TALK OF THE DAY. BY MAZEPPA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2389, 14 December 1899, Page 35

TALK OF THE DAY. BY MAZEPPA.

CAPTIVE, DECEASED. Maid of Honour, when put to the stud, did no good in her matings with the mighty Musket. ( One of liis foals was born dead, next season the mare slipped his foal, and Precedence, born in 1885, did not prove a success. Between whiles Ma^d of Honour produced a dead colt to Leolinus, and missed to Ingomar. Then the Stud Company mated her with her countryman, Captivator, who had been exchanged for Anleros, and at last she threw something really good in Freedom, who made himself and his dam famous by winning the Canterbury Cup, the Otago Cup, and the Dunedin Cup. Dishonour, also by Captivator, was born the year after Freedom. He did no good. Then came Captive, and -Maid of Honour was next put to fngomar, by. whom she bore Barbarian. This colt and the mare were sold to Mr W. R. Wilson, of Vic-' toria, at the Stud Company's final auction. When Captive wae put up as a yearling Freedom had not made his master-stroke.by defeating Lebel, Crackshot, and.. Flinders .in th.c Canterbury Cup, but his worjh was established by his Otago uup and Dunedin Cup. performances, and it was on the strength of these that Mr Dan O'Brien paid 225gs for the youngster, Freedom'? brother. His' preparation was not hurried. He had a run, when only' partially fit, in the Middle Park Plate, won by Vogengang, and was then kept till the autumn, when ho started second favourite for the Russley Stakes, and beat the favourite, Variety, but had to knock under to Reflection, who won by a nose and paid £15 10s dividend. Next day, with not a great concession in the weights, he beat Reflection and the others opposed to him in the Nursery Handicap. Brown had the honour of the first winning mount on this colt. In hie three:year-old season Captive disappointed his owner badly, being defeated eight times in succession, and O'Brien then sold the youngster to Stewart Waddell, who out of five starts that season won with Captive the Post Stakes at South Canterbury, and then ran his celebrated and oft-discussed dead-heat with Melinite in the Birthday-Han-dicap. This was the race in which it was asserted Hippomenea cam,e too late. As* <?.. four-year-old Captive ran no fewei than 25 times, and I suppose he paid his way all right, ab he earned £442 in stake money and won eight races, the total dividends being £32 18e, at the rate-of £1 per race. All of these wins, hovfever, excepting one, were on country courses. The exception was the St. Claii" Welter at the Forbury, in whicli ho paid £12 ss. In his five-year-old career Captive started 10 times, and won nothing but the North Otago Spring Handicap. Casket had been reckoned a good' thing for thiß race, and Captivo paid £7 ss. Reaching Mb sixth year, Captive lost the Kensington Handicap to Maremma, and Stewart Waddell then sold" him to the Loughlin-Kett stable, who landed the Selling Race with him at Barmby's Otago Cup meeting, and then let him go to Mr Tom. Grose's bid of £15— one of the few mistakes that Johnny Lough lin made. He reckoned Captive done. But Ted Hankins- doctored up the cripple' with such success that he won the Selling Race at the Birthday meeting," paying £74, and next day he won the St. Olair Welter from Beadonwell and ; Jane Eyre, paying £13

