TURF TOPICS

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 56

TURF TOPICS

Apropos of the disqualification of the trainer and rider of Australia for inconsistent running, Mr H. 0. White has written a letter to ttie Sydney Mail protesting against stakes and bets going to the winning horse under these circumstances. Mr White's argument is that by allowing the horse that wins under these circumstances to get stakes and bets, the stewards play into the hands of people who may have been; running a horse dishonestly for the sake of making a Coup at some future time. "Let us buppose," says Mr Whit©, "a horse belonging to some so-called ' clever people ' should, by ingenious hoodwinking of the handicapper, win the Melbourne Cup, having been backed to win, say, £50,000. The V R.C. stewards disqualify trainer, jockey, and perhaps owner, but if they let the race and bets stanVl good, would their action be likely to discourage dishonest practices on the turf?" Certainly it would not, and if the New Zealand practice were adopted of disqualifying horses for the races they have won and paying stakes and totali6ator money to the .second horse when tho first horse is disqualified for inconsistent running we should not have so much byO running. In the cases of Mata and Parthenopteus the V.R.C. did not tpke tho racos these horses won away from thorn, and bets followed stakes. The only argument in favour of this is that a horse disqualified after winning is not disqualified for winning that race, but for something done> previously, which should have been discovered at the time it took place, and that people "not in the know," who backed the homo when he won, mast not be doprned of their winnings. As racing clvb 1 ; are not Mippo->ed to takp oogni-anoe of betting, tho latter consideration «hould not, stuctly ppcaking, be taken into account, and most people will agree that, on the whole, Mr White's argument 13 sound. Taking the raco and the bets away from a horse, would certainly deter people from practising the "inconsistency" trick.

Says an English ?cribo^-" ' Tis not in mortals to command success ' goes without faying in regard to racing 1 , and po«siblv more ?o in connection with breeding, and an apt illustration occurred whon Mr Leopold do Rothschild's colours were puocossfully carried to victory in the Two-Ytar-Old Plate over the last five furlongs of the Ditch Mile at Newmarket fay the ad of Pass Rock, a son of Grey Leg and Poncb. As is well known, the Rothschilds, both in England and on the Continent have costly

stud farms, and mostly breed their own racers. It, therefore, marks the uncertainty of the game when a man like 'Mr Leo ' should find his present best two-year-old a colt which was purchased at auction for 2500d01, and came to him as a gift. The story of how Bass Hock came into the possession of his present owner is not without interest. When John Wood, who manages the Rothschild horses in England, was going into the sale paddocks at Doncaster last September, he asked Lord Rothschild to allow him to buy a grey, ' just to change the luck,' which at that time was very indifferent. His lordship assented, and remarked, ' I'll give him to Mr Leo.' Bass Rock, which was bred by John Robinson, erstwhile bookmaker, now High Sheriff of Nottingham, at Worksop Manor, appeared to fill all requirements, and he passed first into the possession of Lord Rothschild and then into that of his brother, Mr Leopold de Rothschild. In appearance tho colt greatly resembles his sire, Grey Leg, which won the City and Suburban for the late Duke of Westminster, while being perhaps more muscular, and also of a darker shade. The way in which he won proves that he inherits tho speed of his sire in a marked degree. After thie an owner who finds himself at strained relations with fortune well knows what to do. He must go out arid buy a gTey horse to ' change the luck,' as John Wood expressed it in that inspired moment at Doncastcr sales."

