TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 30

TALK OF THE DAY.

Br MAZEPPA. *

*** Whether St. P»ul wins or loses the Danechn Cup he has all the weight that he is entitled to. Eight-seven was his impost when he ran second in the New Zealand Cup ; he had 9 0 when he lost the Auckland Cup, and 9.7 when Unifonnbeafc hioi in the Wellington Cup. Some argue that bad riding lost the St. Leger horse his races at Christchurch and Auckland ; but surely it is some answer to this that the same lad rode him when he won on the second day afc each meeting, and, further, ib was nob young Cfaaafe, but Sceats, who rode him when he lost at Wellington. I do -not ignore Sfe. Paul's grand second-day performances, bub someth'.ug is surely allowable for t,he misiiug of all the Cup", »nd if this something be ever so little it must be conceded that £?t. Paul is well taken carp of with 9 12, though he is such a game one tbat if he ccmes here be i« t-ure to be well backed. Personally I regard Euroclydon as the better handicapped at 9.11. but it is do cr&ainty as yet (.bat he can be got ready in time.. If he 19, and St. Paul gets to the Forbury, we shall see a fine bit of racing. Epaulet seem? to me badly treated. He had been losing c m'.stently, and has not one decent winning periorrridnce to his credit, yet now we fiud htm giving weight io :Ib excepting the cracks, and hasidicßpped at only 31b less than he had when he tailed off aud fiuisbed a'l astern iv the Midsummer Handicap last week. Skirmisher is somewhat better < ft , for he did manage to wiu a sell'ng rac^ ak Ohristchnrch. But I don't see why he shouli b-5 asked tj concede weight to- Atitares, the .Auckland Cup winner. This Antures is surely well in. He was gttting 171b fi'om Sfc. P?.ul at Auckland and won, and the loser now cuiicedes 25>b. Granting that Bubseqntiit races made out Ant&res to be not reliable, my contention f till holds £.ood, sioce a horse ruusfc be jud>^' d by the best of his recent perionnunces, aud the Auckland Cup win was so ieeentas Boxing D<iy. Mountebank at 7.13 is given a thow. He should beat Oulverin at a riifferencfi of 3!b. Tsis mtans thifc he allows her 61S for the M'dsummer Plandicap result. Leda is just about her right place in the handicap, s.nd Boieas cannot complain of the 7.9 spportioned to him. He may be another Vedette. Lord Ptostlyn is niceh handicapped, and if quite well would be as well worth backing as anything in the race. Etnmeiine has earned her 7 7, bub I would sooner stand Red Lancer at the same impost if assured that he could stay. Black and Red is capable, when thoroughly fib, of a better performance than he gave as G'hribtchurcb, and I promptly back him as a possible.

*#* Sfcarshot's chance must not be hastily ignored. She shaped very well indeed ,on her last visit to the Forbury (in November).' In the Otago Cup she had 75, and ran second to Uniform 95, beating Mountebank 6 11. Thea with 8 3 she won tbe Spring Handicap, doing the miie in lmio 45^.spc and beating Marl in 7.5 and Pitch and Tofs 6.9 for places. And in the President's Handicap, carrying 8.2, she was second to Euroclydon 9.8, beating Skirmisher 8.0. Truly her last appearances take the gilt off the g'mgerbread, but allowance is made for this so far as Moantebank and Culverin are concerned, Mr Goodman's colfc conceding her 91b and Gulverin 31b. And ii Starehot should oome back to her Dunedin form she will -be hard to beat, since so far as we can judge she stays fairly well whea lin contfitrn, Prime. Warden can have uo show

