IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2714, 21 March 1906, Page 51

IN A NUTSHELL.

— Vladimir is "to be fixed and treated to a lengthy spell. — March 30 is general entry day for the C J.C. Rutnmn meetiog. " i — A Sydney cable states that Lady Wallace has been scratched for the Sydney Cup. — dose on 200 yearlings will go under the hammer during ihe A, J.C. autunyi meeting. — Nominations for the Beaumont Jockey Club's annual meeting are due on March 24. — The Australasian returns Machine Gun's starting price for the Newmarket at 83' s to 1. — Gladsome has been scratched for the Donoaster Handicap at the A.J.C. autumn meeting. — The Cuirassow — Adulation gelding Curiosity is quartered at Wingatui -under the charge of J. Rae. — Nominations ior ths Taieri Amateur Turf dub's JSaster meeting are due on Monday, March 26. — Owoiets jure Tamurded that nominations for the Rrrerten Haoing Club's Easter meeting are due on March 27. — The metallicians ■fielding at the V.R.C. autumn meeting are -reported -to have had a bad -time over 'the gathering. , — Complimentary tickets are to hand for the Eorbury Park Racing dub's meeting, -and aie acknow-leslgied--with thanks. — Glenogle has been put into -work again at InvercargiH, «nd it is probable that he will be given a run -at the Riverton Easter meeting. — James Scobie denies the statement that he shortly intends to retire as a trainer. He _ states that he has aot the slighest intention to Slo so. — The Menuchikoff colt Gapon is said to have been the medium of a big win lor 'his party when he scored in the Tlopeful Stakes ' at Plemingtou. —It is reported that F. Davis, the wellknown horseman, will in future have the preparation -of Mr !C. H. Lowry's team, which will "be trained from Hastings. — The Gore Racing Club have decided to take action against several bookmakers for trespassing on ihe course during the progress of the recent summer meeting. —It 'is rumoured that as much as £5000 has been offered and refused far the Sir Foot© oolt A-ntonious, who has proved himself a particularly brilliant performer. — The Victorian rider B. Carslake, v?ho has accepted a retainer to go to England and ride Mr R. {H. Hennings's horses, will leave at -the end of 'the present month. — The imported American coM California made amends for his indifferent displays at the Tahuna Park meeting by scoring over a mile on Saturday in 2min 24 3-ssec. —At the Emeryville (San BTraEciseo) track last month a two-year-old named Nappa won a fnreo and a-ialf -furlongs' race in 41^sec, a California^ Tesorfl for thar distance. I — The thoroughbred stallions Blackstone ' (Graftoji — --Consistence), * Bayonet (Musketry — Psyche), and Juniper (Occident — Bay BeH) leave for Australia by nes.t week's boat. j — A Stratford telegram stn tes that after hear- ' ing evidence the Stratford Racing Club de-.J cided to pay the second dividend (£2 3s) on j Champion in the Ladies' P.uTse on Friday. —Mr J. Brennan, the owner of Pendant, states that if he can get a subscription to Gallinule he will send his mare to England to be mated with the sire' of Pretty Polly. '• —Mr A. M'Vinish. who has always raced e_ few horses whilst living in Southland, passed through to Wellington the other day, , ■where h-e is to become rein-e Kost of tKe Posi Office Hotel. I — The well-performed Lochiel horse Tartan, j •who was in such, winning vein at the V.R.C j autumn meeting, is related to Gipsy Grand, 1 •who is almost a brother in blood to Colours, the dam of Tartan. < — A London <-.ib> states that the New Zealand horse Gold Medallist (formerly owned by Mr G. G. -Stead) won the King's preminm of 150gs at the hunters' show at the Agiscultural Hall. Islington. Last year Mr Brennan offered Pendant to an Indian horpe-buyer for i-1200. The offer was closed with, but the mare bailed to • pass a veterinary surgeon's examination, and Pendant thus remained in Australia. j — The well-known Wingatui trainer, J. j Ruttledge, who has proved a successful " con- | ditirmer," as our American fri-ends Bay, of j racehorses, recently ref«aed an offer to go to the North Island and take charge of a team of horses for a well-known sportsman. — Winners were reported to be fairly -easy | to locate in some of tbe races at the V.R.C. , autumn meeting, and one .punter, who probably had his wit sharpened by success, said that if one went to the meeting with a button he wonld b* snr-e to make a suit of