TALK OP.THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2288, 6 January 1898, Page 30

TALK OP. THE DAY.

- By MAZEPFA.

* fr * Comments on several of bhe holiday meetings are necesHarily held over usitil nexb ■wesk.

*#* There is little doubb that Ruby M. could h.-ivd won the Saddle Maiden at Tahuua Park lasfe week if bhe had started, and ib is equallyplain ti.af; in h;*r absence Leo was the pick of ths part,y. Leo, I uoderatand, crimes from Lawrence ; she is said to be by Orpheus, bub this I fio not vouch for. The name, by the way, ia strictly if a maseu'me character, and therefore a etrange one to bestow upon a mare. The fii"-t pot v y nico brought out only one gf.rjmgf-r. I l'afer to Di, wbo, though no vioivi-i', looks like ii»provi»ig. Fawn, winner of the B* xing Day Handicap from the litnife miik, ia by Buc.-phalus. She is a ruhfcy-looking chf it- v*". half incline I to be a roan, and I don't think miiih cl her. After the raoa some persons £i % o\\l--d abou*; Fawn getting tne limit. In my opit io'i sho was entrled to it, having trotted !a.3t se.iicn without showing fche lease form. The wrung was that such a, great start as 45-ccviaa made ss tbe rarge of the handicap. It is fx"ii' to fSiume that the wo-sfc oi the Lorie* entered for a trot CiH do even time — if they can'b they iiAve no right to set up as rjLCfrs, tnd sbiuild not receive consideration — and even (inie (o? a her 3 e ths.t ia given 45s< c slait in two ir,i!(s m f ans that the scratch Lorse reu 4 ? do smifl 'l£sec to be up al'ongt-idtt at the fiiiifH. Ia t,*'is c&ee Fawn did smm 40^.ee. and C> rnu". Ticuld .have hs<l to shew a gait of 4-"nin 55 cc.or better, to win ! Jlin deserves all tlse^firedit for.Wags's win in the S-^Hing Race. I tike it that -this daughter of i"mole P.ii-chen if the w^-rsi) of 'the four that stsrted, but Allan btld Lf-r tr getter vAy clev-e'ly, aud if one could rob adinife tib.« mare, there w>? p'ei.fcy o€ gfouud for Cv>Q>znenriii'g the driving. Ailan de lined to back Wag's for a farthing ; he desc.ibes liti" c >nttmptuous»ly a-i "a padvJler." Boti<Hc,o, who gob home in the D'.mi'n Har.dicao r.fttr a rathar rocky experience in the fi>*fc mile, during which he was b^eak'ng ail ovtr the course, ia a s' u<vsy and th'apely cut of a colfc belonging to ll r Ocs-a.n, who bonght the mare Bitk-ifly when f>te was unknown to her then own^r in foal to Cleveland (son of Bf-riin), Btndjgo being tbe rfesult. Butterfly will be remembered aa v.inner of the Tahuna Cup. Thia wss B-ndy's first appearance siaee his two-y»-ar-cl.i fta,son, aud he shnped very well indeed, th'ugh I expect him to improve on bi3 Tabuna records when he gets a little more age and thoroughly stretches out;.

*#* That Bidaie was able to finish second (outside the dis'anee) I ascribj partly to the way the old Loree was staying cut the last half mile and partly to the lack of anxiety to get x place displayed by Haeietnai and Fawn. It occurred to me tfcat both these could have headed Bcdal-2 at the finish if desirous of doing so. Neither, however, had aoy chance of beating Bendigo. The stewards, r.o doub*;, had that in their minds when thf y were asking Mr J< lij a qut'stku about Fawn's performance — a question, I may remark, that it was perfectly warrantable to pub, and one which Mr JVifs fairly enough answered so far as he was concerned, though no one who saw the race can believe tha 1 ; Fawn was -doing her b-sfc. Ona thing I do net quite understand is why Mr J- it's shculd h.ive beeu called upon for an explanation v/heu Fawn was ncrainatid by Mr Mesk. I 3 there no filr Meek ? The second pocv race found Blackie and Jack the Ripper practically togethf v tbe whole vray and the other pair outp c-d. Some locked askance at Di, wondering what she vra=i up to, but the form was all right according to lime, as on ber first racs she did 4min 34-fC for a miie and a-half, or equal to 6m ; .n s^-?ec for two miles, and she would ha?e hfd to do 6-nin to win. As to the Dash Handicap, C ilonel pub "ill a very fast half mile to begin with, but was eased up when Leo looked safe. This, of course, was quite jaa iflfiblc, seeing th\t the horsea mentioned were bracketed on the machine. Leo appeared to have the result safe below the distance, where it looked momentarily a3 though Rex had given up, but the latter saw what he fee ok to be an opening on the inside, mr.de a dash for it, and won by a neck. I watched the finish closely, and was present when the protest was discussed by the stewards, and I intend to express an opinion on the snbj-ct after the app-al h disposed of. The que.sti jn throughout the Electric Handicap w.\s whether Colcnel could eitch Bendigo. Houesfc Wiikes was in trouble ffom the start, and his gear carried away and get flapping; abou 1 ; his le^s as he entered the second half mile, thereby putting him out of it. Colonel tired ia the laqt quarter, and Bcnd'go had the race won at the entrance to the home stretch, making a rscord of 2miu 51s€C Colonel was evidently not in his best form." He.has done 2m:n 3>lsec, aud 2min 39sec vrould have put; him abreast of Bendigo. I should guess that Colonel was trotting about 2min 44sec.