JLls ; .and in the .following spring he annexed ■ •the Welter at the Otago Hunt Club meeting, following this up by beating a strong field in the Tiraaru Cup, in which he paid £26 ss. "On the i'.cngth of fliis he was well .backed for the 1 -v; Zealand Cup; but the job -was boyoDd hie powers, and as a matter of faot he never won -another -race, but went from bad lo worse, and wound up "his life in the retirement of a country life. It was .his miracu- ■ ious Terival late in his career that made him a talked-about hor3e. | i THE TOTALISATOR IN JSLS.W. j It is not quite tettled whether the totalisator is to flourish in New South V/aies. So "Umpire" writes in the Sydney Referee, and he' adds : Uut the preliminary stage has "been ! passed of the -bill having got through the Legislative Council, where it was introduced. It now has to pass the Assembly, and what is to be its fate there is a matter of speculation. Ab far as I «an learn it is very unJikely that the Government will espouse the 'cause, and certain members of the Cabinet will be among the opponents of the bill. Against that there will be many advocates Tor legalising the machine, and it is difficult ' to forecast what the fate of the bill will be. • The passage of the bill in the Council was due in a great measure co the support of the chairman of the Jockey Club, the Hon. W. j / Long, as -well as of Mr H. C. Dangar, a member of the committee, and Mr J._H. Want, racingvmen with seats in the Council, who all used .their influence in 'support of it. All the old ground was worked over by advocates for j and opponents of the machine. A class -very ' much interested in the fate of the bill is the \ bookmaking fraternity, and though mfinbers ; of the ring appear to be taking no active steps " to bring pressure to bear, they are, of course, • hoping it will not become law. Racing men are divided, as usual, but if the question were left to owners and prominent turfites, the . chance 3 are they would urefer to rae betting left to the t-ookmakers. "if the general public who follow racing had their way, by a majo- ' rity vote, the machine would probably be in- , stalled, and in these colouia3 the sinews of war for carrying on The sport iB mainly found by the cash support given to carry it on by the general public. ■ The principle of allowing people who bel to settle their own odds is a sound one, and even a.rtei the heavy percen- j tage taken out of. the pooled funds before the winners get their dividends, it may be that the betting people will have as much returned io them ap they gel •at present in dealing ■with bookmakers. The machine is costly to invpstors, but then it takes a good deal of money to maintain tlte army of Dookmakers, -who do not wcrk for nothing. They are not philanthropists, but of course risk their own capital, and stand to maka losse3 as well • as profits. In the long run they make profits, or the "business of bookmaking would die out. OEowever, tho racing i^ublic have been pretly well catered for in the past by the ring, and there seems to be no 'impatient demand for tlie totalisator here. Yet it is bound to come one day, and possibly we are within measurable distance of seeing the totalisator the law i taf the land. There seems to be no chance j of the bill . coining before tbe Assembly in j Ihe few days left of the present season. After the recess- Parliament -will not l>e called again . "for sev'erxil months, -and the -chances are no- • thing will bo heard of the bill again until the ' •middle of next year, so thai seven or eight months at-least will pass before there is any hope of the totalieator Iseing legalised. '.' THE TOTALISATOR GENERALLY. In speaking