IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2692, 18 October 1905, Page 55

IN A NUTSHELL.

— Nominations for the Winton meeting close on October 19.

— Nominations for the Taieri meeting closa on October 24.

— Huku, the winner of the Hurdles on Saturday, is 11 years old. — Acceptances for the Stewards' Handicap fall due on Friday nest

— General entry day for ths New Zealand Cup meeting falls on October 20.

— Acceptances for the first day of tho Gore spring meeting fall due on Saturday. — Nominations close on October 28 for tli© Tahuna Park Trotting Club's spring meeting. — Nominations for the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club's meeting close on 21st October.

— Highland Fling was brought to Dunediu kst week, but was not started en either day,' of the meeting.

—Mr G. Logan, of Cromwell, has been appointed hauxlicapper for the Maniototo Jockey Club.

— An English-bred stallion named Golightly (Hampton — Uncommon) recently arrived in, Sydney frcm Calcutta.

— Applications for the position of secretary of che Auckland Racing Club have been reduced to less than six.

— Ebullition, who won the Debutante Stakes at Caulfielcl, is a son of Simmer aad. the Carbine mare Corbelle.

— A complimentary ticket for the North Otago Jockey Club's spring meeting is to hand, end acknowledged with thanks.

— Owners are reminded that nominations close on October 28 for the Talnma Park Trotting Club's spring meeting. — The Chokebore cast-off Flying Spark won the Kaikorai Hack Handicap easily, but walked a bit sore after the race.

— Mrs Dowse, widow of the late Mr George Dowse, the weti-known handicapper, was found dead in bed last Sunday morning. —Mr J. Wren, owing* to the action of tha principal clubs in Australia refusing his nominations, has decided to sell his horses.

—Mr 3 . F. Buchanan has purchased G-lad-some Lodge fro-m Mr J. B. Reid, and W. Pino will take up his quarters there shortly. — Koputai ran a good solid race when he landed the Mosgiel Handicap, and the geCding •was turned out in fine order by Flockton. — Heirloom ran badly in both his races at Wingatui, and is shaping considerably below what was suggested by his early promise. — Beau Seaton ran well in patches in tha Ranfurly Handicap; but they were small patches, aud he finished last in a field Of six.

— Ostachkof, Notus, Apollodoris, and Rio Grande have incurred penalties for tjjeir racea. on the first day of the North Otago meeting. — A Napier telegram states that Mr B. Coyle has been appointed handicapper for the Hawke's Bay Jockey Ciub's summer meeting. — Dividend wrenched one of his fetlocks whilat doing a gallop, and was subseque itly; struck o-at of his Melbourne Cup engagement.

— Apprentice locked particularly bright and healthy -when going out for his race last week, but is at present a bit on the big side in condition.

— Soliloquy at Wingatni: — One can frequently tell by the expression (figures) of the (totalisator) face the thoughts (intentions) of the owner.

— An American writer i-eniaxks • — On small investments any man who cannot win at racing should be asphyxiated in the interests of the coming race.

— The victory of Lady Wallace in the Caulfield Stakes throws an additional light on tha performance of Noctuiform and Sungod in tha A.J.C. Dei by.

— Wonders will never cease ! The writer is almost po=itive he noticed a couple of dead hoise* galloping with some live ones at Wiugatiu last week.

— The Castor— Radiant colt, which cost 60g3 at the last Wellington Park Stud sale, was amongst the winners at a recent West Aus> tralian meeting.

— A furtht-r payment for ihe KZ. Cup is due on Friday next, and second forfeits tur ih"} Welcome. Derby and Oaks fall dua Oil the same data

— The Auckland Eacir.g Cub has bought aboiit 17 acres of land adjoining the Ellerslia course, formerly used for agricultural shows, the price being £4150.

— Vladimir ran a good race in the Mosgiel Handicap, considering the time he has been in active commission. He is still on the big side, but coining on well.