on recent form, though Mr Dowse has certainly been as lenient an the strongest barracker for the stable could desire. Sequin is decidedly well in on the Canterbury form, and is to be preferred to Bloomer ; while I still have a sneaking regard for Marlin, having the idea that she has not been showing her true form in public, and fancying that she may suddenly come up with a repetition of the Tempest performance. Pitch and Toss may be regarded as a fair outsider. One can hardly see enough in her record to warrant tbe supposition that she can actually win ; but I am satisfied that she likes a distance, and in this race she has the minimum weight, giving her every chance that the owner could have hoped for. Acceptances are due on Saturday, and next week, therefore, it may be allowable to try and pick out the likely ones and frame a provisional tip. Prior to the appearance of the weights for the Cup a gentleman who has had some experience of handicapping and is a close student of form sent me his anticipations with respect to the weights, and I place them side by side with the handicap as issued, thus : Official Amateur H'cap. H'cap. st lb at lb St. Paul ... 9 12 10 1 Euroclydon „. .„ 9 11 10 2 Epaulet 8 2 8 0 Skirmisher 8 1 7 13 Antares .1 8 0 8 0 Mountebank 7 13 7 12 Leda 7 11 8 1 Culverin 7 10 7 10 Boreas ,79 7 13 - Lord Rosslyn ... „. 7 9 712 Ennneline , ... 7 7 7 6 Red Lancer 7 7 7 10 Black and Red 7 6 7 8 1 Starshot „. 7 6 7 4 Prime Warden 7 5 7 5 Sequin 7 4 7 4 ' Eloomer 7 2 7 0 Marlin 6 13 7 0 Pitch and Toss 6 8 6 10, As to the Publicans' Handicap, my first fancies are Vanilla and Belle Clair. The latter won this race a year ago with 7.13, and she should be pretty well by Cup day. The publication of the weights led to the. taking of a fey 'oubles, commencing with Sfc. Paul, Earoclvdor. and Mountebank, with Arline, Belle Ciair, stnd Vanilla for the shorter race ; bub at the time of jwriting there was no settled market. Odda of from 100 to 3 to 100 to 1 are on offer about the double. * # # Clarence shaped badly in both the hurdle races at Christchurchg last; week. Tailing off j alone on the first day, k<s got a stone allowance j on tbe second and did no better. When this horae is "off" no possible concession suffices to I give him a show ; when he is well he can hardly be stopped. There are few horses in the colony whose form varies so much as his, and the i annoying thing about him is that his own party j cannot always foretell how lie is going to shape. ! I am informed that Stanley is a very tidy fencer, and may win & decent; hurdle rsce ere long. Mauser showed good form in winning the Hornby Welter, his time bbing taksn by private watches as much faster than thn.t officially recorded, and he rose to brilliancy on the second day in winning the Liawood Welter ■with 10.5 up in lmin 30§see for the eeven for- ] longs ; but it is a blot on his character that he ] should bave failed so miserably in the Crsven i Plate. This-' was also over se,vea furlong?, and the tima nbout 2sec slower than the Liawootl : Welter. &nd / Msu*et had two stone less on. his j back, yeb be was never in the hunt, though it is j said thai: the stable backed hina. The winning ; double on the first d&y came to Otago by the agency of Mountebank and Vanilla. Mounte- i bank started first favourite for hia race, the ! Midsummer Handicap, but as three others | were well backed the winn«er pad £5. I think thesa totalisator figures do not represent the true stats of the betting market. Skirmisher was put about as a really good thing oo fcbe day — I think lam right iv saying j that ev«-n Harry Goodmui thought this horse I would win — and if tbe money in the books were counted ia we should ni'sb likely find that j Skirmisher carried much more than Mouu'e- i bank. Otago people did not profit ve^y much ! by the result. Many of them were more in- i cliaed to fancy Sequin, wbo ran a good race i aud got third place. Mountebank's time is well up to the average, and I am very pleased indeed to see such a good sport as Mr Goodman getting a tnra of luck. Othf r successes for Otago at the meeting were with B!>-z*r, who won the Flying Handicap in true womojaniike style, and with Red Lancer, who was spotted at odc9 a» a good thing for the Post Handicap, and would probably have paid a better dividend if ha had hud a little more weighs, s ; nce at a mile h© is 'a really good horae. Mr Stead's horses won the weigf.t-for-age races without any trouble. The Middle Park PKfce has f allea to this stable five times iv six ypars, and it might ha.ye been guessed months ago thib, bar accident, the new Champion Plate would go in the same direction. The Yaldhuwt representatives are well-nigh invincible this season.

* w * To somebody or other no fewer than five owners bave already *aid tha'o they can win the Tahus* Cup to' be trotted next month, aod probably there are others who think so and keep, tha thought to themselves. Duke C, honoured with top place in the handicap, has won at three distances up to two miles and a-balf, so he can stay, and his recor.l for two miles is smin 7£' ec, made at Auckland last December. Bedale, a veteran belonging to Dunedin, did smin ll^aec nearly a year ago. He has a show — quite*is good as that of Duke C. Rarus, now nominated from Hororata. is, I believe, the Fitzjames gelding that be*t Yum Yum in the Champion Trot at Auckland in December x>f 1893, when he made a record of saain 24£ sec. If so, that is hia last win — ratt.ee a long time ago to give smy clue rs to his present ' pacs. Silvermane, a Southland candidate, has done the two miles in smin 28<ec. Whits Ware, who also hails from the south, once did thr^e miles in Bmn> 26« ec, which is equal t"> a gait of smin 44sec for two miles. Next on the list is Awahuri, the Auckland Trotting Cup winner. In tbat raca he made a record of smin 32sec, and sinco then he has won at Johnsouvillo. We paw Lauderdale trotting at T&huna Park lasb season, when he woo the Jubilee Cup in smin 37«ec. Peak's time on the same track last December was smin 47-^iec, in a harness race. Activity, who belong* down south, won at Gore las* season in smin 43§*ec. L«iracor, the Ophir representative, did smin 43sec wheu he won tbe Vincent Trot in January of 1896. Woodbine, an Aucklander, is by Childe Harold. She won a -harness race at Ofcahnhu a year ago, doing two milee and a-h&lf in 7min 12«ee, which means "about smin 45sac for the two miles. Sing Sing Jiails from Chriistchurcb, acd all I can say about her is that she is by a horae called Cycle. Toroa, by Young lrvington, is described to me at a m»id%n ; but there is a Toroa with a record of 2niin 57sec for a mile, and they may be identical for aught I can say to tha contrary. The Masher belongs to the Washdyke district, and is by Berlin. * M * Conical isamaiden, by the gigantic C»mel, nominated from Cbristchurob., Millionaire i&