on the lotalisator question in the New South Wales Legislative Council it is reported of Sir Arthur Renwick that he spoke these words : "It has been said that the totalisator would improve the breed of vacehorses, that it would decrease the tendency to crooked running, that it would suppress the more objectionable kinds of betting, that it would decrease embezzlement, and that it ■would improve the character of racing generally. Not one of these things, iinforlunately, will be carried out by the establishment of this instrument. It has been tried in the various colonies, and in every colony where it is practised not one of these results lias been realised." I dp 'not know that wo are pinned down to this list of advantages. It was compiled by one of the New South Wales advocates for the machine, and protjaWy he knows only what he has been told about the matter. As one who saw the fust of the totalisator in New Zealand, and has taken nptice of it continuously to date, I should be inclined, if challenged to argue for the machine, to shape the cape a little differently. But the five points of merit here catalogued are "by no means unworthy of consideration, and I desire to Bay a word or two on them by way of answer to Sir Arthur Ren- • ■wick, whoever "he may be, sinoe he directly -Etateß, that in the totalisator colonies not, one of the advantages' mentioned has bean brought^ about. First, as to improving the breed of horses. Well, I am not disposed to make ~much of thiß, for it was never seriously contended here that the machine would improve the breed — all that the totalisator advocates . said was tfiat it would not bring about a deterioration, and that, I think, has been ' amply borne out by the record?. Welcome j Jack, Oudeis, Trenton, Carbine, Maxim, Lo- , chiel, Merganser, Manton, Tirailleur, St. > Hippo, Bluefire, Bloodshot, Euroclydon, , Waiuku, Multiform, Gold Medallist, and fiea- ! horse are products of the totalizator period, and it may .be safely said that this lot includes the very best horses New Zealand has ever eeen. It cannot 'be seriously argued to the contrary. And as to values, I cannot just at the moment put my hand on the early reports of sales, but I have in front of me the Middle Park sale result of 18£0— a date before the totalisator began to have much effect — und this shows that tho Middle Park yearlings • ' fetched an average of 24Sgs, a figure not ', much ahead of the 235gs which the Wellington Park -yearlings averaged last January., ,if the result of 20 years' experience of the tota- . lisator has been to reduce the value of yearlings by only logs per head, there is not much damage done in that direction. The second item in the oatalogue is that the machine decreases the tendency to crooked running. This is proved to the complete gatisJaction of all whose recollection carries back to the seventieF. In those days .a backer was never safe against the chicanery of the thiev- _ ing class of owners. I know what I speak in saying that when the Ring had a monopoly of betting the public were bought and Bold in tho most shameless -manner. Over the big . races there was a substantial corpus lo be - carved up. The bookmakers had big sums in their books, and it frequently happened that whether the public had a run or Jiot depended on arrangements made quite nrjart from their interests. The system became rotlcn and corrupt, and this paved the way for the totalisator. If those who misused their opportunities had been more careCul tho advent of tho machine might have been delnyed. Does Ihe totalisator ensure straight racing? I Fay emphatically that it does. At Christchurch this for example, I could only gee or