— "The oldest inhabitant of the village" recently informed the writer that "Wingatuij

derived its lisme from the fact that a juvenile armed with a shanghai winged-a-tui thereabouts many years ago. Brighton was in good galloping form last ■week, and won both hia races very easily. He -. is particularly at home in loose going, in which . Jie acts as well as when the ground is firm. v - .• — Querist. — The local papers do not consider It necessary to give the riders of the unplaced liorses, and consequently it cannot be said '^nih. certainty what Hewitt rode in addition Tfco Cuneiform. — JBiU< Perkins made a bold bid for victory v. binder his lOst in the Barewood Welter; but 'Although Cox mad© his final effort at the right gime, the weight told, and he faded out in the • 3Ust few strides. -„ — Red Gatintlet was made favourite for the Handicap on Saturday, but after showing, a glimpse of his well-known pace in the , ifirst couple of furlongs he was in deep trouble . * before reaching the home' turn. — Apollodoris and Beau Seaton were a couple of New Zealand Cup candidates who \iported frilk at Wingatui last week. The 'former did not display Cup form, and the . Matter ran like an arrant duffer. — Ostaenkof, .who landed a race each day •*f the D.J.C. spring meeting, is a brother to and should do even better with more «gej as he looked very light in condition and ■ -'did not display any great muscular develop- , ment. • - 1 , — Narcissus and t Huku, who are hoth grained by G. Murray-Aynsley, captured lioth {(hurdle events on the D.J.C. programme. The •first-named won comfortably, but old Huku - >JiaiL his work cut out to keep clear of Wee /Mazgregor. -i \ - — Dandalla, who won the Toorak Handicap (<jh Saturday,, is a son of the defunct St. 'fiwithin, who was bred and/raced here by the KHon. George M'Lean. St. "Swithin was a son jo? Cadogan out of the Traducer — Mermaid ,mare Malice. j . — The Melbourne owraer Mr J. Wren, whose .name is at present very much in the publio .jeye on account of tho V.R.C. refusing to " "^accept his nominations, was amongst those ■anxious to purchase Maniapoto, but was in- ' "formed the horse was 'not for sale. i — Apodlodoris won the- Shorts Handicap on Tthe "second day, but there was- not a great deal __ foi merit in the win. The colt woiild have ; "Aeen more troublesome at the finish, of the principal event on the first day if he had been .•made use of in the early stages of the race. v i • — Rio Grande, who scored in the Burnside 'iWelter, is a well-bred colt, who has come on • f^dceiy since he joined Ruttledge's stable. Tho ncolt was got by Stepniak out of British Queen, ■.»' -daughter of St. George (brother to Chester) • put of.Briiomsrte, the sister to Euroclydon. —In future the Tasmaniim Tu-rf ' Club JCE/a-üßces-ton) will pay the railway charges on Ihorses- and one attendant travelling to off,"ineetings from a distance of over 45 niiles -jR-hero stables nominate' \\\ to three. From three to six two attendants will be allowed. —Mi J O. Evett, the well-known Auckland >fcandicappei. _wa« seriously ill last week, but •Ht" latest advices was -on .the improve. Mr .J. ~,iE. Henrys was communicated with ,by wire, '\«n'd compiled some of the handicaps to-be 'decided on tha first day of the A.R.C. spring v .Meeting. : -.