DUNEDIN FANCIERS' CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 31

DUNEDIN FANCIERS' CLUB.

The fortnightly meeting of the committee of this club was held on the 18th inst., when there were present — Messrs Myers (in the chair), Cameron, Williams, P. Aitken, Howrth, A. E. Mathews, Stratton, Hides, Freed, Jowitt, A. Mathows, M'lndoe, Brown, RO3O, Thonias, and Townsend. Correspondence was received from the Secretary of the New Zealand Kennel Club, who forwarded some additional propositions, and also a list of "qualifications" for prizes.— The^Secretary explained that so soon as he received them he had sent them to the Dog Committee in order that thoy might consider them at the aame time as they were perusing the other proposals already referred to them. 1 The Secretary of the New Zealand Poultry Association wrote asking that the delegates from the club to the meeting of the association, which would be held on the 21st instant, should be appointed in writing — The Secretary said he had attended to this, and had given Mr Ferguson, one of the yice-nresidents of the club, who was at' present in Christchurch, and who probably would attend 'the meeting, the necessary authorities in blank and under the seal of the club. — Approved. Mr Brown, secretary of the Invercargill Poultry Association, wrote inquiring how m»ny coops his society could be supplied with for their show.— The Secretary stated that he had sent the requisite repl\ . — Approved. Mr H. H. Bailey wrote declining to act as a member of committee as he had not the time at his command to attend to the duties.— Received. Mr Jowitt reported that the sub-committee appointed had arranged for the use of the Garrison and City Halls for the show.— The report was received, and the secretary instructed to sign the necessary agreements. He also reported the result of the deliberations of the Dog Committee ou the various documents received from the Kennel Club, these the committee had on the whole approved of, with some alterations and other proposals which he explained.— This report was also approved of, and the secretary authorised to report the matter to the Kennel Club. The secretary was instructed to write to Mr Scott asking him to again act as judge of the canary section. It was resolved to allow space in the show free of charge to anyone who might wish to show trussed poultry. The schedule of the show was amended in that the pigeon flying rs»oe was fixed to take place from Ashburton, and to be under the sole control and management of the Dunedin Homing Society. The number of entries to make full daises in the dog section was altoi ed thus :— Six e» tries to constitute a full class: prize money, to be, first j£l, second 10s ; where there are four entries ia a class, first prize 10s, second 5s ; where there are two entries, first prize 6s, second certificate ; and where one entry only, a certificate is giveu. The classes for Indian game were also amended by having separate classes for each variety of bird, as requested by two or three prominent fanciers. At the conclusion of the business Mr Cameron moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Myers for his conduct in the chair, which was carried unanimously. I

At the consecration of a Maori church at Te Horo, Poverty Bay, recently, there was a large Native gathering, and the collection amounted to £319. The coal export for the past week from Westport was 7068 tons, of which the Westport Coal Company shipped 5550 tons and the Cardiff Company 1518 tons. The Wellington Beaevolenfc Institution has just come in for a windfall in the ihape of a legacy of £100 by terms of a codicil to the will of the late Mr A. de B. Brandon. Ministers difclaim any part in the refusnl of the Braoner Commusioners to open the inquiry to the press, but state that on the contrary they have no ■jmp&thy in the commissioners' action. A police constable stationed in a looality not a thousand miles from Westport, engaged in purging the electoral roll, returns an aforetime elector as " dead ; present whereabouts, unknown." — The largest cannon in the world was taken by the Euglish when India was conquered. The cannon was cast about the year 1600, and was the work of a chief named Chuleby Koomy Kfthn, of Ahmednugger. The inside of the gun is fitted up with seats, and is a favourite place for English officers to go for a quiet noonday sleep.