*** Tfae Saddle Maiden on tha second day found Donald winning through his steadiness. Belle Hamlyn will pull off a race when she has had more experience. Aquinas, the good creamy from Balclufclia, made sure the iESue o£ tfee Holiday Pony Handieao In Dlenty of time.

This little son of Barnego is perhaps as useful a pony as we have in Obngo, for he is regularly out on hire, is a staunch trap horse, and can spin along with the racers. He ought to be a good advertisement for Barnego. The Harness Maiden was a funny race. John Drumm lacked ptce and was early deprived of the lead, but Ruby M. pegged away steadily, while the other pair broke more than once. It was therefore only a quarter of a mile from home that Hftidee passed into the lead. Here, however, she broke co badly that she was passed by both Ruby M. and Honest Wilkes. The latter then looked like a certainty, but he too burst up and Haidee led into the straight, where Honest Wilkes again caught her, but once more got his head up, and this time Haidee's effort got her past the post with nothing to spare. Those who won money on the mare ought to consider themselves in debt to George Grant, nothing but his patience baicg the cause of the win. All the same, I think if there had been no breaking by any of them Haidee would have won. This may not seem reasonable to those who were not there, as smin 27£? Ec on the part of Honest Wilkes would have brought him on even terms with Haidee at the handicap, and be has shown a gait of 2m ; n 31£? Ec for a mile. Bub Honest Wilkes is not just now in his best form for racing. Stallions are otherwise occupied at this time of the year. Nothing had the least chance with Norlaine in the New Year's Gift. She is a big bay mare, with spready action, and seemed to be going at no pace at all ; bub thosa long, ungainly strides of hers were taking her along pretty fast, the watch showing that, though out by herself, she had covered the mile and a-half in 4min ssec. She is by Dexter, and may be accounted likely to improve a lot when tbe Berwick polieh is on her. Mr Crossan only bought her a couple of days before the race. One of the beaten horses in this race was Commodore, who had never started previously, but had been entered for other races by the name of Admiral. Everything in' connection with the renaming went to show that the whole thing was fair and above-board, and that the mistake on Mr Dunne's part of thinking that he could rename the horse at any time before it ran was a perfectly genuine mistake. Under the circumstances the stewards were fully ju.-tified in allowing the horse to compete. The Wolf, winner of the Novel Race, had a regular picnic. He wa3 out all by himsolf in the first quarter, and nothing ever came within cooey of him, though Malcolm Allan rode Koharu hard &11 the way in the vain endeavour to wear him down. The Wolf is by Le Loup. aad is 11 years of age. In the season of 1891 92 he ran in a number of galloping races, winuiog the Maiden Plate at the Maori Kaik and a Selling Race at Tus-ppka, his then owner being Mr Duff. The St. Klda Handicap was the best handicap of the meeting. Peat won by only half a length from Haeremai, who was bub a length in front of Colonel, with the other pair not a d>'Zen lengths away. Once more the guidance of Grant turned the scale. Ib was a close thh>g as between Peak and Haeremai, and so far as I could judge Grant could have won easier on the latter. Miss Norah deserved to wiu the last pony race. She made the excellent record of 4.9. aLd was beaten a length. What caused her defeat was a stoppage when she fouled Cricker and Daisy Bell nearly a quarter of a mile from home. In the Farewell Handicap the black mare Maori Girl, looking very -fib, got the lead easily, and going much steadier than in her race on the first day., ebe might have lasted home if tidden a little more patiently. As it was she . went to pieces when challenged by Explorer in tbe straight, and the latter also growing unsteady, The Wolf dodged in for a win, which his staunchness fully entitled him to.

* # * Thus ended a meeting which unfortunately did not meet with a fall measure of success, as the fields were small, especially on the first day, and the attendance fell far short of expectations, it being absolutely miserable on the Wednesday ; yet lam bound to say it was a pleasant meeting, the weather being fine and the management really excellent. Mr Myerp, the president, is fully alive to his res-ponfeibilities-and the duty he owes to the club and the public, and he has a committee who as a whole back him up in trying to make the sport of trotting clean and wholesome. The - inquiry about Fawn's form, the trouble that was taken to straighten tbe irregularity in regard to Commodore's nomination, the unanimity with which the stewards came to the very proper conclusion to stop taking investments in the totalisator as soon as the limit horse started — these things aud others that came under my observation satisfy me that the Tahuna P<irk Club is blessed with a wideawake president", an active body of stewards, and an efficient staff, and one thiug that the public may resb assured about is that every care is being taken to disc-urage non-triers. The most urgent need now, it seems to me, is to shorten the range of the handicaps on this club'a programmes ; in other words, to have class trotting, if that way of putting it be preferred. The handiespper is under present arrangements supposed to give the worst horse in a race the same chance as the best, so far as time is concerned. In practice he cannot do this, for the " multy" crowd are everlastingly charging their form, and the real trotters improve from one meeting to another by as much as lOaec or 15sec per mile, the consequence being that the handicapper is continually liable to surprises, and the best horses get very little show. The way that things now work, the horse over which the most money can be made is not the speedy performer, but the improved third-rater, whose improvement is kept a secret. This is all wrong. We want the best horses to come together to do their best. This cannot be expected unless fair encouragement is given. Take this last meeting. There were three recognised cr&ck* engaged — Honest Wilkes, Bedale, and Colonel — and between them they won nothing. The only good horse that got a look in was Bendigo, and he may ascribe his luck to the fact that his form was an unknown quantity. The rule is that when a horse has once shown tip-top form he is handicapped out of everything, being licked each time by something that suddenly proves itself to have a bit of pace.