-_>- l "> ' ; , — Juniper's -running last week, somewhat ' : 'Surprised the writer, a3 the son of Bay' Bell '^walked, like a cat on hot bricks as heleft the •v -ttrack after being r worked on the 'Monday before tlie meeting. The rain which fell . apparentlyvgwva the horse t.an- improved chance of* d.is- ■ Ainguishing himself. - r — The New Zealand Trotting Cup, to be decided at the Metropolitan meeting, is endowed with 310sovs prize money. It is open i.to horses that ( can go 4min 50sec or better. Other races on the programme are the Metropolitan Handicap, of 230sovs, and the Chaanjiion Handicap, of 250sovs.' , ' — Those who were present at the November yearling sales at- Christchurch in 1903 will " -.fremember a good sort of a bay colt by Stepniak out of the Maxim mare Fanna, who made 410g8. Ho turned up last week under the . name of 'Nova, and scored comfortably in a welter at the Otaki' meeting. " - ■ — The Saratoga (U:S.A.) Racing Association . provides well-endowed stakes for its patrons .during 1 the' summer season, but the attendance . •is" not in proportion to the value of the prize ~ -.money. Recently the sum of 90,000d0l «(3E18,flOO) was run for in one afternoon, but the ' -spectators only iiunibe-rect about 20,000. : ' — The stock of Orme. whose son Birkenhead ..»b one of the latest additions to our winning -Blres, have not been very conspicuous in the •winning list at Home lately ; but at the York Jfcugust meeting Tankard, a three-year-old son s»£ Orme and the Hampton mare Kissing Cup, -Yon the Great Yorkshire Stake, of 1133sovs. i — The tdtalisators in work at Wingatui last iweek handled JE1277 10s more than last year, 4jor a total of £7600 10s for the meeting. This UTS" -the - best return recorded during the past *wo or three years, but -omewhat below the ißßl47.and the £9503 10s handled at the spring fixtures of four and five years back. i — The S'tepniak — Irene colt Astrakhan, who as a .brother lo Petrovna and Master Alix, ■Btarted twice, last week, and was finishing fast in 'his first race, but was 1 always in trouble ifche_ second time he was seen out. Ths coll ibas "had his preparation interfered with Jthrough showing intermittent lameness, and -probably suffevs- from muscular rheumatism. ■ — Notus, the upstanding son of Lord ■ ißosslyn and Mistral, the dam of Pampero, nuich admired at Wingatui for his fine, powerful appearance and general quality. An Spnglish visitor who looked him over some Jittle time back was anxious to take the colt (to England with the object of converting him into a 'chaser. " — Prelude, who showed winning form at Otaki last week, was a good performer last ■£eason, when she was considered a fairly smart jjuvenile, and scored in three races out of four starts. She is by Merrie England (St. George ,-- Rupee) out ~of Prologue, a daughtei of flatesby (Musket — Prunella) and Rosalind, the ■iflam of Ros-aal, Rosemere, Royal Rose, Black 3tose, and others. • — The refusal of the V.R.C. to accept nomi- • nations from Mr J. Wren has been widely '" commented on ; but the club's action is at 3east consistent with its rules, and a marked 'contrast . to. some of our New Zealand clubs, .who accept nominations from bookmakers, and either debar the owners from seeing their liorses run or else prosecute the fielders for .trespass if they have the temerity to go to the course. — Lady Landon, who kept Afer fairly busy .in ths Juvenile Handicap, has grown into a '£ne cut of a filly, showing a good deal of jpbwer and quality. She is bred on excellent "flines, as her sire, Seaton Delaval, is a stoutlyfibred Stockwell horse, whilst her dam, Robin|illa, was got by Robinson Crusoe out of Campanilla, a daughter of Maribyrnong and Silver cBeD, a sister to Chester, St. George, smd ,3Socclee. —"A j>retty sort of trainer, sir !" one of Ahcold school said to an enthusiastic youngster, who had opined that a neighbour of Ithe same profession as his host was rather «lcve-r. <f Why, last Monday one of his {horses threw a curb, and," impressively, ■*' would you believe it, sir, he sent for the ifouilder to white-wash the walls and disinfect jthe place throughout for fear the others Ehoitld catch the complaint!" — Moudjik, who won the Taioma Hack Jast week, is a son of Stepniak and VauHress, itha item of Pitch and Toss wad Mountebank.

