IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2471, 24 July 1901, Page 52

IN A NUTSHELL.

— Sa&acity i° 'f.ivc ante for the Caulfield Cup. — Indian Shot was sold at th? Welhrg'o.i meeting for £17. — The Australian hoisc Finland is to be given a lengthy spell. —Mr George Adams (Taltcrsalll has given £100 to the poor o>f Hob art. — Tha last mile of the V.R C. Ciand National Hurdles was run in 1.522. — Inghston is a popular pick in Sydney for the Caulfield Cup in double-bettaig. --The Duchess of Cornwall and Toik visit. d the. Klwick i.tl:ecou,rse during hei stay at Hobail.

— A Chnstch-jrch telegram states that Malatua was scratched for the Winter Cup on Monday. , .

— Tiie Orphan was recently found dead in a, paddock, in which th : maic was turned out 111 at Mosgiel. — Gatopm sired Aida, the whine* of the One Thousand Guinea*, when he was six-and twenty years old. — Shoddy did not make the slightest mistake m the G.N. Hurdle, but lan right throug'i as true as a dart.

— Coeur d© Lion has been turned out on Captain Russell's Sherendon station, where iie will do stud duty. — Only two mares have ever annexed the V.R.C. Grand National Steepleahase, these- being Ruby and Rosebud. —In future at Randwick, Sydney, on lace days, tne name of each hoise will be placed ever the stall it occupies. Wagers of JE2OOO to £60 each were recently taken m Melbourne about Record Reign and Seahorse for the Melbourne Clip. The well-known St. Clair mare Arline has been purchased by Mr J. P. Reid, cf Eldershe. Arline is in loal to Gipsy Grand. — A London cable states that the Tacehorse Clean Sweep, the winner of the last Melbourne Cup, has arrived there m good condition. — The weights for C.J.C. Grand National Hurdles and Steeplechase, together with those ot the Winter Cup, are published in this is- — * Fulham, by Richmond, who won the Goodwood Handicap of 1P92, in Adelaide, is now being used as a. butcher's hack at Kalgoorlie, The one-time Dunedm sportsman, Mi T. Dempscy, won the Jumpers' Flat Race with his horse Examiner at the last Mentor.© (Vie.) Races. _

Glenloth, who won the Melbourne Cup as far back as 1892, carried silk at the late Mount Gambier (Vie.) Winter meeting, but without