>* 4ihe Forbury, but all over, the colony, and i Bhonld ordinary -weather prevail we are bound ■ to tee M>ca« excellent racing. I still think that "Liberator is a good thins forthe Hurdles ; after that the events are Very open. In the Maiden "Plate, for instance, nearly everything seemo to have a show, and though I prefer Esau I do not think him good enough to take a very thorl price about. Med'cas is dangerous, also Stimulant ond Happy Dream. In regard to the Birthday Handicap also, the race seeoiß mare open than ever as the day draws nearer. A week sago I fossicked the available data and figured out Black and Red as the best investment. Since Shen the colt htfl been stopped in bi3 work for four days owing to an ulcer in one of his hind feet, and though, th» owner kindly informing me that Black 'and Rbd is all right now, »nd gaUoptag quite tiountUy, I am going to stick by zny tip, anyone can understand that the stoppage 'must have to some extent interfered with "bis ch-uoce. I »m satisfied, however, that he mill run a go. d colt. He was galloping on JSundfvy, and the six days' work will probably Euffice to bring him to the pout pretty fit. Next .to Black and Red I fancy Bellicent, who, though not a wonder to look at, is very well, and has the recommendation of being a. recent winner over the distance. These two will, I fancy, fight out the issue' •with Siracsn. Bat everything left in the race has some &>'rb of a «how. For the Tradesmen's Handicap 1 take the bett to be Colverin, Vanilla,. Mar*muia, Beadonwell, Warrington, and Van Buren, fend of the lot I rather prefer Vaniiaa,' -=-with "Beadonwell and Warrington as next best. My selections iv bmf are as under : — - ' Hardies — Libkiutor Maiden — Esatt ' - „ ' Birthday— Bxacb!-avi> Red , Selling Sace— Fbenchy Tradesmen'* — Vanilla, r Trot— Gordon. Ihess horeeß a~i» all going well, and if they jlon't win I can't help it. Admission to the )tand is reduced to 5s for this meeting.

*** Everybody is agreed that Chunshot will go his native colony credit in England on appearances at any rate, and regarding hia ability Us a sire, more hope is expressed than of some ether Musket horses which have been taken to the old country. My estimate of their value for the begetting of racing stock is that, after Trenton and O»rbine, nothing has a better prospect than Cba>ushob. Ho is ah<inteome bay horse, a combination of »iz*- in quality, springing from i, successful- racing family (brother to Ntcklace, Thunderbolt, and Bangle), and himself fat when on the turf. He' was bred at Sylvia Park, and as a yearling took the fane} of the Hon. W. Robinson, who Shelled out 700ge> for the purchase. That was on the afternoon that Dan O'Brien p*'d 620gs for Carbine. Cfaainshot was not raced as a two-year old, and in the following season he Started bnt twice, finishing second to Manton in the Dtrby and also in the Canterbury Cap. The Derby was won comfortably, bnt Cbainthot Jlnidfae-d less, than a length away in the fast time of Smia 40sec, and h« beat Wolveriee and Cuirassier badly— facts which seem to show .that it walited as exceptionally g^od colt, such :«s: «s Mantcnr was, to beat him. In the CanteriroEy'Cup the«uh"}ecb,o£ my- paragraph stayed .'the two tniies-and ji'qaartcryery well, JJnder ■the whip he came gemtly from the distance, and Man ton had to be shaken up to win-by a' -length. White rode Chainshot in each of these races. The colt appeared no more in public for in twelvemonth, and when he did come out, on Jbhe 5 h November 1889, to race for the Maiden Plata on Tirailleur's New Zealand Cap day, it -was in the colours of Mr D. Rutherford,- bis old ewser, " Ready Money," havißg died two months earlier. In this Maiden the best that Chainshot could do was to ficitb. fourth behind Bone Argent, Repose, and Be 4 Ensign. Then he went on the chelf till the winter, whon, ridden by Mr Boyle, he won the Ladies' Bracelet ab tbe Nutaonal meeting, and that doted tbe colt's turf career, which, though certainly unprofitable, was by no means

V " Delaware," in Sydney Truth, tells the following story about J. E. Brewer's father and Robert the Devil, sire of Hr Gollan'd honre Ebor • When I was young and fresh I used to travel about the country backing horses with men of genial temperament, and the same occupation, who, when broke, " mixed it " to lome extent— that is, if they couldn't find a winner thty found a watch, or something of value,. before it was lost. A name in an old betting book reminds me of an incident that occurred at an up-country meeting many years '•go. Hr J. Brewer, sen., owned* colt named Robert- the D v?l by M*ribyriiong from CreEflorne. He w<t* n-. urinated for the principal - handicaps at C <l>Ar f and a well-known book- , maker had backed hiot for a hundred or two. The day of the acceptances arrived, but '! the Devil " or hi' owner had nob. As the secretary w«« -making out a- Hit of the acceptors the bookDanker strolled iui« the rcom, and noticing that Robert the Devil wjw nob »raorg them, paid the Bsovs acceptance, though it was just half an hour after closing time.- I suppose ib cosfchim a couple more to rquwe the acting official. When (he liltle piece of business was ovei the bookmaker got a good " pitch " in Toy's bar, and calmly waited, with the rest of the inhftbittnts, the advent of the acceptances. When they were posted it was seen th*t Robert tbe D'-vi! w»s Among them, ar d there were plenty imxiuus to fcack him. Our ftiend accommodated them, but had hardly finished betting several kundrtds over his "book, when up rode Brewer's Envoy to accept for the horse. He had been detained, and imagine his delight at learning that some JtiLd friend bad sccspted for tbe horse. And imxgine the bookmaker's feelings when hearing tbat Robert was a "Sure starter. He tried to get hie money back, bub failed, and Eobert, ridden by tiny Jack Brewer, the now celebrated steeplechase rider, won the double. After he had completed the second leg, the bookmaker "blew the gaff," and then there was R rumpus, and from that day to this neither Stakes ©or bets have beea p»id.

