TALK OF THE DAY,

Otago Witness, Issue 2209, 2 July 1896, Page 32

TALK OF THE DAY,

Bx MAZEPPA.

* # * The Dunedin Jockey Club's General Committee haje formally approved of the Taieri purchase and appointed trustees to hold the property on the club's "account. The chief question now is as to when the club will make a Bhitt from Forbury to Wingatui. On that

point! cannot furnish any definite information. Lots of things have to be done— to begin with, a scheraeia wanted for the planning out of the course to tbe best advantage, and even if one to suit is found in Australia some time musfc elapse before a start is made by the carpenters and pick-and-Bbovel men and others whose services will be required to transform open * paddocks into a course. There is no reason, * however, to apprehend extraordinary delay, and the predict : ous of those members who talk of running the next Dunedin Cup on the new ground have a fair chance of, verification. If , wo are not racing at Wingatui by that date we shall be then looking forward to a very early start. By the way, what about', dates P The D.J.C. is not much indebted to the chief holidays for attendance. It teems to me' that some r of our dates are very badly cboseu. - The Spring ' meeting comes immediately after Christcaurch, when horseß are wanting a spell and the public baye spent their spar e'time and cash ; and Cup Day stands altogether on .its own hook, the meeting receiving no assistance whatever from any horrday. lam well aware that the fixing of dates is a very difficult matter,, but surely some change could be made with advantage, and if so th« present seems a convenient time for bringing it about. We shall hav^e a new course ; let us have new days also, and, if, it is not expecting too much, a new programme— or, at any rate, an amended one, with the Dunedin Cup at a popular distance.

*** There are six Carbine colts in the Mel-, bourne Gup— viz., Wallace, Prince Carbine, Charge, Bayonet, Cohort;, and Fucile, so that those who are of a mind to worship " Old Jack " through his descendants, and pay for the homage, have a fair selection. No fewer than 18 of Trenton's stock are engaged, and not a bad lot either/ including, such performers as Nada, Cydnus, Delaware, Ronda, and Dreamland. If I were backing a sire for this race, • Trenton. is the one- on whom my, choice would fall. Thi», however, is a dreadfully poor way ( of picking' a winner., To a New Zealauder of a - loyal tntn the process would land him in inextricable confusion, v whole host of the candictate* in this yeat'si Melbourne" Cup ,being 4 by Nsifes bted jn or at one' tfme or o'her belonging to this colodj. ' -No fewer th&n. 49 coma ia this category. ( Trenton ,„ • ... 18 3t. George ... ,„ 2 Carbine ... ... 6 Welcome Jack ... 2 . Nordenfeldt 3 Niagara ... ... 2 Martini-Henry ... 2 Thunderbolt:.. ... 2 Castor, Lorhiel, Medallion, Hotohkiss, Cuiras- . cfcr, Catesby, Musk Rose, Mana, St. Leger, Strathmore, Maxim, and Ingomar one each. The honour of tbs handicap is given to one of the crowd referred to, Wallaoe being hardened with 10 0, the very weight as was served out to his sire, Carbine, at the sameage. Carbine made a fair bid for viotory iv . that year, runnigg Becond to Bravo 8.7 ; but are we sure tfiat Wallace is a Carbine P Most' of us have made up our minds that he is' not,; . aDd, apart from actual racing ability, Wallace is perhaps not so little liable to what may be called peiiodio natural troubles as Carbine was. It is quite common for colts in their early four-year-old season to be afflicted with teeth ailments. Eememberirig thete things, bearing in mind specially that Carbine himself could not qnite win, I decline to recommend the backing of Wallace, and bid taker* to be on their guard. As to what gocJr can be ipoken favourably about, I would prefer to take the advice which by next wetk we shall have from men who are nullified to speak. To me it Eejms that Occident's half-brother Devon has a nice handy weight \t Nada reads very well on paper ; lam disposed toiook en Hopscotch as tenderly han- ! dicapped ; Delaware seems to be dangerous ; bo does Dreamland ; and others whose nemes attract notica at the weights are ' Waterfall, Preston, Vivian, 0 Ronda, Miraclum, and, Destiny. As yet, however, we bverhere know very little as to what most of these horaes are doing, .and the safer plan is to hold off until some .' trustworthy news comes to hand.