success. i —Great Western, Game, Eaglet, Eedleap, ' and Daimio were the only first favourites to wm the V.R.C. Grand National Steeples in 20 years. ; — The Labourer, who came to Australia with ' Seahorse some months ago, and was sold by Major Gecrge, has gone to the "stud in West Australia. — The Auckland Racing Club has held four meetings this season, and a total of £153,399 passed through the totalisator, which is an increase of £14,633 on last season. — Saxon, who won the Fiench Derby (worth J57375), is out of Shrine, a full sister to Mr W. M-Culloch's horse Pilgrim's Progress, who is at the stud m Australia. T. Saundera, who won the Melbourne Cup on Dunlop, and has lately been riding over hurdles us Melbourne, has gone to West Australia to follow his vocation. — The well-known English writer, "Augur,' c<mmentiiig on The Grafter, 6ays he isi a horse of great weight-cariymg abilities, and he credits him wiU bemg up to '15st to hounds. —In addition to winning the Woodcote Stakes this year with Sceptre. Mr R. S. Sievier also won the same lace last season with Toddh'gton For the two hoses Sievier gave over £20.000. — Twenty "paddock" bookmakers were fined £•2 each by the V.R.C. Committee on the first day of the V.R.C. National meeting for calling the odds in front of the stand, contrary to the regulations. — The first prize in Tattersall's sweep for the Grand National Hurdles was won by a syndicate of three raiiwav employees, each drawing £150 per annum. They had between them one 5s ticket. I — Record Reign was handicapped at 13.1 on the second day of the V.R.C. Grand National m-eeting. Mt M'Leod cabled over to scratch tim. In. the same race Carbinier was asked to oarry 12.0. Seahorse, quoted at 20' s, La Carabine at 25' a, Record Reign and Wakeful at 20's, and Advance 33's to 1, were the favourites for the Melbourne Cup in Sydney during the first week of this month. — Bonnie Chiel. the colt that got beat a head by Tli« Austrian in the two-year-old on the fust day of Y.H.C. National meeting, is a ifull brother to Kinglike. Bonnie Chiel claims an engagement in th« V.R.C. Derby. — Electric Current, a big upstanding chestnut, who won the "selling Welter at Manchester, England, wears a tracheotomy tube. No one wanted to buy him aftei the race. He is by Crowberry, the sire of Mr F. Foy's hor&e, April — F.ecoid Reign ran a great lace under his ciushing impost in the Grand National Hurdle Race, and (says Melbourne Sportsman) had he not fairly overpowered Moore 111 the earlier stages of the journey, he would have made even a closer fight. — The tliree-ypar-old Hautboy, having gone tuniss again, has been soM for stud purposes. Ho ran 13 times last season, and won the V A.T.C. Mona Nursery, V.R C. Nursery Handicap, and Flenungton Stakes, A.J.C. Nursery Stakes and December Stake?. — Isniene and Indian Queen h.ive oeen turned out, and will bo mated with Mernwee. Tneir boxes ,n T. Qiunhvan's htable have been filled by the two-year-old colts by The Workman—Variety and Jet d'Eau— Cartouche. They have been broken and udden. — Although the owner of Footbolt is supposed to be very sore at the colt's treatment in the Melbourne "and Caulfield Ctros, the horse is amongst the favourites for both races. Footbolt is cuoied at 25's in the Caulfield Cup and 33's to "I in the Melbourne Cup. — Sagacity has eßrned a 3lb penalty [or the Caulfield Cup by Ins win in the Winter Handicap on the first day of the V.R.C. National meeting. The geldmg carried 8.12, and left the mile and a-quart«r behind in 2.11, besides winning comfortably by two lengths. — Chris. Spencer, one of our best all-round liorsemea, talks of making his home in New Zealand. Spencer can (says the Tasinaaiian coirespondent oi the Melbourne Sportsman) get a horse ready as well as ride one, and as he it a straight goer, Lis departure will be a distinct loss to our racing community. —An Oamaru te-lesram states that at the annual meeting >f the North Otago Jockey i Club the balance -sheet showed that the club had begun the year with a credit balance of £81 19s 7d, and ended it with a balance of £32 15* 6d. The total receipts were £1385 7s 4d. Mr J. F. Reid was elected president. I — A Napier telegram says: — "The Hawke's Bay Jockey Club have received 167 nominations for the Hawke's Bay Stakes of 1903. This is a record entry for the colony. In addition to all the leading sires of this colony, * large number of Australian and imported English sires are represented in the pedigrees of the young stock nominated." — There has Keen a tremendous demand in i TCflglflTui for the seiNices of Bill of Portland,

