value. Mr Whebhara struggled m for "a conp'e of seanons alone, with no better results, aud a third trial for success was also a failare. Then, after two years' lap ae, the Press proprietors took up the task, and I think iv is~safe to say that each of their four issues has entailed a loss. The fifth is now ont, and the position must bo faced by those concerned. Personally I think it is a question for a conference levy, so as to force all clubs to pay a trifle. In tbe rneaut'ine the complaint is that clubs who can afford to pay will not do so. 1 hope they will see the gravity of the position and ensure the continutnee of our Register.

*#* There were 90 starters for the eight races of the Cauterbury Trotliug Club last week, an average of over 11. The track being very heavy, fest records were ro"; expected, and the smin 32« eof Wilkiti in the Sires' Stakes may be ac.-eptsd as a fairish performance ; so also may the 2-nin 563 ec of Pansy B in the mile race. Another consequeuca ot the mnddy going was the general csllapse'of the favourites. It is unusual to find go large a percentage as threa.fourths of the public fancies slipped up; yet that is what happened, the favourites winning only two of the eight races. It wa3 apparently thought by some that the reverses of form which ware witnessed were not wholly dae to the state of the course, for no fewer than three protests were entered during the afternoon, one against B'u^gown, * second against Opossum, and the third ajj-.in I Boudri, but in each in^t-ince the stewards he'd the offence unproved, and the judge's verdicts were snifered to abide. Two of the races, lam glad to see, went to that enthusiastic breeder Mr H. Mace, needles* to say with representatives of imported Berlin, a sire for which H. M h»s a strong fancy. One of these winners was the three-year-old pony Mambrino Abdallah; the other a young mare named Pansy B. Xhe latter was baoked down to the merest shade

of odds in a field of 22, and won hy twioa the distance. Another circumstance worth recording is that Bluegown, helped by hit handicap, won the very race in which he got home a year ago, starling' from the same mark, an important difference, however, being that whereas a year ago he was receiving 33sec from Imperious, whom he defeated by a neck, ho now received only 235e3 from the last-mentioned horse, who finished no nearer than fifth. Allan's pray Jasper was one of the failures of the meeting, and Rita was another. The latter made no show in either of her races, and apparently was not expected to, since she started at over 50 to 1 in the three-mile race and at 304 to lin one of the mile events. Nice prices these for a championship holder and a record breaker 1 Colonel and Spider were another pair that undertook the trip for nix. Tho total of £3661 passed through the authorised machine, or £614 less than at the corresponding meeting of a year ago.

*** The annual meeting of the Maniototo Jockey Club was held on the 6th, when, as reported in tha Chronicle, the balance sheet showed a loss of about £80 on the year's transactions. Mr Lundon was elected president; Mr R F. Inder, who was proposed tut declined the honour, as he held the opinion that the office should be a rolling one, being accorded a vote of lhankfl for past service s in that capacity. The other (filers were filled tbus : Vice-presi-dent, Mr W. F. Inder ; tieAsuier, Mr J. Bevin ; committee — Messrs T. Stephens, E. Hall, T. J. Francis, J T. Ferguson; D. M. Calder, W. Guffie, H. Wilson ; siarier, Mr R. M'Skimming ] (re-elected) ; handicappcr, Mr W. Hall ; limekeeper, Mr W. F. Inder ; stewards'— Mcs'sim A. G. Ma'.hias, Covain, GufFK Kerr, Ferguson, T. St-ii-h-ms, T. J. Fiaucis, A. Armour, H. Kirkpatrick, and Cilder; cietk of the course, Mr 13. Hull (re-electtd). It was proposed that Mr Calder be re-elected judge, but as he declined to accept the position it was decided to leave tbe appointment over in the meantime. When the queetion of a handicapper was under consideration Mr W. Guffit) was proposed, but declined to stand, saying he thought it would be to the interest of the club it someone else were appointed. A loi'g discussion encued, during which the opiuion was expressed tba*; a locsl man was more capable of carrying out the duties of handicapper satisfactorily than an Guilder. Mr Guffie, however, dec'ined to stand, and proposed Mr Hall, with the resu't that that gentleman was elected. The last business was the election of a Eecrebary, Mr W. F. Itjder having resign d the pcs.iijn. It was proposed that he be at- Iced to accept offic" again. Mr Inder said thab tha position had always been a pleasure to him, as he took a big interest in the sport, but after wh&t had transpired at the last race meeting be had made up bis rniud to resign the position. It was decided to call for applications for the po>iticn.