*#* This sort of thing must be stopped. It is no use blaming the handicapper. Mr Dowse pute some excellent work into his handicaps ; but the system is killing all his endeavours, and if it is to continue it will kill the club and trotting as well, since the simple truth is that the public will not pay to see contests between the scrubbers of the tracks. The effects of the evil which I have been and still am endeavouring to combat may be seen by a perusal of the list of horses now named for the Tahuna Cup, of iJOOsovs, to be decided next March. With the exception of, perhaps, half a dozen, the candidates that ownora bow pin their faith to are either beginners or horses that have no record of note — nothing that the handicapper can be thoroughly satisfied is an exhaustive indication of form — nothing, in facfc, by which he can so value the horses as to be sure that he has made £good handicap. Owners have studiously kept their best oat of the list, tmd put ia horses of

which we know the least, and I can't blame them for thus playing up to a rotten system. Thank goodness, there are a few decent horses nominated, and these may, and I hope will, save the race from failure. But I cannot help thinking that there would have been quite as good a show of a contest if the conditions of the race prescribed no handicap ab all, but that every horse should start on equal terms. This, of course, would be carrying the reform further than is at present warranted. What I plead for is a reasonable limit to the handicaps. In this case of the Tahuna Cup, a limit of, say, lOsec per mile would alraoot certainly have excluded all the crowd that are pub in on the chance of a handicap which will give them long starts, and in their place we should have some at least of the beat. I feel very sore about this business. The Tahuna Club professes to be, and, I believe, is, in earnest in the desire to improve trotting in Ofcago, but something more that earnestness is required at the present juncture. A litble boJdness is called for — the boldness to say that the day of the cab horse is gone, and that our trotting tracks are for trotters, and that the prizes are to bo given, nob for a competition as to who can mo3t effectually "slew" the handicapper, but as a reward for stamina, blood, and speed.

*#* The attendance at Waikouaiti on Saturday seemed to be fully equal to that of previous seasoDg. but the bulk of fcho3e present were out purely for a holiday, and contributed precious little to the funds beyond paying tbe shilling admittance fee. I have seldom attended a race meeting where the proceedings created so little interest. The evidence of figures is ia the same direction. The starters numbered only 36, as against 61 last year, and there was a sad falling off in totalisator takings, for !a«t yeir they put through £1119 — and it was said that but for lack of convenience £1500 would have gone through — while this year Mr Charlie Roberts made preparations which would have sufficed for the hand'iug of £3000, and had to be content with £745, an average of less than £100 per race. Certainly the bookmakers were prtsont this time and pretty eager, but I dou'fc think the.y were making more than £100 per man. The facb is that trade was flick Perhaps the heat had something to do with this. The people were all lollirg about in a state of perspiration and limpne-is, eager for nothing but cooling drinks, of which, by the way, the supply ran out early in the afternoon. Stanley, winner of the Maiden, was bred at Blderslie, and brought down from Oamaru by G. Uobsrtson. He started Vanity as well, and the pair were not bracketed. They were About equally backed on the machine, bub I am satisfied that the better of the pair won. Stanley is a fair sort of horse in his class. Glenore, another of Robertson's teasa, had the Cup won so far as galloping was concerned, but lesb the race through shunting off at the h me turn into a side paddock. I have seen horses run off at Waikouaiti before this — Lady Bell was a conspicuous cas-e in point — and consider that the club ought to so rule the course off as to prevent this annoying occurrence. Realistic was lucky to win ; »ll the same he was very nicely handled by Rao, who rode a judicious and steady finish, thus der'tating L\dy Lear, who ran two seconds on this course last year. The winner is the Wanganui hack that Hoskins brought to Dunedin for the Spring meeting and left behind aa the property of M. Ryan. Since then the iittle "borae has vasbly improved,, aud Rjan will win again with him ere long. There was a job for the stewards over the Two-mile Trot. W. Samson rode Irish Girl, and two of his brothers who were afc the start said that Mr Gourley let Bedale away ssec before hia time. Mr Gourley then lodged a complaint alleging that these men had u&ed obscene language to him. On examination it was found that there was nothing obscene or anything like it in the words used, and the incident closed by the Samsons expressing regret for saying what they did. Jimmy, winner of this race, is a fidgety kind of horee — a son of Ike — arid I rather fancy that Loughiin was a little anx'ous once oc twice during the race as to whether he would han» it out. The time was given as smin 54sec. Some persons made it considerably longer. Whatever time he made, however, I am sure that when Jimmy steadies down he will do much better. Tangi Maid killed Sweep's change of the District Handicap in the fir^t half mile. Reppaler trotted well iv the Mile Trot, but never had a show of catching Irish Girl. Patrol was lucky to escape a fall in the County Ph.te. There was a mess-up in the first furlong, and Patrol nearly came down. When fairly going, however, he easily beat all his opponents. Clairvoyant, the favourite, never h-td a look in, and the only real opposition to Patrol came from Nancy Lee, who made two or three capital runs at various points of tbe race. Glenore won the Hawksbury Handicap as he liked, and Sweep got horns in the Selling Race, thanks to the infirmity of Aldershot, who went lame in the race. I have to exprsss my thanks to Mr Tenaplelon, the efficient secretary, for his attention to the reporters duriog the day, and I may also remark that Mr Gourley's starting was deservedly appreciated.