clothes. — It is reported that work on the Wellington Club's new course at Trentham has been steadily pushed on during the past iew weeks, and by the time the autumn meeting ie held in April there should be a noticeable improvement in the tracks and general surroundings. — The story is reiterated that when the King visits Aintree to witness this years-- ' Grand National Steeplechase, he trill "after all see his colo\irs carried in the rac«. Lord Marcus Beresford being in negotiation for the purchase of a well-known jumper that has Been entered for the great steeplechase. j Messrs E. L. Mac*Esey and Co. offered on S»/ttir3ay the privileges in connection wi-fih "the Forbury" Racing Oub'-s autumn meeting, when ihe following prices were realised . — PrognunimeSi £& — Mx E. Langley; te* rooms, £5—5 —

Mts Thomson ; stabling— Hr D. Stewart ; fruit stall — Mrs Thomson. The booths were passed in, and , can be purchased privately. —Mr J. Brennan, the owner of the Newmarket Handicap winner Pendant, had his mare -coupled with Tartan in the Australian Cup to win him £7000, so that with the stakes he netted a fair amount oi spoil over ' the double. JMr Brennan is also reported to ' have backed hia mare straight out for the ' Newmarket for a considerable sum. — Af er, Hamattan, and Amethyst, a -trio of the Hon. G. M'Lean's two-year-olds, "have been sent out to the WarxingtoH stud to be treated to a spell. Aier, who is a sister to Vladimir, showed promise in the springj j but her shins have been a .source of trouble j both to the filly and her trainer, and the j best of her -was not seen in public. — Apparently age cannot wither some horseß' courage, although their legs and ieet may have to yield to the trials of racing and. training, and this thought was brought to mind by recently noticing old St. Denis j prancing- along the street like a two-year old. ■ The St. Clair horse is looking bright and healthy, in addition to being in good heart, , but it remains to be seen whether he will i reproduce his old brilliancy on the track. — Amongst the horses in training at Law- ! rence xre Jtfetalie, King Dick, Battler, -and : I'ankee Boodle. The lattei -will probably be .given a run at the National trotting .meeting in Christchurch. The Stepniak gelding Almanac has recently been taken in hand after a six months' -spell ; and -anofchar recently put fnto commission at the same place is a three-year-old filly by Casket- - Frances. —It is said that Antonious, who showed brilliant form amongst the two-year-olds racing at the Y.R.C. autumn, is only a pony, who when measured when he won in Sydney last Christmas went 14hds 3in. Payten has not measured him since, but the horse has lengthened out a lot «ince then, and improved in appearance. When Payten got him ha was a fat little pony, with a pony's head, and he trotted like a pony. | —It is said that Machine Gun was the | recipient of a lot of bumping during the race for the Caulfield Futurity Stakes, and a Syd- | ney rider is believed to be entitled for all the blame attached to the matter. A wellknown rider once told the writer that the only way to get a clear passage in some of the races in Australia was to have a revolver down the leg of each boot, and .either use or threaten to do so when any undesirable attention was being received. . — The imported American horse Wallaoe L., by Don L. — Economy, made his debut in ' New Zealand by winning the three-mile xace on the New Brighton Trotting Club's programme, and slipped the journey in 7min 4B l-ssec. OsterJey paced three miles in 7mrn 3038 ec, a-nd Harold C. went 7min 26sec in a race at Christchurch in 1904, whilst from a flying start Almont -wentr 6min r sosec in , Victoria. Wallace L. is reported 'to be sus- ' ceptible to improvement in condition, and he should be heard of again as a winner. — The Sydney Referee reports that Billali {Bill of Portland — She), and consequently a, brother to Bohadil, -who displaced -a. bone in ' tbe ietlock -while running in the Mentone 1 Plate, had to be destroyed, notwithstanding ■ that an. effort was made to save him. As v yearling JBlllali .was sold for 775g5, fbut though he won a few races he -was, on the* whole, a disappointment. The- best race to his credit was the Willisnrstown Cup, -of lOOOsovs,' in which he carried 6.15, and was followed home by Postillion 8.13 and Tatterdemalion 7.5. — A New York writer says that though many "brands oi starters