TALK OF THE DAY

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 35

TALK OF THE DAY

By MAZEPPA.

*#* This week's Dunedin Cup ii the twentyfifth iv the series of contests. Tbe history of the race, in abstract form, is given on another page, and old-timers vrho have assembled- to help in the celebrations will no doubt find in. a perusal thereof plenty of food for thought — pleasurable or otherwise. -.- Appropriatelyenough, the first Cap was won by Mr Henry Redwood, " the father of the turf," as ho is often affectionately called. This was, however, Mr Redwood's only win. He sent doivu Ngaro the next year, ai»d that filly proved to be an impostor ; in 1876 he was represented by Gay Eankes and Amohia ; the following year he rel;ed on Pariri and started three others and they were all ucplaed ; in 1870 he started Ariel and Lopglands; then Mr Redwood gave the Duuedin Cup beot, and we heard ot him no more until in 1893 he sent Awarua Rose to compete in the Cup won by Tempest. Dick Mason, now with us again, and still in his prime, I am glad to say, rode Mr Redwood's only winner, Lurline. He has given up horse-f iding for many a year, and now comes out of a morning on his bicycle. Mr Delamain was a more fortunate owner so fac as the Duuedio Cup is concerned. He secured it with Templefcon and with Pungawerewere, and has not had a starter since Templeton aad Titania, then his property, were defeated ia Fishhook's race. This Fishhook waß of course in the ownership of Mr. Dan O'Brien, who afterwards started nothing in the Cup until in 1881 he stripped Fishhook again as a forlorn hope. Since then, however, Dan has run Tasman, Trenton, Hermitage, Rubina, Vandal, Freedom, and Captive, and Freedom won his race. Mr. R. Ray (•• Old Bob") h&j scored only once, namely with Templeton in 1878, though many think that he did actually mn ia the following year with Sinking Fund when a dead heat . .with Mata, was announced. Titania and Hornby were liter representatives of the French-grey jacket. Mr Stead has scored twice, with* Mata and Gipsy King, and he has met disappointments with Betrayer, Fair Nell, Enid, and Ich Dien. It is not, however, a race that this owner has particularly bothered himself about. The Hon. G. M'Lean, on the other hand, always tries to start something, and since he had an interest in Lady Emma's win in 1882 we have seen the Zetland spots first home on Lady Emma again, on So. James, and on Lord Rosslyu. Messrs fcitephenson and Hezlett, another ownership that makes a point of having a go in the Cup i£ possible, have won with Occident, with Tempest, and with Gipsy Grand, aad met with several failures. The rest of the owners have won once each. That is a peculiarity about the Dunedin Cvp — the number of times it has gone to an owner who has never won it again. *** " Silverspur," of Wellington, writing on the lOch, says : The Johnsonvilie Trotting Club case, in which Mr J. Sharp's Bob was objected to by Mr R. Day, has lately proved an interesting topic of discussion ia loca.l trotting circles. The previous career of Bob appears to be shrouded in mystery, and his present owner ia unable to produce any evidence regarding the horse* antecedents. He bought htm at Messrs A. G. Tame and Co.'s yards for £7 10j on the 28th of August last ; started him at Miramar and subsequently ab Johnsonville, where he won under the name of Bob. That is all Mr Sharp knows about the horse. When