*a# Fine weather prevailed at Reef ton for the races last; week, and from the larga attendance a total of £5191 was collected during the two days ab the totalisator window, beating the £4873 of last year and the £4746 of- the 1895 meeting. Ciareuce, who won the Hurdle Race last year with 11 12, scored very easily this time with 12.5, and seemingly had a stone in hand, though it would not be safe to come to that conclusion, since a rise in weight seems to affect this horse. Benmore beat Silver Rose in the Produce Stakes a year ago, and did the same this time, but the report chows that on this occasion both were put down by National, who led all the way and paid a fairish dividend. Caclup, who was supposed to be done a year ago, won tbe Hack Race all the way. Backers also picked the Cup. Geraint, The Miser, and Speculator led in turn up to a quarter of a mile from home, where Harip, the cast-off of Wiight's stable, made a run which proclaimed " This race is mine ! " Epaulet ran it out gamely enougb, and forced Haria to extend himself, bub tbe ex-Aucklander got there right enough. Last year, when Arquebus won, Slaiden, who finished second, got compeasated by winning the Midland Railway Handicap. This year Mr Harris nearly managed to make a similar recovery, his horae Bisley makiDgabold bid for the handicap ; but Bona Fide hung on too, and the pair ended a dead heat, which resulted in a division. The Hurdle Race on the second day brought about a particularly close fiuiah, Slaiden getting home by only enough to swear by, both he and Troubadour all out. Cactus being called upon to concede a stone to Token for beating the latter on the first day, the Second Hack Race found Token prevailing. It was a good betting race. Nothing but Speculator faced Haria in the Midsummer Handicap, and the raisang of the latter from 8.10 to 9.13 made no difference to the result, as although Speculator li;d most of the way, it was only by courtesy, Haria coming in plenty of time to make sure of the verdict. Bibley, made favourite for the Boatmans Handicap, failed to laab out the distance, and French? took tha

lead in the straight, his light weight, for which the public hadn't duly allowed in their calculations, enabling him to win by a conple of lengths. Geraint started both days, but failed to do anything. He may, I think, be regarded as a light of the past.

*** Awahuri, winner of the Auckland Trotting Cup, started racing in October 1894- at Palmerston North, winning a £10 stake, for which he started favourite. Next season he raced twice at the same meeting without gaining a place, and in February, on the same course, he started three times, the best he did being to get third in the Electric Handicap, a mile; bub at Hawke'e Bay in March he shaped better, being second with 36sec to Wild Rose 22sec in the Trcttii>g Club Handicap, two miles and a-half. At Hawera he also gained second place in the two and a-half mile race, Claret, who won, conceding him lOsec, and in the Electric Handicap, a mile, he secured second place, owing to Kentucky Wilkes, who was giving him ssec, being disqualified for galloping At Tarauaki, in June, after being unplaced in the race won by Bellman, he pulled off tbe last harness race, paying £22 Is. Lust season he started in the Palmeraton North meetings in October and February, being thrice unplaced at each. Awahuri was therefore, at the time of being nominated for the Auckland event, one of those troublesome productions of our present trotting arrangements — a performer without a record by which hie pace could be measured. Tbe handicapper wat, of course, puzzled to know where to put the horse in tbe list, and, giving him 38 cc — as a pure gurss probably — Awahuri was able to distance his competitors, lam amazed that cur trotting authorities are satisfied to go on with this blundering system, under which gcod stakes are spoiled time after time because of the foolish and utterly hopeless at'empts that are made to figure out the form of hordes, while at the same time a piemium is offered to owners to prevent form from being calculated. The only remedy is to shorten the handicaps, and give no horse the limit or anything like the limit until it is conclusively and fin?l!y proved that such a concession is deserved. The present of an indefinite range to handicaps and of leniency towards hersea that have indifferent records is disc( ur&ging owners of the best trott^ra and tempting the-m very sorely to run by»s. The records of thiß Auckland Trotting Cup are instructive In 1890 Commodore started from the 40sec mark and did lOroin 6iec tor the three miles, the scratch hor^e (B'aek H-uik) nowhere. Iv 3891 M>rtle and Clyde wers at scratch, and neither hid any show, the racebeing won by f he <v MDger " Brandy from 45sec and RaruH 25aee being declared the winner after the pretest was f-ustain^d. Brandj's time was Bnain 48Jsec. The Cup of 1892 fell to Little Ben, who had a si art of 53f-ec, and the ones that be beat were Fairy 93sec and Ike 50aec : time, Baain 36^ee, and the scratch horse, Yum Yum. badly beaten. The limit; was con-side.-s.b*y reduced in the Cup of 1893, bub even then Yum Yum at scratch eudod no nearer than fttrh, bring beaten by San tiny 64sec, whose time was Bmin 501=ec, and others whose handicaps ranged from 36spc to 60-ec. Tom Hicks, who won in 1894, started at 75sec, and took Bmin 48^-ec to do tbe three miles, and the system seesßfcfi to be killing itself, inssmueh as nil Bear the scratch went out, leaving only fcur <.f rhe long--sbait members to compefe. In 1895, the di'tar.ce being reduced to two miles, the sune thmg happened— nothing with a legs start than 20<ec went to the pout, and- the race was a gift to old Judge,' who was on the 28* ec mark, liaer, year the distance being again three miles, a 50->ec member called Fibie teat all the others in Bm?n 37stc, which meant that Maud V, who got third plare, a long way off, would have had to do 7min 47sec to challenge the winner. This year, Duke C, starting at t-crafch, had to look on while Awahuri run away with the race. I affirm that on the bare h : storical records of this race the horses that are prtsumed to be the best trotters have nevef had a reasonable show. Acd look at the miserable results in the way of tim& !

