CLIPPINGS FROM EXCHANGES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 44

CLIPPINGS F ROM EXCHANGES.

Of Fred Archer, we are told that towards the close of his career he must have suffered a martyrdom to keep himself within riding weight. He did his wasting in the Turkish bath, and took a wineglassful of wasting mixture every night. In his own house his friends had eveiy luxury — viands of the richest and wines of the best. His meal would be confined to a small piece of bread,

the marrow out of the bones, -M-d a glats of champagne. It is a w-eil-knowff&ict that an artificial reduction of bodily weight is calculated to unhingo the mind, and had Archer not reduced him, elf in oreler to rule St. Minn for the _Cambrielgcshire we might have had him with us now. In all probability he was never more confklem of winning a race, and it is certain that he never tried harder. The Cambridgeshire was the only impoitant race l.c had never won, and his words vwre singularly prophetic when he observed to Mr Corlett the evening before: "If I cannot win it tomorrow I s'lall never try again." Poor fellow ! A fortnight later lie was a corpse.

Osborne pronounced FoiJham to be the king of jockcyp. Fordham's ugly seat was always made worse in appearance by the careless manner he adopted m going to the post, and an incurable habit he had of shrugging his shouldei--. His eminence and almo3t phenomenal success at) a jockey weie as mucn clue to his talents a3 to his gcod fortune. It ha^s been truly said that without the adventitious aid of the fickle goddess, the highest accomplishments in hoi«emanship are good for nothing. When he had established a reputation, Fordham naturally had a choice of good mounts. He had good hands, which were only surpassed by his expertness in gammoning in a race. Ris "kidding," to use a slang phrase, gained him "The Kid' for a nickname. Another element of his .uccess was that he never gave up riding a horse until he was pa.=t tli3 post, so as -v. be there in the count for any mishap taki ig place to the leader, and never was th.« policy better exemplified than in his rid~-g of Starke. When one buys property it may be con. sidered as valid proof that he has the equivalent. Much lias been said about the Reiff winnings in K^gland, and (says an American paper) the best proof of the gathering in of English gold lies in the purchase of the Triestian Burgess orchard, close to San Jose, Cal. Thp, price is given as £4200, and the property includes 33 acies of fine orohard and a fine residence. Reiff announces that he will turn the orchard into an ideal roadhouse and country club, where gentlemen can enjoy all manner of outdoor and indoor Eports. Golf links, bowling alleys, and other attractions will make the place popular.

Apropos to the improvement of the horsebreeding industry in Australia, the following extract from a btter published m the London Sportsman is worthy of attention. — "Good ioo'.s and apparent souudiieid aru admirable qualifications, but they are not tha only requirements in a btalLon. Plenty of people can judge a lioise by his looks; but soundness, wliich is^ absolutely essential, cannot be guaranteed unless tlie horse's powers of endurance and stamina have been put to the test. If we cannot breed thoroughbred stallions big enough for our requirements, we must create them by crossing; but I am not at all fiure that we cannot breed thoroughbred stallions big enough for anything. Queen's premiumsgood as the prizes arc — are not sufficient to induce the owner* of the most likely young thoroughbreds to keep them as stallions. Young horses of the class of Cncle Jack are worth from £500 to £1000 as likely steeplechasers, and they are, as a rule, consequently cut. "What would such horses as Manifesto, Ambush 11, or Uncle Jack be worth to a country that wants to breed strong, sound horses? There arc plenty of thoroughbred horses as big, and bigger, than these to be got ; but if they arc not proved stayers, or if they have not bscn 'through the mill,' their stock may prove as poft as themselves. I should still advocate Queen's premiums being given ; but, to prove the worth of a stallion, I should suggest some test as a guarantee of his goodness, so that we should not be using, as we very often do now, untried animals, with no recommendation except untested soundness and good look«. At present there is no inducement to keep our big horses stallions, as they can certainly be more easily trained as geldings. Surely this must be wrong in principle! If Derby and St. Leger winners are deemed the best to breed from to get racehorses capable of carrying from Bst to 9et for a milp and a -half, surely winners over three or four milo3 of country, carrying from 12sl to 13st, mu;t be the best to breed from for all piactical purposes, where strength and stamina are required ! Our very beat thoroughbred horses (which I maintain these latter are for all purposes except speed) are sacrificed year after year, and will be so until some inducement is given to encourage their being kept as stallions. I am all against Government aid ; but if there is money to be given away, let it be given to keep our strongest colts as stallions. The French Government give long races for stallions, and buy the winners. Our Queen's premiums might be added to our biggest steeplechases (provided they were won by stallions), and thus, at any rate, encourage the perpetuation of our hardiest and strongest strain "

