TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 31

TALK OF THE DAY.

By MAZEPPA. ***" It is only in recent years that the Easter Handicap has been made a great race on the C.J.C.'s autumn programme. In the period from 1874 to 1891 the betting was pretty well confined to the Great Autumn Handicap, which, by the way, was a two-mile race until Bribery's win in 1877. The winner wag picked that year as soon as the weights came out, and flfenglands was selected from the time the handicap appeared as a good thing for the race that he vrou the second time. In the next year Messrs Mason and Vallance sprang a surprise on tho knowing ones, their Australian-bred five-year-old Camballo, starting at 6 to 1 in a field ot nine, beating Mata by a length in a fighting finish, and both disposing ot Foul Play, tho favourite, who did net Jjain a place. Cam v >i-.lk> also landed the Easter'faandicap on the become! day — the day on which Mata and Le Loup had their memorable struggle iv the Flying Stakes, six furlongs, at weight for age. Mata, ridden at 8 11 by Clifford, got the inside position, and good judges reckon it was that advantage, and that only, which enabled him to win by a head. Tha two horses were abreast the whole <vay, Riid those who had laid the current odds o ! 3 to lou Mata were mighty glad wheu he got home. T. Clarke rode Le Loup at 9.0. The time, loifti 14£ sec, stood for years as the Ne/r Zealand record for six furlongs. Another celebrity that shap( datthemeetingwa^Sir Modred, who tended the Champagne Stakes, but had to put •i\: tvith third place in the Nursery Handicap, o#iu;£ uot so much to thd weight as to the fact ihao be and Virginia Water were left at the post. Some horrible things were worked off in respect to startsaway bickin those semi-early days. In the following year Lady Emma, then a tbree-year-old, ridden by Malcolm Allan at 5.13, landed for, the Hon. G. M'Lean his only Autumn Handicap so far. The contest was really between her aud Sir Modred. the latter, ot the same age, trying to concede 391b, And failing in- his tremendous task, though he finished at the filly's girths. Lady Emma was raised to 7 3 for the Easter Handicap the next day, and she won by a nose from Natator 9.5 after an exciting struggle, bub got put down badly by Libeller in the Flying Handicap the same day. The mare had a different rider in eaoh of her raoep at that meeting, Pilmer being her pilot in tbe E&eter and Skinner having the mount in the FlyiDg. In 1882 the then formidable stable of the Hon. W. Robinson supplied the winner in Salvage, previously known as the Mist gelding. It was au open race on the day, the current odds being 4 to 1 each of three — Salvage 7.7, L'beller 7.9, and Emir Bey 6 4 — and the race itself wanted a lot of picking up to the distance, until Salvage madn his effort. A moment beftra he setmed to have but a very poor chance ; bub ho. galloped past Luna with the utmost ease and won, easing up, by a couple of lengths, after what was in those days deemed a phenomenal run. The splendid peiformince of Welcome Jack in the following year is still talked about. E'ght-tour, his burdeu, was at that Limtj deemed a stopping weight for a three-year-oui over a nrle and a-half ; yet so great was the confidence in Mr Pilbrow's judgment that at the lasb, when he announced his belief that his colt could win, the crowd rushrd him rb<l tent him out a tfcrong favourite, and he finished capitally, winning from Tasman by a leugbh in the theu record time of 2min 38£ sec. But I must stop these reminiscences, having no tiins\ this week to do them justice, and proceed to the more immediately prt-ssinj? business ot trying to spot a winner or two at the meetiug which comes off next week.