'" *** The (treat American trottipg mare Night.lng»lefell dead while at exercise recently. She - was foaled in 1885, and was bred by her owner, O. J. Haralin, whoEe property she was at tbe ' time of her death. By Mambrino King, dam Minn&qua Maid, by Wood's Hambletonian, she was the fastest of his get and the brightest star in his crown. Spirit of the Times says that she began her 'career as a three-year-old, and took a record of 2min 32£iec. She did not do mnoh as a four-year-old, but reduced her record sto 2min 29£ sec, and at five to 2min 25£ sec At six years of age she showed her metil, winning the 10,000dol Charter Oak Stakes against a Big field, and she closed the year with a record of 2min 18£*eo. In 1692 (he cat her record to 2mm lOisec, where it stayed till last year, when she put ib at 2min Bseo. At Nashville, in October 1892, she won the Two-mile - championship in 4-min 33^sec, and at the same track in the autumn of 1893 she captured the Three-mile champioaihip in 6min 55Js«ec A wealthy Englishman last winter wished to buy (he mare, bat the negotiations fell through.

*#* One of the notions that you can very seldom persuxde anyone to talk seriously about,

but all the same may be booked as a certainty

for some not very remote period, is the regis- . tration and branding of pedigree horses. It is an old contention of mine that such a system would operate beneficially, and I am not in the least discouraged by the faot that no per* ceptible advance has been made towards the

reform. Like all reforms, it will take a lot of ; . talking about before a start is made. The

question is brought forward again this week . not merely as h. stock snbjecfc, available for \ want of something more urgent to talk about. It has a place 'iu current topics. TbVnews comes to hand by mail that Mr P. Lorillard, ' one of the American owner* now trying a campaign in England, is actually doing one of the things that lam arguing for— the branding for purposes of identification. I read that his torses, are all branded as foals by numbers

running up to 500, when a fresh start is made with No. 1. Tbe marks are on the head, neck, and quarters. This furnishes protection to a large breeder against tbe possibility of mistakes arising or the changes being mag in a large stud. There is the whole cosa stated in short. If all foals were numbered sccording | to some colonial syßtem, and properly regis- ! tared, the riuger would have very lutle chance, i especially if the making of new brands after a certain age were regarded as an offence. Is it argued that there is no need for thU P Well, there are queer tales told sometimes, aud I rather think the precaution is necessary, even if only to prevent honest mistakes, and all the "mistakes" of this sort are not honest. Say, tor example, that two horses resembling each other ate shipped to a distant poet, and the more valuable of the pair dies, what an inducement there is for those concerned to conspire with the object of^persuading outsiders that the one is t'other. The story used to be told years ago of a certain stallion in this colony that he all his life personated another that was buried in the Bay of Biscay. Men B poke about ib only in whispers, and for aught 1 know the yarn may have been untrue. Still,' it was possible to be correct. There ought to be united legislation as between England, America, and the colonies making such frauds well-nigh impossible, and I should like to see New Zealand leading the way. For tbe branding there ia plenty of precedent— as a matter of fact large numbers of our horses are branded as it is, many large breeders carrying out a system similar to Mr Lorrillard's, and .'the registration is no-new idea, it being compulsory in England and America One of these days, when Mr Seddon or Mr M'Eenzie, who are not frightened of goody-goodies, get half an hour to spare, we may make a stiait with this important business. ' *