hear of one horse that was under the least suspicion of being a "waiter," and I am not sure that he was on that lay. That crooked things are still done X must admit, but it is well known that the important races are honestly contested. The " byes " are mostly run in small events, where there is not enough of the totalisator influence to ensure straightness. The third statement, that the machine suppresses the more objectionable kinds of betting, is a truism. The " more objectionable kinds." to my ir-ind, are the kinds of which betting on tick .and to extravagant amounts are the woret examples. Most of our betting now is for oash, and backers generally only risk what they can afford to pay. This also applies to the statement that the totaliEator -decreases embezzlement. There is less temptation to steal when ri. man bets on race days instead df months ahead. I would remark here, .however, that tliere never has been anj T epidemic, of embezzlement in New Zealand under any system. The last assertion, that the .machine improves the character of racing generally, is rather wide in its terms, and I am not quite sure that I know what it means ; but we can safely say that our racecourses are now orderly, that the' racing j is as good as ever, if not better, and tiiat gradually the public are learning that it is not j a reproach to go and see the races and per- j chance put a pound on. If these changes indicaje an improvement in the chaiacter of our racing, then it is improved. j PRIVATE TIPSTERS. In England the tipster is-Juaving a bad time of it. Says " Ranger " : In what i 3 known as the "bkek country" — of which Binning-, ham may iv regarded as the chief centre of sweetness -uul light — there is more punting done tTiar in any other Christian or partly civilised community. "We have a startingprice bookmaker at every street corner here," writes a rion-espondent fTom a town in the province indicated. " and they all do a large, if not n. particularly profitable, business. Many o'«" them complain, indeed, that their customers know mere than they do ; and it is a. noteworthy fact that such bookmakers in this district do *not seem to get very rich. One was asked the other day how it is that the small punters are so successful in finding winner.? at starting-price, when he replied with just indignation : ' Find 'em, indeed ! That's not the word for it at all. Why, bless your heart, they don't find them now, they smell 'em, and if they had more than one nose each, I do not know,' he rafsed his eyes piously, ' who would come forward to feed the destitute bookies.' '' We are also assured, and wo accept the statement implicitly, that these small punter-s are entirely independent of any such external advice as that given by tipsters, whom they hold in holy abhorrence. No sort of a tipster can get bread and cheese in those parts, and he certainly cannot get much more in any neighbourhood at the present time ; while if he were obliged to be content with leFs, far less, than an irxegular diet, no one would feel for him the smallest amount of -sympathy. It is surprising, however, in connection with starting-price business in a busy sporting locality, how quickly information is disseminated as to what are termed *' the warm goods." A vcommksion done -at tha clubs soon becomes known ; there are .agents to spread it about, to y-wire it Io innumerable clients without the-lo?s of. a moment ■; nnd thus even modest punters often act upon the most genuine insniration of all — that which money supplies. This is imVubitably the best tipster, "being far -rnqre Tollable than are the gentlemen in that line who walk about with holes in their boots, on "whispering" thoughts intent. THE APPvIL FOOL CASE. Mr Dakin's application for an inquiry into the contradictory performances of April Fool at the late Spring meeting did not come before the "V.R.C. Committee until Friday of last week, says the Australasian of the 2nd December, and in the meantime explanations of the horse's failure in the Carnival Handicap had been given by the interested parties, which the committee deemed sufficient. Had Mr Dalcin made his complaint directly after April Fool ran away with the Final Handicap, an investigation would, no doubt, have been entered upon at once, but he did not move until the following morning, and in the meantime Air F. Foy, the owner, and John All?op, the trainer, had returned to Sydney. Directly he read of Mr Dakin's action Mr Foy made an affidavit .setting forth his explanation of why April Fool Tan so badly in one race and so well in tho other. This was at once forwarded to the V.R.C., and before last week'B meeting was held the committee were in possession of affidavits from J. Allsop, the vrainer, and also H. Callinan. tie jockey who rode Apiil Fool when he ran in the Carnival Handicap. The&e three sJtatcments contained, we , believe, not only a eorro'boration of Mr Foy's . ns'-erlion that the saddle "pinched" April ! Fool in the Carnival Handicap, but gave" other details which tended to convince the committee that there was no necessity to go further into the matter. Nofains; luis come out since Mr Dnkin made "his application to "cause anyone to believe that the parties concerned were blasnablo for April Fool's erratic running, , and those parties having given all the information ia thpir power, the committee saw no acjvan- ' tagc in ptimiing the matter any further. It is a novel thing to refuse* a handicapper an investigation, but to a certain extent the affidsviu bupplied tho satisfaction Mr Da kin had a clear right to demand, and for the rest the handicapper was thanked for the rrtion he" took. Mr Francis Foy is regarded in Sydney as one of the bebt sportsmen in Austialia, and the next time he sendu his horpes this wry we hope they will ''run to form," in- ! stead of incurring the displeasure of the public as Yoyou and April Fool did this spring. AMERICA'S BEST RACING MARE. Charles E. Brossman. who trains the chami>ion American mare Imp, euy£ of her in a New Yoxi. jsaper ; Turfmen in the East have ; always been inclined to underrate Inro, but thai, taking her pciformances a? a whole, she i- the gre.ites-l mare seen on the turf in America for many years is now everywhere conceded. I was criticised severely at the "beginning of the Eeaeon for the syrtsm of training which I followed out with her, many trainers. a» well as turf writers, claiming that I started -her too frequently, and worked her too hard between races; but the proof of tne pudding is in the oaliiiß, and her Suburban, Brighton .Handicap, and other victories Fhow that I knew the mare better than my critics. To-day she is in as good shape as at any other time in her career, sound as a bell, nnd every year her ability to etay seem 3to improve, while she has never shown the slightest symptom c. r soreness. As a two-year-old I had difficulty in getting her to do even a half-mile, and until two years ago a mile was her limit, that, is, al her- best. Libl j'ear she ran and won at a mile ai"l an eigulh and a mile and a-quarter, and tki-i year phe has won races at a mile and a-quarter. smashing records i-c\ar?.l times, carrying -weights that would stop .any horec in America. I have not the exact data now, but I am

