THE V.R.C. MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 39

THE V.R.C. MEETING.

Mr W. Forrester, the Sydney man who won the Melbourne Cup with The Grafter, landed the coveted Newmarket Handicap at Flemington last Saturday. He started two, Watchdog and Saraswati. Both ran in the chief event at the Bushmen's Contingent meeting in Sydney on the 16fch ult., the Niagara filly carrying 8.13 and Watchdog 9.4, with the result thac Saraswati won and Watchdog ran second. The latter was the one the public backed, and it is generally believed the owner barked him as well. But Watchdog got away badly, and his determined run only landed him in second place. This was the performance, no doubt, on the strength of which Watchdog was made favourite for the Newmarket Handicap. The confidence was thoroughly justified, the race being a gift to him from end to end. Last year Forest came out at the ' half-distance for the lead that gained him the prize. This year the other horses reeiied simply unable to foot it with Watchdog. The time, livin 16 c :ec, is exactly the same as last year. The record "for the Newmarket Handicap is Amiable's lmm 14sec : and other performances faster than this year's and last year's a^e : Carlton, Imin 14-ifcec : Laundress, lmin 15sec ; Wild Rope, lmin 15j:see ; For tuna tvs, lmin 15£ sec ; Hova, lmin 152SGC : Maluraa, lmin 15£ see. We cannot regard lmin 16* ec as fast. I should like to back Blazer, with weight-for-age. to beat it, and even at 10.0 he would not be far away in any but the very fastest Newmarkets. It is almost a pity that he ha? not gone over in qne of the ls*st two yearo to show them what a New Zealand sprinter can do. I am sure, however, that if it were I, instead of Mr Solomon that' had the luck to own Blazer I would not have sent him across. There is too much risk of accident and losing condition, and it is only the owner who has three or four in his team that can afford the luxury of such an experiment as a voyage to " the other side." A case in point is supplied by Seahorse. He fell lame in the shoulder after leaving Auckland, was patched up, and went to pot in his race on the first day. which means a few hundred pounds out of Major George's pocket. This race that Seahorse started in, by the way, resulted in a thorough boil-over. Eridsdale, who won the two Tasmanian Cups, won pretty well as he liked from what we may suppose was about a^ strong a weight-for-age "field of seniors as Australia can get together. The St. Leger also found the favourite beaten, but I should hardly suppose that was much of a surprise, as Merriwee was reported amiss, whilst Parthian, never rauob. infarior to the Cus and

Derby winner, had, a week or so previously*, proved his condition by winning a good raca at Caulfield. I expect we shall find, when the full particulars come to hand, that the Sydney public had a decent day, what with the success of Parthian and the victory of Watchdog.