IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2651, 4 January 1905, Page 51

IN A NUTSHELL.

— The _nmnber of horses now in work at Uandwick exceeds 200. — At last repoits, Wairiki was able to take a- little walking exercise. — Nightfall has been showing signs of soreness since uer arrival at Ellerslie. — Nominations close on January 9 for the Sydney Cap and Doncaster Handicap. —It is stated that Cruciform has run her last^race, and is to go to the stud next year. — Nominations for the Gore Uacing Club' a cummer meeting fall due on Saturday. January 7. — W. Lane, the English jockey, is slowly lecovering from the accident ne met with in September. — Complimentary tickets for theWyndham and Warrio meetings are to- hand, and acknowledged'with thanks. — A complimentary for the "Waikouaiti Racing Club'; annual meeting is to hand, and acknowledged with thanks. — A complimentary ticket fox the Vincent Jockey Club's annual meeting is to hand, and acknowledged with thanks. — George Bobson, who won the Melbourne Cup -of 1692 an Glenloth, is now riding at unxegistered meetings in South Airica. ■ - ""- " — 'Zealous, the' sister tb" the 'expatriated New Zealand Gup winner Seahorse, landed her double .at Wing*tui last week in good' style. — Mr G-. G.- Stead's win in the' Great Nor- • therifc-Foal Stakes; with" Sungod marks the tenth successof "his-'horsea in the race since J890." , ""* -*- Jolly lsoger ran badly in. the Summer Hurdles last- week", ' but made ,st fairly bold, effort on' the flat on the second day of the meeting. — Bawmore looked particularly well at "Wingatxu, but just failed to see out both his Taces affer being prominent from tne rise of the barrier. — A correspondent would like to know of the whereabouts of any of the progeny of Wicklow, and also that of Merry Staunton or Cock of the Walk. "" — Mahnionga's 3.30 1-5 -in the Auckland Cup is a second and three-fifths slower than Waixiki's (9.8) and Bhie Jacket's (7.9) record times in the same race. S — dual win of-Alexis-was a.very popular, and it is to- be hoped some of his,. •Table 'companions will follow his example before, the present season closes." v . * — "Nominations for the Naseby Cup,- Jockey Club, Flying, District, Welter, and Publicans' Handicaps and all trots at the Maniototo races •will close- on Thursday, JSth^inst. — The-Dunedin- Jockey "Club made a profit of £450 on the meeting just -concluded. This is the first time for several years that the club lias made a profit on , the summer meeting. ' — Quagga, the half-brother by Gipsy Grand to Btda'wayo, won, his double in good style-last ■week. 'Like • his well-performed relative, he ' is a pony in inches but posseses the gift of going. — A Pelmerston N. message says that the amount "put through the . totalisator* at the "Manawatit "and Aalrorsfr meetings'^aggregated nTthree days, aivavesage of £17,139*138 -4d eacn- day. . •- „-•"'■ - . —Mr ~SL. C. Field, on of the "principal owners- and breeders in Tasmania-, has decided to>; sell his stud "next month, owing* to the disqualification at his horse Yatchsman by the Kewnhanv .stewardsr ""'-•- " ,_, - - *' r;~r ;~ ' ~- , — r Mr, ? J'Dick!'' 'Hungerfbrd, once well known . in- local sporting circles, *n3 new- •ecretery- to the New South Wales trotting Club, sends .along a- card-conveying the season's greetings,, -which are heartily reciprocated. — A northern paper states that Free Holmes made the- journey from Lyttelton~to Auckland in 40 hours. • That is a bit of' a record, and makes, a striking comparison to "the 24 ' hours occupied- by Lolah in coming from .Christchurch toDiinedin prior to- the- recent meeting. —Mr G. G. Stead sustained severe loss last -week by the death of Rubir, the son of Stepniak,- who succumbed to an attack of inflammation of the bowels. The writer" entertained a lighr opinion of the son of Madder, who, with ordinary care, would- have proved a gocd stake T.