quite positive that Imp has been "in the money" more than a hundred times during her career, and if Mr Harness and I do not decide to breed her this year, she will -be "in the money*' many times more. Imp -was bred by her present owner, D. R. Harness, of Ohillicothe, Ohio, who also bred her dam, Fondling, and still owns the mare. When Imp leturned to Chillicothe last winter after her successful campaign, the entire city turned out to welcome her, and after her Suburban and-other victories limagine that-jvhen we next return th-ero will be a regular Dewey parade. Imp deserves everything that can do honour to her, for a sweeter dispositioned, faster, or gamer mare never wore plates. CERISE AND BLUE. That game little mare Cerise and Blue died after foalmg at Tucka Tucka (N.S.W.) last month. '"Terlinga" says that she was one of the best little biip of horseflesh that ever carried a saddle, and her victory in the Sydney Cup probably gave Mr Oxenham the best win he had ever had up to that time. And Eince then Waterfall's Caulfielcl Cup must be the only race which has brought Mr Oxenham in more money. Cerise and Blue came to Flemington for the Melbourne Cup of 1885. She had 6.0. and Mr Oxenham backed her for a large stake down to 20 to 1, but with Trsnton, Sheet Anchor, and Grace Darling all in at less than 8.0, the pony who carried Gorry had no chance. She ran well up to the turn, however, and won the Spring and Free Handicaps before the meeting was -over. In Iho autumn, CeriEe and Blue, with only 6.13 on -her back, went out at 20 to 1 for the Auytralian Cup, the general belief being that she "could not stay. She did stay, but .had not tlie dash to resist the 'brilliant run made by Malua at the finish, and was beaten by a length. I always look -upon Malua 's victory under 9.9 in this raoe as about the best performance he ever accomplished. Apart from I Ceripcj :md Blue, there was First Prince at 6.2, regarded as unbeatable c-y James Wilson. : jun., "but a close third was the best he could do. Cerise next won the Free Handicap, and then going home phe took the Liverpool "Handicap under 8.12. She was a very hardlyused mare, as she was pulled out and just beaten in successive races at Rosehill on \pril 10, and was third for the E awkesbury Handicap five days later. Hard work must have agreed with the little mare, however, as she won the Sydney Cup, giving 15lb to Silvermine and 21b to Britisher. Then she beat Trident, Maddeliua, and Chefham in the Allaged Stakes, but failed in the A.J.C. Plate. Such a. racehorse mu^Be a gold mine to a man who bets, and I expect Cerise and Blue's year was the best Mr Oxenham ever had. X>ANDY JOCKEYS. It must be distinctly trying at limes to our crack jookeys, who are, without exception, the glass of fashion and the mould of form as far as dres3 goe3, to be riding amongst, and occasionally beaten by, an opposition that sports leather belts and gold finger rings, says an English writer. Most of our own horsemen may be dandies in a small way, but they draw the line at effeminacy. The 'only two horsemen of my time who were seemingly quite indifferent to the • distractions of dress were Jem Snowden, who *was more often drunk than sober — once, at Richmond, in -Yorkshire, I saw him actually vomit' fronv the saddle after riding a winner-— and o^d Johnnie Osborne, who never wore a collar. in his life, I believe. But, at any rate, these' were fjfown men to be beaten by ; to be spreadeagled by a little boy -who, en doffing, the breeches and the