.- .*#* The case.of .the Magistrate and the Bookmaker, which was looked forward to in places outside as well as ia Eogland, did not come off. Prior to the day fixed Mr Baggallay made an affidavit denying that he had ever taken up the position ascribed to h'tn. This, in effect, remarks the Sportsman's special, is all that was needed from a public point of view. Toe report of the original case and of a subsequent statement by the learned magistrate certainly made him distinctly treat a street bookmaker as a sort of pariah or outlaw to whom the protection of the law was denied, and it was of great importance to have the matter cleared up. The reporter of Mr Baggailay's statements made an affidavit as to their accuracy, but tlrs waa not permitted to be read in court, and that, perhaps, was just as well, for there could be nothing gained by raising an issue of mere veraoity between the magistrate and the reporter. The solid point was that it should be made clear — as was done — that, whatever may have been the case in the past, in the future, at any rate,' Mr Baggallay did not intend to treat bookmakers differently from other citizens. Daring the proceedings which resulted in the dismissal the Lord Chef Justice said tb'at *• any magutrate who decided a caijs on the grounds attributtd to Mr Bagyallay toould be guilty of very improper 'xsmduct. This gee* to the root of the whole question ; but as Mr Baggall&y denied, on oath that he had decided the -o abb on the grounds ; attributed to him* there wai really no more to be said in this special instance. The action of the Sporting.. League, however, in suggesting the proceedings was completely just : fkd, for bookmakers need so longer fear that if they come' within Mr Baggailay's jurisdiction, they will ' be deprived of the benefits' of Msgna Charta.

* # * The One Thousand Guineas this year produced a very fine race between the Prince's fillly Thais and Mr Douglas Batrd's Santa* Maura, both fairly and squarely beating tbe muscular and perhaps fitter Jolly Boat, and thus proving themselves to be,high-olacs racers. As between' the two, the contest was the most _ Btubbornjy-fooght battle of the. season. Santa Maura. appeared to be staying out the race remarkably .well, but she could not quite catch up on Thais, the latter having made good use of a rush a furlong earlier, and' the Prince's filly won all out by a head, in the fair time of lmin 46^800, the best record .since 1879 being the lmin 44§sec of Brifcr-root eight years ago. Thais was bred by her owner, got out of a maro that he purchased from the Duke of Devonshire for 430gs. If she did riot staj so doggedly as Santa Maura, she kept on long enough to win, and it is expected that she will develop stamina with age, being at present a little weak from overgrowth. As may be imagined, the result was very popular. We are told by one writer that " cheers of the heartiest sort greeted the Prince's victory, which it was felt was not merely a personal triumph for H.R.H. himself, but for the turf at large. The anti-gamblers and other reptiles who strive cesseleßsly to' damage our finest sport will have received a deadly blow ■through this performance, which, ooming on the top of two' Derby successes of a Prime Minister, must certainly destroy, root and branch, the idiotic contention that racing is a low and b'aokguardly pursuit." The Newmarket meeting was followed by that at Chester, aud hera they found the 27-guinea Jaquemart beating a fair field of two-year-olds in the Mostyu Plate, and The Rush, winner of last season's Liverpool Cup, getting home ia fine style in the Chester Cup. This stout son of Barcaldine aud the Seesaw mare Whirlpool w?s bred by Mr E. H, Watt and purchased as a yearling for 300gs. Mr Dobell has now won two good races with the horse, and had the luck to have a partly-arranged purchase for 16Q0gs dropped last season.

*** Kempton Park, the next meeting, provided two big races. First, the Royal Plate, five f urloc gs, for two-year-olds, won by Eager, son of Enthusiast from Greeba, by Melton from Sunrise, by Springfield. Greeba was bought from Mr Houldsworth by Mr Fairie, who gave her to Ryan, tho trainer, and he bred Eager and sold him to Mr Fairie. Eager is. described as a useful-looking lengthy bay, not, however, so taking to the eye as Chelandry, the half-»i»ter (by Goldfinch) to Ladas that finished second. The Jubilee Stakes, on the following day, went to Victor Wild, carrying 171b more than he had when he won last year. The race was keenly contested in the last quarter of a mile. At that point the four in it were The Tup, Victor Wild, Kilcock, and The Lombard. From the distance The Lombard was disappointed not a little m his efforts to force a passage . between Kilcock and The Tup, and in the meanwhile •Victor Wild was battling with the greatest courage. He had to be ridden hard for the last 30ft j-ar.de, and when therefore he got his head in front just before reaching the stands the excitement became intense. Inch by inch he improved his position, and when he passed the goal with three- parts cf a length to spare from Eilccck such cheering broke l< rth as is seldom heard upon a racecourse. The owner, the trainer,- and the jockey were in turn ovated, and, even remembering the days of Bendigo and Minting, says the Sportsman, we cannot recall a scene ef greater enthusiasm. Proceeding to Newmarket again, sportsmen saw the Exnlug Plate won easily by Alfar, the son of Bel Demonio (by Robert bhe Devil) and the Hermit marc geraphjne boating the American celt