*** This season's Sylvia Park yearlings, auctioned last week, brought out the first of Seaton Delaval's get. This English-bred horse, imported by Mr Nathan, is by Melton, the greatestson of Master Kildare, outof Rosedale,'by Kotherhill, sou of Lord Clifden and the Orlando mare Laura. Pedigrees, standing as mere paper records, are deceptive. They mean very little apart from a horse's individual and personal qualifications — his conformation, constitution, temper, colour, s'z», and so en. These are the things that should and probably do count as first considerations in the minds of buyers of blood stock ; hence it ia necessary, in order to get the most reliable opinions about a new horse, to w<*it until his stock gi to auction. It is satisfactory to note that in the case of Seaton Delaval the verdict thus expressed is of a commendatory nature. His yearlings fetched fair prices. The average at this sale wa6 61gs odd per head, as against 51gs odd realised at last year's sale The Messrs Nathan can therrfore say that their new stallion has done the sale no harm ; they can go further and say that he is well thought of, and admitted to be worthy of a trial. ' That ia as much as can be expected of any horse whose yearlings are sent to auction for the first time. Mr Mossman, I am pleased to see, invested in a couple of these youngsters. The filly out of Maratea comes from the Fanny Fisher family on the dam's side, Maratea being by N- rienfeldt out of Fisbgirl, by Yattendon from Fanny Fisher, by Fisherman. This is the breeding that gave the colony Hippocampus and Izaak Walton. Mr Mossman's other purchase is tbe colt out of Jadestone, and as this mare is halfsister to Nordenfeldt, being by Sword Dance out of Onjx, it is a speedy and a staying race that the youngster belongs to. Mr Stead made one purchase, taking the colt by St. Leger from La Dsuphine, by The Dauphin out of Brassolis, by Panic oufc of Josephine, by Boiardo. It is rather unusual for the squire of Yaldburst to speculate in a youngster tuat has a flaw in its pedigree, and we may suppose that Mr Stead sees some compensative quality in this colt. The filly purchased by Mr Ryan comes of the same breeding, Charente being daughter of La Dauphine. Top price at the sale was obtained for the Miss Letty filly. This youngster is in blood a compound of most fashionable strains, Miss Letty being by St, Leger out of Necklace, by Musket from Locket, by Thunderbolt, and it was no doubt the pedigree that caught bidders' fancies, for on performances the only thing that the progeny of Miss Letty can boast of is that her daughter Miss Rose has won a couple of nursery handicaps. It will be noticed that St. Hippo had no representative at the sale. A ccuple of years ago we were asked to believe that this horse was going to take first rank as a stallion. He seems, however, to have proved a Bad disappointment.

*#* At the same time and placa the Motukorea yearlings were offered. These were the youngsters bred by the Messrs Alison at the place we used to call Brown's Island, just below the entrance to the Auckland harbour. These breeders rely principally upon Regel as a sire. Xsfote* jjleaee. that the name is not Recal. Xt v

•'Leger" spelb backwards — a stupid system of naming. Regel is brother to Hippomenes, being by St. Leger out of Atalanta. One of this horse's get fetched the top figure at the sale, being taken by a Thames buyer at 250gs. Without saying .anything to the discredit of Regel, it may be assumed that the chief reason for the bidding for this colt was the fact of hit being a son of the Musket mare Temora, whose leading qualification as a brood mare is that* she is dam of Nestor. The colt oufc of Friend* ship appears to have been withdrawn — there ia no mention of him in the telegram ; but the sale got another good lift in the bidding for the colt by Seaton Delaval out of Phantom. This youngster fetched 200gs. Phautom is described as being by Musket out of Atlantis, therefore full sister to Hova's dam, Happy Land. I have no thought of discrediting this statement, but it is a fair thing to ask why the New Zealar d stud book does not bear it out. By what is found there — I have before me vols. IX and X as I write — Atlantis's first produce in New Zealand was Musketoon, in 1883 ; then fdlowed Vivid in 1884 and Happy Land in 1885. These are her only progeny by Musket, and all the rest of her life is accounted for. Prepumably Vivid and Phantom are identical, but if that be fcbe case it would be as well to say so, and give Phantom a place in the stud book. It does not matter much so far as the mare is personally concerned, as she died this seapon while foaling ; bub purchasers of her progeny may naturally ask that the slur implied by the omission ot her name from the »tud book should be remedied as soon as possible. The total outcome of this year's sale was satisfactory by comparison, the seven lobs quitted averaging 73gs, as against 63gs averaged for eight last year,.

*** Ihe sura of £5590 was passed through the machine at the Taranaki meeting, or £342 more than lasb year. The local paper reports that in the Hurdle Race on Tuesday a clever riding feat was shown by Greenwood on Adam. In taking the second hurdle he lost his stirrup, and travelled the rest of the journey over, five flights, carrying the leather in his mouth. Brig^tte bolted twice on the course on Tuesday. In the Electric Handicap, after the post wag passed, she continued her journey round the course again, and the jockey, Barlow, was powerless to trail her in. Mr Chavannes mada an attempt to stop her, but his saddle girth broke and he was thrown. Mr J. J. Russell afterwards tackk d her at the entrance to the straight, and managed to stop her at the hill, receiving a cheer from the crowd. At the finish of the Farewell Handicap Brigette also continued her journey, and went a round and a-half before the boy was able to pull her up.