have been tried m America, they have not yet tried a man of the calibre Qf their best stewards — a man who can wear well-cut clothes acceptably, whose manner is refined, dignified, yet effective, and whose language shall be impressive Tfttber than figurative. Such a man anight — might — rule American boys as the English starter, Mr Coventry, ruled Sims after five minutes' conversation, and as the French starter reduced 1 the irrepressible Willie O'Connor to racing ; senility in just two days. j — When in Wellington hi order to be 1 present at the opening of the new course fct j Trentham the writei had a conversation with one of th-e part-owners of Machine Gun, ar.d j when talking -over -(he proposed plan of cam- ' paign in which the son of Rubina was to • take part m Australia, was informed that ! if all went well there was a chance- of tha horse and his owners going to either England or America. Now, however, that Machiuc Gun Jias proved to be weighted out of the Newmarket and also 'beaten in the Futurity Stakes, it is quite possible that the horse ' may be brought back to Tvew Zealand. , — A Melbourne exchange reports that ilr j Duncan Grant sustained a severe loss by the . death at Bacchus Marsh of the yearling geld- j ing, the brother of Maniapoto. The horse, ' ■which v;as recently purchased in N«w Zealand by Mr Tuille for 500gs, had been trucked for Melbourne at the Bacchus Marsh station, and the vehicle was shunted on io a siding t-o be included in the outgoing train. It was driven -with too great an impetus, however, and both horse and attendant, a ' youth -about 17 years of age, were up=et in ths box. The lad was thio-v\n with great violence against the side of the truck, and received painful injuries. The racehorse was maimed to such an extent as> to necessitate , its immediate destruction. | — A West Australian sportsman, who was ; in Calcutta on I'he occasion of the Tecen-t big meeting, was much impressed by what he saw, and in a letter to a Perth friend makes specia' mention of the fact that several, stew- . aid-?, the secretary, and the starter put in I an appeaiance at the track every morning to see the- work. He further adds that the starter was ever Teady to school horses at the machines , m fact, one could not find fault with tfhe executive of the clib in theii endeavour to rater for tne convei*^tfii?e of owners and tiai'ie-"fc On two afternoons each week seven , flights oT hurdics "were erected on the course .v.oner ior scboolmg purpo=es, ana as many as fh c hor-e« were often sent a round in company The advantages gamed by such ex- , penence over the battens certainly minimises the risk incurred by jockeys riding over hurdles at Calcutta. j — The general meeting of members of the Victorian Breeders and Owners' Trotting Horse Association took place rerenth . A \ number of letters were read from country clubs wishing the association a successful career, and intimating their intention to become affiliated. The rules were adopted, with the exception of one — viz., an amendment reducing the membership from .£lO 10s to £5 ss. The following office-bearers weTe elected : — President. Mr 3 B Zander; vice-president Dr C Perry : treasurer, Mr A Tve ; com-mittee-Messrs D Taylor, W. B. Veirs, W J. Beckett, W. Whitburn, Geo. Tye. and P. J. Swindle, with power to elect three otheis. Arrangements have been made by the association to issue its own calendar, which will 'be rosted free to all riSillated clubs, members Of association, and all trainers registered under the rules of the association. Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace in his recent work, "Russia," -save-— The number of post-horses generally used in those parts of Rusbia, where railways have not penetrated is three, unless the traveller is indifferent to appearances, when he may content himself