who was iuch a stud success in Australia. His list foi this season filled soon after he returned to England. He had, when the last mail left, nearly a full subscription for next year while upwards of 20 nominations had been "hooked foi 1903, at 3 00gs raJi, and a guinea, for the groom. — At the Warcaw races on a recent Sunday, M. Jean de Reszke, the famous tenor singer, won the Warsaw Deiby, of 20,000 loubles, with Le Sorcier, the Imperial .Prize, of 5000 loubles, with Pickwick, the Askhabad prize, of 1000 roubles, with Biassiere, and the Dcdatkowa prize, of 800 roubles, wiih Robespierre. The jockey in each instance -na? Ca=h Sloan, a bi other of Tod Sloan. . . — Ihc number ot lacing days allotted »y t.ie Australian Jockey Club to each club within the mctiopohlan radius for the season of 190102 is as fol'ows —Australian J.C., 13 days; Kosehill R.C., 11 days , Canterub^y Park li.C.j nine days, Warwick Farm R.C., nine days; Moorefieid EC, nine days, Tattcr&all s Club, four days; Sydney Turf Cub, three days; Hawkesbury H-C, thioe days; City Tattersall s Club, two days. — The field for the Ergh=h Derby this year was somewhat singularly constituted 111 the matter ot jockeys. There were no fewer than seven Americans ridmg (L. Reifi, J. Heiii, J. H Martm, M. Henry, D. Ma her, N. Turner, »nd C Jenkins), one who may be described as an Anglo-French ne'er (E. Watkins), two (A. Nightmgall and Anthony) who are better known across country than on the flat, and one amateur, Mr Randall. — The following are th 3 drawers of the placed horses m Tatter soil's Consultation on the Grand National Hurdle Race, 100,000 at ss, fully subscribed : —First, Shoddy, \Y. Thomas, 43 Droop street, Footscray, Victoria, £4500; second, The Pirate King, W. Griffiths, Richmond, New South Wales. £1700; third, Carbinier, "A. anc" A ," care A. H. Buchanan, Hcbson street, Wellington. New Zealand, £900. These amounts- are net. — Says Australian Spoitsman- — Mr W. T. Jonei gave 2500gs for a smart two-year-old named Happy Bird, and took him to Ireland to wm a two-year-old ra-ce in which he was engaged. Unfortunately, S. Darling, the previous owner, had omitted to lodge some required certificate, and Happy Bird was not allowed to run. Mr Jones brought Happy Bird back to England, and won the Great Surley Foal Stakes, of £7]o, with him. — The stock of Watercicss, the Ecghsh-bred, but Amcncan-oivned. sirs, one of whose yearlings—Nasturtium—recently biought £10,000, have been running well in England. At the K*mpton Park Spring meeting, Mr Frank Gardiner won the Auction Plate, of 200sovs, five furlongs, with Omaha II (Watercress— Orange Leaf), and had to pay 1350gs to letain him. Mr W.. C. Whitney won a Welter Handicap, of 150sovs, witli the three-yeur-old Watershed (Watercress — Parthema). — Stallions which have left Australia for the old world are represented by no fewer than 10 horsea in the Melbourne Cup— viz., Bill of Portland, eight (Altitude. United States, Maltster, Beacon, Otway, Cieloiine, Craignioie, and St. Mars); Trenton, five (Dreamland, Revenue, Wakeful, Lord Treuton, and Omrah) ; Carbine, three (La. Carabine, Geoige Frederick, and Caibineer) , Patron, by two (Patronus and Prsesidiuini , and Carnage, by one (Combat). Sjres boa&ting the Musket Wood are represented by 38 horses. —Mr W. E. Dakin has been appointed handicapper to th« West Australian Turf Club at Perth. The position is Tagßrth £500 a. year. — A Sydney exchange says. "Dewey's sister. Dowry, "passed fchiousrh Sydney recently to Clmda to pay a visit to the Galopin stallion Grafton, whose list has filled for tins (1901) and the next (1902) season. Dowry is the property of the Bombay sportsman, Dr Spoor.er Hart, who purchased hei in Melbourne, and after racing her in India, reslupped her to Australia tc be mated with Graiton. The medico is evidently an enthusiastic breeder that does not let a trifle stop him in has desire to get a suitable mate for his mare.'' — Speaking of the V.R.C. Hurdles, "Terhnga," m the Australasian, says. "Record Reign's performance was, with, the single exception, peihaps, of The Yeoman's, the best ever accomplished m the lace. The New Zealander looked light for a big horse, and wa<3 not at all fancied by Flenungton folk, but ac ran a great race under his 12.12. Unfortunately, he could not be held back by his rider at first, and making running with such a weight is no joke. When he won the Grand National in New Zealand, the dista.ice was only two miles, and he could have won at this distance on Saturday. As it was, Carbinier, who was going very stiong at the finish, just beat him for third pace. — A very noisy demonstration was made against Peppercorn as he returned to weigh m alter winning the Shorts Handicap at Canterbury Park. PeppeTcorn, in the hands of F. Kuhn (says- the Sydney Daily TelcgTaph in a recent issue), lan nowhere in the Flying Handicap, while, when ndden by C. M. Gcdby, he accounted for the Shorts Handicap. A large section of the spectators fancied that the performances were too inconsistent to pas-s unchallenged, and said so in anything but polite language. In fact, they created a great noise, and demanded that Peppercorn and sundiy people should be "rubbed out." At length the stewards decided that an explanation of the alleged inconsistency in the horse's liuimng was necessary, and arranged to meet for that purpose. F. M'Grath, who figures as Peppercorn's owner, is in Melbourne, superintending the preparation of Record Reign. —In referring to the death of Mr Joseph Osbome. who was sui authority 011 horse-breed-ing m the old. country, the Sporting Times sr.js ..-"He was the great apostle of the 'Blacklock o'i Waxy' theory cf breeding, and he scorned the 'Book of Numbers.' It is the fact, aa far as we know, that all men who wiite. learnedly on the subject of breeding never themselves breed a good horse, and this favours the belief that there is no such thing as a royal road to success. The editor of the Sporting Life once lamented that Lord Falmouth had not written a book explaining for the benefit of future geneiations the secret of his success. 'Secret l ' exclaimed outspoken Dr Shorthouse. 'He has neither secret nor method. He put his best mare in half a dozen years to half a dozen different horses of a. totally different breed, and she had winners by them all.' The Duke of Portland, 021 being asked foi Jie secret of his success, said that MoTferm* would throw a Derby winner if put to an Ayrshire buH."

