TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 31

TALK OF THE DAY.

Br MAZEPPA. *** Mr G. Dowses handicaps for the Dunedin May meeting are printed in this issue. As to the Hurdle Race, I find that, compared with the second day's Hurdle Race at Christ* > churoh, Ilex is up 51b, Clarence lllb, aud Highlander 31b, and, seeing that Clarence won easily, I should on this handicap t&ke him to ftgaiu beat the other two mentioned — perhaps, indeed, ho will win straight out, unices Belmont comes out of his shell. The Birthday Handicap takes a lot of picking, and before committing myself to a definite opinion I should like to see the acceptances. Some Bay that Marlin is too leniently treated, bnt at Christchurch Vandyke gave her 61b aud a bad doiDg at a mile and a-quarter, and in tho race under consideration the 71b concession in Marlin's favour is no more than reasonable. Then, if we give Vandyke a show, surely horses like Hippomenes aud Skirmisher must be in it, and then can we safely disregard Mtnaw&nui and Aldershot and Black and Red ? It appears to me that all of these, and Chaos aa well, if he comes iifc to the post*, have a fay, and, in short, the handicap bears inspection very well. My first fancies are Hippomene*, Black and Red, and Manawnnui, but; perhaps something better may be revealed by the day of the race. , As to the Tvftdcimen'fl, X should think that Vanilla ought to be prebty well at this m ob tins, aQ d if so, she will be very hard to beat ; but we must also remember Belle Olair, Vandyke, Telemeter, Ma.lio, Arline, and two or three others with respect, and the man who thinks he c*n pick this event yet awhile has & good opinion of himself.

*** Rubezahl gets a much-needed lift by tha Rucceisee of Go!d*pur. The Hon. G. M'Lean thinks v. lot of this stallion, and, I understand, would make more use of Rubezahl if breeding for bis own purposes, but, having regard to the yearling tales, St. Olair has tho run of tho mares owing to the preference of buyers for Musket blood. They say that it was a fluke, too, that Goldspur's dam was pub to Rubezahl. The idea was to mate her with St. Clair, bub this horaa was temporarily on the sick lint wheu the mare Arrived, and by arrangement she .was covered by Rubezahl instead. Everybody may not know that Mr T. Thompson, owner of Roseleaf and » few others, was the breeder of Goldspur. Rosespur, his dam, is half sister to Mizpab, the mother of Vanquisher. I hava tabulated the pedigree, and will present it one of these days. In the meantime I may state that Itosespur is by Hotspur, a South Australian horse by imported IloncHtish from lUmce, who i» dam of Leo, wiuuor of tha Australian Champion Race. That it good stout blood, but not of the patrician order, for Romea'e ancestry runs back in two generations to a mare of nnkuown blood. I presume this would disqualify Goldspnr from entry in tho General Stud iiook. On the side of his dam, Koaeapur, tbtire is a quick run back to the Arftb. Roseepur is out of Rosemary, by imported Blswick from Iho Now South Wales mare Myrtle, who was by Cossack from Twinkle, a daughter of the Arab Ackb»r from Twilight, by Gratis. This is sound enough. Coessack was by Sir Hercules from Florn M'lvor, and this shows Goldspuc to have in him a cUeh of the blood from which Trenton deriveit bis stoutuees. There are macy worse pedigress in tho colony than that of Me Loughlin's horse, and the horse itself, though but lately a hack, is one of the speediest we hare eve? had. I observe that both the 0.J.0. leading handicaps fell to horses that have raced as hacks. What do our figure-system friends say to this ?

*#■* Goldßpur went straight from Christchurch to Wellington in order to fulfil his engagements there. J. Taggart took him up on behalf of Loughlin, who had to make a, trip home before going to Wellington. I understand that Goldspur will have a go m the Thompson Handicap, and good judges tell mo that he will beat all of his opponents whom he met nt Cbri&tehurcb. If so he must have a big change of getting home. But, good horse aa Goldspur i», we must not forget that he is up in weight, and now asked to go a bit further than usual ; so it would not, in my opinion, be wise to make cocksure of his winning. Despite the current notion about; his beating all the crowd that met him at Christchurcb, I cannot help thinking that Waiuku has * show ; and then of those in the list that Goldspur has not yet ruet several may possibly give him trouble. St. Paul must not be overlooked, nor Armilla, while The Artist, if well, reads like n very leniently treated horge, and Leda, Sedgbrook, and Boreas are all worthy of consideration. I should add to this category Black and Red if he were going, but he is not. I under* stand that Mr Mercer io satisfied with the colt's weight, bub thinks that Belle Clairis too highly appraised in her races ; at any rate he has abandoned fche idea of going to Wellington. Lord Rossi jn also will be an absentee. He bnrsfc one of his feeb again at Christchurcb, and thjugh the injury will probably not trouble him very long, he could not possibly stjrt a* the Hutt. Hippomene», likewise, will noft accept, so that the only Forbury representative at the meetiog'will be Goldspur. I give him m big chance in this Thompson Handicap, but would advise backers nob to be too confident. The three that I most favour at the present are Goldspur, Leda, and Boreas, but I would M soon take The Artist as the whole three if sure that he was quite afc his best—which, by the way, I don't think at all likely.