*** At the head of the interesting English tewo items to hand this week is (he account o[ v t mall-stake victory by fcbeNew Zealand-owned Bbor. It was at Windsor, and is not the race ' fche pinning of which was referred to in the cablegrams. We read that everybody was greased with Mr Girilaifs sacces«, and ' tbat Bickey had a hearty rec.eptipn when he rode JBbor back to weigh, in;, hut there wasnothing di any »cconr.i •<■ b6ab t >aad, *s one scribe remarks, such ■ . <i 3 ought not- to make hßndi- • uppers in tdie hgutesb Brgrte rafoe their ;e»timale nf the winner. Particulars of the vJLLocoln meeting show that Addio, one of the earliest of Adieu's stock, and a half sister to " 3?roward, being"out of Frolic, won the Tathwell • Stakes, the first two-y#ar-old race of the sea'Bou, being afterwards bought in at 270gs. The Batthyany Stakes, the old-established .fivefurlong handicsp which is also run on the first flay of the Lincoln meeting, brought out a field »f average strength, and J>fi the f nvonxites asexe

beaten out of a place, th« race supplying an exciting finish between' tbrae, of whom Blue Mark won by a head. This mare showed some Bsn«rtneßS at various time* as a two and three year old. but daring her first seasvn was in the raiika of tbe selling-platers, and changod hands on four wcaii-nts, o-> tta Us*; hecoming the property of Sir J B a «Ml M«p!e is the resjlfc rof a private deal, fefae. is by Mark (son of Hermit and Sweetbriar) from Blue Pennant (by Knight of the Garter from Phantom Sail, by • the Flying Dutchman), and was bred by Lord Feversham. It hat been already related in these columns tbat Clorane, the top weight for the Lincolnshire Handicap, won pretty ewily from Quarrel, whoss name appeared at the bottom of the. handicap. Details show, however, that Quarral did not aobually carry the lowest weight. To secure Gcimshaw's services he carried 91b extra. But it was not this that stopped him. Clorane won with plenty in hand. Quarrel made the pace a cracker, and kept his opponents on the go from the jump off, so at a quartar of a mile from home the bulk of the possibles had the fire taken out of them, and their challenges were of the weakest character. When Clorane- made his effort, however, it was quite another matter.. He started in pursuit of the runaway at the distance, and eventually wan as he liked. Clorane was bred in Ireland, and after winning the Cork Dertty became the property of Mr A. F. B*ss-t at 1300gs. Altogether this horse has taken part in 18 races, of which he has won a * dczen, including the R >yal Hunt' Cup. It will be seen by the report that he did not start first favourite.for the Lincolnshire, that honour falling to Court Ba'l The backers of Lesterlin had had luck, as the colt ran well for three parts, of the journey, but when asked to make his effort, unfortunately b.-oke a blood- vesßeL The game mishap- befell him at A«cot last year. On the third day of the meeting the B ookksby Stakes brought out;, rather a backward lot of two-year-olds, of whom Jest and Princess* Anne proved the best,, an interesting finish finding Jett "staying the- best and winning by .half a length She was bred by Mr Sadler and purchased last July by Mr. Rothschild for 300gs. Juggler, her sire, is by Toucaet from EochanfcreßS, by Scittith Chief ; ar.d her dam isMerrie Lassie, by Rotherhill from Lassie, by Blair Athol. There were 240 runners for the 19 races at the meeting, an average of over a dozen.