*#* Tbe report of the Wes f port meeting supplies evidence that tbe results were not all cub and dried before hand. In nearly half the races the favcutite got beaten. This is a rather high percentage for the West. Coast. Bookmakers at a distance can generally give a pretty shrewd guess as to what is g'-'ing to win afc those meetings. The inquiries by wire seldom relate to more 'han one horse in a race, and that's the boy that wins. This has become surb. a common - occurrence that the fielders now and again hold off these meetiDgs albogefcher, ju-t to get a little breathing time. One roan thought ha would open oat the other d*y. He Aid so, and lost £100, %nd wasn't *akiug any the second day. They ara clever over the Coast way. This Westporb meeting, however, seema tobavebeero rabb/sr an exception. Presumably some of the houses weie really racing. Ou form fcbe ctatWy o? th.c lot was the six-year-old Hillslone, by Kixig Cola oub of the Pariri mare.Contessa, for m the Builer Handsc&p on the second day he gave 51b and £•- beati..g to Return, winner of the Cap. 810.-msb«vy, winner of the Nahr Stakes, ia brother to Li Piose, being by Apreraonfc from Red Rose. He id eieveu years of age. How well these Aprcmouts last when they have noc been too much knocked about in their babyhood. Thsy Luve the best legs in the country. Th? Boiler Handicap on the second day ia de-tori-.ed as one of the bc*t races ever run in West port. From a Fair start Seabird went to the front, bub was scon displaced by M&nawAuui, who carried ou the running to the back of the coarse, where hs was challenged by Hilktone. Hillstone took the lead from Manawanui when neariug the straight, and was in front when heads were turoed for home. Here Return made her effort, atsd the whips were out ou ail the horses. A slashing finish eneued, Hiil3t,ons catching the ju-lga'a eye half a length in fronb of Return, who was separated a length from Manawanui, with Bloomsbury and Seabird close up.

*** . With all due respecb to my colleague "Vigilant," says the Sportsman's special, I think he is wrong in the opinion that it is a mistake to pub youDg horses to the stud. I believe that for the stud fresh young homes and fresh young mares are the best — not perhaps those that have never been trained and raced, but those who have not had their vitality sapped by a long racing career. In other words, the well-kuown views of the late Lord Fahnouth in regard to retiring mares early apply whh equal force to horses. There are iio rules, of course, without exceptions. We find an Alice Hawthorn and a Beeswing after very long lurf careers producing a Thormanby and a Newminster. We also find old Herald doiDg quite well at the stud after "most arduous racing ; but, taken all round, we find that much training and racing does impair animals for breeding purposes, at any rate for a time. Thus La Fleche produced little La Veine h«c first jear, and then, having fortuoately been barren for a year, follows on with a colb foal, brother to La "Veine, which is already pretty neaily the size of that filly. A young horse may want time to get really fib for the stud just as an old one certainly does, and a sensible plan was adopted by the Austrian Government when Matchbox, after being bought by thera for £18,000, was given a whole year's resfc before commeLcing his stud duties. Common, who first gave rise to ' ' Vigilaut's " observations, had trained very stale by the Leger day of his year, having been out at Ascot and Sau« down as well as for the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. He would have gob over this altogether had he been given time like Matchbox, but that was not done, and breeders wers so anxious for his services that he was givea rather more to do than was perhaps judicious. Thus he has been under a cloud for a while, and is only now emerging with two-year-old* such as Nun Nicer. Bub his sire, Isonomy s vrho was trained for more years, took longer still before coming to his stud form. I quite believe a three-year-old may be a successful sire. Young Melbourne was after being put to the stud at that age, and I feel sure that tho loDger any animal is trained the longer will ifc take to sof ten and fill out into proper stud con« dition. It is often pitiable to see mares in their first yew at the stud, when they fall away all to nothing, get hide-bound and unthrifty, and no amount of good grass, mashes, oil, or indeed anything eeems to do them an^ 1 good. Their racing career seems to have taken, all the vital sap out of them. All studmasterat have had experience, of such, mares, and aJfWBC

nuisance they are, especially when they belong to owners who do not understand why it is they look so bad and how irap333ible it is to make them look better. They get all right in condition by another season, but iv is seldom that they breed well at first.

*a* Otaufcau Hack Races were held on Boxing Day in one of Mr J. Lindsay's paddocks at Strathmore. A special train from Invercargill carried about 150 passengers. There v&s no totalisator, but the takings from other sources made up an ample revsnue, and the meeting was in every way a success. The management was all thai could bo desited, special praise being due to Mr G. Ross, the secretary ; Mr J. Smith, jurj., the starter ; and Mr W. Afrkck, the handicapper. Envy etruek the first fence in the Hurdle Race, and fell, leaving Cynosure and Watermark to fight oufi an interesting finish. Bob was much too good for his opponents in the Tret. D.ubtless hung at the poet in the Cup, and then ran off the course, losing bis rider ; Victoria rsn herself to a standstill in the Sfst half mile ; and from that point the race was & contest between the horses that eventually got (he places, Litfle John being a little too good for the other pair. Gentle made the pace in the Trial Stakes up to ibbe lsst bend, where Kiss M?-y crept up inside and turned the advantage into a win. The Welter gave Euvy her chance. She made the pace from the outsfct. King of the Hiils challenged at half the journey, and was in front for a while, but, failing to stay, was coon done with, and the end saw a contest between Envy and Cynosure, the former winning by a lenßln. Mr Afiieck had the measure of the Flying Handicap candidates pretty accurately, and the j>lac<_d horses finished close together.