*** Proceedings will open with the Kildare Hurdle Handicap, in which I prophesy a victory for Social Pest, believing him to be a bit better class than the others), bub Ilex is pretty sure to be handy, and any mistake on the 'part of the top weight would leave Mr Wise's home with a very good show. For the Champagne Stakes the problem simply is which to pick of Mr Stead's pair. Horses the property of one owner TviH not, I understand, be bracketed on the machine, so that investors must be wary if both Yaldhuwt representatives start ; but in that case I personally should certainly prefer to stand Gold Medallht. Of the Maiden Platers the two that commend my respect are Salvo Shot and Annoyance, but Plotter is engaged, and, rogue though ha is, he must not be forgotten, as, if in the humour, he can win in a canter. Then comes the Easter Handicap, which seems more open as the day approaches. I understand that both of Mercer's pair will start, and as Goldspur has been doing some capital gallop', and Maremma i* also there, the Dunedin contingent is particularly strong oa paper. Tuph Waiuku and Vanilla and Skirmisher and B'.r?hot and Telemeter have public form to .recommend them, so that the winner, whatever it; is, ought to pay £4 at least. Ido not profess to be at all confident, but shall take Mr Mercer's pair and Barghot, with Goldspur and Pirely, to supply the winner — that is, five against the field ; and if driven to name it in one that one should be Belle Clair. My reason for including Goldspur is that he has been showing excellent form on the track, and may possibly prove better than I think he is. I have already indicated a liking for Speculator in the Epsom Welter, and am content to stand by my pick ; and nothing has cropped up to cause me to desert Bracelet for the Russley Plate, though, in case of accidents, I may observe that Bloomer, Weary, and Felina are in my esteem the next best. For the Sockburn Handicap I like Marl ; n and Chaos. As for the second day's events, commend me to Lord Rosslyn for the Autumn Handicap, and it is a mere matter of form to say that Bit' Stead's best must win the Challenge Stake*.

*#* William Sharp's ohequered career cuma to an end on Saturday night. He died at Wei* lington, the cause being supposed to be heart disease. He was raised, if not born, afe Clinton, and took service when quite a young t boy with James Cotton. Being haiidy on horseback, he very soon began to get bii preliminary knowledge of race riding. The first time I saw him arrayed in silk was when ho was given the mount on Mr M'Lay's Boro Prathoneco in tha Tradcßmen'o Handicapat the Dunedin May meeting ot 1880. Assuming that he was then about 13 years of age, he would be somewhere , n-jar 30 at the time ot his death. His first win' ning mount at the Forbury was on Dolly Barwon in the Novel Hace a year later, when he waited x>atientiy with the mare, and after a brisk struggle landed her a winner from Sweda and Swagjman, paying £L 4 12» dividend. It; was cofc, however, until the 1882-83 seaeon that " Billy," as he was generally called, made himstlf generally known to the racing public. What did this for him was his ride on Adamant in the Duuedin Cup. Some talk of that race as though the horse ran away with his rider; but, while quite ready to believe that Adamant, by the freedom of his galloping that day, made the jockey's task somewhat easier thau it. often is, I by no means subscribe to the yarn that it was a clear case of bolt. No horse bolts and wins over such a course as two miles and a distance. The managing owner has often told me that he was perfectlydelighted with Sharp's ridiog in the race. The instructions vrere to this efftcb: "Always be hnudy. Never let them get away from you. When you pass the windmill send him along, wherever the others are, and don'b stop till you've got to the post. If you do that the others will be wondering what* up. The little horso will stay all right." Old racegoers will remember that these orders were obeyed, and thal; after The Jilt had run herself out Adamant w»» never headed. This made Sharp's name, and he was at ouce in request, hia light weight, coupled with his strength in Ihe saddle, and his power of belting a hoise along, being qudibits rarely found so thoroughly iv combination. Later in his career SLurp took service with Messrs Stepbeufoii and HhzleU, and rode hosts cf viinuers, iuciuriit g Oiptaui Webster in the Antamn Handicp. Timam Cup, hucl Birthday Handicap, Hippomeut'E in the Easier Handicap, aud, at <« subsequent stage, after recovering from »v illness, Occident in the Duuedin Cup of 1892. A previous performance which I bad almost forgotten w?a his riding of Lady Evelyn when she won thr Middle I'ark PUtf. In his Utec day* Sharp went) north sind settled fur a while in Poverty Bry, afterwards shifting to Wellington. He was, in bis day, one oE the very best; race-riders we ever turned out iv Otago, and if he had midc thft b?sb use of his opportunities hu ci,uld h&vu riseu to front rank among New Zealand jockeys. *y* Et CtCoi'3»! died at Oanturbury last week as the r«'Bulb of an accident. Once on a time this stallion hud to encounter opposition that; seemed to me to be born of sheer prejudice, and I never took part in it, heiu^ sUisfied that ho had made v-hat might be dutfmt;.! a fair use of his opportunities. It could hardly he ar^Urd tfcab h(! w»s a great wtallioti in the icme in which Tt'iuiucec ?tid MusV.tt havn deserved the title, nor id hu to be racked with So. "l>.,i<jc <>r even Nordrarddfc, and for choice 1 should al\vay3 bave preferred"Aprrmont to him ; bui. for all that, he begat j». lob of very usat'ul horses and a few real hurnm^ra, such as Saracun, Merrie JEhigland, Loyalty, and Ait Kevoir ; while Fred Larjce, Vanity Pair, Beunie Scotlaud, Erio-go-Bragb, i'latler. Morpheur, Miss Lury, Alouub Iloyn!, The Shun, lied Ensign, Exchange, ixvA Marlborough are a few names that occur to one's memory ol" useful stock which be was the sire of ; aud, iii addition, he may claim to h«.re pa.t credit fooStrenuous, Apres Moi. and Quibble, rhese th»eo being from mares that were herveii in their respective years by St. George as well rb another horse. Quibble was undoubtedly bis sou. As for the evidence of figures I find that SL. George*.* first appearance with double figures ia the liec of winning s'allious w&s at the close of the 1886 87 season, when, thanks mainly to Quibble, he cftrno out with £2210. From thai period onward his returns bnvtj fcettn :—: —

