TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 50

TALK OF THE DAY.

IMPROVEMENTS AT RICCARTON,

That there is to be a vast difference between the Riccarton of the past and the Riccarton of tho future is foreshadowed by the magnitude of the alterations at present heing carried out on the Canterbury Jockey Club' 3 couree ; and spoi tsnien who have not visited Riccarton lately would, if they found themselves in that part of the world a few months hence, imagine that they had < lost themselves, and got on to a strange racecourse. During the progress, of the. •National' meeting the writer made a tour Vif inspection, and was greatly impressed by the ample evidence which exists of what <he Canterbury Jockey Club contemplate doing in the way of catering for and studying the comfort 'of their patrone, And, at the 1 same time, beaufcifyina tlie surrouiidings of their racecourse. That the alterations and improvements a-e to be carried out on a lavish scale can bo gleaned from an inspection of the new grandstand, which completely dwarfs the one at present in use, and, viewing if. from one extreme to tho other, it looks as long as the straights of sonio of our miniature racecourses. The new stand is in a half-comn-Vted state at present, and with its scaffolding poles, stays, and the pillars which are to support the roof, w.hen viowed from a distance, it reminds one of the- appearance of a small exhibition building in tho course sf conetruction. and conveys the impression that

the club had undertaken to transplant the Coliseum, or some cber ancient amphi- ■ theatre, th© remains of wh : ch picturesquely find T>laoe« in the sbow sr>ote of tho Old World. Und^r the extetine order of thinps at Ricea.rton tho outside patrons from their stand obtained a much better view of a race, tbtn the padd'octetes: but from anvtjart of the new stand a splendid- view will be -procured, and the change will undoubtedly be much appreciated. The new t.errnce w!'l terminate in a wide, ewe^ning lawn, which, at its southern end. will be tcantified by a miniature lake, which will encircle a, miniature island. th<» <*dge of which is surrounded by a belt of hich trcs. Access to the islsnd will probably be made by ornamental bridges, and the whole will create a Kpiu+iful. secluded no^k. by retirintr to which it will bp. possible whilst attending one of the club's raco meetintrs to witiMraw from the "maddinsr irowd." Iju't still be forming a part of, but apart from, the pleasuro-seeking throng, unless, of course, ithe club contemplate reserving the naas in thf and making it t*pu to all save "talking age and whisperinp lovers." On the new lawn the beauty of the colony will have more thin elbow room to preen their plumage whilst exercising *h<=ir uallanH in mufti on th* oromenad-e- ; and tho beaxitiful frocks, which, at Cup tim"- crowded each other like flowers in an ill-kept garden, will have, by being easier seen, a better chance of creating at once th<> envy and admiration they are subjected to. and of which a rn«r& male can obtain a faint idoa by noting the side glances of many a b:aut>ful but mrious ©ye. which can swepp an attractive costume ■with a lightning glance and print its details on- tho mind with camera-like accuracy. But to return to the Ricoarton improvements, it must be said that if the patrons of tho lawn are to have improved accommodation and luxury of surroundings, th* "ouKido" patrons will find th»m=elves well taken care of by gettinis possession of the -prfi.seint lawn and stand in 'the paddock; and if the fates are kind to .the C.J.C. In the future, and the- cub can attract attendances sufficient to fill the accommodation that will be found in the future, in "New Riccnrb m " a nro*pcrous future for that progressive body is assured.

- 'A BOOKMAKERS' PROTECTION FUND.

