IN A NUTSHELL,

Otago Witness, Issue 2727, 20 June 1906, Page 50

IN A NUTSHELL,

— '"Father, is it wicked to bet on horses ?" "It is — on some horses."

— Handicap* for the- Wellington R.C. winter meeting are due on June 30.

— Menschikoff has been nominated for the Caulfield Gup and Toorak Handicap.

— The Auckland Racing Club is reported to have made a profit of £2300 over its recent winter meeting.

— Nominations for the principal events to be decided at the C.J.C. Grand National meeting close on June 22.

— Aka Aka who pulled up lame after racing at the A.R.C. meeting is not expected to race again fox some time.

—Mr T. B^ Upton has been elected chairman of the Ashburton Racing Club's Committee for the eleventh year in succession.

— A Napier telegram states, that St. Lyra was scratched on Monday for all engagements at the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's winter meeting.

— A London cablegram states that the injury to tho racehorse Spearmint's eye, sustained while the horse was travelling on the railway to Amiens, is not serious.

—Mr C. H. Fitzgerald, a. well-known supporter of trotting in Australia, died' recently ct Dubbo, N.S.W. Ho cccasionally had horses racing in New Zealand.

— Altho'igh~Mr G. G. Stsad has not nominated either Huascsur or Seal Rock for the New Zealand Cup, both these colts have be»n allowed to remain in the A.J.C. Derby.

— Fred Davis, who was identified with the Hon. J. D. Ormond's stable for some considerable time, has decided io retire from the saddle »nd devote his energies to training;. —J. M'Combe will not be present at the Huwke's Bay meeting, as formerly announced. ji.e hag leased his house and stables at Mosgiel lo J. Boa'.e, and. will reside in town.

— The well-known New Zealand-bred horse Tradewind, who was taken to South Africa about two years ago. broke down so badly some little time back that he had to be destroyed.

— Dora. Grey, the three-year-old sister to Achilles, got amongst the winners at a recent Bendigo meeting, snd the Jet d' Ean gelding Etang scored in a Jumpers' Flat at the same gathering.

— Someone is evidently of opinion, that Welbeck will be after lepping honours .shortly, as he has been coupled with Slow Tom in some of the business reported on the Rationale to be decided at Riccarton.

— Avalon, the Australian-bred eon of Strathmore, has started in 170 races, and been first on 22 occasions, second 19 times, third 2? times, and unplaced in 103 races. He is now 10 years old, and was amongst the winners at a recent Adelaide meeting.

— The Blackstone— Red Riding Hood colt i 3 being ridden, and comports himself in the streets with the composure of a veteran. The youngster is furnishing nicely, and should prove a bargain at the figure which Mr JJ. M'Kewen paid for him some few weeks ago. — A peculiar situation presented itself 'o tho judge at the conclusion of the Alderman Cup, in Adelaide. The lad on Avalon, who won, completely obscured the heads of Red Streak and Memento, who finished on the rails, and, as they were so close, he was forced to declare it a dead heat.

— Most of us have heard of the negro boxer who put a horseshoe in one of his gloves for luck. A similar instance has recently been discovered in America, where a boxer bandaged his hands with tinfoil, but, fortunately for Mb opponent, it was discovered in time before the rea.l business commenced.

— The Ashburton Racing Club have recommended their committee to expend a sum of money in erecting a new grand stand on their course and making other improvements. A new stand on the course is absolutely necessaryj as at present the club are in pos-

session of the worst on© in the South Island.

— A London writer says that the attendance on the last day of the Newmarket April meeting was the smallest seen for many years, antl that the ten-shilling ring was occupied by one bookmaker and 10 backers. Under the circumstances it is safe to say that the solitary bookmaker did not lay over the odds about anything.