Here we have a total of £26,182 for the 10 yest? to date. That's good euoujfb, and my barrr-ck:-ing for the horae is not wanted, though the facb must be mentioned that one of tbe sums ibove catalogued—that namely, of t ho 1893-94- uesiion — reprebented top place in the Ji*fc rf wimik'g stallions As ro which "/as the best of bis progeny, opinions may differ, bat I rely ;.n Mcrrie Eughnd, who r.iu through hi* threu-year-old career with only one defeat, and amid other performances that seaaou landed the Great Autumn Handicap in a cau'er with 9.1, doing the mile and a-half in 2min 39ace Si.' George was bred in New South Wale^t in 5 876 by the Hon. E. K. Cox ; got by Y*tt<jndon from the Stockwell niave Lady Cheater. This ib tht-p-idi^ree of Chester, St. George being his full bro'her. He was bought as a yearling on bihalf of the Middle Park Stud Company for 1300gi, the idea being that he should succeed Traducer, who,then was getting well up in years ; but the old horse died before St. George was old enough to take the full weight of the duties, and fhus ifc came about that King of Clubs was bought as a stop gsp. In course of time tha Bon of Lady Cheater stepped up iulo his proper position and bectme the partner of J.premontin producing a long array of winners. When the Middle Park stock were sold in 1891 there was no bid for St. George, but he became the property of Mr Harry Thomson, who suffers a severe loss fey the horse's death. * # * Messrs Stephenson and Hazlett'o eight-year-old horse Van Buren died on Thursday morning at the Forbury after exercise. V»n was bred by Mr W. H. Leech, of Canterbury, got by Vanguard from Wild Rose, a mare bred by Mr J. Shand, daughter of imported Antidote (sou of The Cure) from Moss Bose, by Camden out of Roaebud, by Sir Hercules. Tho deceased horse was therefor- thoroughbred, being half-brother to Grand Du.cj aud that useful mare Rosebud. The first race in which Vau Buren ran was the Ohoka and Eyretoa Cup of 1891. He was then a three-year-old, and, ridden by Holmes at 6.0, he finished unplaced, the race being won by Crown Jewel 78, with Yon Tempsky 8.5 second. Van was at that time the property of Mr W. H. Leech. Being put aside for a whole year, Van came out again in the same Cup, and, handicapped at 7.7. ha was once more unplaced, the race this time fall" ing to The Winchman 7.11, with Cajolery 8.8 second. There were some good horses iv that field, including luez, Au Revoir, and Dora. la the last event on the same day Van carried top weight of 10.12 into second place in the Districts Welter, a neck behind Specton 10.9. At th* C.J.C. Spring gathering he was fifth in tha Maiden Plate won by Young Cheviot, »uA