Since lie raced as a two-year-old the colt has dropped a bit in the handquarters, and exhibits a slight tendency to drag, as if he had! ricked himself across 1 the back. He acted wi + ;h a gcod deal of dash, undei a light weight, but with 9.5 in the Burnside "Welter he never looked very dangerous. — Thp> Finland colt Canada was mad? favourite for the race won by Moudjik, but, although he was well up at the home turn, the Vaultress colt drew away in the straight and gave nothing in the race a chance at the finish. Cuircsettia was another well-backed candidate for the same race, but he ran badly on the soft track It is, "however, very doubtful if he could concede Moudjik 221b over five furlongs on any sort of a track. — The Trident gelding Blackpool, who is out of the Yatteudon mare Eleanor, sported silk last week, after being absent from the scene for about three years. He came back under the mentoxship of the one-time wellknown trainer, J. Cotton, and ran well during the early stages of his races, but fadsd away at the- business end of his journeys. The gelding, however, looked big and well, and may do better when he has been longer in commission.

— The first owner of horses to reach £20,000 winnings in stakes this season in England is Mr W. Hall Walker, who is followed by Mr Sol. Joel (£15,097) and Lord Derby (£13,494) as liis nearest attendants. W. Robinson has turned out' 2l horses, winning among them 42 races, worth £30,171, or nearly double tha amount won by any other trainer's charges; but the most remarkable figures are those of W. E. Elsey, who with 50 winners has won S8 races, worth £12,239. — Monoftrm, the full-brother to Multiform.; seems to have sharpened up a hit of late. The chef'teint son of Hotchkiss, who is ahll one of the- most attractive-looking horses in training at Ellerslie, appears to be fairly well forward to tackle sparing engagements, p«d though he has so far been a great disappointment I have not yet lost hope (say^ "Phaeton") of his 1 achieving 1 something 1 of a creditable character for the great family to which. li 3 owes- his descent.

— The train arrangements for the D.J.C. meeting last week were open to improvement, particularly en the first day, when the 12.15 train from town did not reach the course until after the first race. This, however, could not bs charged to the club, but rather to thei'" ill-luck, as the south express got blocked and held up the" line, with the result that the Wingatui passengers were not conveyed as expeditiously as would have proved the case under ordinary circumstances. — The legality of the action of the V.E.C. in recently increasing tho fees charged to btokmakera fear the privilege- of betting at Flercdr-gton id to ba tested m this law courts. A writ has been issued by John Co]rna,n, a member of tho Bookmakers' Association, seeling a. declaration from the Siipremc Court: (L) That tho by-law under which the license fees wsre increased is illegal, invalid, unreasonable, and ultra vires; and! (2) an order restraining the club from prohibiting him. from carrying^ on his calling- as bookmaker at Flemington.

—A" certain retired 1 tradesman admits th?Jt he is "a- very poor judge of a good horso," "while t>li« local blacksmith claims to be " a 'good judge of a bad one," «nd in this connection a very amiis-ing story is being told at the pxpeii.ee of the former. He had bought a very :id horse very cheap, and took the or.ima! down/ to tba smith to be shod. "How many shoos l am "I i;o put on ?" asked the blacksmith, critically surveying the antiquated .nnimal " Oh, four! 1 ' said the owner, adding doubtfully, if<' he's worth 'em." The blacksmith put two shoes 1 on, and then stopped. "Miud you," he explained to tho picud owner of tho equine wreck, " I'm not saj'ing as your 'oss isn't worth another ccnplo of shoes, but I'm quite certain he's goi, as many as he can carry away!"