the complaint was laid the objector, Mr Day, had no evidence to offer, but was given time to procure it He subsequently produced a letter written by Hr Jamieson, of Dunediu, who described a hoi'3e named Rasp, a winner clown eoufcli, whose description — "black gelding, white on root of tail, white under saddle aud on one of the legs" — is said to tally with that o£ Bob. Mp Jamieson worked Resp in an express for 12 months, and says he could identify him if ha saw the horse again. Two other letters were handed to the stewards by Mr Day, including one from an InvercargiU resident relative to a trotter now missing from that locality who won. races at Riverlon. Raap ia said to be in, tha Honk Maud somewhere, but no authentic iar

formation rm nKis poini 3> at ?.resc!>t av.-,iJable. It has been a?«».T?Ah>ed thab Me D. ..':i(6es, of Otaki, put 3iott in Me Taice's Day.->*- ior t-\':(:, and at the iasr mper-ng cf tbr> J">»fl--«c i i'-9 ille stewards a Mr W. D. d&u^ts, <>1 Newcowa, gave evidence tiat he had brought bwseß ' s n ?rorn Otaki and reruns vlaces &fe "'-ffe't tt timw'abe auctioned Dy JUr y f afne. idiaUstUf. v.v*! sold hetw«><;r. »-x z^i tfffei '-•"•^"-ii p - *f»; ; \f could not <7«vss- '.-.' tr •-,-"■?-? ;.«.;■, vat vefiuombered that iy-f~t> p 3IOJ >f ;. ".-/ a aiatc — were black in ct r-\ir.r -\ir. H -'^v ?<cc-6e:a ,iy tbo meeting to photeffzorr- I'Jj'oi '<;;.o -'a located -& Ptifcyne (and who ma? ';<> ?t*#.u k* Kfce stewar«,is si- any time), ncn saoJ; v^-.^'-vrM 1,0 Dr^r^'J-.n to Mv JamiesoK. li '«u'a £'*.•*■• -i«,t fi''fSro .'-j»?.' l-l:f-man wiH iik.?;-? !<:.• utSr-.-.^ va y*>B W«;iinguifi ;-.-• inspect the sicfi&i:-l, V Wh«n Dscst ij'ti '^i" %W.a'?:>l \> 'Ait .Juvenile Plate s-i G-.-^ar. ;ij i<,tr iv vsc her the popt>- ! »ir ophiicn w*.s t'h:-/s -.ha K-*p:sr coit had done Rosa^shing vt-.-'-.h *.s i^jSd .r.-f. >jo again. I* wjsa n Jr.ir r«c^ co i »-- *>? the oirci'ajBtanceß of *ifcc 0.95 ■»<>?.« r-u-i car«e«J, but ihf admirers o' ffit-i'.a'ii^ de.va:td that this co] 6 wks not at his b&6> . z'\hb?,b'y 'hey v^ ere right fco some extent,, tL'^ugb »r,e «ay io which Medallist disposed <-?' efesjiimg but Blnsrer id the Electric Plate- t>*. xhe jaa? mfelir.g effectually prevented '.-.'O st-dcu use bi-i^g mr.iw contention that tr.-*. '../:? was c-»* of f-.i^aslU-n, ptnd now tviat wo tftTa tut HhWie's R^.j result before tv fhe itpologjftß for Goici McdiPisf's defp-i^i at UM,ierbury are uofc likely to further uress she oolnfe, since to do so vould beto'urovoke the r&tort that in the Hs wee's Bay Stakes It was a fwir go beiwean Daunt. and Medail?3t on even terms, with (he •■esailthat Medallist; gofc <lono. Daunt overtook !iif rival in the race, M-.d «on by a nose. Tije repoit "icils ub that MedjsllJab stripped ia fcb? pink oi' condition, that Ls wss raads a warns lavourlie, and thai th* rowslt oJ' the rr.ee shows that there is hardly a >»»>'* j..cic!, ci diffeiefice between thtci, ior iLey 1(4.d ii?« Fame jr^ishts. h'-'-h were ridde*;. I'ig'ht out, fi'tjJthJDg so ci-'<»^lf t'Lat many spcctai«;«K thought <?