H. Francis, who brought Boreas back from Sydney to Auckland, informed " Spectator " that on the day before his departure from New Zealand for Sydney with Advance that horse got cast in his box, and cut the inside of his knee. This filled on the boat, and he fomented the le;? all the way over. After landing in Sydney tho c,uellin<? disappeared, bul after the fivtt gallop Advance was sore. This was repented in the papers. Advance did not, in consequence, do so much work as Prosser would otherwise have given him, and he was really short of work. Francis .thinks he is sure to redeem his character in Sydney, and is certain Advance was not so well in Melbourne as we have seen him in New Zealand. "When he faltered in his races, it was because he was not so well as he might have been had he had everything in his favour from the day he left New Zealand.

It cannot be said that very much, encouragement is given to breeders in the way of bi^ prices for yearlings. At Hastings a few dayb ago the annual sale of yearlings from the Te Mahanga (Douglas's) Station took place, and at the same time a number of Mr Gollan's breeding were sold. The Te Mahanga youngsters fetched fair prices, the average being 60£gs, but Mr Gollan's lots went rather cheap. The top price of the gale was 165gs, paid by Mr J. T. Moore for the Mahaki — Melinite (Nordenfeldt — Pearl Ash) filly. Mr E. J. Watt gave 120gs for the full brother to Bush Rose, Pinrose, and Penrose. Mr" Mackersey secured the full brother to Tortulla and Ngaio, both of which mares are his property. Waterford's half-brother, by Captain Webb, fetched the best price of Mr Gollan's lot, 70gs being the bid for him by Mr H. Gaisford. Speaking of Bill of Portland, of whose safe arrival in the old country we were apprised last week, the London Sporting Times says: — "St. Simon sires appear to be worth their weight in gold, and their earning power is enormous. That being so, we are not surprised to bear that longing eyes have

been ca c t en ihe expatriated Bill of Portland, i.lo has been one of the greatest suc-ccb_-eta of the Ai^tra'ian turf, throe sucees>«ive Derbies having fallen to 1m progeny. In each of his firbl three seabon? a.t the stud lie has sired the best colt of his year — viz., Bobadil, Meinwce, and Maltster, and no horse has ever equalled that recoid He is only 10 yesr.3 ol ', and tho change back to England will piobably benefit him as it did Milton. He 1-, all but in'l now, and will boon be full for thiee year* Ho will toi tlie coming bea&on be limited to 20 mures.

"Apemtintus tellb the following stuij- ol how the late Mr E. T. Barnaul, tlm Viclonan handicapper, wa-, oiico "haet" by an "astute" owner: — An owner Lad a hor^e engaged at the Sydney Spung meeting, and, as iiMial, Mr Barnard journeyed over to watch tlie racing, in order not to let in any of the Sydney division too lightly, but to lake his own pyoiight as to their ment 1 -. These were the dayr> before the lailwaj, and ju=t as Mr Barnaid reached the boat in which he had takwn hib passage the saiel owner riuhed up to him, and, putting a roll of fivers into his hands, "Barnard, olel fellow, I wish you'd put this on my horse, as I find it absolutely impossible to go, owing to my wife\ iHne^t — and take my advice by having a bit on youi&elf.' The genial and pleasant E. T. B. leadily complied with his friend's de-ire, but first of all interviewed the tiatncr jusi before the race and found the horse was ' fit to run for a man's life ' ; so he went the owner's hundreel, anel a pony for himself. The horse was in with 7.4, and ran throughout like a stuffed turkey, although he started scconel favourite. E. T. 8., however, consoled himself with the knowledge that he had lo3t his pony over a genuine trier : and then came our Melbourne Cup meeting, for which tha said horse had been entered in one of the minor handicaps, and when it came to adjusting weight against his name, tho handicapper said to himself, ' This brute's no good, for 'don't I know he vva-> goniiin>4y backed in Sydney?' and aceoidingly put 6.8 against hn name. And by his icady wit anel well-timed plotting the ownoi landed one of the biggest stakes it ha? e\ev been man's luck to win with a lacehor^e, for his ' neddy could have won with 211b more in the saddle, but with thi-= feather of 6.8 the race was made an absolute certainty, bar falling down ; and the horse was bfckcel fiom tens down to odds on. This was the only time 1 ever heard ol the late handicapppr being, as he himself remarked, ' properly had.' For the past few years the v-etpran handicapper had been in receipt of a pension of £500 a year from the V.R.C. I ("Javelin") suppose thjs may bo considered an illustration of what is indicated by the common expression "Honour among thieves." A trainer, before finally concluding terms with a lad whom lie thought of engaging, ask°d his previous employer whether the boy's honesty could be depended upon. "Oh, yes," was the assurance ; "he'll never slip yei up. If you tell him ter stop a '©r2e he won't never take yer down and go on his own. We 'ad a row an' he cleared out, but give the little devil his due. he's honest ( !) whatever his faults may be !"