*** Beaumont, though itself a smal\ pi«e#, is easy of access from many mining settlement* , and the local club depends to a large extent upon the patronage of these diggers. This yea? they tolled up from all quarters to enjoy what was really an excellent afternoon's spoit, th«« only subject of complaint being the tedious delays between tho races. Sunflower, tbv

favourite, fell in the Maiden Plate, otherwise ' the good thing would have very likely come off, for later in the day this Sunflower, though no doubt ht some disadvantage owing to the accident, ran a good third in fair time to Jane Eyre and Red Laucer, whose form is considerably Buperior to that of Rainbow, the gelding that Sunflower would have had to beat in the Maideu. Beaumont's steadiness enabled him to win the Maiden Trot in slow time, averaging Smin 15iec for a mile. The Beaumont Handicap was a good tetting lace so far as Ihe machine was concerned, bu ! , I understand that Dun Joseph's followers were pretty confident, and, as the event proved, this confidence had & Sound basis, as the Duntroon gelding signalised his return to form by walking over his opponents when it came to be * question of staying. He won easily in the fair tinif of 2miu 16sec for the mile and a>qaarter. But several of the records during the day were pretty good, and Duu Joseph had only a light weight, so perchance it would be risky to assume ihat his success is the prelude to a big revival on his part. Men who were at the meetJDg tell me that the sight of the. day was Native's trotting in the two and a-half mile race. He cut down 11 of his adversaries in grand style, and wan b' aten only by Welcome .Lass, who had nothing to spare, though receiving 38jco. Welcome Lrss had previous records ot smin 42-ea for two miles and Smin 34-gec for three miles, so that iv doing the two aud a-half miles iv 7mi» lO^ec she got up to her form. Native, on the other hand, improved on his pnblio records afc two and three miles. His best go at two vies brain 25stc and at three Bmin 0 4-5 r ec— say ■ equal to 6min 43sec for the two and a-half, but at Beaumont he was travelling almost at the gait of 6cnin 30sec, and if he had got home it would have been the New Zeakud record. Aud, besides being speedy, Native is a splendid trotter. He goes iut without any of that unsightly gear which is becoming so commor, aud he is invariably ridden by bis welter-weight owner. If specially prepared aud ridden at the ordinary weight, there Is no doubt that this son of Le Loup would break the long-distance records, for he is a true etayer.

*** The following paragraph anenb lightweight jockeys is from Man of the World : — " A good deal of fu3s is being made just now of the engagement of little Robinson tor Marsh's stable. As » matter of fact, he rode for it last year. This time lait year just as mucb fuss was made of GrimshaTr, of whom we now hear very little. These very brilliant Hunt-weights very often do not ' stay,' and so frt.m practice making perfect, they go off rather that improve. In the earlier stages they are under discipline, but a little success turns their heads, and tbey become conceited and flash. You may take a whip from a boy, but if y<.u were to propose to take the whip from a crack light-weight you would behold a very sulky-looking young gentlemau. The best light-weight I ever saw was Jimmy Grimshaw, who also rode well when he was a. man, but no hing like as well as when he was a boy. Light-weigutn have almost invariably run in couples. Gnmshaw's great rival, if I recollect rightly, was Carroll ; then came Kenyon and Cameron, both of whom went to the b»d, and did little or nothing. It was said of Kenyon that nothing delighted him to much as t.~> go down into a coal mine and drink beer. His home was near Caunock Chase. Archer and Constable were both light-weights at the same time, and almost equally good. Then again Goddinghad two good boys in Butler and Wilson, but they did no good afterwares. Gallon, who was in Alec Taylor's stable, is now working for »n advertising tout. Parry, who rode for Hodgman in his palmy days, and woa the Royal Hunt Cup for George Augell on Attache, is in very low water, and the same may be said of Maidznent, who probably wou as many big races as any jockey now riding. Norman, who rode StockvsoU, died a pauper. Mordan, whose effort on Bruce in the Dorby, which he ought to have won, was not heroic, is another who h*s * gone under.' He was in his day a good lightweight."