I by Rothschild ; what he can do on the track is j more than I can guess. Tarawera is a maiden, entered from Canterbury, and has, I think, trotted up north. Whroo is a four-year-old bred by Mr Crossan, got by Berlin from Wanderoo. She has started once, in the Juvenile Stakes at Christchurch, when she failed to secure a place. Peak Btarted in the game event. Motuiti I know nothing about. The nomination conies from Auckland, but 1 understand the horse has sinco travelled south. May came from Sydney, and her fastest go in this colony over the distance was smin 41sec at Cromwell last season. Lexington, who belongs to Gore, has done smin 54sec in public. Design, a maiden by Rothschild, comes from Christchurch. Del Paso, now owned in Dunedin, is the Californian-bred son of Albert dOr, and has never started, for the simple reason, they say, that he would not stand training. Wolseley, who is by Sir Garnet from a Duntroon mare — strange to say, the galloping Wolseley is also by Sir Gamet — won at Lawrence this season in s Lain 35sec. Maniac hails from Fatearoa, and the beat performance I can find to his credit is Bmin 40see for three miles. Lorna Smith, ' another Lawrence representative, is by Blacksmith. Garryowee, of Heriot, has smin 44sec to his credit. Commodore is a maiden from Balclutha. Bazaine, the three-year-old by Berlin — Coquette, has never started. Sweep, a four-year-old from Southland, i 3 said to by General Tracy. Linefcte, one of the Berwick party, is sister to Bazaine, and had a go &t Tahnna Park last December. Jenny, now in J. M'Kewen's stable, has won at a mile in 2tuia 57sec. Mandoline, entered from Heriot, is Sydney-bred, got by Childe Harold from a Boston mare. She is a maiden. Jimmy, Loughlan'a horse, is by Ike, and won at Waikouaiti in smin 54sec. Highland Lass, of Dunedin, hes done nothing better, so far as I ! can find ouf, than 6min 3^sec. Maori Girl, the hope of Green Island, ooce did a mile and ahalf in 4min 21^sec. Prince is the old Taieri horse, now owned in Dunedin. He haß a record of smin 49sec.

*£* The difference between the English and the American styles of riding is discussed in the Daily New 6.' The American scyle, saya tho writer, whatever may bfc said about it m the early etages of the race, is not, I am confident, so well adapted to a tired horse as the English method. No rider who is stretched full length along a horse's neck can hold hie mount; together and keep him straight. It used to be said of Fred Archer thit he could almost lift his horio past the posb, and followers of rariag Trill understand what I mean who have seen on many occasions a jockey make a desperate and perhaps successful effort in the last stride. Sloan's ability and success is due not to his peculiar method of riding, but to other and widely different circumstances. In the first place, he possesses singular advantages over most jockey?, inasmuch ac he can ride a very I'ghb weight wi'houfc wasting. He is very strong, and what is Btiil more to his advantage, he has a good head on his shoulders. He is a wonderful judge of pace, and his phenomenal success cau undoubtedly be attributed to the fact that from the starting post to the winning post he is riding with consummate judgment. Many of his victories c»n be traced to the fact that he gots from stait to fiiiah at a capital pace, and in nob a few instances his succe^se^ resulted from advantages secured in the early stages of tha race. Ha has been taught to ride to time by the watch, and it is more than probable that in appreciation of speed he is superior to even our best jockey*. Unl.ke many English horsanjen, he do*s nob wait to snatch a victory in the last few yard* of the race, bub from the fall of the flag he sends his horse along h.fc a pace which will ensure covering the ground in good time, and this is equally his method whether he is iv front or behind. He is never flurried i£ something races along at top speed in front of him, and if he is in front he is nob content to wait just in advance of his field if in his opinion the pace is a moderate oue. His practice is to go r>g{\fc straight through, and it is almost a ceri.siotv that fee takes much less out of his horse by this ma! hod than by that adopted by mitiy Englis'a jockeys, who seem to be afraid to get in front uDtil they are close to the judge's box. Scores of races during the year are lost by the prolonged fights between jockeys and horses in the esvvly atages of i struggle. If horses were aiiowed to stride alouj* in eomfor'o, instead of being pulled and hauled all over the course, they would in a lar^e number of cases establish such a lead that their opponents would be uuabie to overhaul them. It will be said that unless restrained horses would gallop themselves to a standstill a long way from the winning post. There is a wide difference, however, between allowing a racehorse to do this and the strain pub upon him by nearly sawiug his head off to keep him in the rear. Ib is a frequent saving on the turf tha 1 ; a hcrse has "done going when he ha«i done pulling," Tbis in many instances occurs from the fact that he has been fighting for bis head all through the early part of a. rac*, and consequently is so exhausted when near ing the winning post that wheu the jockey gives him his head he has not an efilurb left in him.

*#* The Lauocesfcon Oap is one of tha^oldpsfcablished race* of the colonins. It was won in 1865 by Mr B'ackwell with Panic, and such clip™ rst 8S Fishhook, Fireworks, Swiveller, Stockwell, and Sheet Anchor figure on the records as victors, while that wonderful old battler .~trop wa<» returned lh<» winner no fawer rhar> four times— in 1866. in 1869, in 1874, and in 1676 Prior to 1872 the race was known as the L<».uDce-*lon Champion, and the distance was three miles. By derives the course his been shortened, until in 1892 it came down to a mile a&d a-half. Siuca then the winners have been : 7802— Tletreat ... 4yis 7.5 2min 38 sec ]89J-Comeuian ... 3m 9.0 2miu 40 sec 18554 -Aioadeus . . 3yrs 7.6 2'iiin 41)4 1 ) 2895— Oolden King ... (syrs 8 3 2tnin 3iHsec 2Si)li— Ciller On ... syrs rU2 2miu 4l"sec 18'.)7— Mountaineer... 6yrj 7.0 2min 40 sec I«sß— Sortie 4yra 8.5 2min 41}seo Sortie is a New Z^alancW by birth — the firs'; of this colony's breeding 1o score in thf>rj>c\ H -is by Gatcsby (sire of Plotter) out of Ba.ro m », by Leoß out of Di'israa, by Marora — Harebell, by Bay Middlebon — Fniry, by Glaucua. This is a regular Marlborough pedigree, and as a matter of facu it wes in that, provincial diet-riot that Soriie wa« bred, Mr A. R Ward being the breeder. Baro?ma is now dead, her last produna ' b3iDg a filly, sister to Sortie, fosled in 1894. Tho9a who s»w th«v racrf agree that Sortie won ali Iho way, and had bis opponents well beaten below the distance. B tbby Lswis had time to hang on and look over his shoulder a<» they rsn up the straight. A report that Mr Uphill, the present owntr, won a lump of swecsp moneyover the race is contradicted ; all that be won betides the stake was some £500 or £600, half of which was laid iv Melbourne. Thd bookmakers of Tasmania are very small potatoes, and Viofcoriana do not now cAre to operate on events in the tight little inland. The totalieator has knocked them out. On the second 0 dRy Sortie was given 9.7 for tho milr> s.nd a-auarter race, and Tamiuo 8.3 beat him &