nowhere in the Epsora High-weight Handicap < won by Wanganui, and three days later he won his first race, the Welter at the Pluinpton meet- : ing, in which he waa iidden at 8 4- by Kingan and licked Pennine and The Dreamer. Defeats at Heathcote and North Canterbury followed, and' thus the season closed so far as Van was concerned^ Sis five-year-old career started unpromisiugly, for he was beaten out of a place in the , Welter at lPlumpton won by My Jack, and did nothing iv the Epsom High-weight Handicap at Chrietohurch, and Mr Leech thereupon told him to Mr Seweil. of Oamaru for 50^8. Appearing in thenew colours at Palmerston, Van finished a good third with 7.10 to Mountain Maid ' 7 5 and Mariner 8.2 in the President's Handicap ; but he got beaten twice at Waikouaiti, i eculd only get third in the Harvest Handicap at Waimate, and it was not till April that he • scored for the Oamaru stable, this being iv the ' Selling Race at South Canterbury, when he I ran the six furlong* in lmin 20isec, and paid j £4- 7s. After that he ran unsuccessfully at Oamaru and Duuedin, and so clcsed another unprofitable season. Ai a six-year-old he was twice placed at South Canterbury ; then won Hie Ccnintus Plate # at Kurow ; was unsuccessful at Duaedin ; won the Palincreton Cup 7 11, beating Sweep 6.10 aud Paramu 7.9 for places; won the Waikouaiti Cup 8 9, beating SilverStream 7 2 ; got place honours at Dunedin and Waimate; landed the Farewell Handicap at Oamaru; and ended another unlucky season with a couple of defeats at Timaru. Last season Van was twice bsaten at Dunedin; fchen finished second in that funny Cup at PalmeTston vron by Sweep; and, returning to Dunedin in l'tbruary, he won the Selling Race from Lady Somnus, and paid la ge dividends —viz., £15 inside and £21 16i outside. He was bongbt in at £20, but after winning the Post Stakes next day Slefsrs Stephenson and Haz'ttt rau up the price to £40 and secured possession of the horee, he having won only £173 for Mr Seweil, against which has to be dtb.ted the money paid for twice buying him > in. The chaDge of 6table seemed to bring Van : luck, as in his first race for the Dunedin ' owners he won them the Cliffy Handicap, beating i his own mate Marlin after a big finish. M'llroy , rode Van, and Pine was on Martin, and they ' had a fair "buck" against eich other, the. ifegult being as complete a surprise to the owners 'as to anybody else Van next won the North Qtago Cup with 7.5, beating Jane Eyre 7 11, ] but the mare turned the tables on him nfxtday, and his hopes of fame were iurther set back by a couple of defeats at Dunedin in May. Thin Beaßon Van ran second to Stimulant iv the Shorts at the Otago Hunt Club meeting ; sacond | bo Lord Ro-slyn in the Spring Handicap at i Oamaru, aud won the Farewell Handicap ; won I fche Taieri Cup with 8 9 by a length from Bay { Bell 8.10 ; at Dunediu Spring was unplaced iv the Federal Handicap, won the Spring Handi- j cap (beathi; Skirmisher, who was conceding j half a stone), and finished third in the Farewell ' Handicap; ran unplaced in the Lawrence j Handicap, and made his last appearance in the J Flying Handicap at Dunedin won by Musketry. | Bis full record in figures appears thus :—: — i

Van Buren's 13 dividends (reckoning the inside ; price always) amounted to £8* 19s, and a man ! who had followed him up in his 63 races with a i sovereign a pop would have cleared £2119s over the spec.

*#* The champion Newhaven is really going to England. A cabled message sent from Melbourne on Saturday stated that the colt was to be shipped this week. Presumably, therefore, bis racing career in the colonies has come to *n end. A very curious career it has been. A slashing two-year old when at his best, and yet by no means an indubitable champion, he carried his eccentricities to extremes in his three-year-old pericd, opening wi h a wretched performance in the Caulfield Guineas, atoning for that by a decisive win in the Derby, raising the hopes cf his party to a pitch of wild extravagance by his sensational runaway victory in the Melbourne Cup, blotching hi* record by a failure in the Leger, and then beating his opponents" in the Champion Race-. These are samples of Irs doings, aud they do not give the colt a very lofty place in the list of colonial cracks. Consistency is the quality mo3t admired in these parts, and that is jusb what Newhaven has not got. Nobody now compares him with Carbine. With all his brilliancy he is not a popular horse in the sense that Nelson was ; and little Tasmau, though not even firstclaes, secured a far deeper hold iv the people's affections, by reason of his bulldog determination, than this flying and comet ary son ot Oceana has. Newhaven's career, in short, has been co peculiar tint the least room for suspicion would have engendered the belief that he has been " worked " for the purpose of milking the public. That such an opinion is not entertained is a high compliment to his owners. The general idea is that the inconstancy displayed is natural to Newhiveo himself. Going Home with that stain on his character, and, iv addition, with what some of the sticklers call a weak point in his pedigree, he ■will find in England a lob of prejudice existing against him, and nothing bub the most convincing form in his races will make the English people accept him as a first-rater. I wish him luck, but there is certainly ground for the fear that the colonies are cob only seeing tli-i last of Newhaven, but hearing the last of him as a racehorse of note.