< was a dt&d heat. There --^a-j Intense ezcitsmfi:t, «»rd t-e jud^t, ; i 3 vtrdicti was received with pccldu ( 4ed chcerfug such a& is seldom h?s.:d «-v a Hawke's B*y co!iise s where the people arc generally undeitjjnsitirativa i' beg to tender mjecagrataiaiiona tr. SlrOrineod on, the result, also to Stewart VVadceH, hi? painstaking trainvr, whose huodretis of f;K-.t:<jt» throughout Otago are thoroughly pk-a?f d w\;.h his succees. I ans sorr,', 1 in a seuoe to t '.i^r ot Iho downtail of such a finr coit *.d Cro'.ci Medallist; on the otiier Lend it 1.1 for «,h,e t,ood 01 racing to find a cisck honesUjr challenged on equal terms — it would be better snli if half a dozen could do the same thiog. Dauni appeals to have won by *heer gamenesi!. Gold Medallist is also game, asd I aia not; gouig to allow it as yet proved thnt be owes his numerous victories tntuely to the briliiancy -which geiie:<s!i.y enables him to suiotiier his opponents. He raced dovfn his ndversaries in the Eciipse Stakes last year in a manner that quite proved his pluck.. Bui; wnile he ia geme, Dauuo is possibly even gamer, possessing the real buliaog tenacity of a Carbice or a Tatsman. That ia how the matter suggests itself to my mirul. They are a pair of splendid cslts. *^* Daunt 53 biottw-r to DaanfcifS9, tfce latter leicg the firsc and Daunt Ibe second foul of Orientale, both got by Dreadnought, a^d bred fry their owner, the Hoa. J. D. OrmoL\d, wbo bought the mare as a yearling at the Auckland sale, getting her dirt- che^p at 65gs. 'Orientate ]s by Leoliaus out of Lurient. L'Orient hud previously produced Francotte to Musket, but Orientals being by Leolicus, buyers did not care jauchfor her, forgetting, no doubb, tha,t it was to Leolinus that s'ae threw Radames aud CapBize, thereby proving that the mating with Leolinus was a good nick. The same bicod is responsible for Impulie, bus ot course that fact was not in evirate at flic 1880 sale. Ouida, dam of Impulse, is a.I?o by Leolinus out of L'Orient. The ITawke's Bhv Sta'nes is quite a new race, having been inaugurated in 1898, when Mr Stesd*ft«ii it with B'oodshot, who ran the six fur2o'ii,-s <a ltnin 15|sec. Last year, the d'sfennce beiag incrr*?e:t by half a luilong, Mr SfesJ «g»in won, this tioae with Ku'ltitorm, whose record was Imin 23§'ec. D&unt now rfidacc-.* the 'Aitia to Imin 21§sec. Whereforts we >.er thas Gold Medallist this year »*a» i'sler than his chum Mulfciforza !;;< ' 'o do iiiSt year. The Hawke's B»i lup ur.ee i^oi'e found Tice disappointing n s part* Tho isce was won easily by Douglas. This result I anticipated when the weights appe&red. Previous winners of tkie Cup, established :n 1875, have been : — 18S0— Hilda 4yra 8 9 3min 6^sec 1891-(;ynii:ca ... 4yrs 8 7 Bk.ui 5-Hsec 189-— Crowu Jewel 4vrs 7 «5 Stum Sitec 189-?— Mprganser ... 4yrs 9 0 3min "6|sec 1894— Itangipnhi ... syra 830 3min 'SJsec 1895— Dreamland ... aged 7 11 3rain 7J- - ec 1896 - Searchlight ... 4yr.« 6 8 2min 40^sec 1897— Day Star ... 3yjs 713 2min 42 sec 1898— Douglas ... syis 7 12 2niin 39Jsec These timings are nob exact, but to the nearest quarter of a second. Douglas, it will be seen, has the best record since the dist&nca was reduced. He ia by Crawfurd, Pricry (brother to Guesswork), by G*n^r forward — Feridvenluta ; 3his dam (imported) Good Fiuit, by Creruorce, out of Maiie Louise. This ;s a clean ped)gree. I note, by the way, thab Good Frml 5 s not entered jn the last volume of the Stud Book, so presumably she is dead ; arid her production of Douglas does not coino within the range of the 1890 edition, whereiore the birth of Douglas ie not in our Stud Book at all. This is rather unfortusia^e for the owner. The rest of the racing ss suilif jfctly covered by the reporb appear' og in tnis i-su^, but I may add Iha,*". the sum of £10,372 wfia passed through the fcotalisator, this bslng £1216 less than laßtyeac *#* " Milrof " pufh that ths companHive Failure of t^3 vtriy>i° "/ei^b'-iVr-age rA,>c= a' Flemingftoa anil Rand^lc tturmg fpo r&»t few years has bruugh* 1 forth I,igßbr/f.