* # * Liverpool meeting followed. Jarvis's stable supplied the winner and runner-up for the Molyuewx Stakes in Me'fitana and the fi'ly by Tristan out of Polenta. The n^t-uained, a filly by Melton out of Fame, was bred in Italj by Prince Dorian. Ou her arrival in Eiglstnd she was purchased by Mr C. D. Rose for 600gg. Her dam, F«me, was Kent to Italy in 1892 with a foal by Sir Bevyß, while her sire, Melton, was sold for £10,000 to go to the same country in 1890 For the Grand National the field retched the respectable number of 28. To find one of the same numerical strength we have to go b*ck to Disturbance's jear, 1873. The race wss remarkable for the number of mishaps that ' occurred. This is in part attributed to the wild pranks of Redaill, who fell at the first fence, and, rising without his ruptured a blood- vessel t while a third bolted and rider, went on alone, swerving all over the course and placing durk* and drakes with the crowd. Ten felt in the first round and four in the second. One horse broke down, another cast his jockey over the rails Only nice horse* .completed the tediouc journey, the exact, distance of which, _ by the way, is in dispute. ■Robert I'Anioa declares that the course is nearer five miles than four miles and a-half, whereas the special of the Sportsman declares that in a walk round, stopping to examine the obstacles and to see a race start, he covered the one circuit in 35 minutes. It seems strange that the club does not have the distance closely measured and the measurement stated. The finish was fought out by The So&rer and Father O'Piynu, the latter going much the stronger in the loot/ hundred yards, but not quite strong enough to catch The Soarer, whose quick jumping helped him considerably at the final fences. The winner, a low, lengthy, blood-lik? gelding, covered the course in lOmiu UJsec, which is 28 4-s>ec slower than Cloisfer's record. Bred in Ireland, The Soarer won several stakes for Mr Campbell, and was sold in February for 600gs to Mr W. H. Walker, who proamed Mr Campbell " a monkey" ont of the stakes if he rede and won on the horse. The Soarer started at 40 to 1, and ib is said that all Mr" Walker had on him was a £50 note. He did not like to let him run altogether loose. Other parties, However, backed the horse fox a fair ' stake. |So much- has The Soarer improved ia appearance of late that his owner did I not recognise him is the paddock, and asked the lad in charge what horse it was. The Spring Cup, run on the last day of the Liver- [ pool meeting, went to Stowmerket. who started one of the complete outsiders, and surely mast have crawled round if the official record of 2min 38sec for the mile and three furlongs is correct.

* # * The Northampton aad Fytchley meeting began on April 1, when the important' Althorp Park Stakes, five furlongs, for two-year-o!ds, found Pastoral lending the odd* in decisive fashion from a brace of opponents. This colt, bred by Prince Sollykoff, the owner, is by Gold (son of Sterling and. LucetU) from Chloridia, grauddaugh'er of the same Lncetta Paris's win in the Northsmpbonshire Stakes prodnctd a profound itnpr. Bsion on the E >glish sports. This is the fitsfc fairly repi-oeeutative Australian horse th^y have seen, aud though past his prime, he opened tbeir eyes to the fact that he is a stayer. Sa} s one of the scribes : Paris 111 had that quiet and sleepy air whioh appears to be a characteristic of mosb of the Australian horses, bnt he wai evidently a very different animal from the wretched performer we saw at the end of last season, and appeared quite capable of giving us a reproduction of the torm thit enabled him to win a couple of Caulfield Cups and so many other valaable faces at the antipodes. The fact that 31b extra had been declared to enable Mornington Cannon to ride him evidently gyre his supporters additional confl^encs, and he virtually monopolised the market, nothing cUe being backed with any spirit. The only description I can give of the race is that it was any imaginable odds on the favourite from the moment the fl*g fell. He was dever really out of a canter, and thgSfrrx lengths by which Cannon allowed him to win might have be*n 16 or 26 For the last quarter of a mile his jockey had the greatest difficulty in preventing him from distancing his fietd, and a trainer might well remark, about five minutes after the race w»s over, " I wonder if Cannon's pulled him up yet " Had he not been handicapped on very different terms in the Great Metropolitan and Chester Cup, one or both -of these events would have been completely spoilt, and, as it is, even 9*1 91b, which is- the weight he has to carry in each of them, is by no means prohibitive, for he is a rare stayer, and evidently a very handy horse. The victory was a wonderfully popular one, for it shows great enterprise and plu ck to send horses so many thousands of miles, and, until yesterday, it had met with no reward.