Recent advices from America show that the progeny of the Australian thoroughbred does not deteriorate in that country. At San Francisco in the early part of la-st month a match took place for lOOOdol aaide and a purse of 1500dol added by the Califomian Jockey Club, over a mile, between Mr G. V. Morris's Old England, by Goldfinch from Lucania, and Mr W. C. de Lopez's Articulate, by St. Andrew from XJtter. So highly were the chances of Old England assessed that his backers freely laid 2 to 1 on him, despite that Articulate had excellent form on his side, but after making most of the running the son of Goldfinch compounded, and Articulate won easily by four lengths, in the fast time of lmin 39scc. Utter, the dam of Articulate, it will be remembered, was bred at Kirkham by the late Hon. James White, and is by Martini-Henry from Uralla — winner of the V.R.C. Ascot Stakes, A.J.C. Champagne Stakes, and V.R.C. Oaks— by Chester from Moonstone (imp.), by Blair Athol from Amethyst, by Touchstone. At the dispersal of Mr White's string of racehorses in training Utter was purchased by Mr H. Oxenham for 400 guineas. She was then a two-year-old, and (says the Sydney Mail), though during that season ehe had carried the famous blue and white banner of the squire of Kirkham, she had not earned a winning bracket. The following x season, however, she opened her winning account by securing a. double at Canterbury Park under Mr Oxenham's livery, and as a four-year-old she annexed the Seaford Handicap at Williamstown (Vie.), and * similar double to that of the previous season at Canterbury Park. A 9 a five-year-old she did not score, but the following season she won a Flying Handicap et Rosehill, Moorefield Handicap, Tattersall's Club New^-Year's Gift, and a sprint race at Moorefield. In 1895 she was purchased by Mr R. de Lopez, and taken to California, where she again earned distinction on the turf before being relegated to the stud. Her first son. Articulate, stood out as one of the most brilliant colfcs on the Pacific Coast as a two-year-old, and judging from his most recent performance he promises to fully uphold the prestige of his stout breeding, and the fame of the Australian thoroughbred.

A good deal has been written at various times concerning Eclipse, the direct ancestor of fully 75 per cent, of modern thoroughbreds. If Eclipse had never been born, I suppose (says "Alilroy") fully 90 per cent, of the present day racehorses would trace direetKto Herod. The wonderful fluke that left Musket alive and the '1000 to 1 chance that.brought the famoue Stockwell line into being are no more remarkable than the mere chance that brought Eclipse into life. His breeder, the aristocratic Duke of Cumberland, used only fashionable and tried stallions with his mares, but, taking a fancy to Marske, a stallion travelling about at 10s a mare, the Duke put Spiletta to him and thp result was the unbeaten Eclipse, "the father of the Englieh^racehorse." During his career Marske experienced many vicissitudes. Perhaps the first of any serious consequence was when, upon his owner's death, this greatly neglected stallion was sold for 10 guineas. Bought by a small farmer, and removed to another part of England, Marske's services were on offer at the dhremunerative fee of Mb. For some time he continued to hold this lowly position, but after Eclipse had turned out such a smasher, inquiries were s naturally made for his sire, and the latter, as a result, once more changed hands, on this occasion the ' amount of purchase money being £20. Given the opportunity, Marske was not long in proving a valuable acquisition Ito the ranks of fashionable stallions. So successful were his stock that the fee of this erstwhile despised farmer's stallion rose to 30 guineas, a price until then almost unheai'd of. Later on he was purchased by Lord Abingdon for no less than 1000 guineas, and 100 guineas was demanded for his use Even this did not lesson the demand, and after gradually increasing tho price, Lord Abingdon finally ra.np'd it to 300 guineas a mare, and even at this exorbitant fee public mares came to the- sire of Eclipse. The progeny of Marske won noarly £25.000 in stakes, a remarkable amount considering the small value of stakes 140 years ago. Compare Marske's stud fee with modern charges alongside the 10 guinea plates of his day and the big prizes of our time. The be<=t horses of Max-ke's day keenly competed for sums that amounted to a httle more than a cost of a first forfeit in our time ; yet there are very few horses in the world etanding at a higher figure than was paid for the services of the sire of Eclipfre 140 years a<ro. The progeny of Eclipse raced for 23 years, and numbered amongst them the greatest horses of their time, but the sum total of their winnings amounted to a little over £158,000, which look-; small alongside of the £110,000 captured by two modern^— Tsinglass and Donovan. To win this sum Dono\an and Isinglass had to run in only 27 races, but some of tho =ons of Eclipse won over 50 races, and a little army of them are returned as winners of over 20 races each.