■with two. One horse is" put in the shafts, his bead kept high by a bearing Jem, but the oilers are loosely attached on each side, and gallop freely *with their heads turned outwards in classical fashion. The horses are usually the mast miserable-looking screws it is possible to imagine; but their .appearance belies them, BJirh they will do their 10 or 12 miles *v hour m most creditable fashion if properly driven. The post-boy or yamstchik commonly carries a little harmless whip, but he rarely uses it, except by waving it horizontally in the air. All bis incitements are oral. He talks to his cattle unceasingly, bow in endearing accents, now an terms of the sharpest abuse. At one moment they are his "little floves," at another "'cursed hounds. — It was at one time considered the correct thing at Epsom -for the owner of the Derby or Oaks winner to devote .£SO to the purchase of champagne. After Kingscraft had proved successful, Lord Falmouth was .approached on the subject, but his answer startled those who had made the usual request. "Not one penny will I give for champagne," determinedly eaid the peer, who was .not afreid to speak his mind on this long-establiihed custom, "but double the money shall be given to local charities. I think it a shame, he vehemently continued, ""that young lads who may, within the -next few minutes, "be holding theirown lives in their hands, and on whose skill and coolness may depend their employers' fortunes, -should nave an opportunity of "becoming fuddled "before getting into the saddle. If an accident occurred through this I should hold myself morally gniity for having placed the wine in their •way." Coming from a man who played the great game solely as a sportsman, these Bentrments were not received with disrespect. It was not often that Lord Falmouth raised a dissentient voice against longestabhsbed customs, but when he did so it was usually with good effect. — Sporting Sketches. — The victor? of St. Hilarious, in the Cesarewitch of 1877, reca'Ss a story, which, though T believe I (says an English scribe) have told it before, I may be forgiven for repeating. It was one Saturday, some two ox three weeks before the race -was decided, that two or three of us foregatheseH in the watchmaker's shop at Stokesiey — our custom always on &tokesley market days — to discuss the latest intelligence and compare note© and opinions. Ab we were talking, a well-known priest -of the Roman Catholic Church came into the shop and Tead us a .lecture. "It is bad boys you all are, wasting yonr time talking raboitt horses and your money backing them. Sow, there's fihe doctor" (pointing to the late I)t Handyside), "he is leading you all into mischief, and at his time of life he should know better. Now, I'm as sure as if I'«d heard/ it, he lias been ndvising you siliy boys to waste your money backing Julius Oseear. Disgraceful of .him. ' Then came ,a pause, and the worthy man. with a twinkle in his eye, *aid, "Now I could have understood it if he had told you to take 100 to 6 Hilarious. ' And the worflhy man was left standing, as we knew him to he very friendly with Fred. and the Stokesiey Telegraph Office was -kept busier than usual by eager sportsmen writing to iheir bookmakers. — A few -eve-rungs ago .we listened to a discussion on the education .question. One speaker, in clerical -gaib, jsarticuiarly struck us as "being eloquent and intelligent. Hie brogue proclaimed his nationality, and -we (says a writer in an English sporting paper) ascertained -that lie was an Irish priest on a political mission to London, on behalf of his school. He spoke -as one -with authority, but somewhat startled us when he declared with vehemence that a certain thing .will .happen under the new Government, "as sure as Phil May will win the National." Later we heard him ■advise' one of the other speakers to go to Windsor on the morrow and back Mansvelt, •with" the .assurance that "h-e can't be bate, though 'twill be odds on, and John Widger wil! win on Wednesday with -Royal Sow for a fiurety!" When we subsequently sarw that both horses won we felt that if his "Riverence" was as souncl over his school policy as over his racing, he was one to follow. -So, w-h-sn the "Calendar" came in, we turned first of all to the .steeplechase to see vvfhat weight Phil May was set to carry. Last year, with list, he ran prominently, and was lying fifth when he fell, two fence's from home. This year he is given 11.5. Phil May is no longer in 'Sir Charles Nugent' b stable, and is trained at Whatcombe by M'Naughton. We have no further information about him for the moment. —We have had two relations of the cTack Australian colt, Autonioue, in New Zealand, and both have been Wrngatui-trained horses. These were Abercrombie. a son of Abercorn, who was imported by the late Mr J. Stephenson, and Ayrdale, an Ayr Laddie gelding, brought over by the gentleman who also brought over Tteei Gauntlet and others. Abercrombie was a peculiarlyJouflt customer, but he won races for the