Astolpho by four lengths ; and then came the Newmarket Stakes, a mile and. a-quarter, for three-year-olds, which in past years has gone to Donovan, Memoir, Mitni, Minglas3, Ladas, and others, and this year fell to Galeazzo, after a splendid finish. The rather curious fact is recurded flaat the colt ran part of his race in platen aud the rest of it barefooted. His plates had been put on over some patent- sort of arraugement-to avoid concussion, and the result was that they oame off. On the same day the American, Mr P. Lorillard, won the Maiden Plate for two-year-olds with Sandia, by The Sailor Prince out of Saluda, also a maiden race at a. mile with Dacotah 11, by Onondaga from Sophronia, and his horseß were twice placed in other races, so that he has begun pretty well in a email way.

*#* The double dead heat at Epsom (Vie« toria), referred to last weak, gives " Terlinga " an opportunity of working off a readable reminiscence of the sensational event of 1872, when Saladin and The FJying Dutchman had to ran six miles and three quarters before the Australian Cup of that year was decided Probably (observes the scube named) this is the most remarkable instance of a double dead heat in the world. Be -ids it the fight between Hera and Last Glen sinks into insignificance. At Epsom the doad heaters ran 15 furlongs, both were sound and fresh to the last, and neither received any punishment to spank of, tho pair being ridden without; spurs. How different it was in the case of Saladin and The Flying Dutchman ! When he came back to weigh .after the first dead heat Dutchman was so lame • that odds of 20 to 1 were sboubed on Saladin for the run off. L\ng offered Mr J. R. Craoke a liberal inducement to divide, but the ownerxrf Saladiu declined ; he was determined on fighting to a fioish. Dutcliin&u'ft lamenessdid not prove serious, and wnen the pair came out' agaiu the odds were only 4 to 1 on Salsdin. Again they ran a dead heat, and again Mr Crooke declined to divide. The half-hour elapsing before the third heat was spent by the partisans of the rivals in endeavouring to freshen up their respective champions. The book' makers were vety much to the fore. Joe Thompson and a few of his party were rushing about getting ice and water for the Dutchman, while Charley Fleming and others were busy with Saladin ' When they went to the post the third time Dutchman is said to have been "lame" and Saladin " rather sore." Notwithstanding this the ga'laot steeds fought out another two milea and a-quarter without the eign of a flinch, and this time Saladin won by a neck. The judge's decisions did not give satisfaction, aud that' official was told in the Australasian that the public had lost conudsLCj in his ability to decide a close thing. According to ■ popular opinion The Flying Dutchman won the original race, aud as he was heavily backed the party connected with him were not nearly as pleased with the judge as when he gave Nimbletoot the preference oto- Lapdog in She Melbourne Cup of 1870. Despite their three desperate struggles Saladin and The Flying Dutobman ran in the Adelaide Cup two months afterwards, and the grey would have won if he had not been repeatedly crossed in the last half-mile. Saladin ■ ran five races at that meeting, and won three times. And, being a sluggish animal, he came in for more punishment iv one race than most -of our pr.tsent-day horses, get. in a dozen. I have a distinct recollection or' the sight his sides presented after the present. Mr .7. R. Crooke rode him . second to Kingfisher in the Queen's Hundred at Adelaide. Bsing a white horse with a flue akin, he showed the marks of the spur much more than most horses. I fancy the match he won agaiDst Ithaca in Adelaide was the old grey'e last race, and, if I remember rightly, he died rather suddenly. The FJying Dutchman raced next season aud won. ,