— The Bill of Portland colt Bill of the Play was strongly fancied for tiie Two Thousand Guineas, and was sent out a. good second favourite for the race. - Unfortunately for his supporters, the colt fead. his head the wrong way when the barrier weni up, and was badly left when ..lie rest of the field iuoved off. — The principal races to be decided next spring in Australia have received liberal patronage from horse-owners. The C&ulfield Cup closed with 169 nominations and th© Melbourne Cup with 158, whilst other 'events such as the Epsom and Metropolitan Handicaps, Maribyrnong Plate, Derby, and St, Leger have all attracted a large entry. — Bobadil, who is out of She, a. sister 'So Stepni&k, had a couple of good winners at the recent V.B.C. Birtnday meeting. Boabdil, out of the Carbine raaTe Circle, won Jie Birthday Handicap of -fOQsovs (one mile and a-half) from seven others, and Portland Bob, a two-year-old out of Mysia, .beat .six others in a handicap decided over six furlongs. ► — At a meeting of the committee of the Stratford Sacing Club it was decided to, appeal to a conference against- the decision -of s th», .- Taranaki Jockey Club in rer&oving tho disqualification imposed on one person and fines on. two others on a charge of 'Faitscipaticg in a disturbance on th©«, Stratford racecourse during the annual meeting ih March. — In a recent letter, publishes! in, the Wect Australian, Mr D. E. Hfebir X*n , ownes) imputed , motive* Jo the\ .haJsdicappor, ■ ,'Mr ,A. G-eary. When called before th© ccanzoittee Mr -Hchir Apologised*- to theao: ,'and' withdrew tho imputations on Mr G-eary. TheJatter's threatened action against the IvpJgoc.rlie Sun hag also been settled. Tho proprietors published an apology which satisfied Mr Ga&ry. —^It 33 said that a WdiLngton gentleman, who recently drew ». first prize valued Vfc fCO'JO in Tattersall's, J-iiisad a boat junnLog from -Syduty to this colony, and as a consequence travelled via Hobei.t. At the latter place he *cok a ticket iv the famous sweep for the fun cf the thing, and bagged tha' above-juentioned sum or a -result of his "unfortunate" accident in. Sydney. — Carryiujj the steadier^of 13.3, he 2CWw Zealand-bred ,geldiug t/p-ie-date finished second to Auricuhim 9.0 hi the First Steeplechaso at the A.J.C. Birthday meeting, held at Randwick at the beginning of the present month On the second day he went one better, and won with 13.4. Ha was - ihe only one to finish in the field of four which contested the second steeplechase decided at the same meeting.

—At the sale of th© late i£r Georga Wright's horses Mr W. A. Scott, of Mangere, brought a fivi-yeai-old horse by St. Leger from Edith Cureton, for 20gs. Last week (says Fbacton) be sold tire axumsl io » resident of Matata, who intends putting hiinjio the stud react spring. When a. youngster, it may be remarked, h© waa rather severely burned, 4md this r precJud«d his *ver being , trained. Fancy a horse capabla of doing stud diitie*, and being -got by St. liegar from a ha]f-»Sster to Trenton, being sc3d at 20gs. — During th« year ended. Apsil 30 J.h» , Boulder Club made a net profit .of £6115 8s &d. The club's proportion of the. raiiage of horees and attendants' from the 'coast to the goldfields meetings was .£B2O 9s lOd. They gave £6975 in t prize-money, and spent £12;657 15s 3d jn "improvements to. the course. FroiaIhe totalisatozs the club mod* a-i profit of i«267 17s 9d: and iJai* -to the Government in tax for the March meeting the stun of £697 5s 6d. From the betting side of th© sport the club netted a clear profit of £10,612 17s

— Owing to Mr J. Sinclair Thomson having disposed of his property at Gflodwootf, th« thoroughbred stock owned by him oia to be placed under the hammer -on the 26th, inst. Th* stock includes % rising two-year-old colt by Pilgrim' 8 Progress from, the Albany — Miranda mar© Vaultress, tba dam of Pitch and Toss and Mountebank; a- rising yearling filly by Sant llaxio from Black Cloud, a rising yearling by Obligado from Vaultress, and the brood maxes V«ultres» and Black Cloud. Vaultres3 is stinted to the Government stallion Uosuto, and Black Cloud iKing Cole— Wai) is stinted to Lord Rosslyn. Nobody who has the most elementary knowledge of human nature (says the> Asian) and has the courage to look facts in tho face, can. suppose that the suppression of thia functionary (the street bookmaker) woaikl mean tbe extinction of betting. His removal would simply ruian that the men would bet among themselves, and that the maai who- hadl the courage to lay odds to a bellow workman would quietly come to be known, and would make his book in ths workyard, in ike factory, or -wherever he -was employed ; the only -cLifEelencft being that the business would be done more secretly and under circumstance? whicb could only be met by an arniy of &i>ie«. — Humphreys, the recently deceased trainer, rras 1 once speaking in ft rather flattering: manner of th© jumping abilities of an animal named Cream Cheese, whom hs asserted was as clever as the proverbial cat. The outcome of th© conversation was a bet for .a by no means large axnorrt that the ruling spirit of Stork House would not ride at a certain fence on Stockbridge Downs mounted on Cream. Cheese while holding a paper in one hand and an umbrella- in the other. Knowing what the horEe could readily do, Humphrey boldly put him at the obstacle under .he conditions named, and the easy manner in which Cream Cheese went over undoubtedly proved all that the trainer had stated.

