A SENSATIONAL CUP HORSE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2370, 3 August 1899, Page 38

A SENSATIONAL CUP HORSE.

(By " Centurion," in the Australasian.) In looking back over a good many years there are few, indeed, I am able to recall more pregnant with incident and sensationr ? than that of 1880. Those who remember the stirring doings in connection with Grand Flaneur's year must regard it, even at this lapse of time, as one of the most exciting"bprings" ever experienced at Plemington. The principal role in the play was filled by that peculiar and unfortunate racehorse, Mata, who hailed from New Zealand, where ' many a good one before and since has first found its feet. I have particular reason for distinctly remembering the circumstances j herein narrated as vividly as if they had oc- ; curred last week instead of nearly 19 years j ago. It might be interesting to first recall some of the features that made the Maorilander so conspicuous an animal, and one not likely to be readily forgotten by those who had intimate knowledge of him. Mata waa a bay gelding, of the lengthy, old-fashioned order, on somewhat short legs, with great ragged hips, and thighs, gaskihs, and bone - that would have ranked ac no insignificent points in a dray-horse. What an ideal Grand National hurdler he would have made, to ba sure, and I'll warrant the all-conquering Callarat contingent of the day — Martin Loughlin, Robert Orr, poor popular Corrigan, Wilson, M'Phail, Scobie, and others — gassed with' longing eyes on the gelding that brought disaster to many of his Cup partisans. A singular characteristic of this horse was the abnormally profuse growth of hair on liis legs, and the unusual supply often caused many good fudges to debate the purity of his birth. That! i it detracted very greatly, from the look in?