length and a-half. Marie, a fivs-year-old by Mozart out of Westeria, by St. Alb&ns from Occident's dam, won three races at the meetiDg. The mistress of t&e two-year-olds at the meeting was Eileen More, by Strathmore out of Eileen (dam of Vakeel) ; and Alborak, by Meteor — Lady Fisher, is well spoken of, while Water Nymph, daughter of Bill of Portland and Martini Henry's si&ter Wood Nymph, has the name of being brilliasr, though on this occasion she gave away her show by bolting. The Bonde, a son of the New Zealand-bred Town Moor, is also considered a likely customer.

*k* In the following week the Tasmanian sportsman and horses moved to Hobart, where smoke from the bush fires overhung the course, making it difficult to distinguish horses and colours from the other side of the grounds. Fourteen horses started for the Cup, and, on the strength of the Lauuceston running, attention was particularly bestowed on Mr Uphill's pair — of whom Damien was preferred when ib was seen that Lewi3 had tha mount. At the end of the bett-n?, however, it was found that Tamino was rabhei' a better favourite than Damien. The Mercury reports that from the stand the light was bad as the raca was being run, but after several changes in the leading division the colours worn by Filzroy were picked up at tbe half-mile post, where both the popular selections occupied handy berths. The undersized New South Welshmen took his antagonists up the hill at a rattling pace, albeit the advance guard was gradually closing upon him. At the distance The Scotchman appeared to be as well in it as any of them, though neither Damien nor Tamino were done with. Just as the interested spectators were preparing for a great fin'sh between the horses last named and Fitzuoy an unobserved quantity in Rosella sv/ooped down upon them with a lightning-like rush, and iv a few strides the victory was proclaimed of the veriest outsider in the race bar Lena. The winner, who ran fourth in the Lauuceston Cup, -was well known to Victorians as a "swallow catcher" during the last spring carnivals across the strait?, bu^ she never showed her track foL-ra iv public, and was only recently returned to Saer owner by a leading Victorian trainer as a heart-breaking atom of horseflesh. Rosella was leased for the Tasuaaniiui trip by Mr E. M Brennan, popularly known in mining circles »a Mangana. She was running minus sweep money. Mr J. B. Fly, of Coclgardie, drew her in Tattersali's Consultation. Roaelfa's time was only half a second slower than that mada by Music three years ago. The winner was looked after by W. Lang, sen,, who trained Barmaid when she was juat beaten by Swiveller iv the same event 20 years ago. For the Wilson Stakes, the chief event of the second day, the handicapper gave Roeella 8.9, and she did not start. Filzroy 8.6 was made a red-hot favourite, but never showed up prominently, the race being won by Sheet Anchor's ron Duh&llow 8 3, after fighting down The Scotchman 8.5. SfcebbiDg* got a bad reception as he returned to scale, tbe crowd being evidently of opinion that Duhallow had been stiff in the Cup. The stewards held an inquiry, and apparently were satisfied with the explanation.

"t *#* Having paid a visit to Cerise and Blue j Cottagp, in the neighbourhood of Sydney, i " Milroy " writes : ' When Mark Thompson ■ came from Newcastle to Sydney about 25 years ! ago with the late Mat Scott, he was a quiet, I unassuming little lad of 14, and after a short j sojourn with the late Charles Roberts he got a i mount from Latnoud on Johnny Smoker in Tattersall's Cup, 1872, which he won, and in the April following he supplemented his first • metropolitan success by steering The Prophet ito victory ia the Sydney Cup. His success in i the two most important handicaps of the tarnmev and autuam did i»oc alter the lad's ways * whit, nor has he changed in manner ever (since. • Quiet, reticent, never flurried or in a hurry, ! hs nbver leaves a thing undone that ought to be done, and his horses are always a crsdit to him when sent out. u?:der bis colours. j When Thompson followed the profoaston of a i jockey bis services were eagerly sought after by j owners, because he could be trusted not to J bf-tray stable secrets, and as a horseman be was i quite at the top of the tree. His style was neat and qaiet, and his forte was judgment of pace in long-distancd races, with an aptitude for getting an unruly horse *o run kindly and do his best. The best horse Thompson ever rode was, he thinks, Horatio, on whom he won the Metropolitan for Mr De Mestre iv 1873, and good thing and all as Don Juan was for the Melbourne Cup of that year, Murk think 9 that Horatio would have put Joe Thompson's big pot in jeopsrdy if the son <■£ Maribyrnong had been sound and could have been wound up. As it was be was only beaten half a Liugth by his stable companion, Dagwcrth, and finished the last couple of furlongs on three legs. Horatio, who was a full brother to Hamlet, afterwards went to Tasmania, and filled the tight little inland with, a class of jumpers that had no peers in the history of horse-breeding in the island colony. Thompson's house and stables are withiu a good stone's throw off Coogee Bay, and the establishment i"» named after one of the best bits of hor»cfl»sh that he ever trained — Cerise aud Blue. This beautiful little daughter of Wilberforce and the game, hardy Myrtle, who, -by the way, was second to Horatio in the Metropolitan, first won her way to fame in the far west, and so good was she that Thompson and her owner, Mr Flood, deemed it a good spec to bring her to Sydney and try her against the best thab the metropolis could produce, bub her showing was a sad 'disappointment to her party. On the fourth day of the A J.C. Spring meeting, 1884, she was slipped in a Selling Race, but she went down heavily before Wallangra, a horse of moderate form, and when she started for the A. J.C Final Handicap she was entirely neglected ia tho belting. That, however, did cot prevent her from winning tha race in a canter, s.nd going on to Rosehill she won a double, and was purchased by Mr H. Oxenham, who picked up a few nice stakes with her before she won him a fortune iv the Sydney Cup, 1886. At that tneetiDg she put down all the cracks of the day, included among which were Trident and Ntilsou, at weight for age.