Mr Allison writes thus of a colt by St. Simon out of Engagement (own sister to Martini-Henry), by Musket out of Sylvia, by Fisherman out of Juliet, by Touchstone .(says the Leader). This blood on the dam's side is the very best in Australia, Juliet, by Touchstone, having done wonders out there. Her daughter, Chrysolite, by Stockwell, produced the famous brood marc Onyx (dam of Nordenfclt, by Musket), while Sylvia became still moic famous as the dam, not only of Martini-Henry and Robin Hood, but also of Goldsbrough, whose daughters have proved of inestimable stud value, two of them being Frailty (dam of Trenton, etc.) and Cinnamon (dam of Abercorn). "We already know how succpssful Ht. Simon horses have been iv Australia, and what may be not expected of a colt actually by St. Simon himself o-ut of a daughter of Musket and Sylvia? The youngster is a June foal, but vvpll grown for his age ; a bay with a small star. He is a sturdy, level built fellow, as strong as a castle, with great hocks and thighs, almost such another as Aurum to follow. Ho stands well on the best of limbs, and his career will indeed be wotched with interest."

Commenting' on the past racing season in America, the Spirit of the Times says it was remarkable, for the amount of foul riding done by the jockeys at the metro-

politan tracks. . . . Contesting animals have had their chances ruined time and again by the reckless tactic 3 and ill-judged efforts of their riders. . . . Scarcely a day passed but one, two, or three of tho young ruffians were called into Ihe judge's stancl and talked to. ... To such an extent does this lawlessness exist that a week before Sloan's recent visit the racing daily columns called upon the jockeys to give him a fair chance, showing that it was generally expected that they would not if they could help it. The Spirit attributes much of the evil to the minor lights losing their heads, and more of this is anticipated the Spirit adding: "Most of our best jockeys have gone to England, and more are going."

They were discussing "owners" (writes "Javelin"), and one of the company (who wasn't far wrong) said: "Well, since the Fishers there's been no owner in Australia to beat poor old Donald Wallace !" "Well, I don't know about that," remarked another ; "I know he was straight, but he once treated me in what I thought a most ungentlemanly manner!" "The deuce he did! How?" said the first speaker. "Well," replied the other, "I drew a horse of his in Tattersall's sweep, and I wrote and told him he could have £1000 to nothing, and hang me if he even had the decency to answer my letter !" I couldn't help thinking it was just as well that he didn't. Fancy old Donald being offered a thousand to ensure a "go !" Of course, the point of the joke was that the man who was telling the story evidently considered himself and not Wa^aee the insulted party ! Mind you, I think I could spot a few owners — big ones too — who would have been courteous enough to "pocket" the "insult."