—It is said that the iotalisator is never likely to be recognised by the authorities in, England. Many years ago it was introduced, and the men who worked-'it were sentenced to a term of imprisonment under the Vagrant Act. The victims were sentenced on the ground that tile totalisator was an instrument of wagering on. a game of chance, but it is now believed that the conviction was altogether wrong, and, it would be possible) for anyone to set up a machine on any piivat© property without infringing the existing laws of England 1 . If that is bo, it is somewhat remarkable that some of Jhe race companies have not wakened up to the possibilities that lie in the percentages derived from the mechanioal bookmaker.

—If you were to ask a, parson — not ai policeman, if you please — what he thought ' about it, he> would ridicule th« idea .that mens who go to races are superstitious. Bui 3be parson would be wrong, for owners, trainers', officials, and backers alike have their superstitions. The only class w« are in doubb. about (aay3 an English paper) is the Some owners will not under any circumstance* go and see their Bones tried for. fear it will bring therm bad luck. Others will on no ac- ■ count permit their gee-gees to b© put through' ■ the mill unless they are present, while w« can call to mind on© case of an owner who would go miles in search of someone with * crosa-eye, either male or female, whom h» could take with him to witness the gallop. — Generally speaking, our American cousin*

are credited with .doing everything on a large scale, and this plan seems to be consistently carried but, even when the owners of rival equine celebrities make matches. Undoubtedly the biggest affair of this kind occurred in Missouri. Mr Claybourne owned a speedy mare in Susan Gandell, but another turfite, Mrr Tburston, was convinced that his horse Rodolph could beat her, and the outcome of this difference of opinion was a match for 2500 bales of cotton a-side. The affair terminated, however, in a very junsatisfactory manner for lovers of the sport, Mr Thurston's anima-1 going amiss, or, to use an Americanism, "He took a- big head," and Susan Gandell walked over for the stake, which was valued by experts to be worth no less than £50,000. Fancy walking over foT that! — Between the years 1897 and 1903 Carbine, the ■sire of Spearmint, was represented by 160 foals in England. In 1900 he only had seven mares, and. the result was four foals. The reason that so few mare 9 were put to Carbine in that~yeax was that his first produce, then two-year-o'ds, only won two races, worth £753 (says an, exchange) ; and it was evident that English breeders did not think thai he was goings to be a- success; but -when Carbine's stock, as three-year-olds, -won in the next season,' breeders" renewed 1 ttieir patronage. . it is * .remarkable thing that •with all the, good mares mated with Carbine at Welhack, he sired hardly aiiy winners, except G-rea tores and MarmUcherJ The Duke of Portland's stud, which was- regarded as ' about the best in '^England at the time or Carbine's arrival, bar produced Very few winners during" the past few years. — The Special Commissioner says that the only good, two-yeatold seen' out at the Newmarket meeting in April was the French filly He de France 111 (War Dance— lllusion). The samo writer remarks that it seems strange that the French authorities, who prohibit two-year-old racing- before \ugust, should connive at an evasion of their rule- whon owners bring youngsters over hero and race them bafore that time. It certainly gives a French owner who adopts this plan a considerable advantage over his fellows who do not. for v two-year-old which has run in a race or two here before August is pretty sure to be sharper off the mark «han the novices whom he will meet in his own country. It would, be c/uite easy to prohibit any French two-year-old that had been started before . August in eny country from ever racing in Franco, and if the French Jockey Club have the courage of their convictions that is what they ought to do. — The Y.R.C. evidently have ro intention of being knocked out by the- A.J.C. as regards two-year-old racing, a» it will be noticed that at their last meeting they responded to the A.J.C. action by increasing the added money for the Maribyrnong Plate from 1200sovs to loOOsov?. The sweepstakes will remain at 25sovs, but the second money has been increased from 300sovs to 400sovsv and the third from 150sovs to SOOsovs. Thus the Maribyrnottg Plate will still remain the richest two-year-old slake in the Commonwealth. However (says a Melbourne scribe), it was decided to leave" flic "Derby' money* at ISOOsovs; the A.J.C. Derby will be -SGOsovs- a-head on that race. T-bei old October meeting date for the club will be maintained otit of fairness to the clubs whoe-e dates had. been allotted, though it will clash with the last, da-y of ihe A.J.C. TII2 action of the latter body in starting two-year-old races- *t their spring meeting has at least had one good effect in helping to knock out the -extra two-year-old races at the V.R.C. spring meeting. Apart frour the fact that most racegoers fell that £>even races in one day were a nuisance, the extra races were of dubious value.

