The Timaru Cup.

Otago Witness, Issue 2426, 12 September 1900, Page 39

The Timaru Cup.

Concerning this year's racing, a few notes will suffice by way of supplementing our report. Huntingdon won the opening event easily. While not, perhaps, much above the common, he is good in his class, because reliable. Skipper, I fully believe, won the Spring Hurdles on his merits. He is o fast horse. They say he can do four furlongs on the flat in 52sec. Some thought, or after the race they thought, that Robertson made a mistake by waiting on Ilex instead of bustling them along. The answer to that is that on the second day he tried the forcing game and got beaten just as easily. The fact is that Ilex would need to be at his best to givo Skipper a stone. The Maiden Plate was as good as a walk-over for Clytie. and I'm afraid she is not as good as her dam, Neroli, who won the Dunedin Champagne. In other word's, the company was not high class. When the Cup runners were at the post Conqueror kicked Strathnairn and Aberorombie and another, and he ought to have been put on the outside of the field earlier than he was. Mr Piper got" cheered for hi? start, and he deserved it. On the first bend the outside division closed on the inside lot, and in the crowding Spider (who was trodden on) and Proposal got chopped out of their places. " This settled Spider's show. Then, when well into the straight, Conqueror broke down and swerved right across the field when lying second, interfering with Strathnairn and Proposal. The accidents of the race thus killed the chances of everything that had a show with Nihilist, and he won rather easily. The time was slow. Saracen and Jupiter are a tie for the lecorcl with 2.12J; ; Captive did the

mile and a-quartcr in 2.1-V^ Clanranakl i% 2.13 a, Double Event and Casta&Lore in 2.14-,' and Outpost in 2.15, while Nir.ilist take-, 2.16^, — the slowest of the lot. I think, howeverj that the timing this year was from the jump; ofr. Goldspur ran the Shorts, four furlongs; in 50 2-ssec from post to post, yet the official' return w"as 53sec. He won easily, but Godfrey jubt had to move on him towards the finish," when the weight was beginning to tell. Lexington showed a fine turn of speed in trying" to catch Jackoo in the Trot, lie was giving 1 , Jackoo 28sec, and the time of the race was: 4. 14-, &o if Lexington had got up he would' have been doing 3.46. In fairness, however, 1". have to add that Lexington finished 10 lengths; oway. The Welter proved to be a soft thing", for The Spinner, and St. Denis hopped off sc, smartly in the Flying as to quite secure th<a" race from the outset, Dundas being the onljj one of the pursuers that at any stage seemecj lo have a hope of overtaking. This was tha' race the result of which was quoted against tho Ellis Bros, when Jupiter won the next day, when it was pointed out that Jupiter was hf' tho Flying paying a £10 14s dividend, and lha(> he made no s"how. Mr Ellis's defence was that 1 . Jupiter is not a six-furlong horse, and that hq had no possible chance of winning after St. Denid got away with such a break. Tha stewards accepted the explanation and difrmissed the objection — a finding that is criti cl&ed by some and accepted by others. As i' was not present, that is all I can say. Huntingdon and Skipper won easily on the seeomf. day, and Sara's £1 5s in the Gladstone Handicap war, absolutely tho best of the meeting, The true odds on the Saracen Slly were £5 to i\ wooden match, for Sunrose is a lucked-up little bit of a thing (breeding all right, though, by Palli&er out of Sunrise's dam), while TolSTgawai is one of the. poorest of racers. Tho Rhodes Memorial Stages was a true-run raco. f-o far as all but one were concerned. That one was Proposal, who got a bat on the face and dropped from second to last place, and came in with blood funning, down her nose. The stewaids ought to have inquired. into this as well as th° Jupiter question. The clever crowd were all backing Coru&a for the'Seadown Handicap, the mare being credited with a good trial. She didn't reproduce it in the race, but may do so in some other before long. There aro some very funny things said about this race. The Stewards' Welter was fairly won by Abercrombje. Backers blundered in overlooking him. Tn the Farev/ell, Proposal fell back and came again, getting up c-n the inside. Her ownc had nothing on her. .

sfc lb S<7 LaP.ose. 4yis ... 711 Pharp ..-£1 lfi (I 888 EveVg Star, 4yrs 6 0 George ... 22 ]<) (1 SB9 -t Malo, 4vra... 7 0 Budrficomb 3 5 G 890 St. Malo, 5y r ... S 7 Matthews 411 6 iB9I Cla^ranakl, 3yrs 7 8 Hiegott ... 216 n 592 Crackshot, syis 813 Derrett ... 2 8 (1 !S & 3 Liberator aged 8 2 Deiretfc ... 731 0 804 Saiaren, svrs ... 8 12 Shaw ... 4 8 (1 895 Outpost. syis ... 8 1 Pine ... 711 'i Sflfi faptivo. Bg.-d ... 7 12 Tt' iubow... 2o fi (1 897 D'bleEveDt, iyis 7 0 M'TJonaH 732 0 :SPB Cast a shore, O'yrs 730 .Tackscn ... fi IB 0 899 Jnpitpr. 6vrs ... 8 3 M'Comb ... 4 13 fl 900 Nihilist, syrs ... 8 0 Frown ... 715 0