A rather funny incident occurred in connection with Materoa's disqualification at Napier Park (says the Hawke's Bay correspondent of the Canterbury Times). Prior to the protest being entered instructions had been given to the totalisator people to pay out, and on the outside machine four persons had received their dividends. One of these individuals — a well-known Native chicf — had just received a pile of notes representing four chances, but not caring for the appearance of some of the paper money he handed it back and asked to have it in gold. The polite totalisator assistant moved away from the window to get the requisite coin, and while so doing a peremptory order came to stop paying out, and that Native is still waiting for his dividend If you want to see how angry "a man can look you have only to ask, the. ObJef if h$ "jgill

it iv gold." Iho other three lucky one 3, of couico, were never duco\ i_2'<_d, i'lid tiic clrb hail to lose £19 4s.

r ihc Sultan ol Johoro has scarcely come out ot The Ciown cum-Truth catc as well as lie could ha\e wished. The Calcutta stpvvaid3 v% aincd off Calder and Truth, but o\(hk raced tno hultan from any knowledge of tlic change of the horse's name fioni Tiuth to The Ciov.ii. The Singapore commitlee, iiouder, looked upon hw Highness a-> being "guilty cl, at least, reckless indii^Lrsnco as to tho identity of the hoise," and as a cou'-equtiitc gave him the option of leaguing or of being expelled. Ihe resignation WoS forthcoming, and Rule 1 of the Singapore Turf Club had to be altered in consequence of hi* Highness cea3ing to be a membei. The lc&ult ol cessation of membership is that hia Highness io debarred fiom racing in the Straits Settlements, but it is understood he can still race m India.

Small prizes aie tho iuk- at jumping meetings in England, most programmes lrcludlng stcoplechasc-j and hurdle race-- of under 40<-o\«. With the idea of improving the character of the sport it is stated that the National Hunt Committee contemplate imposing a £100 minimum stake on all meetings that ha\e two or more fixtures dutmg th= season. However, according to tho=e best qualified to judge, tuch a rule would just about settle National Hunt sport in England. At a few of the most important fixtures there would be no difficulty about the £100 minimum, but its imposition would simply mean the wiping out of many other meetings. As the proponed alteration appears to be unpopular, the National Hunt Committee may sec fit to drop it.

Judging by the e\ ldence recently given iv a ca«e bi ought before the local Small Debt- Couit, Broken Hill must be an ideal place for pony racing (=ays the Sydney Mail). A local tradesman, having supplied an amount of horse feed to a couple of "ponylacing men," sued them for the amount and got a verdict, which was not satisfied in duo course, whereupon further action v. as taken, resulting in the sheriff's officer fceizmg a pony, appropriately named Battler, who was found 111 possession of one of the defendants in the aforementioned case. Out of this a very complicated interpleader case arose, and in the course of evidence as to the ownership of the pony a strong sidelight was tin own upon the style in which pony lacing is rarried on in that important centre. It tian«pired that Battler had also carried bilV under the name of "Biggs Beer" and "Sovereign,"' and the names of the owners on fceveral occasions varied as much ab the pony's nomenclature. On a specific date it was frliown that he raced in the nomination of a person not his reputed owner, and a wilnefb, on being questioned on the matter, replied '"that in Broken Hill it is the_ usual thsnjy to grive the name of anyone &t> the owner ; it was meiely a matter of form. The owner could change his name and the name of hi 3 horse if he liked." To a further question, "And sometimes the last horse get? the prize?" the witness replied, "Yes, if the right crowd is backing him." The race track* in New York State have to' coa tribute annually 5 per cent, of their gate takings, and this money is distributed in premiums by the various agricultural societies in the State to encourage the raising of cattle and other farm products. At one time racing was prohibited in the State by the Little New Englanclers, and it was only by agreeing to pay this tax that the consent of the pious and incorruptible (?) farmers was obtained to the revocation of the edict against racing. Last year the gate receipts of the seven racing associations in the State amounted to nearly 2,000,000d01, which means that they contributed close upon £20,000 to the revenue. From our London exchanges wte have details of the race for the Sandown Grand Prize, won by Mr Gollan's Australian Star, on the 9th ult. The event, a handicap hurdle race, or 4-lOsovs, two miles, attracted a field of eight, and Uncle Jack, for whom tho South African sportsman, Mr S. B. Joel, gave 3000gs at the dispersal of the late Lord William Beresford's stud, started favourite at 7 t6 2. with the winner and Killyleagh next in demand at 5 to 1 each. The talent did not belie their name, and, but for a transposition in the first and second, they finished in the order backed, the son of Australian Peer and Colours going out six furlongs from home, and, drawing clear away, winning by eight lengths from the favourite. Mr Gollan's horse was ridden by the crack ciosa-country horseman, Arthur Nightingall, and was, of course, trained by J. Hickey. Australian Star carried 11.3, and was in. receipt of 181b from Uncle Jack, and the race was run in 4min 20sec. The victory is described as a most popular one. Among the heirlooms of the Reiff family years hence that will no doubt be very highly prized (says the Breeder and Sportsman) will be the following despatch received by the diminutive jockey, Johnny Reiff, from King Edward VII of England, in response to a message of condolence sent him on the death of his mother, the Queen: — "My Dear Little Johnny, — Your tender message of sympathy to me in this, the saddest hour of affliction that I have- ever known, will be ono of my most cherishea assurances of a brave American boy's love. I thank you. — Your true friend and comrade in the old days, Edward VII."