*#* I have always ma : nraiued that under .. present arrangements it would be impracticable to make a hard-and-fast rule that stewards must not bet. Very few men who have a sound knowledge of racing absolutely refrain from betting, and it is safer to give the management of the sport to persona who possess knowledge, trusting to their sense of decency to keep straight, than to rely on non-betting men and expect them to study the game in all its complicated ramifications. The principle that jb^wards should not bet is sound, unquestionably ; but it is a condition belonging to an ideal Btate of affairs. Meanwhile, I don't think that the evils in thin connection, springing oourt r of our imperfect system, are either numerous o Herious. Occasionally perhaps a steward may expose himself to charges of corruption, but, generally speaking, our officials may be relied on fco behave themselves — a<, for instance, by walkiDg out of the room when an inquiry in th.c result of which they are interested is coming on, To Bay that because a man now and then puts 5s on the machine he should be excluded from office if to play the hypocrite. Plungers should certainly bs barred, bub I don't think so meanly of humanity as to believe that the moderate inveatcr'is not tobetruited. I acknowledge, however, that the liberty for which I plead should not be stretched to the extent of justifying a man sitting in judgment when he is pecuniarily interested, even to the extent' of a few shillings. There should be a clear understanding on that point, and the rales ought to make this com-

pulsory. In the past we were not always particular enough about this precaution, and some queer things have happened. Still, while advocating this as a safeguard. I firmly believe that mankind is not wbd'ly, or even to a large degree, debauchable by the mighty dollar. Tnere have been plenty of cases where a steward or official has acted with straightness to his own monetary loss.

*#* Torrents of rain fell on Wednesday of last week at Invercargill, spoiling the Southland Trotting Club's meeting. Iv the Tradesmen's Handicap the favourite, Eileen, failed to *tay, and Little Dot, who got home very easily from Whalebone, paid the handsome dividend of £17 si. The Flat R*ce proved to be a soft thing for the Seaward gelding Seabreak, who waited on the leaders in the early stages and bmothered them at the finieh. Risp, owned by Mr Jamieson, Foremast's owner, had no difficulty in beating Fair Nell in the chief event of the day, bub the form was all wrjng when a tick under 6min ssfc could win. Native, who finished third, would have required to do no better than stniu 32*ee to have beaten ihs winning time. The explanation, no doubt, of the poor time is that the cours • was very heavy. Manton, a pony that used to perform at Duufcdin, cleared away tj the front in the Pony Handicap and staj ed there, and then won the nex*v eveut, the Selling Race, on a protest, Silverlight being disqualified for galloping. " Sir Modred " thus refers to this matter : ' ' Silverl-ght has a peculiar action, trotting in front and mixing it behind, and this may have influenced the stewards in their subsequent ad/on. Silverlight was trotting very much faster than Manton when he caught the litter, to whorci he was conceding a Btart. and in attempting to pass 1113 bouv Silverlig'ut broke and gallop-id for about 30jd;, until hi got. a. slight lead from tttanton, who a^o broke. When in front Silverlight irottea fairly agaiu, and did so uu'il the v,inning post wan reacht-d. On Manton's owntr prote-iting the steward 1 ? disqualified Silverlight for galloping, a decision which I caunot say I agree with, us I here could be no doubt bub that the horise objected to was mush the faster auimal and would have won anyway. On being submitted for sale Manton went back to his owner at £8." Only two had any show in the Harness Trot — the oM grey Cloud aud another veteran in Foremast. The latter never got very near, but he trotted in good form, and seemed to be going faster than he really was. Even time would have placed him alongside Cloud at the finish King of the Hills, winner of the second Flat Race, is a son of May King ar.d claims an engagement in the Riverton Leger. The Dash Trofc was an unsatisfactory race. The writer quoted above says : " Owii g to the rain and darknes', very little could be seen of the content, except that after the straight was reached a number of the candidates appeared to be making a galloping race of it, bub all were trotting fairly in the home run, and Rasp recorded his second win for the day. Tha owner of Whitewave protested against Rasp for having galloped, but the stewards dismissed the obj°c'ion. As to whether the winner galloped or not I am not in a position to say. but a number of the horses did so if the riders' statements go tor anything, and if the time recorded be cDrrect, then a number of moderate trotters who finished close ts the winner mast have put up the race of their lives.