* # * "Terlinga" writes: — Wherever you go just now the want o? rain is mide mami'tst-. !Tbe Sfc. Albans paddocks hava rot looked so dry for a long time, but tho stock a'e nob in any way affected, and Mr Wilson lies a fiae crop of yearlings. The English colt, by Amphion from Bandiway, for which 500gs •was paid at Newmarket, ib now runnirg with the home-bred yearlings, and although six montb.3 their senior the Ampbion colt will not compare with most of them in the matter of siz». It must he borne in mind, howtvsr, that he has been cooped up on board ship for two months, and is rather low in condition. Ha is a jet-black colfc, of nice length f.nd quality, ■with real good limbs and a very nice even style pf going when extended. This colt's eire, Ampbion, was a reslly good rscehorce, and bis granddam, Sandivray, carried the Duke of Westminster's .colours well about 15 years fgr\ No doubts Mr Wilsoa was attrsc^-ed by her , breeding, she being a half-sister lo Mersey, the dam cf Carbine and Carnage. A very fine yearling colt at St. Albans is a blown by B-ll of Portland from Aura, and one that showed great promise when the lifcile lot were at full stretch is a lengthy bay out of Water 1 ly, the dam of -The Sailor Prince and CbaUeager. •They have had isfluecza in the stables since the Sprirg meeting, and it affected most of the totves — including Aurum — but all seem recovered now. I saw the little champion in his -clothes, and he seemed gay enough, although still showing the mark of his accident in the Derby." Symmetry is in -the paddock with {.wo big hind fetlocks, as the result of her accident on Maribyrnong Plate Day. The stal'icu , Bill •of Port' and and WaJlice, are a great credit to "Bob," who has had a number o? choice stallions' under his care at St. Albans in the lest 12 years. Wallace seems to improve every time I see him, and I shall bs very disappointed If he does not make a succes-ful sire. His foals are very promising, and he stamps them with his own likeness.

* w * For the Cromwell Club's races the •weather was beautiful on the fitsb day, and the attendance of the public v^ai fair, though scarcely "so large as in foimor years. Dunstan Titaea reports : The fitlds were very poor — the worst we have seen at Cromwell — and the result was that betting was very slow, and only £1080 was put through tba totilkator for the two days, as against £1750 last year. There were several disputes and arguiren^s amongst the stewards and horse-owners, which helped to mar the EDeetiDg. During the meeting one lad was censured by the stewards for nob running straight. Mr Cowan had four wins, which were yery popular with the public. Siivercrown was in the piwk &f cendition, and we would not be surprised to see this horse competing afc the .Dunedin races before long, when we have no •doubt ho would bo able to give a good accoun'u of himself. Good weather favoured the second , day's racefej although late in the afternoon the ."wind and dush interfered with the enjoyment of the public. The attendance was not so large as formerly. In the Two-mile Trot teveral prohtests were entered agaiDsfc the winner, Dick. One .was npheld by the i l cwards« 1 and the ( owner, horfe, and jockey v?»re d« qualified for jthe present meeting. Tr;e other protests, wece adjourned for consideration, as tfcere was so touch time already wasted. Ib was after 8 -p'clcck' before the last raco was run off.

*„* The breeding of Marman is a subj-eb that has given riss to a discussion in England. Sir H.-W. White writes thus to the Sportsman: -' It may be a little interesting to you to givo Ahe history of Merman. When farming afc Thru£sington v near Melton Mowbray, J bought Sister to Plebeian, after-wards namtd Parvtnu {in foal to Marshal Ney), off the late Lcrd Stamford. She slipped her foal a fortnight afterward?. I wrote to you askjeg your anvice as to vrtafe hoisa to mate her with, mentioning horses standing at Rogby, abo Lifeb'at, •which was then the property of B. H. Cheney, Esq., of Gadesby Hall, three milfs away. You told me I could not do better thin pufe her to the latter, which I did. She dropped a filly, which I named Surf, and as a thrce-je'-r-old I gold ib to Mr W. fclenkiroß, who also bought the dam. They were both bay?, with four white stockiDgs up to knees ai d hock. Mr Blenkiron put Surf to Coltnesi, and Bold her in foal to go to Australia. The latter part of his pedigree you know better than ICo Mr J. N. Astley came to look at Parvenu after giving lOOOgs for her own brother, bub we did not have a deal." Concerniug thia the "special " s&ye :—": — " This c uls to mind tho days when Mr William Blenkiron had got together at Middle Park a fresh sbud almost as valuable as that which waa dispersed on the death of his father. I must have not only seen Surf and Parvenu in thosa days, but actually valufd ,them, for the late Mr Richard Bell and I, acting on behalf of the S^ud Company were employed for several day 3in valuing the whole of that stud with a view to *n amalgamation, which would actually htive taken place had Mr Blenkiron been reasonably jnoderate in bis demands, for our valuation to £100,000 (in round cumbers), and be stood out for £120,000. It seems a big (Snm either way, bub there were some wonderful mares among the lot— Seclusion for instance, ©as Bleu, and Bonny Bell, with a whole host td younger celebrities. Then, again, among Ihe stallions I well remember Scottish Chief, Victorious, Vespasian, Coltnces, and Rosi-