*#* The Napier Park Club, whose meeting was 'the event of last week, came into existence in the season 1886-87. It is therefore the youngest of the big clubs. Four race meeting* were held in its first; season, among them toe inaugural sfceepkchise gathering— l was going to write "fixture," bub the word wou'.d be inappropriate, Bine« fcli« meeting has nofe been invariably coßtiuuoua, interruptions occurriug in 1891 1893, and 189*. At the first of the series Maugnohane, then only five years old, triumphed easily over the veteran Orient; in the following year, though raised only lib, Mangaohane was defeated by that sterling 'cha»er Chemist, ridden at 11.6 by A. Ellioghaai; iv 1839 Chemist in tain had to kuuckle under, he witii 12 10 being outstayed by the lightly-weighted P*nic, who showed great form ai the fences ; in 1890 another nurprise came off, the outsider Oeo cunning in ahead of a fair field ia very easy style ; thea, »f ttr an interval ef a year, Whalebone defeated Otaiori *nd two other moderates without any difficulty ; a lapse of two years mire brought on the moiiWious performance of Tiritea last year, he giving Matiny half a etone and a half-length boa6ing ; and now we have Mutiny's turn, making the list of winners to date as under : —

By all accounts Mr Douglas's horse was some- | what luotry to win. Morag beak him decisively for pace at the weights, and wai leading by 20 lengths in the second round when he blundered at a sod wall. Hit rider, Sweeney, remounted in time to get second place, but Mutiny, having made (be most of his opportunity, won rather easily. It Is not quite fair to c*ll this all luck. Mutiny jumped an obstacle over which SAorag fell, and as jumping is just as much a part of steeplechasing as galloping is, we mast say that Mutiny deserved 'his win. Nevertheless, he was lucky to some extent in finding a very dangerous horse make an nexpected blunder. "~ The bandicapper was, evidently impressed with Morag's performance, for he raised him a stone for the second day's race, And at the s»ra« lime dropped Timothy (who rtn third on the first day) by 31b, and still the public vastly preferred the penalised horse. In this, however, they made as error of judgment, as Timothy beat Morag very easily, which I may remark, is not to be wondered at. Rnngipunehu ran a .gcod home each day, and umy be fl> for better hurdling .comp»uy. Hopeful, on the other hand, cut up indi£E<4Tfently each time he was stripped. The Eton J D. Ormond, indeed, won nothing at the meeting, bar pJace money. Th« Australianbred Panoply was the daddy of the flat racers, and the greatest disappointment in this line was New Forsst, who i» either a rogue, or not so fit a* they thought he was, or -a duffer. A commission to back him in Dun< din for the Stewards' Stakes caused a ruih for what was deemed a good thing. The books took it all, and had the bast of it at balanoing. Now Forest would have paid £5 2e had he won. The club excluded all the odd* layers, but did not come out extra well with the totalisator returns, for whereas last year's moaey for one day was £4-743, the total for two days this eeason c»me to £7223. It is a pretty good hum, but does not show the stopping of much leakage.

* # * William Goaler, an English trainer whose name is familiar to sport- men all the world ' over, died on the 22ud March from a complication of aitmente succeeding to gout. Deceased wa* born at Storkbridge in 1827, and when ; about 12 ye.vr« old became attached to the famous sable of J. B. Day at Danebury, where he often rode ab exercise tbe phenomenal fitly Crucifix, who won seven races and divided another as a two-ye»r-.old, and in the next searoß carried Lord George Bentiuck's colours first past the post in the Two Thousand, the One Thousand, and the -Oaks. Ten years later or thereabouts, says the iSponnavß, when Day abandoned the Dautbury tsUbliuhment and moved over to Findon with Mr Padwick's horses, Goater went with him, as aho did John Porter, who was then a lad in the stable, but it was nob until 1855, in which year Scythian won the Chester Cup, that Gaater started on his own account as a trainer In that year J. B. Diy, or " Hone*t John," as he <7»s more familiarly known, decided to •retire into private life, and then it was thet Goatsr took over the Findon establishment from his old employer, and appointed John. Porter as his head I&d, which position he continued to fill until he acoeptad the offer to train for Sir Joseph Hawley ab Kingeclnre. F. B»rratfc, another vve'l-kno*n trainer of to-day, aleo " learnt bis leason " under William Goater at Findon. In the years that have passed since then, many a real good horse has gone through Goater's hands, but to the last he always declarad that the grandest horse he had ever had anything to do with was Virago, who not only placed the One Thousand Guineas in 1854 to the credit of Mr Padwick, who was racing in the name of Mr Howard, bub ia the same year won both the City ?nd Suburban and l.he Great Metropolitan Stakes, which in those da] s were run on the same day. About the time that Day gave up the control of the Findon establishment, the stable contained several wonderfully good horses, the meat important of which wai undoubtedly Rataplan, thb famous brother to Stoekwell, who was fancied iv some quarters for the DerbT of 1853. In a field of 28 he ran fourth to West Australian, Sittiugboume, and Cinoas, the finish being snob, a close one that the proverbial sheet might almost have covered bhe quartet. He won most of his three-year-old engagements, and in the St Le^er was placed third, West Australian again being first ta p&es tbe post. Then there occur the ttitmei of such horses as Coroner, Dnuinore, Sedbury, and that remarkably unlucky horse Yellow Jack, who at one time or another finished Sfeond for almost every important handicap which figured on tbe Calendar.