*#* The first m-e '^ing afc Egmont was held on March 24, 1882, when £265 was giveu in stakes spread over eight events, and four of the racej went to Mr M. O'Brien, hh Calch-'em winning the Hurdles, Billy-go-by-em getting home first in the Hack Hurdles and surviving a protest which alleged <hat he ran round, and the use- | ful grey gelding Larry being returned the winner of the Egmont Handicap (in after years the Cup) aud the Dislrich Race. Larry had i also to face, a protest. This was over the ; Egexont Handicap running. Tucker, the rider j of Sb. Clair, declared that Larry had crossed 1 hitr, but ai the evidence sho?,-ed that ihe gcey ; h&d led all the way the stewards voted the obJ jectiou t'iivolouß. In the following year Nor- ' manby got homo, but ouly after a good contest 1 with Leonora, who. then a three-year-old, was trying to concede 151b and a year to the winner, and looked like doing it unlil the last half mile was reached, ,wLcn the heavy going told on the 1 jouag maie. 'Tnere was a protest again that

year, Normanby being objected to en the ground ] that no performances had been sent with his entry. The stewards, however, refused to entertain the objection. The results of the race j now called the Cup in intervening years mSy be | thus shown r ISB2 Larry syrs 613 4mm 2s«c 1883 Normanby ... 4yrs 6 7 Brain 54jsee 18^ Witiora ... 53'rs 712 3miu 53iaec 1885 Buzzard ... aged 7 0 4min 13see ISB6 Armourer ... 6yrs 8 2 3min 49|sec 1887 Victory ... 6yr9 7 5 3min 45|sec 1888 Dudu 3jra 6 7 3min 42-Jsec 1889 Recluse ... 3yi-a 712 3min 43 4-saec 1890 Patchwork ... 4yrs 712 3min 41 l-ssec 1891 Dudu ... „. Cyra 810 3min 40|sec 1892 Whisper ...aged 8 0 3min 39sec 1893 St. Katherine 3yrs 7 6 3min 44Jsec 1894 Rosefeldt ... syra 8 t) 3miu 41 3-ssec j 1895 Monta Carlo... syrs 7 7 Stain 47Jsec j 18fl6 Yattenfelt ... syrs 612 3min 7§aec 1597 The Brook ... 4yrs t>lo 3min 6 4-ssec 1598 Swordfiah ... 4yra 8 2 3mia Bgsec r The weather th;s yeor was all that cculd be I wished and the course in good order. Rylvia j Park, brother So Hippomcnes, got away badly ] j in the Waimate Handicap, buo once under w^y i I he made the pace strong, and woa with something in hand in creditable time. May Day caused quite a &eneation when she basted the i cracks iuthe first Hack Race, paying the curiously i disproportionate dividends of £82 12s inside and j £16 19s outside. A protest raised the question i of ownership, and an inquiry was held, the result j of which was that the stewards were satisfied, i Plain Bill did as he liked with his opponents iv j the Hurdles, aad they were on paper a strong j party, including Muscatel. Adam, winner of < the Hack Hurdle?, is by Castor — Jilt, a full and i pure pedigree. The Cup provided a good finish J between Swordfish and Crusoe, the former getting home by half a length, and showing s>ay- \ ing power the possession of which was not $ag. J ; pected by the public, who would not stand him i j after his defeat at 'LV.kapuna. Bowapii^, who i won the Sires' Produce Stakes, is by Vanguard from Figurehead, the last-named one of Mr Redmond's breeding, being by R».niarama from Spritstii, by Traducer. Xhjs shows that Bow- ! sprit ia an in-bred filly. Previous winner* of this race have been Evening Star, Novelty, and Vedette, aad Bowsprit's time iethe fastest. Oa the flecoud day S'vordSdb. was again puoces&fi'l, i he getting home in tho Atkinson Memorial Stakes, with Crusoe again second. Mr Heury evidently thought tbat Swordfish had not much to spare in the Cup, since he made him give I Crusoe only 31b for the beating, snd the oalculai tion came out pretty well, as a capital race was ! witnessed, and after it was over three cheers ( were giwo. foe the handicapper. I like to see a coraplimsut of this sort paid wheu it is decervad, not only for vhe sake of the encouragement it gives the haudieapper, but also because it means there has been good honest racing. I have now and again been forced to suspect, by the peculiarity of the running, i that owners have sulked over a fancied grievj ance and resolved to "queer" the handicap, even though in so doing they gave their show j ! away. - j