f=ilk, j promptly 'donned p. shabby-genteel sebooi suit of jacket and knickerbockers, and was flying out to the fruit stand in -the paddock- to bury the lower features of his face in a meUovsr pear — well, as God's irrcelaimables of lellnpton and Whitechapc! are wont to observe, "liv no class." Yet this was as I saw little Johnnie Riefr, the latent Yankee - feather-weight, at' Kempton Park the other dr.y. LEVANTER IN IRELAND. The ex-New Zealand steeplechaser has been giving Hibernian sportsmen . a taste of nis quality over country. At the Limerick meeiing on October 11, with 10.^ in the saddle, and piloted by Tim Maguire, he finished fourth ia the Tradesman's Plate, a steeplechaFe, two miles ; but on the second day, over a distance of three miles, and with 3ib legs to cany, the New Zealander scored an easy wir. Commenting on the performance, Sport says: The Citizens' Plate attracted a field of 12, and after Cruiskeen II seemed as if she would Etart in very much the best demand, a run on Levanter quickly brought him fiom ten 3 to 3 to 1, and at tlie latter rate he and Cruiskcen- II were on the Fame mark. Sir Hansard v.-ii 3 well backed at four B -, and there was also some money for Aughcmore and Wild Flower al 8 to 1. Cruiskeen II came to grief at an early point, and Germaine also came down. About seven furlongs from home it seemed a3 if the issue were reduced to Sunny Shower anil Blue Bag of which pair the latter made' i the greater part ,of the running, but although at the time Levaviter was many lengths in the rear, he had no sooner crossed the regulation ( fence than ho <dashed up lo the leaders, and - taking command before tho turn for home, despite the fact of his running as wide as it was possible for him to run, he sailed home a very easy winner, so cosy that it would be difficult to determine what he had in hand. That Levanter is a Tare stayer there cannot be the least doubt, and now that lie appears to understand our fences, it is on the cards that very his?h honours in the cross-country •arena await him. Tales as to the manner in which his training is conducted are told that appeir very strange to our insular ideas, nnd amono; others, that his stable door is frequently left open, so thul he may walk out . and enjoy himself wWbn he pleases. Such a course was certainly adopted with him at Limerick where a couple of our- best known Cnrragh trainers thought he had broken loose when they found him strolling abou-t ihe yard in which their htfrses were also stabled. However, Maguire, the trainer of Levanter, was in no way concerned, and simply remarked the hoys» knew his way -about. Granted that Ijcvan'.cv can be trusted to negotiate the Amtr?o country he must require a lot of healing ip. the .Seffon fiteeplechsiKe with 10.1, und very likely he will be a murh-tni'ced-of animal for the coming Grand Nr.'.ioiii'. THE FEILDING MEETING. " Girth," in tho New Zealand Mail, has the rr:ost rwdable report of this mealing- that I have come across, and I cancel my ov.n para^rnph in favour of one built up on extracts from the writer named: — There was a fair attendance on the first day, though nothing like j-o large as a fine Afcndai' will produce. Tho course was in capital order and everything went smoothly. Without doubt it is the best kept and laid-out track between Wellington and "Wanganui, and almost in the middle of the town. Tlie appointments ?re perfect, with the exception of t-he stand, which is too low, and badly placed with the judge's box, for tho judge,