Messrs Ellis Bros., and the last the writer satv of him was vib.en he was doing utility work for a local horse dealer. Ayrdale was a well-knows performer, and won several good races before he found his wffj to India, where he also proved successful. Prior to coming to Kew Zealand Ayrdale was tried to be 'very fast as a youngster, but met with an .accident, and after being given -a spell made his debut at Wingatui in the autumn of his three-year-old season. Both these horses, in common with Antonious. run back to Gyrnkau a. the daughter of Emulation and Gaiety, and Bengal, the sire of AntomouhV dam. ita.» got by Cheater out of Gyrnkana. Auothei member of the family is Ballyrogan, a Proiectile horse trained by Brewer prior to that -well-kuown horseman leaving for England ; but although the "writer has read of Ballvrogan .sTi owing pace, he has failed to do artvthing of recent month* — A rathe! interesting betting cape, m winch the use of the telephone played a prominent part, wa= beard before the Rauv>?ate (England) County Court a few weeks. a°o It arose out of whether the plaintiff, who claimed £15, backed Athelta or Attalea for a rae£ at Leicester According tc hiß statement, he sent a telephonic message to put £& on Athelta who won, and so as to avoid any mistake spelt the name of that hor=e, aud gave the name of its trainer, n& it appeared in the sporting papers. This was confirmed by a couple of witnesses. Against this the defendant's clerk — a femaie— alleged that Attalea. was the horse backed. The judge, after hearing the evidence, said that he had no doubt that the horse backed was Athelta, \ and that the rule as to a bookmaker not being liable for erroi<? in telegraphic message had no bearing on this caee If a backer sent a telegiain he made the telegraphic clerk his agent to transmit the message, and if the clerk made a. mistake, it was obvious the bookmaker could not be Uabl«. The telephone could make no mistake. It could only give ■forth at one end the sound actually uttered at the other end, and if the name uttered was proved beyond all reasonable doubt, the mistake must be made by the recipient of the message if -a different name was written dov. n. For these rea«ortfi he held the defendant liable, and gave judgment against him. — The Boers' horses, says Mr Herbert Mockford, are seldom stabled, never groomed, and larcly fed ; they pick up their, living as best they can off the veldt. Some of the richer and more humane Boers give their animals shelter at night, and in summer when the herbage is scorched to nothing, give them a feed of maaJies (Indian corn) or oat hay

Nevertheless, the Boer ponies have ■wonderful staying power, being able to cover from 30 to 50 miles a day for days together. The Boer never rides at a trot — always at a walk or a, canter, or at the gait peculiar to South Africa, called " trippling," between a fast j walk and a .slow trot. It is a very pleasant \ gait for the rider, and very easy to the horse. '' An indispensafble part of his .gear is the raw- I hide halter, with a loose end about 4ft long, j When the Boer off-saddles, this loose end is I wound twice round the horse's {foreleg, just above the knee, and knotted ia-st Thus secured, the animal can graae camfort?Jbly, i but cannot run away. The Boers never hobble ! their horses. The seat of the Boer is din- ! metrically opposed to that taught in English | riding schools, with no .grip -whatever, but depending entirely on balance. He affect* -very short stirrups, sticks his feet well home in the irons, and at right angles to ihe norses body; he mounts and dismounts with lightning lapidity, and there is not .a more decile or better trained animal than his horse anywhere. A hand kid gently on its neck, j and the Boer pony— lor it is hardly mo^-e— steps dead instantly. —He was an exceedingly popular Roman Catholic priest in a way-back Australian township, and, as is usual in these thinly- I populated centres, had a long " round " and consequently had to keep a good trotter. He ' was fond of horses, and enjoyed nothing 1 better than a fast spin along a good bit t>f i read. It so happened that the Church of I England minister had an equally sportin^ prochvi+y. and also a pretty fast trotter, and the priest had long been anxious to have a cut at his rival's horse. It so happened that • ariving to mass one fine Sunday morniii"* the priest espied high up the load the bng*»y ' of the