! *#* r he P uke of Portland sends to Mr Hart | a letter saying something about Carbine. Many 1 of the horse's foals, writes the owner, are very good-looking indeed. They are nearly all blest with Carbine's wouderfnl poweiful quartersand they take after him in temperament. They are gensrally very well liked, fend I am glad to say Carbine has had a full season ever sicce »ye god him. Twenty-eight foals dropped to him last season, but unfortunately five are since dead. I hope the others will Jaold up his prestige. The only fault I find with his foais is that several of them are coarse in their hock?, but perhaps they may grow out of this. So far j as the korae hiiaaelf: is concerned he could act Ibe going or hotter. Cunningham, who is ?. capital chap, rides him out every d&y, and io -s very curious to watch hia apparent idle movements. He takes things with the greatest coolness, and is so different to St. Simon and our other gallopiog horses. We had the Prince aad Princess ot Wales hero last week with a largo party, ami they were all immensely taken «ith Carbine, but;, of course, he is a <otally different horse to Sc Siinor, who ior quality aad appearance stands out by himself. Cunningham is the lad who looked after Carbine at Mr Donald Wallace's place, and who was sent Home in charge of tbe horae. From a catalogue sent to Mr Hart the mares at Welbeck pub to Carbine last year were Amiable, Bri) liana, Caithness, Golden Mooienls. Memoir, Rattlewiags, Mrs Buttetwick, Satchel, and Wheel of Fortune. Satchel and Memoir are half-sisters out of the celebrated maie Quiver, while Golden Moments is a daughter of Memoir. The other mares are full of galloping blood.

i *## After several false alarms, Mr Dan J O'Bcien seems to be really coming back to New Zealand. Hia Sydney placa has bee-> offered at auction, and presumably is in ihe agent's hands ; some ef his horses have actually arrived ; and he has intimated bis hops of being back in time to see the Dunedin Cap meeting. Dan was a prominent man on the New Zealand turf from tha time he won the C J C Handicap and the Canterbury Cup with Timbormi, nearly » quarter of a cantury ag\>. His winning ok the Dunedin Cup with Fishhook was also & memorable incident in his career. Then be had a great run of luck with Tasman. It was by means of the little bulldog that Mr O'Brien won the first New Zealand Cup. Many think that this was to a great extent simply good fortune, in that the liberating of Derrefct from his ODgagement with the Hon. W. Robinson's sable leffc this jookey free to give his services against, instead ot for, Nonsense. I don't like to make too much u«e of this theory, for gallant Tasman was a great favourite of mine ; and we do not know, perhaps, the full measuro of the little horse's ability over a distance. Yet it stands to reason that Derretb's riding was of some assistance ; and Nonsense's fretfulness at the post wa3 another help, and both these things were more or less tha result of luck. The uncertainties of the turf often give Dan a bit of a lift, and he was fortunate as well as judicious in buying and selling. Granted that he picked out Carbine as a valuable yearling — he must have seen merit in the youngster wheu he bid GSO^s for him — it can hardly be supposed tbat he had any idea that he was picking up the horse of a century. Nor can it be imagined that he knew when he purchased Gipsy King out of a selling raca that he was getting a racehorse second only to such a clipper as Maxim. I have great respect for Mr O'Brien's judgment. At the snme time, things turned out right for him in New Zealand. On the other side the luck has generally gone against him, and he is full up, and wants to get back to the old colony. They used to say that his dislike to and fear of the totalisator was one of the | reasons why he left. If so, that dislike may bs supposed to be now conquered. Other owners have also come round to a friendly attitude towards the machine. The late Hon. W. Robinson disliked it at first, but in his later days used it in preference to the old style of commissions. Well, whatever the causes of i the raave, we shall all be glad to see Dan back, ! and no one will begrudge him any luck he may | have amongst us. The chances are, however, that his horses will not do » grout deal this

season. The youngsters already arrived, an£ now looked after by T. Clark, are backward, and so far as can be understood Bob Ray i» likely to be the first to carry the rose and black in public. This horse has come on nicely as the result of his rest, and was doing good wori in Sydney when the last boat-left. *#* There is a great de&l in the history of Hampton, says Sporting Life, that should be useful to thosß who hold theories on horsey questions. He wa3 at first a very little colt, so small, in fact, that three trainers out of four declined to have anything to do with him at the time he was a yearling or almost a two-year-old, as it waß late in the year, towards | Christmas, that Joe Lowe was persuaded to iiftvo bim for 80sovs. It bad previously been thought of to add him to the list, under the idea that it might make him grow big enough to be a light-weight hunter. What a tremendous national loss it would have been if that idea had been carried out ! And is not this a I case in point to 6how that a vast amount of j mischief has been done by trsating colts before | their merits have become manifest. It will be j ftsked, I have no doubt, whether Hampton has | been the sire of the century, and I think I ! lean myself towards Stockwell and Touchstone* [ Oce thing can be said with great certainty, and i that is that no Lorse can be compared Jo I Hampton in regard to his career. The little [ first foal of his dam, undersized as a yearling, t the Soiling plater, hurdle racer, best stayer of i bis day,, and subsequently at the head of the ! stallion list for some seasons, and the sire of classic winners, with nearly a quarter of a million in stakes won by his progeny, he was quite the model racer and sire in every way. As Mr Robert Peck says, he gave no trouble, ' could go a great pace and for over, a per- ! fact horee for &ay jockey io ride, v and wh»u at the stud as intelligent as a Christian and doeila as a dogr.