*.** The Fairlie meeting is apparently settled now as an Easter Monday fixture, the club evidently finding it more profitable to use the holiday and take what it can get of the patronage of men and horses that can be spared from the big meeting at R ; coarto'n than to race on an ordinary day when the crowd was not at liberty. Tirs choice is easy to understand, for attendance receipts are tangible, and ths appearance of visiting horses that have any show for the larger stakes ia always problematical, unless a date be chosen right away from Easter. This year only 18 horses competed at Fairlie, ! but the trip to the mountain township was an ' attraction in itself, and a large number of per- < sons attended. Mr H. Struthers acted as handicapper and starter. In the Maiden Plate the pace was made to the home turu by the pony Nigger, and when he was done for The Thing took up the lead, winning easily. Jay Gould, whose name suggests American parent- , age, won the Maiden -Trot; very easily, disposing j ot The Jewess without any trouble when once he settled down to a steady gait ; and he also annexed ths Trotting Handicap, two miles, taking the lead in a few strides, and never being headed. The strength of the attending horses was seen in the Weltsr Handicap, in which Hydroieine had command to the last turn, where Liberty came along for an easy win, Starling being a poor third. Melton, now connted among the "has btens," got a bad beating in the Selling Race, won by War Cry. In the High-weight Handicap an accident occurred. Liberty, Hydroieine, and Starling ■were fighting for the lead, when, as they neared the rail?, Fcx drew the whip to Liberty, who swerved and ran into the crowd. Hydroieine then went on, and beat Starling in a splendid finish. '

*** "Castor," of the Canterbury Times, writes in last week's number as follows : — " In an obituary notice of St. George, published in the Otago Witnsps last week, my iriend •Mazeppa ' infers that there were doubts about the breeding of Quibble, Strenuous, aud Apres Moi. He then goes on to state that Quibble was undoubtedly a son of St. George, although Marie Theresa, as well as Strenua and Red Rose, the dams respectively of Strenuous and Apr eg Moi, were served by other horses as well »s by St. George. ' Mazeppa ' may, of course, be spe&king by the book ; I am not. At the lame lime, I fancy that, in respect to Strenuous and Apres Moi, he is incorrect. Strenuou» was undoubtedly by St. George, and I never remember his breeding being questioned by people who were in the best position possible to speak with confidence on the point. Besides, he possessed all those distinctive marks which St. George invariably placed on his progeny. Very similar remarks apply to Apres Moi. No other horces except St. George and Apremont could possibly have covered her dsm the year before this filly was born, and I am pretty certain that it was never even hinted that St. George covered her. Then, too, she possessed all the characteristics so typical of Apremcnt's progeny. With Quibble it was different. His dam, Maria Theresa, was covered by both George and Traducor ; bub she foaled to the former'i time, and, as • Mazeppa 'remarks,

Quibble was undoubtedly the former's son. One had only to look at him to be cure of that."

*** My friend is perfectly correct in stating that Strenuous used to be considered a son of St. George and that Apree Moi was invariably fet down as by Apremont. [ did not dispute that' in my remarks about St. George, nor do I now raise the question. What I did write was with the view of informing those who have not access to the Stud Book that the dams of these racers were served by other horses, and that statement is absolutely correct if the Stud Book is to be re'.ied on Volume IX (1890), the last number of the Stud Book issued, registers at page 111 the birth of Aprea Moi, and gives her paternity as Apremont or St. George ; and at page 125 it is stated that Strenua in 1882 produced Strenuous to King of Clubs or S 1 ". George. My statement on the subject is uuassailably true. At the same time I do not deny the correctness of " Castor's " local knowledge of the subject. The fact is that our Stud Book, in common with all other works of the same class, i* rather misleading in regard to these matters for want of a little more information to qualify and interpret the bare announcement that such and euch a mare was served by this and that horse. The special commissioner of London Sportsman has a suggestion on this very mbject, the quoting of which ii 1 * appropriate. " Most of us," he writes, "have come to know that Thormanby wa« by Wiudhound and not by Melbourne ; that St. Gatieu was by The Rover, not by Rotberbill ; and that Best Man is by Melton, not by Ormonde. It; would be much more satisfactory, however, if we could prove tbece and other similar facts by reference to the service and foaling dates in the Stud Book." I J erhapj, if no^; too late, Mr Willis might take a note of the suggestion and utilise it while compiling the much-wanted new edition of the New Zealand Stud Book.