who is a big man, invariably 4iangs half-way-out of his box during a Tace, ' and greatly interferes with the view from the bottom corner of the straight to the distance post. It was a innovation to have eight races on .the card, and not a -particularly good one ; seven are quite enough. Proceedings commenced with the Flying Handicap, six lurlongs. Sedgbrook 8.9 was made favourite, but the old rogue refused to gallop K _and was unplaced. Only half "of the 18 coloured on the card went to the post for the Maiden Hack Flat, one mile and a distance. They were not a very gaudy lot. The start was a bad one, Westguard being left altogether. Siverlock was always handy, and won by a length, Punui an indifferent third. The St. Andrew's Handicap saw all seven acceptors go to the post. Crusoe, who won this race last "year, looked well, and was sent out. favourite. Jadoo and Ambrosia were in front for the first mile, Crusoe and First Blood whipping in. At the half mile Crusoe moved forwnrd while Jadoo fell "back, leaving Toa with Ambrosia. "When fairly in the straight Toa was done with, and Crusoe shot out. Ambrosia came again, and in a few strides farther would have won. Hanp-fire was made a red-hot favourite for the Spring Hurdles, one mile and three-quarters, in a field of five, but the outsider of the party Light, who has won some goo4^;ace3 on the flat, -beat him «, neck in the run home. In this race the rider of Marina 11.7 raced after the lightly--weighted Coin from the fall of the flag ? and, moreover, lost a lot of ground by running wide after getting over the stand hurdle, which he made up tit once. Bangfire . looked the winner at the 'last hurdle, but was beaten for pace in the run home, -Light making up a let of ground, as he was fourth over the last jump. The Hack "Hurdles saw the downfall of another -favourite in Bulrush, who finished last. Whetu, who was next in demand, fell at the stand hurdle. Verbena won very easily. All the eiglit coloured went out for the Hpek Flat, one mile and a-qunrter. Uila won with little to spare from the favourite Philanthropist, who was not handled very we'I 1 . 'The Kiwitea Stakes brought out seven contestants, Toa bei.i't rrost fancied. Ho did not mui'h fancy his Eccond outing, however, end was ;:n indifferent third to the Wellington winner, Falka, who won all the way. Bona Fide was looking well, but was, never in it; he can show 'better form than this. Tho Hack Flying brought the day's sport to a finish. Nine faced tbe starter, there being two absentees. 1 Sentry wont out favrairite, and won easily from Uila. ' Philanthropist 8.5, tho third horse, got away badly, and again "the jockey was criticised. The opening of tho second clay seemed to -proznibs fair, and fc-.v had made any preparations for the tremendoiiß downpour 'that set in at about 2 p.m., and lasted till 3.20, preatly interfering with the totaTlisator returns iov the. Plack Hurdles find Manchester Handicap, also making the colours nearly indistinguishable. The Shorts Handicap opened the ball. Sadgbrooki won easily. A protest 'wao entered against him for inconsistent running 1 . As a lule I baie -these incon-eis-tent running protests, tliey being generally laid by those who are that way inclined fheinhdves—^not that in this insta-uce i mean any reflection on the "Flyingshot stable ; .but every locegoer knows what an old rogue Scclgebrook is, and how -utterly 'unreliable. The stewards very properly dismissed the -jiratest, and- T hepe ianpo-anded the deposit. 'The.Hack Iplat brought out eitrht r,tir.r.oiT. There .were four scratohings. Philanthropirst, very -well handled by DavJF, ;vvon easily. Philanthropist is a great big ho73e with au enormous stride, who, if his front legs will stand. shouH win a good v,':?. f:oon. ilr.rhia did not accept for the Hurdle Kaco, and Hangdre aq;ain went out favourite in a field of foi.r. Watershol and Coin had the race all to them£j?lvc3 for the last half of thn journey, the former winning by a head. "Verbena was made favourite for the has: Hurdles, v/l.ich was u;n in a driving rain. Ruapehu, after lyina; a bit far back, easily accounted for j\ayborn, Omina, and eight others. The rain, which Iv.id been ba£l in the preceding r.ice, was worse when the hordes went oni for the Manchester Handicap. Crusoe pgam won from Ambrosia, though much easier than befoiv. Firat Blootl was the £-burp5 y "lip, but wap beaten n quarter of a mile from home. Blockade, simply revelling in the mud, easily a*>prop: ialed the Welter B.ack. The Hnilwcy Handicap orqci'iced au interesting r.ice bpL-. pen the uhrci -placed horses. Govvrie ,d ir.io the 'T.aigln. jt.Ci looked all over the. winner. Tea and i'alkii being hard ridden, caught him opposite ; bts stand, and 'Toa lasting the lonccrl wi'ii all cut by three ptrls of a length. Fcmrteov> out of the twenty-two went for tho Final Hack Scurry. Thcic wore several goocl tilings wins pered about, and, as Is FcYiom t'te 'case, thfy. alljcen well, the picked hora;e3 being woll ebjv ported. Eidardown won front* Thurhpot and Blaekjacket. The third horse will be worth , watching, and will win i\ race lnler on.