*#* The renowned stallion Robinson Cruses died on Sunday «week afc Green Meadows, Hawke's Bay. Having been foaled in 1873 he was 24 years of age. Mr Petty Iwed him in Sydney s.fc the stud farm where Goldabrough i first saw tha light three years earlier. Many a I man has bred scores a,ad produced less valuable i results to the turf than Mr Petty got with this i famous pair. Robinson Crusoe was the seventh ! foal of Chrysolite. She had previously produced | Cleolite and Onyx to ADgler, and Robinson | Crusce was the third of her foals by the son of ; Fisherman and Marchioness. Lapidist, sire of | Occident, was one of her progeny by Firework*, j aad she gave birth to The Gem after being put | to M&ribyrnong. A rare good ruar« this Chrysolite must have been, as proved by the quality of her foale to every stallion she visited. She was \ begat in England, and came to South Australia in her mother, Juliet, one of Mr Fisher's purchases. Without doubt the best of her progeny was the horse now under notice. I don't forget {he galloping ability of The Gem and Lapidict, iior has Jt escaped ray raemoiy tbftt Onyx was dam of Nordpnfeldt ; hut Robinson Crusoe claims respect in the double capacity — he was a great racehorse and a celebrated sire. Running in his two-year-old season as the Chrysolite colt he landed the Champagne Stakes, Breeders' Plate, and Sires' Produce Wakes at Sydney, anu it was then, if ray memory serve* me aright, that he was shippad to Melbourne ami wrecked, finding his way sshoie safely, while others of his shipraatas, including Robin Hood and BurguDfJ>, were d'-ownod. This incident gave him his name. In his subsequent career he -won the Derby, the Mares' Produce Stakes, thfe'A.J.G. Plate, the St. Leger, the Spring Stakes, and the Craven Plate at Raudwiek, also the Melbourne Stakes and the Royal Park Stakes at Flenihiglon, and ameng other pprformaneos he ran third to First King and Chester in their memorable Champion Stakes contest. Going to the stud at the close of an honourable career on the turf, Robianon Crusoe sired a great horse in Navigator, and followed this up .by produciDg Trident, and, if nothing so good as these: have coint! to him since-, La has at any rate gained credit as *he sire of Sailor Prince, Madcap, Tourbillon, Vi-kc-el, Sextant, Preaton, The Captaiti, La Tosea, Pilot 5 Copra, The Workman, Cobbitby, Coil, aad many others almost as good. - Madcap produced Malvolio, winner of the Melbourne Cup, Copra gave us that good horse Camoola, aad another daughter of his, Hippona, threw a really great performer in our own St. Hippo. We shall find the old horse's came in winning pedigrees for man/ tears to come. At the disposal of the St. Al'aans stud in 1895 Rnbioson Cruaoe was drawn as a prize by Mr M'V&y, of Napier, who sold him to Mr G-. Richardson, owner of Morag and other racers, aud this gentleman stands the ultimate loss.

*V* Vedette, the four-year-old gelding by Vanguard — Venu3 Transit, has again come out of his shell. Last season he wop the thre9 races for which he started. This year he astonished aver j one by showing two exceptionally speedy performances at the H&wke's- Bay Spring meeting—six furlongs in lmin 14§«ec and a 1 mile and a distance in lmin 59£spc, nothing getting near him in either race. Naw he walks off with the double at Taranaki, and is not content either with a second-class pick, but takes the two chief events, making the splendid time of 2min 36;£ sec > v *h e mil© and a-h»if, and lolloping home in the mile aad a-quarcer event in 2miit llftsec. Be it noted, also, that Vedette can carry a bit of weight. In the Cup certainly ha had got off rather leniently, but the handicapper clapped a stone and a-half on to his back ior the second day's race, bringing his import up to 8.9, atid he galloped as well as with his Cup weight. We see, then, that Vedette is fast, that he can stay, and that he is not afraid of a fair weight/ • These arc the qualities of a racehorse. I observe also that Okoari, the younger brother (or sister, is it ?) to Waiuku, won a couple of hack race;, one of them in a tickr under lmin 45sec for the mile. This member might perhaps pay to elevate to higher rank. Storm Kiug fell while competing in the Hack Hurdles on the second day, and dislocating his shoulder, was shot. His rider (JacSson) sustained concussion .of the brain. Storm King was by Gipsy King out of Maid of the Downs. The sum of' £5355 was passed through the totalisator during the two daysi^ This is £759 less than last year.

*#* The Argus reports thai there was a good tfealof business transacted over the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup at the Victorian Club on February 3. The leading item was on account of Resolute for the short race. The St. Alb&ns representative was backed to win £4000 or £5000, starting at 100 to 4- and finishing at 100 to 7, with 100 to 8 the best price en offer at the finish. Amiable continued the favourite, £2000 to £200 being accepted about her chance. Thece was a ccminiasion to back another Sydneyite in Precaution, some £4000 or £5000 being secured afc 100 to 5 and 100 to 6. Obher business recorded was £2000 to £80 Staffa, £1000 to £40 Strathjoy, £1000 to £40 So and So, £1500 to £60 Locksmith, £500 to £25 Orpheline, and £500 to £60 Spectator. For the Australian Cap Aarum hardened to 4 to 1, but no business wets don* at that price. Batt&lion was next in demand &t 100 to 10, tha ex-Queenslander being supported to win £1000. The double, Resolute and Aarum, was cup»

ported at £5000 to £50, and £5000 to £25 was iccc-pted about So and So and Battalion.