*** The Sytmey writer " Delaware " relates an illustrative incident. In the olden days, he Bays, racing officials would b".b, and if called upon would adjudicate fairly without thought of their own loss or gain. Which reminds me of a dear old chap up Walgett way — now, alas, gone to " that bourne " through the agency of a mad bullock's horn There used to be some races worth lo.king at on the Barwoathen, and there was also some betting on them. Our dear departed friend always acted a» the judge at the meetings, aud used to invest an odd soy. on an outsider. The first of the Marvellous get to race was Zara, and real smart she was. She was entered for the Walgett Maiden Plate, and on paper it looked a certainby. Some of the boys got hold of the judge as he was laying 12s 6d to 10s on the mare, and persuaded him to lay £10 to £8 on her. Ab last, with much reluctance, he yielded to their solicitations, and put a tenner on her, but she went down before a horse named Sportsman, beaten a head. The judge, very pale, with lips set firm, came from his box to declare the winner, which he did in the following terms, without a stop and in the same breath :—": — " I declare Mr Hamlet Fletcher's Sportsman the winner of tha Maiden Plate, with Mr Blauk's Zara second, and Mr Somebody's So-and-So third, aud may the Lord strike me up a gum tree if ever I lay odds on a blooming favourite again ! "

*#* Niagara has again changed hands, being now the property of a breeder on the Lachlan River, New South Wales, who has about ascoie of clean-bred mares of his own. This horse, once almost sufficiently well known throughout the colonies as to deserve to be called famous, was the second son of Frailty. First ehe produced Trenton ; then a dead 'un ; next she missed ; after that c*me Niagara, th«: mare having held to Autero3. The colt made his first appearance with colours up in the Auckland Welcome Stakes, and was beaten a length by his stable companion Bangle ; but on the same course seven weeks later, when the same pair ran first and second in the Midsummer Stake?, the filly had to be contont with the subordinate honours, Niagara beating her by a head. It was a fairly strong field, Formo. being third. Next day Niagara ran home a pretty easy winner of the Fos.l Stakes, and he also annexed the Sylvia Park Stakes, his only defeat at the mee'ing beiDg in the Nur cry Handicap when trying to give 161b to Lady Florin, who beat him half a length. He was then spelled for the season, and in the following spring made his appearance in Australia, where, to begin with, he finished second to Anercorn in the Sydney Derby, heating The Australian Peer ; then ran a dead heat with Abercoru (who was conceding 71b) in the Foal Stakes; and at the V.R C, meeting' ran a dead heat with Abercorn for second place in the Darby won by The Australian Peer, and then finished behind Cranbrook, to whom he was conceding 101b, ia the Foal Stakes. That is practically Niagara!** record on the turf. He raced as a four-year-old, but without doing any good. I suppose the moat meritorious of his performances wera those in which he dead-heated with Abercorn. True, he once beat the Derby winner of the season, but The Australian Peer was at that date preparing for the real contest in November, and when it came Niagara was done. But so also wai Abercorn. Looked at any way, Niagara's track record is creditable, and I wish there had been more of it, but he did nob last very long as a racer.

*#* "T.T.,"in Melbourne Sportsman, make 3 a neat and convincing defence of one of the Victorian handicappers An organised and apparently a very malicious attempt has been made, he siyg, by a coterie of disappointed trainerß to find fault with the productions of Mr Vo vies. They even made an abortive atteii pt "O moveji hybrid vote of confidence in the vettsran'a adjustments, the accuraoy of which.

is really proved by the very facb that he has failed to please everybody. The action of the one or two of those who moved in the matter wrs in the worst of bad tasle, aud the rebuffs they received when endeavo iring to form a ring of their own must have been very discomfiting Foiled in their attempts to dislodge Mr Vowles from positions which ha has held loDger than any other haudicappor in Australia, one or two individuals have endeavoured to hit him below the belt They discovered in connection with the handicapping for Poitnrlington that in one race a horse called Jack was handicapped to give Panama 171b, and later on in the same afternoon PAnann, was handicapped to concede 481b to Jack ! The impeachment ot Mr Vowle-s iv this connection divulges the utter ignorance and incompetence of his assailants. The two Porbarlington Jacks are totally distinct. The mo is a four-year-old bay geldiug and the other an aged brown horse. Acd the. acrae of the absurdity will be underntood when I mildly mpution that Mr Vowle* did no; frame the weights for the District Haiidicap in which one of the Jacks w.n entered. Neither ihe hordes no- the bandicappers were identical in connection with tho two race?, aud Mr Vowloa has the laugh at his calumniators.