minister. "Ck-clk," and off his pom- ' was in a second at his best gait. The -parson heard the rattle of wheels behind him, and guessing what was up an a -minute, he nuet I touched up his horse, ,and off he went at a ' rare "bat," passing through a little township at .such a rate as to call forth from the K.C. population exclamations of wonderment anoTioud objurgations as to the sinfulness of racing on a Sunday. "The haythen it is racin on a Sunday ; he ought to "be ashamed of himself :.' A second afterwards the priest s sulky rattled along, the horse flecked -with loam wid the driver, with grim determination oerspreadins his features, holding the reins taut and clucking" encouragingly The people marvelled for a second till an old JSorth of Ireland man shouted out at the top of his voice : " God bless the father • it's hurryin' to mass he is." And then they prayed that flae father -would win. Whether he did or not is no matter. — When .shall we see another great horse? A great mare we have in Pietty Polly, "but it is long since there was aoi- undoubted champion of the other sex. Cicero St Amant, Rock Sand, the three last Derby winners, certainly .cannot be counted and though Ard Patrick beat -Sceptre in a great fight, she was not, I (says an English writer) have always believed, Sceptre at her very bast. Flying Fox? He cannot be rated with ■ his grand sire 'Ormonde. Persimmon? On the Ascot Cup day of 1897 Marsh -and Watts agreed that he w«s great, but if we admit • him must we not assuredly ;also admit St. Fruaqum? Isinglass? About him opinions are divided; that is to cay, some critics da not regard him as absolutely in the 'front rank, notwithstanding *his unapproached I record as the winner of more money in stakes I than fell to the lot oi any ofch«r racehorse. I wander if there -ever lived a man who was mixed up wilh horses and who could -avoid prejudices? I do not pretend to be such an exception. As it happened, I saw much of Isinglass throughout his career, paid innumerabk" visits to the big end box at Bedford Cottage, where he used to stand, and had a vast admiration ior him. The fact remains that except for the race at Manchester — a flukey result — I shall -always believe he -was never beaten, and more than once h-e won under difficulties, when not at his best. Donovan ? With all his x-ictories he never quite mode his way to estimation as superlatively good. I suppose Flying Fox was the best we have seen, at anyrate, for the last eeven years, and the one thing certain is that it is time for an equine idol to appear. Is there a two-year-old to fill the vacant place? — Six ■ ye»rs ago a winner of the triple ercAvn was brought to the hammer at Kingsclere, and knocked down for 37,500g5. We now hear that the vhole of the stud of the late Sir James Miller is to be sold, and we phall see the winner of another triple crown in the ring. The question .arises, 7Li Flying Fox was worth 37,500g5, what is the value of Ro;k Sand' It may be said that Flying Fox, at three years of age, won two of the :£IO,OOO races, whereas Rock Sand, in making j the same attempt, -was beaten ; but what a contrast the two fields present! In the case of Flying Fox, in one race he had Royal i Emblem to beat, and in the other Scmtillant, whereas Rock Sand had for opponents such j ommals as Sceptr and Ard Patrick. Moie- 1 over, at four years of age Rock Sand won-! five races out -of six, two of which were ten thousand pounders. Hi*, record in all, therefore, was a l-emarkable one, winning 16 races out of 20 starts, whereas Flying Fox 1 won nir.e out of eleven. The horses that beat Plying Pox «er« Caiman and S* Gris. -cvlio ' wiV not compare with Sceptre. Ard Patrick, and Zmfandel. who beat Rock Sand. It may I be howeveT. that Flying Fox ntver ought to j have been beaten, and that the victories of i St. Gris and Camian over him were stolen j j9ce= Still, in orclei to make Flymg Fox the woi'der as a racehorse that he most undoubtedly was, we nui't look to his great private ina-P rnther than hit public form Of the private form of Rock Sand we know i very little, :i'i<3 pr'.hably we saw the best j of him m public We notice in the sire list j that he is full for ISOC at '2130g5. and subscription"- weie invited foi ]807 at the same price. It i« not likely that any would be taken fo ( far in pdranc". and tl.preforp there "will be i rothing to pi event the horse from being so-d j tins season I