crucian, though I fancy the last-named did not belong to Mr Blenkiron. The name of Rosierucian brings me to the aubjecb of a somewhat startling discovery which I bave made— to wir, that if the English Stud Book i 3 right, Surf, the granddam of Merman, was got by Rosicrucian and not by Coltneee, as the Ausbralaaipn Stud Book states. As far ag concerns the individual horses, Roßicrueian and Cultn^ss, of course the former is distinctly the better, whether on a racecourse or as a sire of brood mares. Curiously enough, they both won tho Alexandra Plate at Ascot, but to Rosicruchn belongs tho distinction of having conceded the mighty Musket 7ib over that tiring three miles and beaten him. It will be seen, on reference to our own Stud Book, that although Su'f produced acolbnsmed Surge, by Coltness, iv 1882, she was sent out to Sj dnty that year • eovfired by Ros; crucian.' The Australian Stud Back gives her as producing in 1883 Seaweed, ' by Cclbness.' It is odds on Messrs Weathevby being tight in such a matter, though is is rob eisy to see where the mistake can have occurred, as the mare must bave gone out with one of their pedigree cecfcifi-mte^. Fortunately the period is not too remote to be icvestigated with e^ery prospect of tha pcint being made clear, and it is all the better for Merman as a stud horse that he should have Roeicrucian instead of Colfcnegs as his maternal graudstre."

*3{* The Manawafca rceet'rg is e&'<<\ to have been the most successful ever held on the course. The sum of £14,828 wag passed through the totalisator, as sgaia&r £13,110 last year. There's money for you ! In the Cap all started. Ntw Forest led pas'o the stand, and for a mile, when all closed up, and the winner was in doubj till the straight proper was res.cb.fd. vfhen Zane'la made her run and s-enred the big event by fchvte lengths ; Tirant d'Eau, who came very fast, beat Daunt for ec-ccud place. The stewards held an inquiry into the cause of Rodara being blccktd in the Hack Hurdle Race, with the result that ibe rider of The Barbarian (W. Iligspns) and G. Laicg (rider of Plain Bill) were fLed £2 each for j-> ruming Rodara on the rails. A xirotesb was entered against Matino, the winne r of the Farewell Handicap, for inconsistent running, bub after a searching inquiry the protest wjs dismissed.

*** The riding of Tod Sloane, the American jeetey, who had the mount on St. Ckud in the Cambridgeshire, doe 3 nob find favour with the English critics, and a writer in the Sporting Times indulges in the following comments en the subject: — "As to the merits of Sloant's p-culiar style of ridi»g there is eomf thing to bp eaid for and against. Hi<j position on a horse is almo3fc indescribable, and we never faw anythiDg like it outs : de a circus. He appears to be en the horse' js nec-k, and to be vrhi-«p:riug into his 1- ft ear. The theory that by doing this he effers no resistance to the wind is certainly well worthy of consideration, but as again&t that there is l^ss of power in fiait^'icg. It we aTe to accept the principle that • the prcof of the pudding is in the eating ' the riditig of Sloane is not calculated to give the best results." Up to the time Ihe last mail left England Sloane had ridden tix winners arid two seconds out of 10 mouuti, so thors can be very little wrong with hia bors-mausisipj even if he departs from the methods of leading jockeys in th^ old country. There'a no desbt he thrtw away the Cambridgeshire by easing up before the \vinaing post was reached, but the peculiar angle led him asfcray, as, to quote his own words, he thought he had won by •• Lai a ueek" when he stopped riding.

*jj* Mr Romans has sent the handicaps for the Lake County meeting. General surprise was expressed when the handicaps came to hand that Silvcrprown should be pl-'.ced on an equality with Prime Warden ; hub lha explanation quickly followed in the report of the Cromwell uieetuig, it there appearing that this son of Silvennftik had won three races, and had proved himself the king of the meeting. I hardly tbink, however, that he cm bo cxpecied to v.in his race fit FraukLon ii f-11 ''ho viscera roll up. Ib is the Gr.-ind Stand Handicap in which he is engaged, and is seetrs to me protnblethafc both Prime Warden and Stockfish will do him if they start-. Battlefield and Decoy are also dangercus ii they fulfil their engagements, and Stnior Wransfier will give them all as mucli as they want if ho is well a:.d can be persoaded ro galiop straight. All in, my fancies are : Quf enrtown Handicap, Senior Wrangler; Grand Stand, Stockfish ; Publicans' Handicap, Dscoy ; but I do not know that this will be how these horses will be cent.

*#* It is estimated that the Cattle Flat Hack Rtcing Club's rtccs on Christmas Cay ■were witnessed by about 3CO person*! from various parts of the Waimea Plf.ius district. The meeiirjg wss held in Mr John Koown's paddock. Windy weather prevailed, raiting clouds' of fiu^t. Id oilier respects the cuHng was of a rncst eujoyeb'e character, good fields contesting most of the events, and a general sfcraightneES being manifested in the racing, while, the management of the committee g-vve complete satisfaction. Thtre was no to'ahsxtor, and no drink. There beh;g only three entries for the Derby, that race was abandoned. This was the oiily disap^oifitrcssit of the day to far as the racing was concerned.