*ii* Fifteen horses started for the Hawkesbury Autumn Handicap, the favourite being Hopscotch at 5 to 2, with Adoration next in demand, aud Right Honourable third favourite. After that trio long prices wera going, The Meddler being in better request than anything else. Sydney Referee tsays that Right Honourable wa< the unlucky horso in the first t cramblo for places. He got knocked on to the rails. This treatment he resented by refusing to gallop for a time after it occurred, and his many bickers were afforded a sight of him when the field was going along the back stretch, toiling about 10 lengths behind the last horses of the main body. Between him aud the rest there was a cloud of dust, and his chanco looked hopeless. Meanwhile Thespian was making the running, attended by Rockwall, and so they ran until after passkg the halfmile, when Freedom ran up on the outside and got to the front before beginning the home turu. Though he led into the straight the Queenslander could not sus.t'nu his effort, and once more Rockwall took up a leading position and Adoration appeared on the out6ide. Right Honourable had beeu dismissed,, but he was now seen aga : n, having made a remarkable run on the inside and got almost up with the leaders ineide the distance. He could not do any more, aB Adoration drew out and won by half a length, with Rockwall second, a head in front of him. It was a wonrierfally good run in a fast race, and though he did not win, the performarce was verj meritorious. Ib was bad luck for Messrs Mack6u and AUsopp that Right Honourable was so badly served at the start, for otherwise he could hardly have lost. Adoration got somewhat knocked about, as wai proved by her jockey's leg having come into contact with the rail, Reveral splinters from which were tx"Tacted by a. medical man afterwards. The Nordenfeldb filly is not a big one, but of rare quality. It was generally supposed Miss Nora would represent the stable, as Adoration was in the Doncatter Handicap, but Earnshaw recommended otherwise, and scored for Mr Hordern his first win in the H.R C. Autumn Handicap. Adoration is out of Idolatry (one of the mares selected in England by Mr F. W. Day for Mr Hordern's stud), by Isonomy from La Tr<*ppe, by Hermit.

*** Riverton shared in the lovely weather that prevailed over the south on Easter Monday, and tbe*e was a very large attendance on this pretty course, the patrons being also well supplied with cash, as £2280 was passed through the totalisator, an increase of £299 on last year's returns, and a record total, at any rate, for the past few years. Guide, making his first appearance as a leaper, dislfldgtd his rider in the Hurdle Race, and Peter Simple ran himself out, leaving Outram and Seabreak to contest a fine finish, in which Outram prevailed br only a neck. Frank M'Grath's bad luck in the Hurdles was to some extent atoned for by his getting the mount on Paru in the Leger She waited on King o' the Hills, the latter being out by himself in the lead to the home bend, where the filly ran up and challenged, winning not easily, but in rather good style. Paru is by May King from Parvula, half sister to Cruchfield. This waß the fourth time the Leger had bren run, the previous winners being Dunloo, Sfc. Patrick, and Vixen. In the Maiden Steeplechase there were two mishaps, Juno failing and Merlin baulking, and Fairy King won ea*i!y, being nicely handled by 6lr W. Saundere. The winner is by Water King, the brother to Stonyhurst that Mr Souness used to race. Three of the starters for the R v<-rton Handicap were spiritedly backed, D. lemma being the actual favourite, but he was in trouble after going a mile, leaving Emmeline aud St. Patrick to conteßt the finish, which resulted in rather »n easy win for the pony mare The Messrs Ellis alt.o scored in the Maiden Plate, their fcix - year - old Guide, who is now coming into form, landing this his first stake with a little to spare Never No More lost bis rider shortly after the start. The Open Steeplechase, always a popular race — it could without trouble be raised to a position of considerable importance amoDg South Inland jumping laces — produced a fair field and a rattling contest. Fairy King fell, but four of the others made a capital race of it, end'ng in a dead heat between Nimblefoot (who shaped very much better than he did in the Maiden Steeplechase) and Peter Simple, with Outram close up third and Apaiima fourth. By special permission of the stewards the tie was run off the next day, when Peter Simple won. Tbe starter was not lucky in his despatch of the Flying Handicap field. Rt flection suffered most. Judging from the run she made, finishing less than a length from the winner, she would have been very hard to beat had she got off on level terms. As it was, Emmeline, notwithstanding her 71b penalty, just beat St. Patrick, with Reflection third. The race showed, however, that it was no fluke for Messrs Ellis's mare to win the Riverton Handicap. King o' the Hills ran off in the Distriot Race, and Paru had no trouble in scoring for the second time, thns giving Emmerson his third winning mount for the day.