*#* I have an idea that the story has been told before in some shape or other, but it bomes with special appropriateness sow that the man is dead to record one of his generous acts. I speak of Baron Hirsch, and quote the Field. The Baron, says this paper, registered his colours in England in 1889. Previously to this B*ron Hirnch had run horses in France, and had been proposed for the French Jockey Club, but in consequence of tbe prejudice existing in Paris against the Jews he was blackballed by a substantial majority of the Parisian raciDg men. Wherever nuance was concerned those who tried a fall with him generally came off second beat, and Baron Hirach's retaliation was qui'e characteristic ot the man. Money being absolutely no object with him,' he proceeded, as soou as opportunity presented itself, to purchase the ground on whioh the Jockey Club's premises stood, and then those who had rejected him could not help seeing that it was in the Baron's power to make things very disagreeable for them. He, however, did nothing of the kind, but simply held his position fora certain time, as one who was able at the end of a stated period to turn the club out, and then he turned his. back upon the French turf and migrated to England. After this incident he could, of course, have obtained adnvssion to tbe club had he chosen ; in fact, it has been said that be was elected, but we do not think that auch was the

* # * Lord Mansfield, when Lord Chancellor of ' England, experienced the humiliation- of being over-reached by a horse dealer over ths jsale of a team of horses. Amongst his other strorjgly-developsd prejudices Lord Mansfield entertained ( an aversion to horses which showed white markings of any kind, and consequently he exercised btrong precautions when, upon his elevation to the Woolsack, he purchased a string of blacks from a professional The animals gave every possible satisfaction for a while, and even Lord Mansfield began to think that perhaps, after all, he had been a little hard upon the dealer; but, unfortunately, his feelings of sympathy did not last long. After a week or two ominous white marks began to appear upon the bodies of the gallant steeds, Iv one it was a star on the forehead, in another a Bnip on the no3e, in a third a white heel, and so on. The Lord Chancellor raved and sent for the dealer, whom he threatened to prosecute for fraud ; but the man repelled the charges, arfd advieed the purchaser to read his bill and receipt, the tatter being »ri acknowledgment' of a sum of money for so jsany horses coloured black. The great lawyer bit his lip and dismissed the offender ; but it was a sorry day'a work for any horse dealer to have to face his lordship so long as he occupied his exalted position on the bench.

*#* Thirty-five of the horses handicapped for the V.R.C. Grand National Hurdles, to be run the day after to-morrow, cried a go on payment of the acceptance, leaving only 25 to continue their engagements. It is not only in New Zealand that wholesale slaughter takes place in the handicaps. Sach a thing is to be expected all the world over in races of this kind, where horses are entered on the off chance of a chuck-in and the assumption that they caul jump, and, as I have often remarked, it is no reflection on a handicap when half tho crowd go out. As to this particular race, I cannot pretend to know much, bat good accounts reach me of Emmalea, Duugan, Woonoke, and

Bischoff , aDd one of these may perhaps ba seen in front at the finish. There will be backers for Redleap if he goes to the poat. This horss has won the race with 11.12, and the Steeplechase with 13 3, and 13 12 was not enough to stop htm' at Oaulfltld. But the wins at Fleming bun were four year 6 ago, and there is no teat of late date available, so that I leave him alone, though in passing it may be noted that as in the year following his success he was handicapped for the Hurdles at°l3.U, or 121b above his present impost, it would be absurd to- say that he ib now over-estimated by the handioapper. Everyone must acknowledge a fair concession in regard to weight— still, I won't have him. More to my fancy is Emmalea, seeing that she won last year with 11 6 and is now in her prime, and may perhaps be Brewer's mount. Dungan is a public fancy. They say he is a particularly good jumper, and fast, and a general impression prevails that he will be the elect of the dangerous Manifold stable, though on this point a mistake is possible seeing that Apsley has also paid up. Dungan is by Wellington from Flirt, and Apsley by Wellington from Fortress. Those who like a well-bred horse for the race have a very fair ohoice in Lord Byron (by Neckersgat— Fille de Joie) and Gold Prix (by Grand Prix— Vivian), and if recent performances on the flat are deemed a recommendation Nora Creina will command respect ; bat one has to consider all sorts of things in picking winners of raoes of this kind, and everything considered I don't think I can do better than suggest the quartet above named, with a preference for Bisohoff and Dungan. The Steeplechase, to be run on Saturday weak, ought to be left alone until the first day's 'events are over, but if anyone this way is seeking something foe the second leg of a double he might do worse than invest in Dart, Joi, or Grand wing. Dart is a Gipsy King gelding. There is another New Zealander in the raceLady Zetland's half brother, Mikado ll— but I am afraid he has seen his best days.