— It is melancholy to think what the afi.ernoon's racing would have been at Newmarket yesterday (M^ay 3) but for the reappearance of Pretty Polly, and no sooner had 'the marvellous mare-hack canteTed past the post than a large number of the small company present took their departure (writes "Vigilant" in the London Sportsman). She was saddled in the old spot, but had a new cob to keep her company. I understand that her old companion was" hunted for the greater part of the winter, and contracted rheumatism so badly that he is now uneqnal to the task of acting as chaperon. The understudy for that pest is not so "classy" as her predecessor, but "Polly" eeems to have taken vrry kindly to heT. f>o a!I is we?!. I believe that Mr Gilpin considers that the mare is now better than she h«« ever bean in her life and it is quite easy to credit this, for I have n-evor seen her looking quite so well as she did yesterday. The opposition was fairly strong, fc* both His Majesty and St. Wulfram can gallop, but neither made the slightest show against the winner. Indeed, Mondamin, who had a big pull in the weights, was the only one to keep within hail of her. and Mr Douglas Baird annexed the 75«ovs for the second. — There are many traditions assigned to the colour cf hoTfc-as, although, as a matter of fact, it is of very httle consequence, and no rule can be laid down as to any special merit ■belonging to any. For a long time prejudiceattached to a white horse, on account of the fabulous tradition that they could not stand the cold, b-sc&use white -13 a non-conductor of

heat. ' « hypothesis at once controverted by the fact that the polar bears, which ha-biiate the regious of' eternal cold, are white;. The same- prejudice existed against black horses, on the other extreme, as black is a conductor of heat, and a black horse would succumb to the enervating heat of summer. In this age of the- world it is needless to say that the colour of a hoif-e has nothing to do with his

constitution:-. The powers of endurance may

be just as great in a white horse as in a Jjlack, and in a black as in any other colour. The diversity and university of colour in horses is a provision of Nature, and the cause of it cannot be explained by finite minds. Why there should ba more bay hoTses than brewn. rrcre browns than grey mere grey* than black is a problem that the human mind cannof solve. No more can it explain why the union of a black sire with a greydam may result in a. bay, chestnut, brown, üblack offspring, or a union of two of a colour may produce the opposite colour. — The distance of the- Wellington Steeplechase at Trentliam will be three miles and a-o.ua-rter. two furlongs further than at the o 7 d track. Altogether, save "Advance." tjiere will be 21 obstacles to be negotiated. The. start will be near the three-qunrter-mi'e pc3t. The first rbstacle on the outside of the couree proper will be a pofit-and-rail fence, about 3ft Din. fien a light brus- about 3ft 6in. and a similar jump at the too turn. These two will be guiding fences. When the second of the brushes is negotiated the field crosses the course on to the inside track. In the straight there will be a, stone wall with 6in of sods on top, 3ft Gin. high, a water jump!, with a fence 3ft 3in in front of it. a brush" fence 3ft 6in, and a sod wall 4ft ; on returning to the course proper at the tnrn out of the st'aurht a log fence 4ft high completes a round with eight jump 3. The second round is the samo with the exception that

instead of taking the water jump there is abrush double to be negotiated in front of the stand. In the third round the courp© con-

tinues on the racing track, and the last obstacle is a- hencooo in tho .«tnueht. There is nothing difficult about any of the obstacle*, the course is not tricky, and as the take-off

to all the fences is good and the going firm any ordinary steeplechaser should get the journey without mishap.