*** R*ces were held at Caul field on May 2. Bayonet, one of the two Carbine colts tbat were included iv the field for the Two-year- old Han-, dicap, was made favourite, and he got well aw»y, but at the distance he and all the rest were soundly beaten by Termagant, a daughter or Bengal (a son of Chester) and Amazon, who landed the odds of 10 ta 1 with consummate ease. Only three started fur the Hurdle B*co, and Larnook, the representative of Mr Miller's stable, won by a neck from Algebra, the winner conceding 131b. That the Glenbuatly Handicap, a mile and three furlongs, was considered an open race eaay be judged from t&e feet tbat in a limited field of seven the be^ir.g wv.- 3 ro 1 each of two, StratgbJfiri- 8.0 au-i U*le.nb 6.10 being chofeu by t&kei's. towards the finish StraigiitS^i bceaied really like winnirg, but, with his customary ill-fortuae, he was worn down in the last few strides by Captain Swift 6 9, the son of Neckeragat and Ada, who won by a length. The winner started at sto 1. The Steeplechase went to the ancient Waratab, who has been out of eight for ever so long. Mikado 11, the half brother to Lady Zetland, ran in this race, bat cut up very badly, and it is

feared that his day as a 'chaser of rank is past. The Selling Raca was won by Bay Ronald and the Welter by CulMan,. both first favourites.

*#* Tiustreara, winner of the Goodwood Handicap at Adelaide, has been racing on and off ever since her sapling season, and she is now in her eighth year. The daughter of Tiufiuder waß placed third in the face in 1894 and 1895, Modtyn being the winner on each occasion. Foliage, made a hot favourite this year, got off well, he and Thunderer making the pace for fivo furlongs. At the last bend Thundenr compounded, and Foliage, commencing a second run, seemed to have a mortgage on the stakes ; but at the distanca Homespun and Tinstream ran past engaged iv a furious duel, whioh ended in a short head verdict for the latter; Carlton, who cams fast as soorf at he got clear, finishing third and Foliage fourth. Though owned in South Australia, Tinstream is leased to a Victorian man, who trains and races in the name of George Cox, and won a nice «t»ke over the race. Tas South Australian Stakes, a seven-furlong race for two-year-olds at Derby weights, proved, as expected, a soft thing for Thunder Queen (by Thunderbolt from Queen Consort), who, though carrying ft 71b penalty, made a oce-howe affair of it, winning at a canter in lmin 35<ec — not a bad go. The Leger was also won very easily. Mr Cook's Merry Boy . waited so long, allowing Viking t > secure a big lead, that many tb ought the latter would never be caught. But after going a mile the others closed up to him a bit, " and Acton and Merry Boy collated him at the last turn. Thence the favourit9 waited on Acton, and beat him home how and as he liked. In the Elder Stakes, though Hova seemed to go short in his preliminary, he was mads a levelmoney chance. He and Warpaint played a waiting game. The latter had the first- go at the leaders and felt their mcaiure, aud when Hova came along the pair -had a battle royal which resulted in a dead heat. The run-off was interesting: Hova waited on Warpaint till well into the straight, and then sailed past to a very easy win Ou this form one would have expected to see Warpaint made a hot favourite for the Cup, especially considering that he had been fancied all along and largely held in doubles, but for some reason or another the talent preferred fire other horses ia the race, allowing Power's horse to start at over 10 to 1. Mr Couk ran The Harvester and The Merry Boy on their merits, and both- were well backed. Harvester's legs looked rather iiuspiciou*, and he was never dangerous. Merry Boy, ou th other band, ran a good colt under bis penalty. *nd ah the la«t turn ma.de a determined effort to catch Trent ham, who had led to that point. What Mr Cook's colt failed to do Warpaint performed, his well-judged run I giving him the lead at the half distance. Miraclnm then gut out, and a great rice ensned, Warpaint getting home by -a head, with Trentham third and Lord Greuville a good fourth. Miraclum was disapp >inted at the turn, or th? verdict would probably have been reversed- During the race Port Admiral fell, breaking Burns's collarbone and injuring himself slightly.