separable from a well-bred one no one could deny; and, I think, I can remember an apipeal being made to his breeder, Mr H. Red;wood, through' the agency of that best of turf •writers, the late "Augur," of the Australasian. The result was entirely in support of ■Mata being a perfectly legitimate son of his represented parentage^ — by Dead Shot — Raupo — but tho unfashionable appendage was al•waysthe cause of observation, and certainly unsightly enough to make anyone sceptical as j to his being without stain. ! The New Zealander, accompanied by a useful horse in Camballo, took up his quarters pn arrival at the Racecourse Hotel, the hostelry that has sheltered so many of the beat pf our distinguished visitors. The litle party connected with the Cup horse comprised R. fi. Vallance {since drowned on the New Zealand coast), the reputed owner, Bob Ray, the trainer, and Walter Clifford, the jockey. No great length of time had elapsed before the jmany whom either business or pleasure \ brought to the training ground realised T ,hat ■ Mata was a galloper of a high order, and ! .when it was found that his party lockcri like going for the Melbourne Cup, Mala quickly became a popular pick with the speculating public And here let me gay that tilings .■were not then as now, as many a metallician of the old order would doubtless dolefully tell, for public support meant far more then' the term signifies in onr dp.y. The fea-ther-legged bay advanced in favour, »nu was a marketable quantity, especially after tha J performance of one of the best Cup trials ever j run at Flemington. Well do I remember that. trial, the .witnessing of which: may be attributed _to natural enthusiasm, a slender tint, and very, very early rising. In the small hours of- the. morning "Vallance and his party emerged from their, quarters, closely iollowed by the late Samuel Martin, who was one of the keenest of horse watchers, and a very shrewd baGker of horsed. The course proper .had been thrown open for Cup work, »nd it was there they had chosen to test the strength of Mata's powera. Clifford was on the Cup horse and a small boy on Camballo, ■who was in wonderful heart at the time. The veiled hour of dawn served the stealthy Maorilariders in a manner that almost gave them their trial in absolute secrecy, for the attention of the very* very few bent upon seeing it was diverted by the sound of gallopSng hoofs at the top end of the sand track, and it seemed for the moment as if the Mata party had eluded those who were so despcr- , tttoly on the gui vive. Whether it was an accidental incident— this other horse on the Band track — or a ruse I never knew. But it failed, for in a trice human' legs were going at best pace across the ground to reach the course proper, and at the first faint blush of dawn away the pair ■went. Remaining at the turn into the straight, I saw the pair swing into the running-, Mata at that point going great guns, and very wide out. Clifford called for further assistance from the lad on Camballo, but the -ready response too plainly disclosed the state of affairs — "Go on! I'm done." It aieeded but little verifying, for going on like a lion Mata beat his assistant, and finished «ne of the best run trials I ever saw at Flemington. His inglorious display ia the Cup was eadly out of keeping with the high opinion formed of by many of the shrewdest backers of 'the time, and caused no end of queer things to be said. In the Royal Park Stakes, won by that sterling colt, Progress, the Maori gelding again figured in the rear, but his clever- party made no mistake in their subsequent move, for backing him with any amount of epirit he won the V .R.C. Handicap •with consummate -ease with a very smart horse next him, The Pontiff, and another Sydney ■visitor, Secundus, in third position. It needed no Rontgen rays to unveil the state of affairs, and the stewards grasping the situation' instituted 'an investigation, with the result that the horse and Ray, the trainer, ■who rode him in the Royal Park Stakes, were doomed to disqualification. The unploasant incident caused no eiid of excitement, and the judgment was generally accepted as a perfectly correct ruling. Whether Mata was ever capable of winning that Melbourne Cup must, of course, for ever remain unsettled, but in the light of subsequent affairs it seems as though tho greatest of handioaps was quite ■within his reach. In May of the following year (his disqualification not having been endorsed by Ihe A.R.C.), he was taken over to Adelaide, Harry Haines, a bookmaker and trainer of some prominence, than having him. With the fairly heavy impost or 9.2 in the Birthday Cup he beat in easy fashion at a difference of. 21b Progress, who had by a series of eeconds to the invincible Flaneur, earned the ' distinction" of being a fii-3t-class but unlucky colt : Behind the pair were some good horses, Savanaka, Suwarrow, Odd Trick, Crystal, Lothair. Rothschild (after•wards The Assyrian, Melbourne Cup winner) , Pawnbroker, President, and one or two others forming. tha field. The betting was sto 2 Mata and Progress, showing plainly the .confidence of both etables. - At the same meeting !Mata ran a dead heat with Koh-i-noor (a fairly smart .two-year-old at the time) in the All-age Stakes, s,e.ven furlongs, run in lmin 31sec, and .in the run-off he silenced the youngster very easily. . He .emphasised this form by winding- up with an easy victory in the May Handicap, under 10.5, with Blue Ribbon, Miss Harriet, Pawnbroker. Rothschild, Alethe, Baron yon Mueller, and D.O.D. (who immortalised himself by winning Ihe Goodwood Handicap, paying a totalisator dividend of £836) behind him. He thus ran three races on the one day. The going on Cup day was dreadfully heavy, and as illustrating the unshakable confidence of Progress's owner, Branch, I well remember remarking to him just before the start, "I am afraid the going will be against your colt," to which he replied, " Bah ! a good one is a good one on any ground." Branch evidently scorned the old racing axiom, " Horses for courses." I .recollect a very lively scene on the old course one morning before the Cup, when the Indian dealer of that period, the irrepressible Week;*, and Phil. Glenister became engaged in a heated discussion as to the respective chances of Mata and Progress, the outcome being that Glenister laid £500 to £450 twice on Progress against Mata. Mata • ivas sent by Haine3 on the course proper a clinking good gallop, getting over his 1£ miles in 2min 44£ cc- This had a serious effect on the opposing party, and I think I am right in saying that the supporter of Progress felt aione too fond of his wager after witnessing sc good a gallop. The upshot was Progress was- stripped there and then, and sent over the same course.by James. Wilson the younger, Savanaka taking' the colt along at a terrific pace for the first mile, and a two-year-old, Spanish Lady, bringing him home, the watch registering a half-second slower than Mata's time. Both were grear gallops, and quite near enough to each other to leave the _reBpective factions in a state of perplexity. Whether there was an amicable adjustment of tilings before the day between Glenistor , Wd Weeks I cannot for certain reonll. Bat

to show the genuine keenness existing between the rival contingents on that particular morning, the story recurs to my mind of Haines being desperately anxious to discover whether Progress had in the gallop carried more than external appearances indicated, and to gain the coveted knowledge he very indiscreetly gave Tern Hales, who had ridden the colt, a most affectionate and feeling hug when they reached the precincts of the old Turf Hotel, where they were all. located for the meeting. This very serious infringement of stable etiquette nearly called down on Haines the vengeance of Progress's trainer, but an ample apology and avowal of innocence happily averted a resort to force, and the incident ended. Not long after this highly interesting Maorilander invaded Australia, and closed tho visit in the distinctly creditable manner narrated, he returned to his native land, where he won au unimportant event or two, and bowing to the inevitable passed out of public notice.