A novel sporting* match was decided in February at the grounds of the Queen's Hotel, Hollingworth, England. Jehu Taylor of Heywood, backed his olel mare Polly, which some time ago defeated A. R. Downer, the champion sprinter, over 100 yds, to run Robert Wolsterholme, of Hollingworth, 25yds, both off a mark, the stakes being £10. There was considerable speculation, betting being 5 to 2 on the mare. Both man and horse got well away at the crack of the pistol, but the mare won. The mare is 24- years old, and has won 24matches, having defeated both champion foot-runners and cyclists.

In its obituary notice of the late E. T. Barnard, the Victorian handicapper, the Australasian says : — Mr Barnard was not the man to think ill of his fellowmen, and occasionally he was hoodwinked by schemers who managed to blind him into taking weight off good horses under the belief that they had lost form, and were justly entitled to an allowance for deterioration. We can call to mind a few cases of thi& kind, but no good would be served by mentioning names, although, with one exception, all the owners we are thinking of are dead and gone. Mr Barnard probably did not stick to "book form" as closely as some handicappera do, but it is doubtful if his handicaps were any the worse for that. He trusted to his judgment, and in the end it worked out fairly well. In the old days he used to let horses from South Australia and Tas.mania in very lightly, no matter what their form might be at home, but after First Water ran away with the Australian Cup

doubt Mr Buinard was about the best-liked laemg official Australia ha> known. He was lccognised as a genuine type of the English gentleman, and a^ a handicapper he was a. mar who elid his work conscientiously, trynig to give evciy man, whatever his station in life might be, a fair cliar.ee. Thafc he succeeded in gmnp, general satisfaction was- proved by the action ot the member of the V.R.C. upon his retnement in 1891.