* # * From Sydney come two cowflioting reports about Mr Dan O'Brien, On->, that ha intends to retire from the turf ; tbe >>' her, that he has made up his mind to sell bis Sydney stable and return to New Zealand. As a guess, I should eaj that if a change is contemplated by the man once known as "lucky Dab," it will be in the direction of a removal to this colony. Unless he has made enough to live on for the rest of his life, whioh seems unlikely in view of his long aptill of " leather-hunting " for other fellows' inning*, he mnit do stgnething, and as. he is a racing Man puic and'^imple — I mean he is that and nothing else— he will naturally keep to the old game. If so, he may be expected to cast his eyes towards the colony wherein he made his money. I have heard more than one owner, after getting a living here for years, speak contemptuously of New Zealand, talking such nilly nonsense ai that they would sooner live on one meal a day in Sydney or Melbourne than stop here, and sa on, and then, after a trial, find themselves very glad to come back to the country where their bread and water were always sure. It is not to, bo supposed that Mr O'Brien ever gave himself away by uttering such ridiculous sentiments. He hud a pretty f»ir innings here with Tasmau and Carbine and Fivedom and Fishhook .>nd Fu-srie and Gipsy Xi a vnd eeveral other uotable parfmmers that re ■ ad the judgment to buy and the luck to keep going ; aud ib tbe trading line he was phenomenally succssf al, having made four -sales that by themselves would have been reckoned a small "pile" by an ordinary owner. I refer to Carbine, Trenton, Dunkeld, and Gatling. After doing so well here, he of course will naturally regard New Zealand a* hia Tom Tiddlor's ground, and I suspect tbat if be is full up of Sydney ha will rejoice to once more make his residence in the colony, even though it is the home of the totalis&bor. This alleged grievance agf>iust tbe machine is not counted as very serious whe'i weighed up carefully. The Australasia? '•<* a pointed obs.-rvation on thi* suhjp.ci : \V ar<- afraid it will be some time before tbe tut . Bator geU a fair hearing in Victoria, but there are very few of our owners who would not like to see it established on our racecourses. That Victorian racing men*appreciato it ia evidenced by the exodus of horses to South Australia every year Tbcre is one Victorian owner who is never tired of denouncing it, however, and thfcb is Mr S. G. Co^k. Bat tbe owntr of The Harvester is in Adehide now with th*) object of trying to annex the St L»ger and Adelaide Cup. If he were trua to his principles, The Harvester would be at C*ulfi«ld to-day contending for a £100 stnke, and his owner .would be reeking to make up for the emallness- of the club's donation by relieving the >in^ of a few thousands ; but, no, Mr Cook has gone to Adelaide, where the club lays him £1030 to 'lv- £10 hepajs in entrance fees. Mr Albert Millßr also hates tho totalisator, but for the past two years he has cent a horse to O»kaparinga, j

**# TUe Canterbury Jockey Club's committee will report at the annual meeting that the receipts for the past ge&soa were considerably in exceßi of those of any other year since the club was started. The general working acoouatfor the year shows a profit of £2045 11s 2d. With the exception of that held in February, all the meetings have resulted in a satisfactory profit, the lo»s on the one named being £50 less than last year. In reporting on the change in the 8} stem of working the totalisatQrs last year, the committee ststed that the cost of making the alteration would be paid off in two years, aud although it ta' found npcf<B*ai-) N> Vav-- 1 a new machine built this fenooi), the prtfit »r:s'tig from the new syatesn is now nearly £200 moie than the total ccet of plant. The committee have accepted tenders for the ereetibn of a new official stand at a cost of about £2000, and as the contract expires on July 31, the stand will be available for the Grand National meeting. It is to be proposed that Mr Alex. Carrick be made an honorary life member of the clnb, in consideration of bis gratuitous services as auditor for a period of over 20 year*. Seventeen gentlemen having been nominated for the stewards and 13

forthe committee, and a ballot will be taken, as the numbers to ba elected are 12 and 13 resptc* tively. Messrs Stead and Tabart being the only, nominatio s for the positions of hon. treasurer and hon. judge, no ballot will be taken.