—To anyone unacquainted with Record Reign, the top weight appeared fit to run for a kingdom— indeed (says "Special Commissioner," in the Melbourne Sportsman), the lace proved him fit — but New Zealand&rs declared that the big fellow was far lighter than he used to be on the other side of the water. What a beau ideal of a jumper this Castor gelding is! Standing close on lThds, with powerful loin 9, broad hips, and good shoulders, littl* wonder h-e makes light woik of carrying heavy imposts over long and tiring journeys, and can jump like Mark Twain's famous frog. And lam ■(old Record Reign, who has distinguished himself in the hunting field, performs just a well over big tixnbw as he does over hurdles. A nice mes3 the New Zealander would make of some of those proposed 12.7 maximum st-eeplechases! In common with many oth»r oeople, I was under tha impression that Record Reign is an unsound horse, but, «,ftsr 100-king him over on Saturday, I canie to th« conclusion thait such is not the case. As far aa a- bystander can see, Record Reign is thoroughly sound 011. his legs. The l*ni«nesi k* shewed

afior winning the New Zoa'and O.X. Hurdle Pace must have been caused by a knock; anyway, it could have been only temporary. — Mr Gecige Hoigrnan, ir> his reccntly-pub-liohtd bcok, "Sixiv Yaz\? on the Turf,' gr.es the foUcwi.iy .nstsir.je oi lious's hig'ihai ded m?.:rc: of rir,.-as'.rf; afftuis in his d<»y: "Mi Sykes louic' oi"* ct" rt pai'y of tinee foithe Surrey and Middlesex Stakes, distance, a. c< nple of milea. And the pimcipal caaoo o[ his starting was that, unknown to each other, the conncct.oas ot Fulbeck and Wmkfield had promised Mr Clarke (owner ot Mr S>kc-3) sUsxOvs each to make running for tif a one! The betting lulcd evui mom f 'Wmkf. <>i' 1 6 to 5 Fulbeck, while 10 to 1 nss vai -*ndercd .\ganlst Mr Sykes, who wa= not expected to win. But when the jockey found him<-ea c Tied strenuously to the front, he certainly did not over-exert himself. The horse, howe\ er, took matters very much tinder his own control, and in the end dead-_heated with Fu.b'_ok. That Mr Sykes should have won easny was apparent to the mearest intellect; ancf, red-hot with passion, Admiral Rous wa^ quickly at the weighins-iooru door. 'Thijj dead-heat, .lie thundered, 'is to be run off, ai.d Fordham shall ride Mr Sykes.' That wa=» impossible, as, naturally, Major Bringhursi; stood out for Fordham again riding his horse, fulbeck. Oxi that the Admiral went to Pre-ece, Mr Syke&'s jockey, to whom, he said, 'You, sir, make your way home on that horse as beat you can. If you don't win, or I see you don't try to wm, mind, I'll with the whole lot of you. oft' 1 ' The general opinion was reflected by the bettmg on the decider, 4 to 1 being laid on Mi Sykes, who won in a cantei by a length.