-inner. ' — The well-performed Gladsome, who has been treateH-toaboxit a month's spell at L«er4erberg- Park, near Bacchus Marsh (Victoria.), has -returned to Flemington, wHere, under the care of J. Macnamara, she has resumed work in view of the autumn racing campaign at Caulfield^ Flemington, and Randwick. — An impression, has gone abroad tha.t Mr G. G. Stead will "send a team to Flemington in the Autumn, but should Australia be again visited this season by a team from Yaldfaurst. it is more than probable' "it will be to Bandwick, which is more convenient than the Victorizn metropolitan .track. — Mr W. P. Crick "is said -to have won £3000 in bets over Ossian's Newcastle Cup ■win, and- the drawers o£-the horse in Tattersal?s No. 1 consultation- "laid Bim £1000 to nothing.-" The- ex-Dunedinite- J. Lowe,_ it will . be remembered, has-been" training- Ossian. and the .othier horses in "Mr Crick's -team since ' October la_st. -_ — -,Th& fteathis announced, of the well-known North, Island sportsman Mr" W. Kathbone, of Waipawa,"in his seventy-third year.- The crack mare Merganser was- probably, the -best horse that. "ever, parried, the deceased sportsman's colours, which were also carried by well-known-performers-in Palaver; Blarney," Zanella, and> in the last" New Zealand Cup by Fleka. — Lady Annie, who paid the dividend of '£25 lls 6d when she won tfae Railway Handicap, -is a daughter of Soult and the Seaton Delaval mare Miss Annie. The last-named was got by- Nordenfeldt out of First Love, the dam of Lady Avon. Another large dividend w&s ■returned by Cuirassette when she won the Railway Handicap of 1896 anS paid £60 12s. — The two-year-old gelding Alexis, who won, a race each day at the D.J.C. summer meeting in fairly tjood style, is one of "the improving sort, and should score again before the season closes. He is a bit light in the frame, but is- growing and filling out nicely, and bears a xacy appearance all round. An enlarged fetlock'behind detracts from his appearance, but apparently does not trouble him> in any way. — The prinoipal payments by the D.J.C. over ths summer meeting are as follow: — Mr J. B. Mackenzie, £185; Messrs Ellis Bros., £16fr; Hon. G. M'Lean, £145 j Mr W. J. Taggart, £115; Mr J. Jeffs, £90; Mr Teschemaker, £85; Mr T. C. Donnelly, £60; Mr E. M'JDonald, £55; Mr E. Henderson, £54; Mr D. M'Kendry, £ST); Mr F. Neligan, J!41; Mr H. Dunn, £40; Mr L. C. Hazlett, £20. Thirteen other owners participated. — - The times put up by Zealous last week ■when, she won her double over- hurdles con_Btitute track records for Wingatul. She- won over' one mile- arid a-half in 2.52J, and over one mile and three-quarters ,in 5.23 2-5.' Dundee Tan., one mile and three-quarters over Imrdles with 11.4 in 3,25-1-6, and his was the Cast go prior to Zealous's performance ' over the same -journey^ Palias's T. 30 2-5 is also a -track record. . — i Mr Stead took the various stages of the Auckland Cup journey, and 1 he kindly read them off to the press representatives. The record was as follows.— Quarter-mils, 262 sec; lalf-mile, 52Jsec; six furlonprs, lmin 19isec; one mile, lmin 44sec ; one mile and a-quarter, 2min lOJsec ; one mile and a-half, 2rnin 37sec ; one mile and three-quarters, 3inin 3Jsec; two ttilea, 3min 30Jsec, Melodeqn iursj & bjooj