—J. M'Combe has accepted » retainer from Mr G-. G. Stead, and will become premier horseman to his stable when L. H. Hewitt leaves for England. M'Combe has donned the yellow jacket and black cap on one ocasion only and that was when he rode Bloodshot second to Hippomenes at the Dunedin Cup meeting of 1895; but he will not need much luck -to prove himself capable- of being mentioned in the same breath with the late Wally Clifford and other crack horseman who did yeoman service under the same banner. For years past the writer has always been a strong admirer of M'Combe's horsemanship, and it is not a- case of saluting the rising Bun to state that few are his equal in the saddle and bis superiors are yet to be found. He is equally at home over short and long courses. In the former he is always amongst the first away from the barrier if his mount is inclined to jump out at all, and over journey courses he rides with judgment and patience, whilst at the business end he is a very vigorous finisher. On tog of this 'he can go to scale at a handy weight, and it is never any trouble for him to attend the tracks in the morning. It is rumoured that Sir Geo. Clifford was also after M'Combe's services, and whilst wishing him luck when he dons the yellow and black it is to be hoped that he has not altogether laid aside the racing banners of the Hon. Geo. M'Lean or Mr St. John Buckley, for both of whom he has ridden soino good winners. — According- to Mr John Corlett, who hi 3 had 50 ye*»rs inside experience of racing in England, the turf' has never been in a better statj than it is now. The majority of the leading: owners, men like the King, Lord Rosebery, and the Duke of Devonshire, set a. good: ex-ample by not betting at all. The professional owner and big bookmaker owner is dropping out. So are those old-fashioned "coups," with "readied" horses, which were run on the non-trying system for months without the stewards offering any objection. Nowadays the stewards ask for on explanation of incoisistent running. In earlier times, writes Mr Corlett, "it was. the exception, rather than otherwise for a big handicap to be won by a horse that had not been 'readied' for it. That is not so now. In nina cases out of. ten. a big handicap is wo a by enc of the best-known horses in the race." The South African millionaires are, Mr Corlett says, the greatest of the gamblers now on the turf; but their outlays are small in proportion to their wealth, and when that is the case it ceases to be gambling.. In the K ixtie3 the leading owners, with the Marquis of Hastings at their head, bet very heavily. It was the fashion at the time. But nowadays men of that stamp eschew gambling on their horses, and the turf is all the better for it; but betting goes on. There is no diminution in the nurdbar of bettors; but the money at stake during the year is, probably, less by thousands of pounds than when the leaders of the turf thought nothing of putting a thousand or more on a race.

— One* Charlie Cracroft, a croupier r i a gambling house- in St. James's square, we made^ a- bet with a stalwart, nalf-druuk*»i gambler that he would carry i::n *i,ree times, round the square without stopping. The wager was accepted. It waff a bitter night, and the ground was covered a ftot deep in snow. Taking advantage of this circumstance Cracroft. when they had got to the door, said, "The -wager "is that I carry you, but not your clothes." "Yon rr a d d swindler," cried the stranger; ■'but I'll take you at your word." And, notwithstanding the piercing cold, he there and then divested himself of every scrap of clothing and jumped on Craeroft's back. The proposer of the wager had now nothing for it but to try what he could do, and made a start. The lookers-on, pretty well "sprung," began to pelt them with snowballs, until at length the sorry steed, who was only a small man. slipped and fell, almost exhausted. "Up you get!" cried the stranger, clinging round Crocroft's neck until he nearly strangled him. But the crestfallen croupier begged him to get off. "Not a bit of it, ' iin'swiared the other. "You would have robbed me of £10 if you could, and now. by my soul, yon shall carry me back to the club." Digging his naked heels into Cracroft's sides, a-nd squeezing his throat =o thct he could hardly breathe, the vindictive one spurred on his tottering Rosinante until he wks backed high and dry into the hal 1 c{ the club 3gain. where the croupier, greatly to l>is mortification, had to hand bico ovef his well-won wager.