*#* The Hawke'a B»y Steeplechase meeting has been an annual fixture since 1882, when New Year palled off the chief event. That wonderfully good hone Clarence won the race twice in succession, on the second occasion with 13.2, the highest impost ever carried to the front ia the race. Macaroni, the hero of the 1885 fixture, was also a first-cla^s performer. Denbigh, a clever and game mare, followed on the list, and to her succeeded the speedy but none-too-sound Mangaohane, after whom came a tip-topper in Chemist, who at his best deserved to rank high among the colony's chasers. Oddfellow, the next in turn, hardly came within the denomination of first-class, nor could Jenny, though this famous little mare uiusl have beau real grit to make up the record she has. This brings us down to a comparatively reoent year, 1891, when Tauraekaitai ran away from one of the poorest fields that ever came together for the race, beating Oeo by 10 lengths*. At that meeting thes:e were three, coming steeplechasers engaged iv other work, Waterbury and Kosciur running atneng the light-weight hurdlers aud Norton being occupied in flat galloping, as was also Oouranto, who scored very shortly afterwards m the National -Hurdles. The 1892 meeting, likewise, was strongeuin beginners than in what may be termed the adept class. Whalebone, a useful horse, but far removed from . first-olass, won the Steeplcohase by nearly half a mile- from the erratic Shillelagh— the horse once described, if I remember aright, ai one that seemed to have . walked out of its skin and loit its. flesh behind ; but Booties was among the maidens; and the flying Gondolier at that time was classerLwith the., Bracelet push. *• This was the horse llut won the Steeplechase the following year, achieving a meritorious win in that hi had Norton and Tints* and a lot of good ones behind him. In 1894 the supposed-to-be-certainty Melinite succumbed ' to Kapua in the Hurdles, and MoiMg won the Steeplechase very easily from Oaklands, ■ the favourite (Norton) being quite distressed at the finish and unab'.e to secure a place. He stayed it out all right, however, lass year, winning by a couple ot lengths from Bombardier, a strong field following this pair home. The reoent winners of the big eveat are thus ?hown :— 1891— Tauraekaitai... 10 11 Rollo 7min4Bsec 18.42-Whalebone ... 11 4 Gilpin 7min 55« ec 1893— Gondolier ... 10 0 Alexander Bmin 63sec ISIM-Morag 9 8 Sweeney Bmin lSaeo 18i).i— Norton... ... 12 9 Gollan Smin 38jec 18JKJ— Kaiks 9 9 Buckeri«lge7min 6Ssec

*#* This year the meeting had to b9 postponed owing to heavy rain, and when the races did take place the course was very heavy, thus making the racing very open. Backers, evidently realising this, refrained from rushing favourites to a very short price, and bestowed their favours as a rule on two or three in a race. It was ouly at tha very fiaish of the meeting that they broke this rule, and in doing so their hurry, foe a recovery did vtry little good, as St. Regel, the " pot " for the Welter won by Solitaire, went down, and the good thing that was found in Donald M'Kinnon foe the Final Steeplechase returned only a small dividend. Speaking generally, the light and medium weights had the best of- it throughout the two dajs.f Hieta in the Bracelet and Glengarry in the Hunters' Steeplechase may be»quoted to the contrary ; but, on the other hand, the principal Hurdle Rttce was a content between tbe light weights, and one of the nine-stone division triumphed in the S'eaplechase. It seemi *to hare been a fair field that Eaika beat, and he did it in hollow style, assuming a strong lead soon after the fttart and keeping in front all the way. It will be noted that on the first day Glengarry beat Knibain a shorter race at level weights. This hardly discounts Kaika's performance as regards the other competitors in the Steeplechase, but it keeps, him front' beiog called the hero of the meeting. If that distinction is to bo awarded, it must go to Glengarry, who won im racs on the second day under the steadier of 13.9, aud earlier in the day had tumbled over a hur die on to his bead. The Plug, winner of the Hurdle R&ce, was bred in Canterbury, and will be remembered as the horse that beat Brin in a matoh a year ago. •