^&}tßieiitatioaß bs lo the dctfrios-p-vion- of the tV« rjugnbred ia tbe matter of fitatiina, aud tts toas. quenb extolling cf the l.'r:g'di»KDce pr-rformere of bygone days; -and comparisons a'e being continually mad i i/hit are anything but flattering to the racehoi>e of to-day. It by no meat's follows, becauFe fairly rich wfcigut-for-age races fail to draw, that the percentage ot stivers is smaller now tban of yore. No ; other inducements in tl'e shape of richly-endowed sprint races, that are in the majority of iwtano's further subsidised by the v )blic with swe^p offerings, tempt tbe oWer of a prom'->ing youna horse, who, instead of training his yonnffstsr in b rosnner thac would test his ability i:o gei a distance, tries him oaly ior epop'l, and before be has even mr.fured ; asd sc?r<-s oa a good stamp ai-e rscsng every day, and hundreds have left the inn with non-staying refutations, that have never been tested as rraycrs Instances often occur where accented sprinters have w*on long-distance race*, but. their owners never dreamt of more than six fmlong*. Staying is much a matter tf training; aud those who systematically decry the thoroughbred of today should be careful to remember thab e?ery quality of tlio ho^aa in uovt Baii'ifiodd to speed!

L 1 by which is meant bit? qca'fHifs &fe s&eriSced [ by fc-ia K*;7i)g fssired continually to win six-(fl.-^r.gUiiff'srs ; jet "Lis v-<ty >-p'ted is the be.dj <rf«.-k or *»,* »iag powe rs, Luh it it wr.vglj* rs«d. » Aa ,t rule con-tUyar-i .«.»-> 10 b'jai j-&j-,.ca.f coni I-^-niiti n; bi>' iii»- j.y j >. ;r*f<co'ifo.-»at2or of •'he •■ ( r«'p. f.gositbiirfeauspiinLar — wbohasJoi3fsß«>tliiryt; » 1 Cfle but sprim from thf> time he left; the break- ■ I :»g taokle — wiil compare !atoorebly with the ■ t s«apß oud ftctioc o'' '.tie best weignfc-ior-agfc }.er- : ■ fo^ictis. Ttc r»«-'ua «hy tfce everyday t pnoter • xeixihU.s so h h'csuse he fs owned by men who ■ wp a^-.-'fring for tl.Hr t>*eac aiid cheest aad who ' ; saust wia !!.'.'■■:•»? <;<: i.tr'sh. *jj* The Kftih. -a? u*- waiter " RpgithUl " says : Ti'.yre is pice'.v're cs' * fairly open Derby uis.rlret j this wj> t-er. &o f%> »? it has gone, txas gea«on ) cannot bt Miy w.*anß be called a good one ror '■ i '--'fi jß^.'--ald«. 'i litre aie half a f*(.zso or more 1 j i'.asidi^s.fces causing Up to now ; 1 Buba'jil certam'y l.olds the top seat in the Zsrr.i 1 ! r&w, i-ut his rt.iu.ntjrs are not cs-ict'y f.-ftect, Bi.cS t if a. a'< hie shifty ways wiil psv'is/iiy p>3- . veot lus bf ing made a Dorby idol. Eu' «->rh- : ; r,nt IJtbzv'd she «.cabia has a i.Uuse of D-rhy i tu)zz> ir yaw ui'Oo. Peibs^^s CjC' a great real 1 j >sri Ob ••EjSifua m m Ormuss, tbcu&h he is iin1 dc'i'ofi' J,'- ivaart ; fcut Aojiftitu 1 ! i^a be ■ , .■■•jj.i^cct.a £;■ improve, aid fiiVo-c's h)ii» ; ->r-ri>their, ■ ! . K-.jpi''-.J, seems to be r*tlicr «?ell tho> ght "'•r Tns» there is Renowned, "by Trenton ham ' Eisio, *hOin «c have oot seen vei, ar>d he is j sell oretl ci oi-jh to wTd Rny Derby in it's ■ world. Of use Safe. Albans lot, bowrfver, it looks i «t this date es if BoV-adil v*)U turu cut derids'ily the be»t property. An idea seams 1o be entertained that Cocos was hardly his proper , *«•.;+ c.