*** Writing of the late Mr George Hill, "Terlinga" says: — Several races Marvel ghould have won he lost through fighting with his rider, the most notable instance on^ record being his race against Steadfast and Sa'dim at ' Flemington. Had Marvel beea allowed his

I head he would have distanced his opporfents in this race, but his rider tried to hold him behind, and in doing so bpat him most effectually. As far back as 1876 Mr Hill owned a smart horse in the Valetta colt (afterwards Malta), who beat Richmond in tbe Havrksbury Guineas, and ran second to Jellett's colt in the AJC Derby. Mr Hill was a partner with Mr W. A. Long iv theHobartville stud after Mr Town's retirement, bub I don't think he ever took murh interest in breeding. He had a firm belitf in the superiority of. Marvellous over all other stud horses, aud after that horse's , death his visits to Hobarlville were few and 1 far between. Mr Hill was a man of strong likes and dislikes — a good -friend and a good hater. If he took to a man that man could ' count ou his assistance until further orders, and he would go out of his way to try and thwart a person who had incurred his animosity. Riders will remember Marvel's bt-iog ecratched — lato in the day — for several big Melbourne races in which he appeared to have a great chance. The horse was fit to fulfil these engagements, and I have Leeu told on good authority that he was scratched because Mr Hill imagined that some man he did not. like had backed him. He was a mild bettor himself, but would not allow Marvel to benefit hia enemy. In spite of all his peculiarities, Mr Hill leaves a number of real friends.

*** The Trial Hack Handicap at the Wairavapa meeting was won by Testator, who must not be ccufused with the Testator who is by Johnny Faa's sire Trefoil. It was a close finish as between three, Sylpb, the favourite, getting third nlacp. On Dir, who led all the way in the Hack Handicap, is well bred, being by Lord Mandcville out of that good mare Rumour. Tne Hack Hurdle Race was also won from start to finish, Kia Ora giving nothing the a chance; but it does not seem to have been a true run rac •, for Tricky Jack slipped and threw his rider, and this interfered with Bull's Eye, the favourite. Ruamahanga seem* to have had a soft thing on in the Flying Hack Haudicap, taking the lead from almost the outset and going away whenever any of them came at him Stratbbraan and Loveshot did not arrive in time to start for the Eister Handicap, owing, it is said, to some misunderstanding with the railway people, so only four went out for the Easter Handicap. On Dit and Nero led at first, and, while the former fell away when challenged by King's Bowman, Nero kept o r i and wou with not much to spare. The Hack Welter was won by Lady Agnes, who shot out at the home turn and la3ted to the end, paying £144- — the dividend cf the sea-to-i. There were only three tickets on her out of a total of 480, and they say the owner was not one of the lucky trio. On tho second day this mare very nearly gob home again, in the Moroa Handicap, beingbeaten only a short head iv a tight finish. Voltaire, son of that useful horse MpsW Agues, put up the fair record of 2tnin 2<scc for the mile and adistance in the Open Welter The Autumn Handicap was well contested for about three furlongs, when it was seen that Umslopogas, the aged gelding by Puritan, held King's Bowman safe. A slashing race in the second Hack Hurdle Handicap found Tricky Jack outstaying Kia Ora at practically Jevel weights, the winner conceding only 21b. Though King's Bowman had a race in, he was spiritedly supported for the Stewards' Handicap, and. waiting on bis opponents, he cut them both down at the finish LadyAgneß again got second place in the County Handicap. King's Bowman — pulled out for the third time in the one day — got only third place in the Farewell Handicap. lam always glad to hear of defeat in such a case. Three races a day is too much for aDy horse. The Hack Haudicap won by Wimne after a go 3d set-to with Master Hume brought to a conclusion a meeting that ssems to have been distinguished among the Easter country fixtures for close finishes. Mr Coyle, the handicapper. is complimented on the result. The sum of £5102 was passed through the machine for the two days.

*** Dreadnought's death on the Hon. J. D. Ormond'a station was very sudden. He dropped and died without a struggle. On opening the body it was found that hearb disease was the cause. This horse was bred by the Hon. J White at Ktrkhain, New South Wales, got by Chester from Trafalgar, and he will always be remembered by his brilliant performances as a three-year-old in the season of 1889-90. In that year he had to bittle againßt two of the very best horses the colonies have produced — Carbine and Melos — when they were in the zenith of their tame. That was his bad luck. On the other hand, Dreadnought was really the only first-class three-year-old of the season. He had nothing more formidablft'fhau Richelieu and Rudolph to beat in the Dirby, and in the winning list for the year he stands a long way clear of all of his age, his total earnings of stakes for the reason being £5399, or only about £700 below Carbine's total, wnile the next three-year-old in the catalogue is Sir William with £2767, and he was to a large extent helped by successes in handicaps, whereas Dreadnought challenged all-comers in weight-for-age races, his only handicap win in that saason, so far as I remember, being in the Australian f^up, when, burdened with 8 6, he fought out h great race with Melos. and cub the two mile anil a-quarter record to oaain 592 sec, at which it Btands to this day. Dreadnought began that seasdi by running third in the Eppoca Handicap at Sydney and winning the Wycombe Stakes. At Caulfield he wou the coveted St&kts. Remaining for the V.R.C. meeting he won the Derby, ran second to Carbine in the Flying Stakes, aud won the Foal Stakes. At the Autumn meeting he won the V R.C St. Leger easily, and captured the Australian Cup by half a. head from Melos, but the positions were reversed on the third day, Me'os, Dreadnought, and Carbine being the order in the Champion Stakes In the Aututnu Stakes in Syduey the same day three filled the places, Dreadnought being third ; on the third day he ran second to Carbine in the Cumberland Stakes, Melos again being third, and on the last day Carbine, Melos, and Dreadnought came in in that order for the A.J.C. Plate At Mr While's death, Mr W. T. Jones purchased Dreadnought, but the horse showed signs of lameness and was not persevrred with, and was finally sold for stud purposes to the Hon. J. D. Or mond at, it ia said, £1500.