\ vessel during the second stage of the contest, and was eased up. • — A leading trainer thus delivered himself of his views on tipsters at Randwick racecourse in the early morning the other day : — "I don't care about these men that come running up with a long story about what the horse has done, and all the watches he has broken. I The tipster I believe in is the man who just winks at me, and then goes into the ring and puts his own stuff on." And those who know the ways of the turf will admit that there is a good deal of hard sense in the trainer's idea. j — Len King had the mount on three winI ners at the D.J.C. summer meeting, and rode a. particularly fine race on Manjess in the Fernhill Welter. J. M'Guire also rode three winners, and, like J. Blythe, who steered) Quagga in his races, is showing improved form in the saddle. E. Scoullar rode Pallas in his wins each day, and E. Cox had the mount on Zealous when the daughter of Nelson won both hurdle races. Other successful horsemen at the meeting were J. Pine, P. O'Brien, J. Rae> and W. Lloyd. , — The following are the drawers of the placed horses in "Tattersall's" consultation on the Newcastle Tattersall's Cup: — No. 1, Ossian Soeptre and Co., care of R. Murray, Mount Barker, South. Australia, £4000; Stormaway, "Mailee Syndicate," to W. J. Laroner, Brim, Victoria-, £1250 ; Lady: Simmer, Bob Knox and Co.; care' of T. H. Garth, Macwhera quay. Greymouth," New x Zealand, £750: No. 2, Ossian, "Mangelo;",- 26 Shadier" street, Neutral Bay,r Sydney, £4000;- Stormaway, Lenaghan and Sutton. -to J. F. Barry,. Commercial Hotel, West Maitland, £1250 ; Lady Simmer, Mrs W. Cook, ! Terrica, via Inglewood, Queensland, £750. The V amounts are -net. •• '(' — The London correspondent of the Argus, writing on November 11, has the following: — "Robert S. Sievier, the betting man. once owner of Sceptre, who lately failed to establish a decent name for himself by his lawsuit against Sir James Duke, has once more been engaged \ in the law courts. He was sued by Mr Arthur Kershaw, a well-lmown betfcin- agent, for £75, paid on Sievier' s behalf, and at his request, in settlement of a betting transaction. Sievier pleaded 1 the Gaming Act as a bar to the suit. He has won his case on "^peal, but a® there is honour even among, thieves, the setting up of such a defence is likely to b« the final bar tc Sievier's admission to even the lowest betting club." — An undoubted ; prejudice exists in some minds against the use of more hay than is absolutely necessary^in the~ stable, hut, for dll that, njany practical men entertain a-con-trary opinion. Year-old hay, particularly that grown on uplands, is the best of all, says an American authority, whilst hay from water meadows is the worst ; and speaking generally, grain with age on it<ds' preferable, to any that is not so old. A great deal — in fact,-, almost everything, — however, will depend upon the ' season, for horse food that has been badly ' saved is never really good^ for animals to eat ; ' and such things as dusty" hay, or grain mixed up with sand or earth, must obviously be a dangerous food. — "The horse population of the United States fluctuates considerably. In 1882 the statisticians of. the - Beraartineiit .of Agriculture -returned the .number "of farm animals' as 10,521,554. This number; rose -steadily, says an i exchange, until 1893, when the of farm horses in. the States wag given as 16 206,802. From the year 1894, this number steadily - ireased^ until , 1900, when the figure stood at ,13.537.5241' In 1901; it up, to -16,744,723— : < Cthe. highest, total ever reached;' — and the. last- J "two* years show, no very serious falling off. The' United States in^l9o2 exported over J 08,000 horses, and nearly 27,600 mules. The increase in the exports of mules during the 1 last 10 ot 12 years is even more remarkable than the increase in the number bred in the country: for. in 1892. the number of mules exported fell short of 2000 head. ...The value .per head of the mules exported in 1892 was 121do1 42c. while that of tb© horses was given as IB9dol 46c. In 19*02 the average value of the mules had fallen to 97d0l 60c. but that of the horses- had shrunk to a shade less — viz., 97d0l 53c.