< the recent V.R C. nipetmg. Thac may !»!• ;o bot tfce wiitsr for one sef-s no 'fnaon ro ! make excuses for the Synueyside "hestnut j Pfcrhapy, howevei 1 , it wtSl be as *rell to await J I'urtLer tisvelopmejits bticce ytcowjUDi-iag judgment on Cucuai in a Di'i*»>y conas-ctiun. About tha most consistent nun truest perfi-rmpr of the two-? ear-olds is Cordit j . lie scarcely fills the i ey*. 1 as a typical Derby horse. Beta g a gelding, I h« is naturally not so showy of fr^me ua an enj tire. But there can be no niis'sikro about his j hoiiesf.y and ability. And, after ail, these are J whai count most in a race. There is &o duck- , in,; 10 or on 1 , with Cordile. He finishes n.% \ siiaight &% a gun barrel every time, whether i ijoaitn o* v\ fron'o A grandly-shaped eclfc of 1 Mti'tiMc"; Hiej-tfSi.y. and one exhibiting so much j jjic-Bsifie, shtulu I.OL J.y iei't oai; of any Derby i e&ieutSMosw iiovv m^dii. There can be no quesJ rioii aOitifc nis \. au-i as to staying — well, he < E&n hardly fcflp ic. Caiua.-uon, in the same s<aLic, should not De dismissed «eb. but for choice of tbs pair one at this date w.-nld prefer Heretic. Probably Duggan '"sts t ofa al'ogfthir ; hopeless o< repeating tha Ambeilfe >l'>«c " xt ; season with Pe2i?sier — a b.'g, idle c o t ifas,). k^ : sure tf- snake r^pnl fce^dway irom J wo k> fhrps j year.-, old Jjt.-oVn.g rAivnv^h. fcbe ii.' :: es, Picture, ; -De D.'f-iiroer ftfakes wmi.i", is on the list; ' at^-1 ar. \ R^l l c, rho, s.ns»ll, is wiry, and ' izx jiiib' I" ai) on .£.-t sonrei.hiag pretty good. 1 Tai w ■- 1' ** ays, th Derby looks like being an ■ oi'e.>s,p cA vr der speculation than usual. *•)/• i-nowery \vos.fcLer prevailed at TViamate •'• iot cvnual eke? day, iaafc Thursday. There ; v5-*ie 33 fe^actsrs icr fchee ght races. Taking off j j 14- for one ot the trots »-be low average of 24 for ' j the otaer aeveu events ik bhown. Messrs Masou ■ and Hi-bens had charge of the tofcalisator and 1 cuiing the day put thiouga the &urn of £912 ss j agaitifct £1168 lost 3 ear. Of the three starters I for tho huLdle racs, one dropped his rider (W. Fox) and another ran round, leaving the Artillery ge3di;ig Amrpuaition to canter in. The • oae that ran off wss Vanfcoon — a strange name, I but with all its strangeness I like it better than | I "Vicgt-un Picket, winner of the St Patrick's j ! Handicap, by Vanguard. Ha made hi^ first I j bow to an andience at Kurow last eeason, where j Jhe pulled eff the Consol?.tion. Directly aiter- ' -wards he won tbe Trial Stakes at the Taieri. ! Tois season he fell at Oamaru. I take him to !bs a fair stamp of a country horse. A miie and s.-quarter in 2min llsec, ay.d beating Range- • fiuder constitute a very tidy performance, j Spider, the Ofcago gelding, holder of the two I snd half mile trotting rsrcotd for the colony, i ; broke that record at Wiamate if the report be i true. His previous best was 6min 32sec, i now he has shown a gait of 6mm 30? sec, j and be won a? he liked. Hr. Longfellow landed tha Fi,, .tig Handicap with Hemorse II (by j Nordsiifeldti's brother Jacinth), but he had r-.iot.hing to oeat excepting the worn-out Bsile. It w»s a baiter a-Ueaipt oa Reeaoi-se ll's part when he got defeated by Rangefinder in the Harvest HnLdicap. This race showed that Range-finder *.