*** The trotting club at Normauby, up in the Hawera district, held an inquiry this month into the hona fides of a horse cal'ed Thunderbolt, the question being brought up on a protest alleging that the horse wag identical with one that had trotted at Greyinoutb. under the name of Schoolboy Evidence having been taken, it was decided to uphold the protest and disqualify the horse and its owner, Mr John Anderson, for a twelvemonth. Thin must be accounted a light sentence for so grave an offen.ee, and it is not surprising to read in the local report that an explanation of the leniency was offered — it certainly seemed to be called for — but I don't know that the explanation goes^very far in justifying the leniency. What was said was that the reason of tha term of disqualification being so lenient was on account of its being the first offence of Anderson, and that ho was

apparently ignorant of the rules of trotting. • The excuse of its being a flrsb offence may, perhaps, have been allowed some consideration, though not, I think, to the extent oE reducing the punishment to such a short terra as a year ; but it is im- j possible to seriously accept the other reason — that Anderson was apparently ignorant of the rules of trotting. Ignorance of the rules could hardly be supposed to lead a man to ring in a horse and then deliberately back up the action with evidence which the club by its verdict refused to accept. The offence proved is of a very serious character, and I regard it as a mistake to display any leuieucy towards a person convicted of it. Tho club seems to have j acted most capably up to a certain poiur, and thenlo have broken down in its judgment. So one would gather by the bare statement of facts ; but the real reason ot the mildness of the sentencp m*y be, possibly, thai; there was a division in the ranks on the wholo subject. I infer this from the report in the Hawera Star, which say* that one of the stewards, Mr D. Green, told his brethren at the outset of the proceedings that he would resign rather than sign any evidence that he might give, and another curious fact is that a mover and seconder were found for the ridiculous amendment that the dif qualification bs- for a term of six months. Seeing that such things took place j in the club r<om, it is something to ba thank- • ful for tbab Anderson was punished at a'l. I observe, by the way, that the Ureymouth club j took a hand by prosecutint; it.quiries on its j own account, and the secretary. Mr Hungerford, was specially thanked by the Normanby club for the painstaking and able way in which he had colltct j d evidence that was placed at the di'pi.sal of the Normanby stewards. ; * ft * Hopscotch and Newhayen seem to be competing against each other for the contempt ( of tha Australian racing public, aud I don'o know which will get the cak'i At present dishonours seem to be easy, so far as the Syduey . meeting is concerned. On the third day Hopfcotch wou at a mile in the All-aged Stakes , with supreme ease, aud later in the. day, in <he . Cumberland Stakts, he finished last. New- ■ haven also started in the AH aged Stakes, nnd, ■ getting away badly, he never made au effort, | ■ and finished out of a place ; whereas on the third ( day, in the AJ C Piate, he swung away clear ( of his opponents, and nothing ever got within . cooee of him, thouch the pace was so slow that, j j the time limit of 6rnin for the three miles being j exceeded by 9£seu, the club withheld half th« stake. Thi-> lorm is very bad. Newhaven's \ time was poor enough, bu l wbah the dickens i were Coil and Fucile and Battalion and True : Blue up to that they did not go up to aud ] smother such a slow leader or torce him to i gallop ? Such races are most; perplexing. New , Zealand is just now poorly off for stayers, but , we could muster a few that could win easily enough if. assured that 6min 9£sec would do. Aurum, on the other hand, continues to win with the greatest regularity. On the third day he disposed of Amberite and Hypnotist as though they were hacks, and won by four lengths ; bat here again the time was wretchedly slow, the seven furlongs of the Easter Handicap occupying lmin 38£3ec. The Auckland-bred colt Sabretache had the bad luck on Saturday to lose a race after winning ir. I refer to the Rous Handicap, in which, weighted at 8 7, he got home from Fucile 8.2 by half a length after a hard battle, and then had to go out ou account of a cro?s. This colony had, however, some compensation in that the Steeplechase fell to Booties 11.2, who led throughout, and got in by half a leogth from another Maorilander — Tayforth 97, five : others being behind this pair Otis of the sur- 1 prises of tbe meeting was (he win of Poßitano ] in the Place Handicap. He seems to have | been an unbacked outsider. Pcsitano is an ; English-bred colt, by St. Simon, and up to the i time of arriving in the colony had the name of } a rogue— a character which he is now living down. i

