AN OBJECTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 54

AN OBJECTION.

Casque won a. double at Tapanui in a ' very easy manner. In his first race he won hard-held, and in the second race Hypno- \ tist, who was the only one in the field j capable of pacing it with the Casket gelding, knocked down a flag at the home turn. This caused him to lose two or three lengths at a most important stage of the race, out he appeared to ba a defeated , hoxee at the time he struck the flag. .A protest was lodged after the race, and, after hearing evidence and considering the matter, the objection was ruled out. Mr P. Hogan, the ■owner of Hypnotist, stated be fully recognised Casque had his horse beaten, but he claimed that the alleged interference, was all the more culpable on that account, because Casque's rider could j have well- afforded 4o -give plenty of room ] to his opponent Them was no doubt that, Hypnotist obtained very little room when | racing round the torn, and Casque, who < was running about a half or three-quarters of a length in front, was either accidentally or intentionally keeping him close in. Hypnotist' hit the. flag with his .head, but , unless one- was close to the spot where, the mishap occurred it would not be fair \ to charge the rfder ol Oasqne with boring or crossing. Mr Hogan stated he lodged the protest not wrtm me object of obtaining the. stake, bat in order to draw the offi- ; cials" attention to what he considered unfair riding. It will be remembered that Post-card ran into a post at last season's '

Tapanui meeting, and Cox, who had the mount, had one of his collar bones broken. THE TAPANUI MEETING. The Tapanui Racing Club had mixed weather for their annual meeting. On the first day the weather left little to be desired, although it was a trifle breezy. Between days, however, a heavy rain set in, but cleared off towards noon of the second day, and the attendance for each card was well up -to the numerical strength of what is usually found mustering tnere. The track was hard on the first day, but was much easier after the rain, and that 'act could be discovered oy the manner in which some of the delicate-legged ones hit out on the second day. Taking the sport all round, it was distinctly, above the average of what has teen witnessed at Tapanui during the ■oast few seasons. The 'racing was comparatively clean and honest, and at times clcse finishes lent an additional zest to the proceedings. With but one ox two exceptions the various events bore the appearance of being honestly contested. In fact, it was only in one case, as for as 'the writer's observations went, that one race was of the "half-and-half" order, for which the riding orders appeared to be »"lose if you can, but don't make it too strong." On another occasion a rider in one of the trotting races appeared to be bestowing^ a good deal of unnecessary, and hampering attention to another house in the same race, but this latter case was somewhat<Kfficult to notice from the stand, and was generally overlooked by the spectators. On the firat day the Maiden Plate served to introduce a greatly-improved filly in Ocfcave to those on the ground. She made hacks of such well-known country performers 'as Rifle Range, Royal Shell, Oliver, and - Linda. The last-named w*a -the only ' one for which an excuse could be tendered, as she got- badly left, and her chance was spoilt at the outset. There was the chance of a possible protest in connection with Octave s win, as the card condition* were " weight-for-age" and the weight set out in the * book and erroneously •carried was 8.12 instead of 8.11. No one interested noticed 'that surplus weight was carried. Out of curiosity the writer asked if she carried any overweight^ and reoeived the reply that the " correct weight" according to the book was carried. The 21b margin, if the mistake of lib was taken, into con- j sideration, might have been exceeded, but j nothing beyond- the writer's inquiries was heard. of the matter. On the first day the Tapanui Handicap of one mile formed the principal item, and Casque won, _ after being' ridden a somewhat peculiar,' if not absolutely suspicious race. He ran _in company with Rosebloom until reaching the home turn, and then after apparently being pulled off, he came again in the straight without any urging from his rider, and got home by a short head. Octave put up her penalty in the Grand Stand Handicap, and won with the greatest of ease after cutting out the six furlongs in lmin 17 2-ssec. On the eecond day Casque won very easily over a mile in the Stewar-ds' Handicap, but had to run the gauntlet of a protest before Tpeing finally awarded the stakes. Rifle Range had no great difficulty in defeating Roeebloom in the R.C. Handicap. The latter appears to be clean out of form. In the Gienkenich Hack Octave confirmed her previous day's form by winning easily and » hot pot in Disappointment got badly away in the Flying Stakes, with the result that the soft-hearted Derwentwas out in front, and failing a challenge won from end to end. The meeting was terminated by a Farewell Handicap, -which went to Linda after a good finish with old Hypnotist, who got badly away and suffered defeat by a narrow margin after making a good run over the last couple of furlongs. THE AGE OF BROOD MARES. An article on "The Age of Brood Mares" in. the Live Stock "Journal 1908 Aknanac by Mr G. S. Lorwe, provides interesting and instructive reading. "When is a mare too old to breed from?" is a question, often asked by breeders. "Appearances," saye Mr Lowe, "must not be always regarded as the most reliable signs in this particular. Sometimes a veiry . worn-out-looking animal will have remarkable produce late in life. The difference of treed has, no doubt, something to do with it, and it is contended that the smaller the sort is*, the longer will be *he life, it is well known that all the pony kinds reach great ages, and few more so than the diminutive Shetanids, though possibly the Welsh would take the palm as absolutely the greatest in longevity, there 'being the record of a Welsh pony mare living to 40, sod that. Bhe"had 36 foals. .Her portrait is in the 'Welefh.Pony Stud Book' over the name of "The Qkfetager,' and it was stated that - she was never broken, or had tt bridle on her, and had never been in a stable. There are numerous examples also of animate of the larger eorte living to ages approaching or even over 30, and it is not a little singular to find the best produce of certain mares bare 'been born wben the dame were past the age of 20. It may be easier, however, to trace the thoroug-hbrede from the 'General Stud Book/ and although a study of that volume will allow that the death average ia 18 years, the examples are very many up to 12 yearn more. The Oade mare, bred in 1751, produced Mamtorino, a good horse and the sir* of th© famous Messenger, when she was 17 years old, and afterwards bred .six others, her last being Bancho, by Herod, -when she was 25, and he was the winner of several good races. Another mare, called Calliope, born in 1763, produced a filly (afterwards the dam of * good winner) in 1786, and so when whe warn 25. A still older mare most have been Sir William Strickland's Flora, «s, although heir dsfce of birth is not given, she dropped her first foal in 1755, then had 14 otheme, and hsr last was in 1780, so there was an interval of 25 years from the oommenpoment of her breeding career. The Greyhound mafe must have been 26 when . she produced her lest foal, as she was iborn in 1723, bred 20 foals, and her last, in 1749, was a filly by Forrester. Another that had a foal at 26 was Miss Oraoibourne» by the Godblphin Arabian, as «hp was born , in 1753; and had a filly, afterwards named Countess, in 1779. A prolific old lady was Ringbone, too, as she had 17 foals over a space of 26 years, and' she had her last foal wiven she was 25. The Earl of Egremont's Platipa, sister to Silver, was Tnred in 1702, had. 19 fotds, was barren twice,, and disd in 1820. Her last foal was dropped the year before. A SUCCESSFUL SIRE. Libe many other horses "who wbsequentW proved marked successes at tiw stud,