*#* The charge of cruelty to a he vsq s.l Flepaington races broke down when judicially inquired into. We read in the repor;s just to haud that at the Flemington Police Court on the 30uh ult Mr T. S. Dean, the well-known amateur rider, appeared to answer a charge preferred against him by the Society for the Fiwer.lion of duelty to Auimals for his alleged ill-treatment of the gelding C- rlerus ia the Grand National Btesptachaee. Tl c bench was composed of Messrs W. Shaw and J. Button, J.P's. Mr T. Miller appeared for tha prosecution, and the case for the defendant was conducted \iy Mr Forlonge. The veterinary surgeons, Messrs W. Kendall and S. Cameron, and Mr T. Latham, inspector to tbe society, gave evidence that they had at different times after the race seen Cerberus, and ihey gave it as their opinion that tbe horse had been cruelly treated with the spurs. For tbe defence Messrs Jonathan Gill, James Ilearn, Bnßil Gray, Hugh Jordan (Mayor of Es^endou), Charles Cabill, A. E. Morris, and J. B. J*llet all sated that they had no reason to believe unnecessary punishment had been inflicted on Cetbsrm. Tha defendant gave evidence on his own behalf. He said that as Cerbe.us was a vf ry lazy horse it was necessary to use the spurs freely to get him along. He was also exceptionally thin-skinned, and tbe slightest ptick with th<s spurs was enough to bring blood from him. Ctrberu3 had, he said, clouted tho fences durirg the racs, and had ferced a panel cut of one ot the obstacles. J. S. Edge, rider of liatiron io the Grand Natioi.al, said that he saw Cerbeius blunder badly end nearly f«ll at the third fence. The Bench considered that the casa of cruelty had not been proved, and therefore it was dismissed.

*»* The second day's racing at Caulfield was held on Saturday last, when the chief event, the Grand National Steeplechase, resulted as follows : — Daimio 13 3 (Barbcur) 1, R-nndal 9.12 (Alien) 2, Geometry 10.0 (Edge) 3 fifteen started. Betting: 2 to 1 aget Daimio, 6 to 1 Baltoro, 10 to 1 Joi and H'ghborn, 16 to 1 Geiinstry, from 12 to 20 to 1 fhe othf i*3. Genmetry w&3 the first horre to break the lice, bat aim st immediately H'ghborn ru'h^.-l to tbo front, and the latter, with Dart and Knebswortb, held a prominent pjs.lion to the straight., where the favourite, who had been feDcir.g faultlessly movtd up. Diimio had little difficulty in cutting down the leaders and stalling off a fast ran by Rom -id ale, and won easily by two lengths ; Gaomttry a length and &-balf behind the second horse. Highborn, C&mpaspe, end Songster were the only others to finish — the remainder falling, but, fortunately, no jockejs were injured. Baltoro pulled up lanse. Time, Bmin 16jec, which is the record for four miles.

* # * The V.R C Committ' eelect ; on on the sth resulted in the return of the four old members — Messrs S. Miller, W. H. Croker, F. Madden, and W. Leonard — and the two new members chosen were Mensm James Patterson and W. A. Menz'es. In placing Mr Miller ot the head of the poll, observes the Argus, members only paid a just compliment to that gentleman's energy, tact, and ability, bath as committeeman and chairman ; and Messrs Croker and Leonard had rendered the olub eueh good service in the past that their re-election was only to be expected. Mr Frank Madden lost many friends by hifi opposition to the totalisator, bat members no doubt recognised that the rejection of euch a useful member would be a loss to tha club, and now that Mr Madden recognises that a large majority of the members of the club and the racing community are in favour of the totalisator bis opposition to the legalisation of the machine may not be as active as it has been. Put for Mr J. L Purves being in good form, the annual meeting of the V.R C would have beu rather dull. The Q C.'s trouble was that tbe committee had decided on taking a ballot on the totalisator question instead of an open vote. Mr Purves first condemned the committee collectively, then sat on Mr Archie Ynille (metaphorically speaking, of conrse) individually, showed a disposition to take the control of the meeting out of the hands of the chairman, and wound up by getting his own way. The vote was duly taken on the show of hands, and a majority oE probably 7 or 8 to 1 declared in favour of tbe legalisation of the

machine. There was so discussion on ttta question, bat Mr Pnrves incidentally mentioned that he had turned renegade and gone over to tho large majority of the community which favours tbe machine. The new committee hava appointed 6he following office-bearers :—Chairman, Mr Sept. Mill-ii- ; starter, Mr Or,nrga Watson ; judge, Mr R. J. M'Culloch ; h«w.tfoapper, Mr F. F. Dakin; stipendiary s^-wp^d, Mr C. F. Fraser; seorefcary, Mr H. Byron Moore.