*;, t * The famous stallion Hampton, who is now 25 years old (having been foaled in 1872), has begun to break up, aud the subscriptions to bim for the current season have been returned. The old horse has been kept very low in condition tor years past for fear of trouble in his teet, and ot late he has suffered greatly from rheumatism, it being almost impossible to get him to move at all. Atone period of his racing career in the ranks of the selling platers, aud subsiquently a performer over hurdles, Hampton developed into one of the bes slayers of his day, winning as a five-year-old such races as the Northumberland Plate, Goodwood Cup, and Doncaster Cup. Ab the stud he has been among the most successful of our sires, hi« progeny having won an extraordinary number of racse, and he can c'aim thioe Derby winners in Merry Hiuivpfce?)', Ayrshire, and L'vdas. So writes the Sportsman, and the fpecial commissioner adds : Nothing has ever changed this horse's beautiful, placid temperament. Hampton was from his earliest days a marvel in the way of equine intelligence, and whatever he was atkert to do he did it without the slightest demur. From one who knew h>m well when in training and who rode him over fences, though the horse never ran in a steeplechase, I have the information that Hampton cou'd in all probability have won :i Grand National, and so great v?a& his docihtv that he might have been pub in a trap and driven without <-ver showing any surprise at the unusual character of the work. He was a thoroughly game horse and a first-rate stayer, though never quite in the first class. He required little or no training, -which was just as well, for his legs would not stand muph work.

*y*- The Tahuna Park Club has had a prosperous year, so far as is disclosed by the report presented at the annual meeting — that is to say, ib has paid its way, done as much of the needful work before ib as could be fairly expected to be accomplished, kept up the sport of trotting, and closed the year with a liltle more money in hand than the treasurer had at his command a year ago. This, of course, is necessary. The club propose* to launch out a bit in regard to stakes, and already stands committed to expenditure in that direction. Wherefore a nest egg is desirable. Reierencfi is made in the report to the project of securing three totalisator licenses next season, aud the committee seem to be hopeful as to the result. The club wants to work in a bigger way, as becomes the leading body of the kind in Ofcigo, and it feels its hands tied by restrictions which handicap and set back the true interests of sport. A useful future lies before this club, and good work may be expected when ib is able to take to itself a bit more scope. There is only one thing, so far as I cim see, to be feared, and that is a possibility of the management falling into the bands of a family rarty. Some say that this pernicious spirit is already in evidence, and was manifest ou the result of laiii week's elections. I hope that this is not so. There is no more promising club in O ago. and none that can be more useful to sport, and I wanb to see ifc keep to its reputation and do all the good it can, and should be very sorry to see the perverting leaven of party get to work.

*#* Whether Cloister, the 'chaser, was ever a really gceat horse after the fashion of such as The Colonel, Disturbance, Tae Liberator, Congress, or Seamau, or whether he was only great by comparison with his very inferior contemporaries, will alwajs b-i a matter of doubt and argument, writes an English Fcribe. One thing is probty certain, that he was vas'ly better over the Liverpool country than over any oilier, and he owed his victories there to the extraordinary ease with which he jumped, literally — one may almost say— galloping over tha fences, without any semblance of effort. I once heard a wollknowu trainer say that he felt sure Cloister would win a Cesarewitch. There could be no greater mistake. He was, in his best day, no good on the flat; The Midshipmite, as already stated, could beat him at tha>v game. It was the jumping that did it, and I almrsb think that Cloister would have take.n longer to cover the Liverpool distance if there had b;en no fences In other wordp, the way he flew the so-called obstae'es tended to hia getting the distaucf quicker rather than slower. It seems almost incredible, but anyone who has watched Cloister jumping ab Liverpool will, I think, be inclined to agree with me.