*** Mr J. O. Hayward, of Wellington, who took Derringer Home,' is bringing back with him not a St. Simon stallion, as it was expected he would, but one by Bend Or, known by the name of Gold Reef. This horse was bred in England in 1888 by Mr J. Simons Harrison, and ia the tenth foal of Crucible, by Roaicrucian out of Apple Sauce, by Camerina. He is? described' as a thoroughly-good-looking brown horse, and a good racer during many seasr<ns on the turf. Good-looking he may be,, but I can't find evidtnee in Ruff warranting much praise of his performances. He has iv hio six seasons etarteu in 47 races and won 11. one of these being a match ; the total value of bis winnings comes .to' £2193 ; and all his wins were over short courses, the longest being six furlongs. This is not tip-top foircn. ' As a matter of facb Gold Reef failed to get a place last season, though he ran in nine raoes. This long utretoh on tbe turf, however, shows that Gold Reef is a tough kind of customer, and I can quite understand that he may be of service to breeding ia the colony. If stallions were to be judged

by performances alone where would Bb< Leger, our ohampion, come inP • There aro other things besides winning records to- be studied in picking a horse for stud purposes, and no doubt Mr Hayward, who understands the business, or should, has made his ohoice after due consideration. Therefore, while expressing a little disappointment 'on learning that we are not to have a St. Simon horse, and while pointing oat the indifferent) record ot the one selected, I feel sure we shall like Goj<l Reef when we ace him. His pedigree U undeniably good — not altogether n»w to the colony in most of its linei, since Doncaster, sire of Bend Or, is father of our Sb. Legor ; and Rouge Hose, Bend Or's dam, is dam of Rowtfe, mother of Escutoheoo.; and Rosicruoiart, nko of Cruoible, is father to St. Glair's dam, Pcilchra. Still, these are exceptionally fine strains of blood, coming to us in a freih mixture ; and; in a word, Mr Hayward might have 'made a much worse choice. I wish him luck— in other .words, a fair Bhow with decent mares.

#** Oaida, dam of Skirmisher and Sr. Ouidt, died at Mr Reid's stud farm, Elderslie, on Friday last. She slipped twin foals to Btepnuk in the morning, and, breaking a blood-vessel, bled to death. St. Ouida is her last surviving offspring, for the 1894 colt by Medallion broke its baok last year while at play, and the mare missed in 1895. Ouida was a brown mare, bred in Victoria in 1879 by Mr S. Gardiner, of BundooraPark, got by Tubal Cain from Argoay; by Freetrader. When brought across to Dunedin » she was purchased by Mr J. Cowan, of Cromwell, and made her first appearance on a race- . . course in that gentleman's colours. That was when she was four years of age, and the race was the Maiden Plate at Cromwell, for which •she slaved a fc , 20 to 13 on and won by a head from Co-unsi-'itive. In the next se\sr.n sho joined Mr >S upLeuson's stable, and started in the Maiden Plata at Duuedin is November 1884. being beaten by RubezabJ, Puck, and Ravenswood. The first r&ce she won for. the stable was the Publioani' Handicap at Laurence. Con Boyle rode her at 8.0, and she beat Yankee 78by a couple of lengths. F*ih'ng badly at the Dunedin Cap meetiDg that season, she was-again sent to .the country, and pulled off the Tapanui Handicap, in which Jack Kein rode her* at -8 9, beating Jack Taggart 8.5 on Garibaldi. Next day 9.4 found her weak spot, and ' she was badly beaten, failing to even gain a place in the J.O. Handicap, won by Blackboy 83. At Oamaru she won the Stewards' Purse, a mile, 6.12, Princes* Roy»l 8.0 running her to half a head. Her only ether win that season was the Publicans' Handicap at Tokomairiro. Returoiug to Dunedin for the May meeting, she was saved for the St. Olair Welter on the second d&y, and, having shown a fair trial, the followers of the stable backed her freely. She was handicapped at 8.2 aud was ridden by Sharp. Taiaroa at 9.9 was alto btarted, and Waddell himself took the mount on the big horse The other starters were Don' Jose 8.4- and tiotdtrman 8.4. Mr Stsphenson declared to win with Ou : d», and I know they thought ib a fairly good thing for her. Waddell, however, playi'd no foolish game wita the reliable Taiaroa. He took the big horse to the front at once and kept thece ; ~&nd it was iucßy for the owners that he did, as Ogidarefuted to try; and finished ks% while Taiaroa himself hsd very littlfc to spare in a. rattling finish with Don . J(.se, on whom young Rivers rode a capital race. Ouida, being still fresb, was ifc&rted also in the Consolation— the race in the dark in which, the judge could not find the' winner, and ordered a fresh run next ' day, Jack coming in first. In 1885 the mare was put; to the atud, being gent to Le Loup. Tbe progeny by which she will be remembered are Skirmisher and St. Ouida, each of whom is or has been a muoh. batter raoer than Ouida herself, was. lam very sorry that Mr Reid has lost a mare that could breed such" fast ones as these.