— A clergyman (noted, for his zealous 1 efforts to suppress tho gambling evil in. his parish) had for neighbour a prominent bookmaker, ■whom he had often, but unsuccessfully, appealed to to leforin his evil and pernicious habits. The time came, however, -when the "bookie," attacked by a severe illness, likely to prove fatal, evinced a marked desire to receive some spiritual consolation before his jcurney lo tho great unknown, so the services of the clergyman were requisitioned. Having done his. best, the clergyman "" as aboui to take hi?' farewell when th» bookie suddenly asl-ed, "Parson, when yo\i get to heaven will you have wings?" — "Well— urn — yes, I supposa so." — "And if I get there I'll have 'em too." — "Certainly." — "Well, if ever we meet I'll fly you ior a fiver." — It will bo remembered (says' an exchange) that the New Zealand Cup winner Seahorse was bought in Englaaid a little while back for the purpose of being raced in steeplechases in America. Ho was taken to New York, and at his first appearance finished second, coming- with a late, run when his stable companion "was beaten. He made a good' mipiession, and when he ran at Saratoga a few weeks later was made a hot favourite for the big jumping event, the, S'hillalah Steeplechase. Unluckily, he struck one jump so hard that he had to be pulled up, and hobbled off the course on three- legs 1 . The injured leg was so badly stripped and otherwisa knocked about that it is 'niprobable that the chestnut will ever be ab!e to race again. However, as he is a •stallion, he will still be worth something for stud purposes. —If one can go by the book, the Vincent Jockey Club handicappcr must be considered very wide of the- mark in his adjustments for the Matakanui Handicap, m vHch Regiment is set to give Brighton sib. Beau Seaton donkey-licked Regiment at Hie Kurow when in receipt of slb over five furlongs, and n the Eanfurly Handicap Brighton, at even weights, gave anything up to a 2]lb or more beating to Bean Seaton from a yard upwards; but in the Matakanui Handicap Regiment is asked to give Brighton slb. If Beau Season were in the Alata]:a.rrai Handicap he would certainly, on a reasonable adjustment, have to give weight to Regiment, and if that is so, how much more should Brighton have to give th-2 Castor gelding? Then, again, in awarding Moudiik 7.2 the handicapper appears to have been very lenient on the S'tepniak colt. — The Juvenile' Handicap, decided on the first day of the D.J.G. spring meeting, -resolved itself into a duel betwpen Afcr, the sister to Vladimir, and Lady Landon, a gocd-looking fiUy by Seaton Delaval out of Rtbinilla. The pair pingled tneinselves out from the ethers, who only got near them through the leaders swinging- wide at the honfe turn. Afer had. the outside running, and -apparently was travelling a trifle better tha,n Lady Landon after they had run over a couple of furlongs. The latter was being niggled at by Dorr-eft when rounding for bcine; but in the last furlong she could not pace it with the bearer of ihe Zetland spots, who drew out in the last bit, and won by a short length. Afer had the ivor si of tho weights, but she has been in hand since about March last, whilst Goodman only took possession of Mr Buckley's licrses in Juno la^-.t.

— Yesterday was the limit assigned to bookmakers in France. From io-day (says Uie l^ieuoh correspondent oi the JLondon Sportsman of the Ist September) they are to b<s improved off tlie face of that part of lihc

earth. Fine and iinprisonrn'ont will be- theirs should they dare to bet and bo found out. It is not that the Chamber of Deputies cr the Senate or the Government eves a tinker's curse for the morality of the thing; they have the grace so far to eschew hypocrisy. They wish to see betting and plenty of it, but it must be done through the pari inutuel, which inteicepts a stiff percentage of the winnings for various charities, that seem to have not the shadow of a legitimate claim to the cash. There have been several pretty strenuoiis endeavours' to do away with the bookmaker, who hitherto has been too tough a customer lor h,is opponents. Tho law now is so severe that mos* of them will probably find the struggle too uneoual, and so give up. — A deputation'from Lake County and Cromwell Jockey Clubs waited on the Alexandra Jockey Cub last Friday evening in reference to the latter club's objection to the Lake County Club's proposed date of its next annual race meeting. The Lake County Club this year altered its date, and decided to hold its meeting on Decembof 15 and 16, instead of in January as formerly. The Alexandra Club, having already fixed on 22nd December, objected, thinking that the date would be too close, and would perhaps be likely to seriously interfere with the success of its meeting, as hoises taking part in the Lake County meeting would not go to Alexandra, and go back to Cromwell, and then on to Matakanui. Several letters and telegrams have been exchanged between the ciubs. After hearing the deputation, it was unanimously decided to withdraw the objection without prejudice, so that the matter may if necessary be le-opeend again next year.

— Speaking fromi experience :n> Franco and Belgium, the starting machine in those countries -is an undoubted success, espe.cially from the point of view of the public (writes a Continental correspondent of the London Pink 'Un). Ko more half-hour delays at the post, as we used to see at Boitsfort and Forest ait the .sixJurlong post on the oH course. If some horsQs are .bad at the gate it is generally the fault of trainer ot jockey. I went a little time back to see some youngsters practised at the gate. They were jumped off, let go 10 strides, then pulled back and put before the ribbons again. This was repeated over and over again, till the mouths of the poor beasts were made sore. No wonder they developed bad tempers, and got to hate the sight of the gate i Last year I witnessed a, much bettei plan. Ihe practice "gate" was put up in a paddock with a circular gallop about 300 yards round. When the ribbons were raised the horses were allowed to gallop right round this circus, and the youngster seemed to like it, for they would stop when they came to the gate, waiting for tho ribbons to be raised again.