« ia some sort of form, hence the Bignificsnce of Pi'-ket's win earlier in the day. *# s In tho face of all the criticism about Ayrshire's supposed tvantof stamina, writes " Regi- ; nald," Cripps persevered in running him over i ! distances, and ab last his judgment has been I vindicated in the Australian Cup. Ayrshire is not the easiest horse in the world to train, but ' by judicious treatment Cripps has kept Dun'op's showy son bright and well right through ; from early aprii.g until now. Really, there j never should have been much doubt about Ayr- j ' ehire's staying after his third in the Caulfield '• -"*np. As argued many times before to-day, that mile and a-ha]f is jn&l about as severe a test as you can fi id in the world. The pressure ' jis always on. There is no let up, but it is all ; I ding-dong from the rise of the barrier. Aoobher j thiup, speed, combined with even action and governable temperament;, will always master a j journey. A horse doesn't n<j^d to be a stonewaller to manage, say, a couple of mile 3 at a i good, true rate of travelling. So long as ] 1 he will cot fight with his rider, and hi 3 ' way of using himself is not too expensive, | j a fast, free horse , by a proper regulation of his ; pace, will go almctt any trip. For the purpose ! of illustration, take Hopscotch on the one side snd Ayrshire on the o*her. Hopscotch won't sr&y because tie gives hiraself no chance. He ' ;>ulls himself to pieces if an attempt is made to J control him, and if he is allowed to stride aloug he, iv his fcngernes?, runs himself out. Ajr- ; *hire is a different sort. lie cau go a^ fast as I Sopscotch, bat i 3 more se? sible, running atong 1 iii asiy place chosen for him without wasling oft'nrfe. In the same way it was >iu"&'s fauHless action and kind dispos.tJon mere W-»u aa> thing j ehe rtat carried him through. And so with 1 ofcnera that could be mentioned. Of eoune, the ' natural stayer — ths j/lcdcler if you will— can 1 always be expended upon to make the other whose .'St' eg point ia speed lie dowu when it monies Co a hand fco hand encounter, bub the 'rouble is for the battler to get on fighting terms with the flier. A Hova or an Ayrshire ■ shoots out and has the race won wmie tba " stonewaller " is thinking about il, aud a flashy ran at the end of a long race demoralises the even pace, gu .ill-da^ a'*?er. *,* The C.J.C. bas missed a poiat by pub-li?l-i»g the weights fur the E*su-;sr and An'.umn Haadicaps before th«< D"oodin maeting is over —before it commerced, m fact. It would have . been much better loi both clubs to delay ihe weights ; better for thf C J.C. because 'J would give the handicappm Ih^ latest mformaf Jon ; better for tbe I;. J.C n..c»use there would be , less chance 0? v»»Jtv.« Kvwever, t'aere the

weights are, whether we want them or not. I do not propose to tackle them in detail, but merely mention a few that on prrs< nfc iaforcnatiou seem fair goods. In the Ets'i-er, seven furlong=, Gold Medallist 9.2 is ihe GcsS that catches my eye ; s.ffcr-r him &lau*vr -*ich 8.11, '.hen A^iine 8.13, and below these rb.fre fa votu'ag tr« be uf.-jf?rred to VatiiUa B.