BIG BETTING ON TROTS.

The great American .three-yearrold trottingevent of the year, -the Kentucky Futurity of 16,000d01, was won by a chestnut gelding named Boralma, who wa# purchased a few • days before the event by T" W. Law Eon, of Boston, for 17.000d01. Boralma's new owner had a pluuga .on him, winning Eomethrhg like 25,000dql at a price very little better than even money. The whole affair was sensational, as three weeks before -the race Boralma was comparatively unknown. Before the meeting was over, however, the books eased Laweon of a good share of his Boralma winnings. This waf brought about by means of the Transylvenia, an event for 2.13 class trotters, which was regarded &c a certainty for a horse named Peter the Great, and Lawson laid odds of 2 to 1 on him to further orders. Peter the > Great won the first two heats easily, but was boaton in the next three, and when the horse j came out for the sixth, which was for winners J only, Peter bad gone so much out of favour that a "bookmaker named Andy Walch offered j lO.OOOtlol to 5000dol againct him, which Lawfou promptly accepted. The horse was ' beaten. After it was over Lawson paid he 1 knew Peler could not win at the time he i took Mis wager, but he could not stand the bookie trying to bluff him. '|

THE WINGATUI DOUBLE

Peter Grant gets home with a fair hit on behalf of his firm. Last week, it may be remembered, I told the story of a man who refused the bookmaker's .price about tho double of Jupiter and Paladin, and did a lot better by backing those horses singly. That is the subject that Mr Grant refers to. But i will let him tell his own yarn: — "I noticed the par re the price a friend of yours was offered" against the double .Jupiter and Paladin, and in which you comment on the difference of the price between the books and the machine. As you have always been willing to listen to anything in favour of the booky, 1 thoupht T mi. r ;ht drop you a line to mention that I laid 150 to 7^ Jupiter and Paladin the night before tlie race wds run, which 1 think works out al 20 .to 1 against the machine's 13

-to 1. We also laid the favourite T\ray ..at 100. to 5, or 20 to 1, against 5i 'to "1,. which, iho. machine would have paid. Although, as you , truly remarked, the Cup and Federal was a. I book a man had -to 'bk very -careful with, I j think that even -in this case our prices -wall compare very favourably with tlie .automatons, ] both as regards tlie iavourites and 'the outsiders." This seems quite clear, and -all 1 can say; is that Barnett und Grant w"ere .offering a good price, whilst tlie bookmaker referred to, who doeß mot belong to Dunedin, ! was laying a short one.

A REMINISCENCE.

" Old Timer," a veteran" sportsman of the best -sort, eends the following: — "JO>out the year 1857 a gentleman named Bower jode a horse called Wandering Jew. in b, steeplechase at Brighton, near Melbourne. Wandering Jew and his owner were well-known good perfoimers with tho Melbourne hounds. The steeplechase was won "by George "Watson on J Lottery, a horse brought over 'by him 'from Tasmania. The rider of Wandering 3ew -in this steeplechase has, I believe, proved himself not only a good crosscountry but also a first-class amateur steeplechase rider. Of the race in question it is reported that he did not want his relatives to know -that Jie was riding, and that he wore false whiskers and moustadhe, which xduring the race worked up - in such a way as to nearly blind him. I wonder whether this gentleman is the ownerl of Meriwee? " -

PALMERSTON'S BOXING DAY RACES,

Mr Dowae'<B handicaps 'for these races' ap-: pear in this issue. The Cup is-a particularly hard race to -pick, and perhaps Edelweiss i* about as good a shot .at it as-*one call' make thus early, -unless, indead, *he .should be reserved ior the shorter a-aoes. I give Witch-; craft and Gladys II a show in something durn ing the day. Next week will be time enough to give a definite tip.