— Making a, dash for the inside berth nexi the rails, and finding a jockey weak enough to concede, is all very well when it comes off ; but to " aocusa another jockey of foul riding for not allowing you to come where ysHi have no- n,ght to be savours somewhat of impudence (remarks an English exchange). Stern at Sandown might have made a charge of foul i-iding against M. Gannon and Maher for not keeping a nice clear berth open for him next the rails when he was riding Val d'Or. They refused to accommodate him, and made him go to the place that he ought to have ridden for in the first instance. Sometimes the " bluff" coinea off, but it is generally when some big jockey frightens a timid inexperienced boy by yelling at him to pull out. This Archer often did. Wheatley tried rfc on Madden at Goodwood, and failed. It wa.9 on the same spot a good many yeara ago that Edwin Martin, who was an excellent light-weight, tiied to come between tho rails and Pordham. Fordhani was foe fairest jockey, and one of the kindest, that ever rode, and he gave Martin a lesson. Said he, "My boy, you have no right to bs where you are-! I have only to pull my ofi rein and yoai would go over the rails, and there are some who would do it." This lesson Wheatley ■would do well to remember.

— " P. ]S 7 olan" in a recent Referee puts forward the pithy problem : "Why i 3 steeplechasing not a success in New South Wales?" Patrick, my friend (says "Boondi"), thai 13 an easy one — a very easy one, and the answer tc it will explain the failure of ever so many ether things in New South Wales, from the fine arts down to the .ultivation of fricasso frogs for the breakfast table. Briefly put, Patrick, all these failures are attributable to the one causs — nisanne?s on the part of our weaHhy ainl so-oallefl " leading" men. L could quote examples by the score in proof of this as regaa-ds any public movement that could be named. It takes money to make money, or to boom 1 anything in the way of art, bvsiness, or sport, or anything else, bu l ;, tiufortunately, the men who hold the money nowadays seem to have only one object in view all the tinie^ — viz., how to make more money. But they aa - e too mean to even attempt to do this by risking a .little portion or the greait wealth they hold, and will never part with a. single shilling imless they can see a dead sure way of immediately making- a pound by the venture. What they long for is a sort of money incubator, into which they could stow 20 shillings and then sn on them and hatch them out as £20. -

—At a meeting of the committee of the Alexandra Jockey Club, which was held las'fc week, a- deputation, consisting of Messrs Perrelle and Eichardson (Lake County Jockey Club) and Messrs Pemam, M'Loughlin, and Lester (Cromwell Jockey Club), waited on the ccniniittee of the locil club asking this club to withdraw its objection to the Lake County Jockey Club holding its meeting on the 15thl and 16th of December. Mr Perrelle spoke at some, length, and explained that ii was to fosten racing on the goldiields that (says the A'-exandra Herald) his club had decided to hold its meeting on the date named. Instead of being detrimental to the Alexandra Jockey Club, the dates his club had chosen would be the means of bringing Southland horses to the goldfields. He trusted tha.t the Alexandra Jockey Club would view the matter in the right light, and tha,t they would withdraw the objection. Messrs Richardson and Perria*n spoke in similar shuin. After a gcod d°al of discussion among the members, Mr Camerpn moved, Mi Cahill seconded, a«d it was carried — "That the Alexandra Club withdraw the objection on condition that if the Lake meeting interferes .7itb_ the Alexandia meeting the objection will be heard next year." Mr Perrelle thanked the Alexandra Club for doing so, and the President) remarked that had the deputation waited on the club before the objection* would not have been raised.

Because her mother forbade her to smoke cigarettes, a habit to which she was passionately addicted, a 19-year-old girl at Rixdorf. Germany, took poison, froni the effects of which she is expected to die.

The Glerkenwell (London) coroner, In commenting- upon the great mortality among infants who slept with their parents, said t-hat such cases of suffocation did not occur ariifing the upper a.nd middle classes because cots were us-ad. No man was so poor as not to be able to buy or m&ke some bDx sxiitable iox the purpose^