*#* Leonora, ono of the thoroughbreds drowned in the Hawke's Bay floods, wan 18yrs of age, having been bred by Mr J. W. Mallock in 1879, got by Lsolinus from Gossip. 'I he mare was tbusbalf sister to Burlington, Canard, and Forester, and may be said to have belonged to a distinctly useful family. I notice that the last edition of the Stud Book is inconclusive as to who her breeder was, Mr Mallock being named at one page and Mr Tancred at another, but I think I am right in stating that Mr Tancred bought Gossip some time after Leonora's birth. As a two-year-old, racing for Mr Stead (then known on the turf as Mr Fraser), Leonora failed rather bail?. She began by finishing unplaced in the Welcome Stakes won by Siesta, and ended by getting third place in the C. J C, Nursery Handicap in the autumn, and there was nary a win all the reason. She then passed into Hip. hands of Captain Russell, and started well the following season, capturing the Maiden Plate at Hawke's Bay and the Publican's Purse at Petanp, and later on she wod the Martou-Rangitikei Handicap, the Taranaki J.O. Handicap, and the Auckland Easter Handicap, her record for the season being five whi3 out of 12 starts nnd £905 in stakes. She was a. mare that stayed pretty well, this qualifcv being displayed when she finished rexo to Vanguard in the New Zealand Cup of 1884, and, takeu all in all, she probably paid her way. Her produce hive been mostly disappointing, though. Aronoel may be mentioned as an exception.

' *** One freak of luck that occurred in connection with the C J.C. meeting is worth recording. A Dunedin lawyer, fancying Goldspur for the Easter Handicap, sent £5 by a friend to be invested ou the machine. On the Monday, hearing what everybody else heard, that the Goldapur parly were down in the dumps and that Telemeter was the rage, h9 wired to his friend : " Put my Goldspur money on Telemeter " The friend iv Christchurch, being busy, could not be found a!; once with the I message, and as a matter of fact he did not get i it until the evening, by which time he had tbe £54 dividend on Goldspur in his pocket. It occurred to him as rather strange that the owner, who is by no means of a plunging disposition, should wish to play up £54- in one act, but the telegram was plain enough — " Put my Goldspur money on Telemeter " — and as he could not see that he was left any discretion in the matter he simply obeyed the instruction, or what he took to be the instruction, and planked the whole lot on to Telemeter for the Yaldhursb Welter, taking, however, the precaution to wire at oncp : " Think you are 1 foolish, but have put the £51- on Telemeter as i directed." This, of course, was at the time a i perfect puzzle to the investor, who naturally thought that in changing his investment he had loaf; his money, and it is a mercy he is not a swearer, else he would have cursed his ill-luck in landing a fine stake and then losing it over a I speculation which it had never entered his head to make, but which, by the bye, was nearly coming off, for Telemeter ran second, and would have paid £2 19a 6d.