* # * Being at Goodman's stables the other day when the horses were being done up, I had a look over EurooljdoD, ( and am pleased to be able to state that the handsome colt is doing very well indeed this winter. There is not a symptom of weakness or unsoundneis about him as far as I could detect, and he is josb about as fib as could be wished to- begin fast work whenever it is deemed necessary to make a start. I euppc se that will be pretty soon now. As the oolt stood in his bor as quiet as a sheep, I conld not help admiring htm ; his command-" ing sice, his goodly proportions from all points of view, his lovely colour, and his general look of vigorous health combining to make Euroclydon a perfect picture. Gorton certainly never produced such a good one before. Most stallions furnish one masterpiece, and Buroclydon is Gorton'?, the Stock veil characteristics com* ing out very strongly in their moit picturesque aspect. For this he is, of course, iudebted to Thunderbolt, hii gr*nd«ire. Acco'ding to Copperthwaite, Thunderbolt was a ch°btnot horse of extraordinary power and substance, with wonderful loins and quarters— a perfepb rock of strength, and, ia fact, as fine an animal as «?er wajs.foa'ed. Ai he stood in a paddock after a race, Jt would puzzle a v judg4 to ftud a grander specimen of Jhs fchorcugobred horse. ■ His giving away of 291b to BrovruDdchesi (who,, in the Do^icaster Cup rsn a'dead heat with the winner ot^he,. fastest Derby on record for the year and sex) at Newmarket' so, late' as the"* mouth of October showed his wonderful' speed.

| *»* In connection with the annual meeting of tbe Dunedin Jockey Club, to ba held on Monday, July 13, the following have been nominated for election as members of. committee :— Hon. T. Fergus, Messrs W. Dawson, H. Gourley, T. Grose, J. Hszlett, J. Mills, P. Miller, L. Maclean, S. Solomon. It will be seen there are nine candidates, while the number to be .elected is six. The three debutants aro Mews Dawson, Große, and Solomon, and «ccordiog To the general notion one at least; of the trio has a fair chance of being returned. Whatever the outcome of tbe voting may be it is a good sign to see new men coming forward for office— it shows that the club is alive.

* # * " Onlooker" telegraphs from Wellington on Tneiday night:— "The Hawke's Bay Steeple winner Kvika is best known as atraok hurdler in Wairarupa, and he out a very bold figure in the last Wellington Steeplechase until he blundered at the sod wall. He is by the Admiral (Southern Chief's brother), none of whose stock have done anything of note, and Bob Buckridge, who rode him, is b&gt known as a fiat rider, but he has of late put on fleih, and that was his first important viotory across country. The win would be very acceptable to Mr Henry M'Kenzie, who has had anything but a good time this season. The two Plug! was, perhaps, "the best backed of any doubles, which appear to be coming into favour, *.nd tbe July gelding shaped creditably. Five hundred to 10 was accepted about Irish Twist's Cap chance this week." - •