*** " Ranger," of the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, in dealing with the sub* jest of cross-country riders, concludes his not* as follows : There are jockeys of the impetuous, bulldog order, who like to be in front. I eon* fess that. those are the men whom I like to back. It ia pleasant to £ea one's favourite in front at tome period of the contest, just as an indira'ion that we ww t r? Dot investing money without s «htbiug Hki- * >eaa^n&ble cause for doing si>. The more eminent artists — thosa who come with a whirlwind finish after waiting (chiefly at the fences)— affect to deride the efforts of their bolder confreres who like to jump off and go all the way, and who on a one-pace staying horw I are very hard to beat. Volumes, however, imtoad of paragraphs, might be wiitten on this qiu6fc ; ou of riding, and the relative styles adapted by the leading professors are most interesting to discuss. They are, of course, the chief topic of conversation amongst practical racing men, who are by no means harmonious ia their views on the subject. My idea i« that, as we recommend "horses for courses," we may also sngtfesi "jockeys for horses." If I have a speedy r.o\i-sfcayer I like to put up a crack professional who can w*it and' time himself to cowo with ona run But if I h*ve a lazy, onepace animal that wants a lot of riding, I deem it expedient to utilise the skill of a jockey who. will drive -his horse to the front and stop therft as long as he can, and to whom the fences are not suggestive of sudden death.

* # * Mr Sydney James h going to recommend the D J.C. to make ar rule reserving to itself the power to call upon the nominator of any horse to substitute another name for bis horse if it be entered in the name of a racer that -is dead ; failing this, that numerals be added or the club itself nime the horse. The principle here involved is, ol*course, already recognised, and Mr James will earn thn thank* of press writer.-; and hosts cf otht-r parsons connected with the turf if he should succeed .in bringipg his propgstl to fruition. We want more order and system introduced into onr tutf .arrangements generally — more businest-liko management, in fact ; and lam very pleased to see a leading secretary, himself a business man, taking ac'ion in this direction,. It m»y bo imagined that an owner would be careful not to run any risk of having his homo nam^d without reference to his wishes. If this were the ultimate penalty there would ba less random naming by men who, for all the knowledge they display, stem to have never looked at a Register or a Stud Book.

*k* Pasting up to date once more the trotting record, I find the P«rkin W»rb#ck horse Bam doing two fair performan."eg at South Canterbury — bin two miles in smin 40sec and a mils and a-half in 4-min 6<ee, being both well within the range of even time. On the Geraldine course the same horse did two. miles in smin 41aec ( thus ratifying his previous claims. At North Ot»go the list gained another recruit in Hazelwood, whose smin 33* ec for two milca and 2min 4-B^'C for one mile seem to be unquestioned. The North Canterbury fixture con* tributed an addition to the milers in Barn , Dance, who just squeezes into the select company ; ;and Three Cheers showed a gait of Smin 14-dec for two miles, this being an improvement of 16sec on his previous best. Three other " members wore " made " at the Wellington meeting, F B. doing the mile in 2min 49m0, Haz(ja» dean getting round in 2miu 58*eo, and Alice showing a record of smin 40ieo for two miles.

*** I bad a chat on Monday morning with Dick Maion, proprietor of the Yaldhu»st training ground. Ho tells me that he h«s sot yet sold the property, but is willing to take a reasoi able price, being desirous of shifting to s warmai climate — either the North Island or Auntral •> — for the sake of his health. Yaldhurst tws a nitie furlong track and 'perfect paddock accommodation. It was qsi§jnally pegged out as a course by the late Bob Vallance and himself when they were in partnership.

■ ##* Backers who are already rushing into business over the New Zealand Cup should ba careful of what they are doing. One horse at least tbat is mentioned as having beta supported will not be entered. I refer to Skjrmishrr, who is now running in the Eldenlie paddeck", rating turnips and all kinds of swellbelly things, and will. probably be there when the Cup is being run— at any rate, I know for a oertnintj tl<at he is not to be nominated.

*## The sugg*»tion made in these columns lust week to the effect that it might be found necensnrjr to extend the bracketing principle, so far as trots are concerned, to include all horses belonging to each stable is to be put into force by the Canterbury Trotting Club. Its meeting is cow coming on, and we shall hear next week how the t xperiinent worked.

* # * The Duoedin Jockey Club's trip ro the Taieri to inspect the properties there which are uuder offer to the dab coald not take place last week, ib being inconvenient foe iomo of tlio members to attend. The trip is now fired for to-day (Thursday), starting at II a.m,

i r. Winner. 1837 Mangaohane LBSS Chemist LBB9 Panic 1890 ,Oeo 1892 Whalebone LBi»s Tiritea L 896 Mutiny A Weight 10.7 11.6 9.0 9.8 11.2 11.10 12.3 t. ltidor. Redmond Eltingham Cochrana Fergus Gilpin Redmond Hope Div. £4 9i £3 16s £11 14: jeio a £2 Si £ 3 8i £4 4i