* ar»d BAla C*fcir 8.?.. nve are «wjnal t*> «r;j i, lozpd1 ozpd •'t'nera tht^. could be named, and if jcu al)<,v. me to add GoHleaf, Cuiverin, Bloomer, Firefly, FuJoiea, »nd St. Onida you may take all the rest. I am aai-'-sfied with tho 11 uamed. In re&pecfc to the Autumn Handicap there is nothing amongst the top-jveights the equal of Euroclydou at 9 8 if be t-nn *.c landed ucn'-ri aud ready at tfre posE ; but be IB vo' souik', and J am afraid naaaot be ready, and we oip.i't look i'uither -..field. In this afjaroh one sees the names of several that are silqjoeu in as bad a wj.y as Goodman's home. I p-»ss :h« m ail over, and fastec on Epaulet 7.12, fcite&'bbruan 7.i1, <uid Cuiverin 7.4 as a likely trio, <»ith Seq>;:n, Ktarehot, and Emineliue Kext oest. it is a moral certainty that a lot of the Siorses entered icr these races will drop out, abJ wov>ld go in any cisc whatever their handicap. Qiultiri, by the v;ay, is surely verj' highly asac^sed in the voile and a-halt raca. I do not, however, apprehend any danger from that quarter. *** Though the Amuvi annual meeting held iadfc week was fairly attended, speculation fell i.ff by £77 as compared with last jt?i<r, Use era.il) sr.ru of £052 going through the iotaliaator. This brothers llutherford, as usual, were raciitg agai»3t each other aud each won a race, "Mr D.'" iandiosj the Cup with his jumping horse Social Peafe (best son of Ahua) and •• Mr W. O." taking tDe Culverden Handicap wifh L&pi>i.%xy. another of the home s&alHoa's get. In this last-mentionpd race, by th«> way, some ridiculous overweights were carried, Jicko, handicapped at 6 7, putting up 9iO, and Baiiyhonous, also placed by the handicapper on tha 6.7 mark, being riddeu at 10 5. I presume bnat riders were scarce at the meeting. Baliyhooley II led to the fourth fence in the Hurdle Race, then fell. Social Pesfc seems to have Jfciuy beaten Jeivei in the Cup ; if so, Jewel in 110 cat her best. Fit am* v.cii »!ie woutf biwy rhe hurd'.pr for pace. Mr j. h. Rtli'n.xs so few wins nowadays that it is quite refreshing to read ot" hw colours Oeing b^rto U' W'aiirmi. He won the Maiden Plate with Golden Legend, brjtlier i«^- Tiara, and we may lip sure that the yi'iiud. 4 . of this popular r-wne- vvas w**ll tscc-i^ed. v .^* >vlr C. C. Murray, who died recently in Vctona. was well kt.own a few years Bgo'as a racing man in Hawke's Bay. He owned Pourere when that Horse tan second to Baron m the. local Grand National, and at one rime or another faced Merlin, The Laird, and other pertortarrs of repute ; but luck seldom came to his colours in important events, and tee only valuable st^ke he ever landed, so far a? J can call to icrnd, was the Tradesmen's Handics-p, of SOOaovs, run at the Hawke's Bay Autumn meeting of 1881, this b»ing appropriated by the three-year-old Mtvia, daughter of Kingfisher, who with 6.0 on her back brought off a surprise by defeating the red-hot favourite Natator and liUe even-money chance Libeller, doing the mile and a-ha!f in 2min 4-3 sec, which was in these days a first-olase go. Since 1885 Mr Murray had resided in Victoria, where he owned Merganser's brother Blswiek, and was occasionally" associated in racing ventures with Mr Blackwood. *#* It is important to remember that the Tahuna Park trobting meeting commences on Friday of this week. I hear good accounts of Awahuri, winner of the Auckland Trotting Cup, and from all accounrs he would just about win the Tahuna Cup if he had escaped a penalty. Mr Dowse has, however, brought him back lOsec, and the race is once more made open. OWNERS' REMINDERS. March 28 — Beaumont nominations. March 28 — Tahuna Park second day's acceptances. April 2 — Riverton accsptances and general entiies. April 2 — South Canterbury nominations. April 4 — Taieri acceptances. Apiil o— Lancaster Park acceptances.