During tho National week the bookmakers, both .local and visiting, held a couple of ■meetings to sec if it was possible to do something practical in the way of carrying out a scheme which has been freely discussed amongst them for some timepast, and that is to form a fund or association fche object of which would be to win recognition and registration from the racing clubs which are at present hostile to the metaliician Since th© introduction of the totalisator a bookmaker, who forms a legitimate part of tk» «"'ina game in England,

America.. Australia, and other parts of the world, is the last man whom, some of oiir jockey clubs are desirous of -seeing on their racecourses, and in the past cases of tiespass have generally been defended by the iadividual charged with tho offence; but if the Bookmakers' Protection Fund, which was created; last- week, and which promists to foecome at once botfh. healthy and piignacious, fulfils the objects for which it is being formed, the first case which, arises after the fur.d has arrived at the desired strength will be defended by it, and if necefsary carried to the Privy Council. The writeor was invited 1 to the second meeting held, at which about 30 bookmakers were present, and after a general discussion a subscription list, which had been opened at th© previous meeting-, was laid on the table, and the amount on it totalled about £330. The subscriptions ranged from £50 10 £2, the last sum being the minimum, amount which will be acce.pted towards the fund. The committee appointad consists of representative men in all the chief towiis of the colony, and they contemplate having very lirtledifncuAty in rasing the £600 which ifc has been decided ro gather before the Bookmakers' Protection Fund declares war against the jockey clubs of the colony. In the past several costly and important battles have, been fought between the bookmakers and the jockey clubs, and co far as the war has gone the honours are decidedly with the metaliician, as in cases fought against the Canterbury Jockey Club and *ho WellingRacing Club- the bookmakers have won the right to be present at all meetings held on public, reserves. In these actions the moving spirit ha* hsen Mr il". Barnetr, who has been unanimously elected to the position of general chairman and treasurer of the funde of tho new association, and under that gentleman's leadership (he subscribers hope to successfully contest the right to be present on all the racecourses of the colony.

THE O.J.C. NATIONAL MEETING.

If the success which attended the annual cross-country gathering of the Canterbury Jockey Club which ushered in the 1 racing season of 1903-4, can be taken as a reliable criterion, then the newly-born racing year can be looked forward to as likely to ba a highly successful one. Money — that mighty lubricant, — which can nearly always command success, was there in plenty, and sportsmen from all parte — north, south, ea-t, and west — of the colony participated in the I sport with a vim and an air of keen ap- " preciation that did one good to witness. Smith was here from Auckland to shake hands with Jones from- Invercargill, and Brown from the Coast hobnobbed with Blacb from the mountains. That is one of the attractions of the National meet.mg. People who havea't met since the same gathering held 12 months before ehake hand? with the greatest cordiality, and however the attendance at meetings may peter out towards the end of the year, there is no gainsaying the fact that the National meeting finds sports assembled at Riccarton with large " wads of bills" and a healthy racing apps-tifce that require immediate and liberal nourishment. However lamblike they may become at the end of the "financial year," there is no mistaking the lion-like determination with which they scan the first race-book of the season. There was enough of it last week to take the edge off the appetite, and in some cases to create satiation, but looked at from the beginning and not the end there was mot a fault to be found. On the .first day the attendance filled the lawn, saddling paddock, and stands, and the outside enclosure was also thickly peopled. Right through the mee.timg the interest was well sustained, and although the attendance on the second and last days showed a falling off as compared with that of the opening day, still the total attendance present on the four days of the meeting probably constituted a- rcoord. The weather wa3 fine each day, but occasionally grew a trifle wintry. On the last day the track was on the heavy side, and owing to the practice of the club topdTessing it with short manure*, it became rather greasy under th© horses' feet. Speculation on tho maehins was very brisk, and the grand total of the meeting was £41,177, or £2194 more th?a the grand total of last year's meeting. The number of bookmakers in the paddock was about as numerous as what was present at last year's gathering, and they did a fair amount of business. Several reported that honours were with the punters over the meeting. The lumber of fielders present on the outside appears to be :cntinually growing, and owing to tho amount of competition several of the old hands stated that bu c iness showed a considerable falling off. That the totalisator receipts should show euch a deoided increase over last year's meeting with tho amount of opposition it had to contend against speaks well for the spending powers of the patrons of the Canterbury Jockey Club.