*#* Mr Hugh Craig has sold Euroclydon to I Mr H. Goodman and also parted with his interest in other horses belonging. to the stab'e, his intention being, I understand, to retire from racing in so far as it makes a demand uoon his time, and to merely keep one or two horses for amusement rather than with a view to serious business. I shall not. however, go through the formality of bidding him good-bye as an owner. With others who admire straightness and anti-humbug, I hope to see him some day taking up the old gams in earnest. Hugh Craig is not a man to make loud profession*, but he is as up to rights and down straight as a fathom of bamboo He will perhaps forgive me if I relate one little illustrating fact which came to my knowledge some time ago lie owned a horse that was a public fancy. After the weights had appeared for a big race the horse went amiss and he announced tjjat he was going to scratch him. Thereupon a definite offer of a sum of mone.y sufficient to give me a good holiday was made to him if he would delay the ecratching. And his reply was to scratch the hoive with instant promptitude. That is a thing that was not done for the sake of publicity, but I feel myself excused for bringing it forward in honour to the man, and also in support of my contention that the world is nob going to the dogg, and cannot so long as straight men like these are to be found.

i *** The committee of the South Canterbury Club met on Saturday night, Mr E. R. Gum presiding. The meeting endorsed the "action of the chairman ia calling & hurried

meeting to nominate representatives to the conference, and the pertons nominated — Messrs Hugo Friedlander and Mr E. R. Guinness — were accepted. It was resolved to excludo all bookmakers from the forthcoming Autumn meeting. The nominations received were laid before members and considered very satisfactory, showing a decided increase on last j ear — • 140 against 131. The Ground Commitbeo reported that the contractor for repairs at the course was making satisfactory progress with his work, and that they would be completed in ample time for the race meeting. The. improvements cons ; sl of the enlargement of the paddeck at the bick of the licensed bootb, and provision- for more room and accommodation in the ladies' tci room.

*.A Still I think that if all is well with them on the day, aud they start, Red Lancer for the Beaumont Handicap, Lady Teddington for the Flying, and Surefoat for the Novel are about as gojd a lot as one can pick for tho Beaumont events on Easter Monday, though the races are open, Lady Lear, Dim Joseph, Jate Eyre, and Out ram all possessing cred-ntials which cntitlo them lo support. I regret thai, tho acceptances not being to hand at the timn of vrricing, 1 cannot now make a closer selection. Perhaps I may say a word or two in the Daily Times bofore the day.

*#* The Taieri acceptances were not due until last night, aud at tho time oi writing I have nothing before me but the handicaps as prepared by Mr Dowse. This being the case, I must postpone my selections and put them in the Duly Times of Mondiy. This will be safer than plunging in the dark. I may say, however, that the haudicapppr seems to have made a gcorl j jb genprilly of his ta?k, and that it is not an s-asy thing to spot the winners.

*V* Australian-bred Ebor seems to be played out in Ei gland for th* time being. They have \u ■ him up tc the 13.0 mirk, aud, correspondingly, he is apparently going off ; hence he will probably retire for awhile In the February Steeplechase at Hurst Park he started with the market call, but, says iv spectator, his cleverneps bcempd to have deserted him, aid after making a couple ot bad mistakes that might easily nave brought him to grief, he was pulled up.

** * I fully expected to have had the Riverton acceptances before making a selection for this meeting, but they hid not come to hand on my lani. visit to the 1 fHcc, and all that I care to fay under the circumstances is that Peter Simple, Huntsman, and Nimblefoot se-m to have a show in the leaping race?, while Emmeline, Black Pearl, and King of the Hills may be dangerous if they start in the flat race 3.

OWNERS' REKINDERS. Look at the Canterbury Trotting Club's winter programme, published ia tbi3 issue.

lS8(i-87 ... :BS7-SS ... .BSBS!> ... iSS:)-00 ».. ,890-91 ... ... J25250 ] JB9l-92 ... ... £-247-^ , 1592!« ... ... JU2D4S 1893-94 ... ... £[Wi ■ 1894-95 ... ... £277!)! IS!)5 96 ... ... .£2545 ... -£4250 ... £40.r. ... X-2150 .. £176 ft

L t3yrs ... t t 4yrs ... i.t syrs ... Lt 6yrs ... Lt7yra ... LtByrs ... Starts. Ist 1 0 9 1 15 1 19 4 10 4 9 3 2nd 0 2 1 5 2 2 Un3rd placed. 0 1 1 5 4 9 4 6 1 3 1 3 Stakes ■ won. 1 JVi! I £38 i 33 ) 88 184 162 63 13 12 11 27 £505 ■