*#* The story of Lord Falmouth's solitary £et on a horse is told in Tnormanby's new '•'Kin« 3of the Turf." It was in connection with Queen Bettha, favourite for the Oaks in 1862. She was thought to have lest her form, and Lord Fjltnoutb. decided she had no ehauce. John Scots and his wife, however, did nob lose confidence ia the mitre. Between them they dissuaded Lord Falmouth from scratching her, as he had fully made up his mind to do. " I'll lay your lordship sixpence she wins," said Mrs Scott," laughiisg. For once Loid Faltnouth broke hU rule never to bet, and exclaimed, "Done, Mrs Scntb ! " So Qaeen Bertha, with Tom Aldcroft np, appeared at the post, and thacks'o the bnliiant riding of her jockey beat Marigold by a short head for first place. Lord Falrnouih paid his bets to Mr Scot 6in noble fashion. He procured a brand new sixpence from the bank, had it teb round with diamonds and mounted as a, brooch, and in thai form presented it to the comely mistress «.f Whitewall, by whose descendants it will no doubt ba preserved as a heirloom from generation to gene-ration in commemoration ot Lord Faimouth's first and last wager. *£*■ Of the past queens of the American trotting turf, very Jitble blood has descended to present trotting generations (says Turf, Field, and Farm). Lady Suffolk fead a tral by Vermont Black Hawk, but it died -'young. Elosa ffemple refused to breed until far advanced in years, but then had three foals — viz., Kitty Temple, bay mare, by Rysdyk ; Prince Imperial, bay horse, by William Welch ; and Queen's Daughter, brown mare, by Leamington. Not one of this trio has done anything of much note at the stud. Goldsmith Maid, on the other band, has left a aon and a daughter, the former, Stranger, having made a great hit in the stud, and the latter, Rosebud, is aleo a producer. Maud S. has thus far failed to breed, bufc is only aa old as Flora Temple was when she dropped her first foal. Suool has not yet bred. Nancy Hanks has a weaning filly by Arion, snd is «aid to be carrying by him again. Alix, we believe, ha.s never been stinted. *#* The faddists who rave over the efficacy of She figure system of breeding are becoming tnore moderate in their enthusiasm, observes •' Asmodeus," and we are now informed by one of its most pronounced votaries that neither Bruce Lowe nor anjone on his behalf has ever claimed that his method of figuring up the various lines of blood would reduce breeding to anything in the nature of an exact science. "It is," we are bow told, " just a convenient form of ready reckoner, so to apeak, by means of ■which anyone can see at a glance how many of the most successful families have been brought into combination in a pedigree, and the best families are numbered 1, 2, 3, &n., in order of mtrit, as judged by the num*er of classic winners descending from each." This is a big Jl climb down," lor nob so long s.go it was claimed that the figure system had reduced the breeding of high-class winners to an absolute certainty. *#* The scarcity of names of high-class performers from Canterbury is a curious feature" ;ftbrut the nominations received on Bs*furd&y Bight for the Ta'nuna meeting. I can find very lew of the performers that h&ve been making records during the current season. Is there a reasonable explanation of 1 his circumstance ? Jt seems to me that the subject is worth inquiry. JThe stakes are good, the track the best in the jpolony. What else is wanted ? I c«,nnot suggest the reply, but the club ought to search for \t. Still, while regretting this circumstance, \ there is abundant reason to be pleased with the nominations. Otego owners have responded liberally to the club's enterprise, and, besides, there are several horses from outsideplaces. Awahuri evidently is meant to come, but I miss the yiame of Duke C, who^s only in the Cap. In this; however, he undoubtedly has a show, and it may he premature to conclude yet that he ia to be an absentee. We shall have a fair idea When the acceptances appear. *** Bob Hastie applied on Monday for disTiharge from the Bankruptcy Court. It was jtated that creditors to the amount of £88 out >f the total debts of £108 attended the meeting ■and expressed themselves in sympathy with '"Eastie. On the other hand he had kept no books. Counsel for the debtor submitted that She business of a horse-trainer was not one in which it was a duty to keep books of account. It was not usual for men in that line to keep books. His Honor : "I do not know. He onght J;o have some record of his transactions. If a man Carries on any business at all he should keep Borne record ; it need not always be an elaborate pet of books, but there should be something, so that if he comes to the court for relief ho will £>c able to show how his troubles arose. The crder for discharge will be suspended for six months." Other trainers may do well to take Warning by the remarks of the ju.i3ge. *** Mr Gollan'g gelding Bbor is still winning Sn Bingland. Odds of 9 "to 4- were betfced upon fcim for the Sanbury Steeplechase at K>3Oiptou jPark on the sth' January. He showed the way from Troubler, Continental, and Melton Constable to the second fence, when Troubier Slipped and fell and Mypore ret'ueed. Although Bet going again, they soon stopped, as dirt Glowworm a mile from home, through the saddle paving slipped round. They leffe Continental jin pursuit of Bbor, the pair being clear of Mettan Constable. The favourite thence had xnitter.6 all his own way, atid -won easily from Melton Constable — who took r.«cond place before reaching the laat fence — by six lengths. *£* The acceptances are not to hand, and for the Wanganni meeting I must be couibent with a guess at the winners. My fancy for the Cup ia Day Star ; nexh best I ts-ke f o be Led a and Daunt. Plain Bill or Indian Snot should win the Hurdles. Aquatic looks likely In the. Cameron Handicap, and Tire may account for the M'Gregor Stakes. *£* At a special nier-ting"of the Wellington Club a motion with reference to the stewards not licensing bookmakers at the Cup meeting was withdrawn, and one providing for registevjng them at future meetings was rejected by 19 votes to 15. A motion that the value of the hack races at the next meeting be not less than £100 was carried. A motion to abolish tbe entrance fee for membership was negatived. The meeting decided that where an owner jraces two or mow horses in one race these shall Jbe bracketed on the machine. *#* North Otago handicaps appear in this Issue. I fancy Tale of the War for the Welter, Vandyke for the Norbh Obago Handicap, Rancour for the Novel Race, and Vanilla for the ITlying. lam writing, however, without any knowledge as to what horses are going to accept. J^u 3A3 A B< H( i! meß was re-elected chairman PI the Oamaru Harbour Board on the 22nd ulfc.