Taking them all round, the type of horses racing at the meeting wa>a very good, although in pome of the hunters' races several hairy-legged ones looked out of place under silk, however clever they may be under the scarlet of the hunting men. It must be said, however, that the prize-nioney attached to the hunters' events is very small, and does -not furnish suffit ieait inducement to owners to put high-class horses into the hunting field. It may be desirable that hunters' events thould be for legitimate hunters, and not for qualified racehorses ; but even so, when it is considered how much revenue the olub Serlvos from, thete events, a. judicious increaso would b& on'y vighl and fair. 111 the principal opsn cvenle the class of horse? which carried silk in them locked difficult to find fault with, and with the exception of Matuku, the pemifiedlooking daughter of Go!d Reel, who scored handsomely on tho last day of the gathering, they all looked well up to weight and a credit to the country they were bred in.

In the Winter Cup tlie race resolvo-d itself into a duel between the two Duncdinite= — Pampero and Vladimir — and thoy cleared out from tlie balance of tho field, Rawiri the favourite, being one of the last to move. Lack of racing condition told on Pampero at the finish, and he had to strike his ro'ours to his ox-stible companion at the finish. In the G.N. Steeplechase, after the field had settled down after going a little over a mile, it could be see** that, the ultimate, winner would come from Hipstone, Pipi, Haydn, and Awahuri, and the further the quartet (who were piloting the othert-) went tlie more apparent did *liat fact l>c-rom-e. Hipstone was pulling hard, and lost a lot of ground a,t his fences through his rider appearing to be over-cautious. At each fence Howard would steady his mount, and aftfr losing several le-ngt.hs by doing so, would race un to tho leaders aarain after landing over tTi-e obstacles. Pii>i was in the van, o-nd kopt the riaco as solid' as he could. The quartet mentioned above were- close tozethcr when racina to the second last fence.

CUP AND STEWARDS'. 1000 to 10 Pampero ar.d Petrovna 800 to 12 Lady Lillian and Benzoin 500 to 7J Lady Lillian and Petrovna 500 to 7i Lady Lillian and To-moriow 400 to 4 Shrapnel and Petrovna 400 to 4 Shrapnel and Madrigal.

Mr J. Loughhn reports as follows- —

N.Z. CUP. 100 to 10 Lpcly Lillian and Pampero 100 to 8 Shrapnel 100 to 7 Kelburn 100 to 6 Canteen. 100 to 4 Sea Lion 100 to 3 Achilles, Orloff, Lavelette, and Hinctaura. 100 to 1 Sychem.

CUP AND STEWARDS'. 200 to 1 Pampero and Gauntlet 200 to 2 Pampero and Petrovna 200 to 2 Shrapnel and Petrovna 300 to 3 Wairiki and Petrovna 200 to 1 Pampero and Sychem 100 to 1 Kohupapa and Petrovna 100 tc 1 Pampero and Ra.-n in 200 to 1 Achilles and Windwhistla 100 to 1 Halberdier and Vladimir 300 to 1 Ileroisui aud Xcll Gjv/nOi

and it was hard luck for Hipstone, whose dispLay of fencing was the poorest of the lot, that he should come down a<t the lowest fce.ee to l>e negotiated m the race, after safely getting over the worst of the country. Examination of the fence at winch ho came down revealed the fact that it is somewhat trappy, and has a bad landing-ground as compared wich. the rest of the fences. After crossing this fence, Awahuri was proclaimed as the winner, and such proved to be the case, altdvough Cameron kept the son of Kaiwhaka going until the pose was safely reached. He woo with a good bit ia hand from Pipi. Haydn was well beaten at the foot of tlie straight, but with great gameness he ran home close behind the second horse.