*** Encouraged by the leniency of the jurymen, who acauitted them in direct opposition to

■ the judge's direction, the ColliDgwood betting shops proprietors lost no time in getting to work again, and, according to " Javelin," this was the result. One of them had strengthened his establishment against police surprise parties ! by the erection of a substantial gate with & patrol on guard to watch Ihe approach of the enemy. The strategic M'Manamny was, bowever, equal to the occasion, and while he and a brother D . in a cab drew the attention of the sentry a third member of the force in the unsuspicious iole of a cyclist-, flipped in and succeeded iv occupying the watchman in a I struggle long enough to secure ingresß for the I other two officer*. There was a. scramble of punters, vho scooted in all directions, but the D.'s managed to capture one alleged clerk and one supposed customer upon whom-to prepare a case. The episode of the biking D. is an apt illustration of the wheels within wheel's which prevail in the department of astute Superintendent Brown. The best laid schemes, however, gang aft aglee. All M'Manamny 's smartness was nullified by the Crown Law department omitting to stamp the indictment, which resulted in the accused being discharged, and the Crown having to pay £4 4s costs. The idea of the Crown losing a case through not complying with the law is simply sublime. *h* I cannot pretend to know very accurately the f.'rm of all the horses engaged in the Wanganui Steeplechase, but Mutiny at 12.5 reads like a possible, St. Simon at a stone less surely has a chance, and Booties at 11 0 has precisely the same weight with which he won lart year and 21b leas than he carried home at Randwick on Saturday, co that if he returns to the colony he must be reckoned with. Thefle, bo far as my judgment goes, are the three likeliest candidates, and while, all in, I should prefer Mutiny (who has only lib more than what he won tha Grand National with), Booties, and St. Simon in that order, possibly it may happen that my third string will prove the best, since Mutiny has not b?en heard of lately and Booties is on the other side. I am going on the sound and scriptural principle that a living dog is better than a dead lion, though, for the matter of that, there is not much of the dog about St. Simon. Dummy. Secrecy, and Docility are a likely trio in the Hurdles, aud at Ursb sight I fancy Sedgebrook for the Fit ing Stakes. But early bolting on thft meeting should be very cautious Some of the candidates may have an eyo on the rich programme provided for the Grand National meeting. *),* The Vincent Club comes out of the transactions for the year ending the 14th iusfc. with :i credit balance of £135, assets worth £35, and ao liabilities. It is satisfactory to iind that the enterprising policy of this club has riot led it into difficulties Enterprise seldom does. Difficulties rtsu't usually from rashness, nnd few ot our country clubs in Otago are in danger of that accusation. Arrangements for improving the course were considered at the meeting, and ib was resolved to give £365 in stakes at the races on the Ist and 3rd of January next. Mr T. Duggan, the secretary, was voted & bonus of £5, which it will be agreed was well earned. The elrction resulted as follows : — President, Mr J. Pitches ; vicepresidents, Messrs W. Jack and W Laidlaw ; judge, Mr J Pitches ; starter, Mr J. Harley ; clerk of course, Mr G. O'Hara ; clerk of scales, Mr G. Naylor; clerk of totalizator, Mr C. Richards ; timekeeper, Mr AY. B. Hawaon ; treasurer, Mr W. Laidlaw ; bandicapper, Mr W. Jack ; auditors, Messrs J. L. Flint and W. B. Hawson.

*** With respect to the South Canterbury meeting, the acceptances for which appear in this issue, I have little doubt that if Specula Cor has a go in the High Weight Handicap he will be hard to beat, but he is also engaged in the Flying, so it is &b well to consider what is next best, and I see nothing in the others that I like better than Miss Orwell. The Wa»hdyke Welter is a race that I would rather field on than use for backing purposes, but, being obliged to name something, I pick on Tale of the War m a possible, and give Izal an outside show. Jewel ought to be good enough to*pretty nearly win the Autumn Handicap, and on the Sockburn Handicap form Vandyke may be nexb best, he appearing to hold Salvo Shot safe enough. As for the Flying Handicap, I stand or fall on Molly DarliDg, who, after her Christchurch running, must be very dangerous. Jay Gould won two races at Fairlie, and this will doubtless ciuse him to be remembered by backers when the Trot comes up for decision, but for aught 1 can say there may be others just as well in as he is.

*#* A peculiar incident marked the second day's racing at Hamilton, Victoria. In the Steeplechase J. Murray's mara Nutmeg passed the winning post first, two lengths ahead of K&limna, with Gambier Lad third. Immediately after the race (fays the Leader), Mr J. D. M'Donald, the owner of Desperado, who ran fourth, entered a protest against all three horses on the ground that they had run insido posts. The stewards upheld tho protest, and awarded the race to Desperado. Mr Murray* gave notice of appeal against this decision, on the ground that Desperado was not placed. The judge, on beirjg appealed to, stated that he had placed Desperado, but as there was no room for the extra number on the structure used to display the results, he informed the secretary that he had placed the horse. The stewards themselves observed Kalimna run inside a post, and the secretary acquainted the judge with the fact. «

* # * R. Hafitie, who has had the looking after of Nat ever since the gelding came to Dunedin, has bought him from the Wanganui owner. When Nat came south, after winning the Wei- ' liDgton Steeplechase, he was as thin as a barracouta, and required a lot of building up. Hastie has managed to do this, and then offered a price which was accepted, Nat's first race for bis new owner was in the Novel Race at the Taieri. He won this very easily ; and, noting his much-improved appearance, several persona talked of bidding for him at auction. Perhaps they would have done so had Nat been offered at once, but by Saturday, when the horse was put up in the yards, their desires had evidently cooled off, and Hastie was able, much to his relief from anxiety, fco buy the chestnut in for £19. I don't think that Nat is likely to likely to be entered again for that sort of selling race while he retains his present form. The Grand National is more like his dart.