— Olio of the moat extraordinary incidents in the turf carer of the Marquis of Hastings was connected with the Cesare-witch, in which Lecturer was engaged, aftd which probably shows us one of the strangest pieces of* good luck ever experienced. Vexed at the weights which had been apportioned his horses, the marquis sent to Weather by's, striking them all out — intending, of course, to include Lecturer. At this time the colt was supposed to be a nonstayer, and whentried over a distance of ground he. took owner and trainer alike by surprise. The trial was thought too nattering to be true, but when put through the mill again the result was the same as before, and tiie marquis was dreadfully annoyed with hiirself at the thought of having, in a moment of temper, struck Lecturer out of the Cesarewitcb, which looked a gift for 'nin. Several days elapsed, indeed, before it transpired that in the particular instance of Lecturer the horse had been nominated by Mr Peter Wilkinson, and consequently rj? not included in "All the Marquis of Hastings' s horses out of the Cesarewitch " When this fortunate announcement was made the joy in the Danebury camp was great, and many and woziderful were the preparations mside. to land the tremendous c0~i,3 which was secured by Lecturer's ultimate victory. Lecturer, it may be mentioned, was one of the smallest horses which cv r carried off an important race, and many r.n old turfite who followed the fortunes ci the ill-fated Marquis of Hastings yet lovingly honours the memory of "little Lecturer '

— An American scribe, in dealing with the opening of the New York racing seaso7i, says • "The clubhouse commissioners were last year so numerous that, notwithstanding they were made to pay the heavy daily clubhouse badge fee to do business, it was felt some further •■estnctions were necessary. These have taken the shape of a deposit of 5000dol each, as a guarantee of pronvpt payment and settlement of all accounts daily instead of having them hang for days and weeks, as was frequently the case last year. In fact, in some cases it was utterly impossible to obtain a satisfactory statement when a final settlement was made. I know of one gentleman staying m New York, placing wagers at Saratoga through a commissioner, who had a mo^t unsatisfactory time, and has never received a full statement of profit ana loss to da'e while his profit -Wii3 very considerably smaller than he anticipate!. Another trouble wns that when a club inemixr was having slight winning stieaks. even if his wagers were a nominal 20dol each, lie could not get a commissioner to come within hai! oi thpm. As the comnu««ioner3 arc I supposed to take all wagers to the nng. this is n-.c-Te extraordinary than appcara at the first glance, and possibly explains much of the new restrictions. The SOWdol is deposited j with the Prnk^rtons, who have sole charge of •

the matter. The statement that the deposit was iecerv.nl by each association ib an error ; the individual association has nothing whatever to do with the matter. It is entirely a Pmkerton affair. The Pinkertons also a&sunie charge of f he distributing of all owners' and trainers' badges, etc , thus rooting up many abuses aloag this line, and the closest surveillance is now balanced against greatlyincreased promptness of distribution and convenience to those entitled to receive such badees from each association."

— Fashionable, the little son of Soult and Bit o' Fashion, has always been regarded oi high class amongst the lilliputians, and that ne well merited such distinction he demonstrated in pointed style at Ellersiie when he defeated a strong field of horses in open company in the- decision of the York Handicap, a, race run over a mile under welter weights. The race was ran at a solid pace, and the little son of Soult was always well up in the front division, and when it came to a battle home from the distance and he went up to challenge Waikato (who faniy towers over him for size; the picture was one of tho giant and dwarf. The little fellow settled his big rival in rare style, and the manner in which h° finished up the concluding stage of the journey showed him upin attractive colours. Fashionable is trained by H. French, and as the popular Papaknrn trainer went out to receive his horse it was easily seen that he did so with not a little pride. Quite -an interesting little history attaches to the pony (says "Phaeton"), and the story tuns as follows- : — In the season of 1893 Bit o' Fashion was- sent to Glenora Park in order to be mated with Soult, and she remained at the Papakura Estate for several months-. The question of payment of the service fee was a burniirg one, the upshot being that Mr Walters awoke one morning to find the mare mis-sing. The Papakura srudinaster was not to be beaten lhat way. and no sued for the Eervice fee. and got judgment, the presiding magistrate ordering execution in the space of three days. Bit o' Fashion, who was still carrying her foal, was easily located. She was seized and brought back to Papakura, and she was subsequently sold by auction for £5. The bloodlike little Fashionable was the foal that Bit o' Fashion was carrying when she was put under the hammer in 1899, but the mare and foal have been through several hands in tha interval.