The Grand National Hurdles on tho second day looked' fairly open, and Ba-ttleaxe maintained his position as favourite right up to the fall of the flag. The race admits of little description, as hzfore a mile had been traversed Waiwera, who had been given a public .trial in tiie Ladies' Bracelet on the first day, cleared out from, die others, and his chance of success was afterwards never seriously menaced. Golds-pur managed to struggle home in the August Handicap, and Red Gauntlet gavo a somewhat inconsistent display of form during the day by finishing fourth over six furlongs, which is generally supposed to be about his distance and, romping home over a mile, which up to dale" has been considered beyond his tether. In the Beaufort Steeplechase Scallywag flattered his backers in the early part of the journey, but faded away to nothing, and the evergreen Straybird, won comfortnbly ai; the finish. The succass of Victor. II in the Jumpers' Flat made the third race which fell to Dunedin horses during the day, and the Melbourne horse won like a tradesman. In the Final Hurdles on the last day, however, he failed badly, and was amongst the last to finish. Tlie most notaible thing which occurretl on the concluding- day of the meeting- was Che remarkably poon display made by Waiwera in the Svdenham Hurdlps, which formed' a very strong contrast to the very brilliant performances he treated the spectators to on tho first and second day of the meeting. He wia never dangerous, mad finished amongst the tail of tlie field. His poor display is accounted for by fche facb that he cannot act in mud; bub his form in the race under notice belies his looks, as Wadwera looks as if he would t>e at home in any sort of going. Huku, who was admirably ridden by J. Pine, had his work cut out to beat Tradewind, and the latter was unlucky in 'being; chopped across by -the winner and Slow Tom after crossing: the last fence. Haydn's display in tiho Lincoln Steeplechase was very good, considering 1 he was carrying 1 12.9 on a heavy track and giving away 291 b to Roller and 231b to Stray/bird, who were the two horses >f ihe field th* t cljd their best to make che pace and weight -tell on the son of Sou'wester. Racing to the last fence, Haydn and Straybird had Roller beaten, and the first-named and Straybird, which were ridden r 'hamme<r and tongs" over the last two fenpps, rose at- the last obstacle wdfeh very little ground between them. In the run home, however, tihe gallant Haydn was not to be denied ; but Fergus took no chance, a-nd kept at work on him until the la,«.t few stride 1 ' from ih& winninor rcost. Thf> Iwseman'ship and courage displayed by Fergus and Johnstone are deserving' the very hi.gi'e^t praise. Persons who view tho gamest and most darins, exhibitions of cross-country riding with tlie greatest cquanamrtv, but who would squeal with terror jf they found themselves on a horse galloping at fche rate of even time on +he flat, never seen to realise what is taking place under their noses; but they never fail to make themselves heard when what they dcpin suspicious running is 'taking- place. Matuku. who won the Selwvn Handicap, is a marvel r or her inches, and her form was also contradictory to wh-it she displayed in her firs*- rece at rhe me fit in?. Ini fact, beyond one or two uue\Dected wins, and reasonably so. from previous form at tin* me-ctiug, the Nitional gathering passed off in a, manner highly complimentary to all concerned.

THE NEW ZEALAND TURF REGISTER.

The guide, philosopher, and friend of sportsmen (yclept the New Ze-.^and Turf Register) has made ita annual appearance, and as it contains full details of all the past season's racing (including trottino;), together with tables showing the results of the principal Victorian and New Zealand races, in addition to entries for coming events, rules of racing, racing statistics, eales of blood stock, and a large amount of other useful and interesting information. The- book is well printed, substantially bound, and generally got up in a manner which reflects great credit on its compiler?. There "are two books which should be dutifully supported by jockey cluha and sportsmen generally, and these are the New Zealand Stud Book and tho New Zealand Turf Register, and it 13 to lie hoped the latter will meet with the ready sale which it dosen es.

THE BETTING MARKET.

Hes^rs Barnctt and Grant report the following on

THE N.Z. CUP. 1000 to 30 Strathavon 500 to 5 Bombardo 500 to 18 Ringman 408 to 25 Cant&en. wO to 8 Motor -100 (0 4 Secret Society 200 to 8 Royal Fusilier 200 to 16 Pampero.