*** The Australasian's editor, commenting on the list of winning sires for the past ucopod, writes : Grand Flaneur, the unbeaten champion of ISBO 81, h»iads the liht wiMi £9L62. X ia the first time this great hone has dccup|d the pride of place, although Bravo won him toa Melbourne Cup of 1889. And tuera ia no doubt) thai; the hone Flaneur owes his position to—vie., Patron— is the beat animal Mr Long's celebrity has ever sired. Grand Flacenr has got any number of winners, bnt Patron is really 1 the only ro*l star be has sired. Bravo wad really good handicap form, but not a weijrht-for-age horse. Considering that he has been for years in a etud which contains a collection of mares which would do credit to any ifcud in tha world, Flaneur shotdd have fecund the plaoa he now occupies earlier in life. Although Light Artillery, Dreamland, and Lad; Trenton did not wio a race between (hem thifl sense n, Trenton cccupies second place with £7(313. Trentoa has sired more winners than the New South Wales horse, but he wrb unlucky with big stakes. HadQ«ir«r won tho Oaks and Sydney Cap it would have made all the difference. Trenton's mares have done wonderfully wall, and towards tbe end of the season Delaware did real gocd service for tho St. Albnna tire. Sheet Ar,chor, ,with £5262 against Wo name, cccapies third place. His srock have won more races than these of any other sire anvo Sunrise. Sheet's 'best son has, of conrse, been The Harvester, while Laundrets was a cupabla member of the softer 6ex running in his interests. Robinson Crusoe still takes no end of beating. This year, despite his ago, he is fouith on the liofc with £45H, annexed by 15 winners of 37 -races. Pn-sbon, Foxtail, Tullamore, Bunabari, and M:vo.;u were good representatives for the o'd hors-j, who wouM have made a brave ohow if Vakeel and The Sailor Prince had stood racing a little longer. Nordenfeldt is only fifth on tho list with £4487, but his New Zealand winnings are net included. Towards the end of the season Havoc was the best * eight- fo»agn horsa runnb g, tni Carnage, The Pufsible, &r. keyt Noideuklct well to th^ fore. SpJfiidonr f£4442), Marvellous (£4353), Chester (£3951), aud Grandmaster (£3425) follow, all these veterans b:iog well up, and then C7me3 Abereorn at the h'.ad Gf the young sires. Had Cobbity not been thrown out in the' spring. Abercarn ■would hft?o keen considerably higher m the list, but as it is he has won £3421 with five representative*. Such a good huwe chould soon ba fighting Trenton for the lead, as no hoise in Australia can Lope for bettor maces than AborI corn will get &t Kirkham.

*** Fomteen two-year-olda started in the first race at the Caulfield meeting oh the 3rd, and some of these recently-converted jearlings were r.-aily nJco-)ookiDg. Two of the crowd own Ca b us as sire — namely, Glei coe, whoiio dim is Xaihoa, and Fiietlotk, the son of Dueuria. Giencoe wtis left at the post, aud iha other fellow, who is on the Bm*Jl side, was never prominent in the race, which resulted in an easy win fpr Mr Miller's Ra»k, a filly by Glorious from Bira. Sue won all the way, The Bright Eyts and Contempt (both by Trentou) being the only others to thos? any pace to speak' of. Raak is a black, a good dcil on the leg, and looks a Glorious all over. Wh'.le by no meana a fine-looking filly, remarks the Argus, she is a cut aboTe the weedy Meg, who in the tance colours landed all the early two-year-old races in 1692. In tbe Malakoft Stakes, a fire and a-httlf furlong handicap, Biridsforde, who has bteu freely mentioned in connection with the Cfculfleld Cup, was a starter. The gtey was looking a perfect picture, and ran well enough to suggest danger when Walter Hickenbotham gets bis famous polish on him, which to all appearances will not be long; but he finished no nearer than fourth, the places being filled by Hughie 7 4, Onward 7.8, and Erl King 9 11. The winner, a five-year-old by Hughenden from Coral, started at Bto 1. The Hurdle Race is fully reported elsewhere ; suffice it to add that Brewer's riding of Roae*fc<-m was generally admitted to have bad a deal to do with the result. The Challenge Cup went to Mr G. Russell's Glenisla, and the Balaclava Stakes, oae mile, wa9 appropriated by Miracolenz 7.3, beating The Parisienne 7 8 by a length and a-halr. In this race Dreamland was a starter, carrying 9.0. He played up st the poet and had no show of winning, but his friends iorihe Cap were satisfied with his appearance.

* # * Mr S. H. Gollsn is a gentleman with a faculty for changing his mind, and a good many paragraphs concerning his own moveirer.ts or those of his Lorsts have been cor.fcs.adictrd by result-?, but I believe I am safe in eta 1 ing, writes " Xerlinga," tliat the C<*nlfie2d establishment will shortly be broken up, and one of tbe mott formidable teams in Australia removed to New Zealand. Percy Martin expects to take ecnie horses to Sydney to race at the A.J.O. Spring mesliog, and after that he will probably take tbe whole of Mr G.lllan's string to New Zealand.

*#* "Rita" telegraphs on Wsdcea.Ky night :— " Messrs Pyne and Co.'s sale of horns yesterday was very flat. Of thosa euW, I should s-iy that Mainstay, at £52 10s, was cheap enough. I also think that Mr Campbell was quite right in getting rid of Strath brain at a comparatively low prica in the aggregate. I fai.cy Mr W< bS alao did well eaongh financially in selling his b:col mares. — Mosb of the visiting horses to the National meeting havo departed, and 6ome of them have, I fancy, given their backers a bit of a facing.— lt is generally thonght here that Mannlichor and Bob Raj will have a big go at R«ndwick, but I^. * people here think the Yaldhurst horae h.^ .v. Bob Ray."

Mounts. J \ Lyford 14 ... V. Clarke 4 I. Luna... 8 .». i. Hope ... 3 ... \ Sheenan 11 i". Hedge... 4 ... \ Stewart 7 ... 3. O'CoDnor 4 ... . Poole ... 4 First. 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 Second ~. 2 ... 1 .~ 3 "! 4 I .- 3 1 0 d. T rhiri S 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2