Referiirg to Mi D. O'Brien's decision to retire from raring, a northern writer says: — Mr O'Biion has had a life long expenence of racing in t! c colonies, and in his early days. wa« employee l in the stables of Mr Hurtle Fisher in Victona. Coming to NewZealand early in the seventies, he soon became known as a horseman and trainer, and after a few years' residence in this colony finally settled down at Riccarton, where Foilune smiled upon him, and by gecd lueki and judgment combined good horses came into his hands, and the "battling; days" were followed by more prosperous one; — indeed, between tho winning of races and the selling of h.s horses at highly remunerative prices O'Brien's luc'< was proverbial; he couldn't go wrong. On hearing of one particularly good stroke of luck thafc came Dan'b way, a bi other horseovvner remarked: "You couldn't diown a man like lhat. Pitch him overheard, and he'd come up smiling with a fi=h in each hand." But O'Brien's luck changed, and for nearly three years he couldn't win a lace; indeed, in. that long mtei\al the southerner told me in cost him nearly £7000 in racing expenses. He had gone pretty elope on many occasions, but luck was dead out, and it may be paid has been far from good for a very long time. lam not surprised to learn, that the owner of Lonsdale Lodge has decided to retire, but I shall be equally surprised should he go out of racing for long. It is noi an easy matter for one who haa been long identified with racing, as O'Briere has, to cease his connection with it altogether. Mr O'Brien has a mo3t up to date racing property in Lonsdale Lodge at. Riccarton, and another fine place at Randwick, New South Wales, which he ha* leaded for a number of years. The horse that Mr O'Brien holds in most affectionate remembrance is Tasman, notwithstanding that h» owned such equine celebrities as Carbine, Trenton, Fishhook, Loyalty. Florrie, Tambourmi, Freedom, Gipsy King, and scores of others with which he achieved successes. Let us hope that the "rose and black, the colour? "that never were struck," will bo unfurled again at no distant date on. New Zealand courses, where they are so well known and have become popular. Jenkins lode in several races during hi 3 vicit to Victoria, and was on Steel Arrowwhen that horse ran tecond in a big field at one of the suburban meetings. Mr M. Power, the owner, who is an old-time horseman, expressed bis thorough satisfaction; ax, tho way Jenkins handled Steel Arrow, and like a number of experienced professionals was surprised that the New Zealand horseman should have been taken to task so seriously as he was by so many critics for his handling of Advance. Advance ha-? •usually been ridden to the front in the races he has won in this colony (says an Auckland exchange), and lost several races, it was thought, by waiting tactics being adopted with him. On more than one occasion he cheated his riders when working in private, and one of them was T. Wilson, who thought that Tortulla was sure to beat him. in the Wanganui Cup on the work he was showing in private. Just prior to the Wellington Cup last year Boreas was much too good for Advance in their work, and beat' him in the race. Soon after their arrival at Sydney, on the strength of. a gallop over half a mile with Boreaa. ):i whirl* Advance did not show to advantage, one prominent Sydney track watcher, r.c*t to call him a tout, was hearc^ to say, "Why, the old chestnut's the be 3 t." There are at present a large number oE fractious horses competing at suburban meetings, and by way of varying the monotony of proprietary racing it would- not be out of place were some enterprising entrepreneur to initiate a Bad Actors' Stake, restricted to horses rendered eligible by means of starters' certificates 'says the Leader). Locksmith, Liberty, Robin, Hautaine, Canada, The Pirate King. Martyr, Thrush, Clean Sweep, Santoi, Goldleaf, and Cadenas would form a select team io commence with. A start with this lot at th«* eight and a-half fuilongs post at Moonee Valley, where everybody could view t.ie unique spectacle, would be something worth looking at. Perhaps Mr Archie Cox, v, I<j is ever on the gui vive for a "new idea, will take the hint. It would be obviously necessaiy to have on hand an extra supply of stockwhips and starters. Of late years the "foreign" horses have asserted themselves to no inconsiderable extent on the English turf, and it is a significant fact that of the six runners for the last Gold Cup at Ascot, wh.ch may be regarded as the principal race in which three-year-olds and their seniors can meet, two were French and two Australians, the winner being Mrs Langtry's old horse, Merman, who cannot be placed in anything like the first class, but who had more stanuna, than any of his opponents. The American horse King's Courier won the Doncaster Cup, while the Cup at Goodwood fell to the share of a moderate English four-year-old, Mazagan. Nor diel the principal handicaps place any English horse in a favourable light, two of the best performances being those of another Austialian horse, The Grafter, who mon the City and Suburban Handicap at Epsom, and the Prince Edward Handicap a Manchester, under 8.10 and 9.0.

The line of Stockwell beat all records ia England (saya Man of the World). His son, Blair Athol, was a good first until Doncaster came at £14,000. Stockwell himself was considered to be well sold at 4500g?. The Blair Athol branch is only a trifle less valuable than the Doncaster. Blair Athol, there can be no doubt, was the sire of Tho Rover, who begat St. Gatien. whose price to go to Germany was £14,000. St Gatien in turn begat Meddler, who was sold tor £14,500. Others of the Blair Athol lino that sold for high prices, his own price being 12,500g5, were Craig Millar and Silvio. Bold as is the front presented by Blair Athol, however, it falls far short of that of Bend Or, whose son Ormonde sold for £30 000 an amount that has now been, far eclipsed by Flying Fox. St. Blaise, afc £20.000, heads the Newminster line, and. Matchbox, at £18,000, the St. Simon. It is understood that a dozen applications were made for Flying Fox at 400gs in his first season, so that at that rate the purchase money will soon be got back. Calculated at a 400-guinea fee, the purchase money ■will come back in about four years, and with the horse insured on easy terms for £30,000, it will be seen that the risk v, ftftej; allj. not go very great.