A SUCCESSFUL SIRE. Like many other horses -who wbsequentjy proved marked successes at tin stud,

Gallinule did not greatly distinguish himself on the turf. Sold as a yearling for 720gs, he certainly did manage to win three of the seven races in which he competed as a two-year-old, but the following season he ran three times unsuccessfully, and on hk owner, Lord Ailesbury, being ■warned off the turf, be was sold at auction to the late Mr Abington for 5100gs. Then he developed a habit of breaking bloodvessels, and ran 10 times in the colours of the last-mentioned owner without winning once. Referring to this and his subsequent career, " Vigilant " writes : " Indeed, the only return he ever made for the big outlay vz&s- wher he was privately sold for £1000, and when informed of the transaction Mr Aldington's characteristic remark was, "* Good -jracioue ! who ia the "mug"? I hope you have got the money.' Captain Greer waa the buyer, but I do not imagine that anyone will accuse him o? having been a ' mug,' for few -such bargains have ever beer made. The _ horse ran no more, but was sent forthwith to the stud in Ireland, and, wonderful to relate, his progeny have since won collectively close on a quarter of a million sterling in stakes. The best of his get was no doubt Pretty Polly, who was out by herself the champion two and three-year-old of her time, and did not learn the meaQJng of defeat until Presto II took her number down in the race whioh was run through a sea of mud for the Prix dv Coneeil "l^lunksipal in France, though she ■was beaten once again when she essayed to win .the Asoot Gold Cup, in which Bachelor* Button galloped her down. Considering- his -remarkable success aod^ the extravagant fees paid^.of late years, it is surprising that Captain Greer never raised his service above 200g», but I believe Spearmint will commence his stud career .at the advanced figure- of 250g«. Of oour«e, as •winner of the Derby and Gband Prize of Park-^a splendid double went only achieved on three other occasions, namely, by the mighty Gladiateur m 1*65, Gcbmorne in 1872, and KiAer in 1876—Spearmint's toeing*' record vac far and away superior, but it may be doubted if the boh of Carbine and Maid of Ac Mint is «^ better bred horse than Gallinute. Be that as it may. it will be especially interesting to watch his stud career. Gallinule, by «ie •way, ie chestnut, with two white hind legs, and a blaze- face." THE TBOTTER AND PACER. The latest Victorian to break into balderdash is the owner of Dixie Alto, who is having a lash at the champion Bibboffwood. He say.* he can produce a horse who can reduce Bibbonwood's record of 2roin fteec; and that Dixie Alto only produces trotters. One statement is as ridiculous as the otherHe may have a two-minute borne, but 1 until he brings him out and beats 2min- 9«eo_ in. the presence of duly accredited officiala he had best hold his peace; and so far as producing trotters only is aoncerned, much as the fact is to be regretted, the pacer is the more valuable animal in this country which does not cater for the fair and square trotter. As "a matter of fact, trotter* get pacers and pacers get trotters, and as _a race- can be got out of a' hoppled pacer m as many months as it takes yeara to educate a trotter, owners lose no time in converting any young trotters that" may come ( along. Dixie Alto'« owner says that Mendkino, that horse's sire in America, only gets trottera This is not so, aH the following instance will show. Mr J. A. Buckland. the big New South Wales bleeder, of Pjne Bidge, imported from America the stallion California, by Dixie Alto'fl sire, Mendkino. Mr Buokland picked upon this horse principally because he was a fair and square trotter. He came to Australia, and some time after he had been here struck a paoingr gait, and it was as a pacer that Mr Buckland raced him. In America it is one of those things the trotting horseman cannot understand — that stallions and mares bred to the -trotting "gait for generations -thrownatural pacers. Can it be thai the con- . tinual breeding of highly-bred trotting sires with highly-bred trotting dams ia having: the effect of altering the gait? In the oli days when imported 1 American sires were mated with off-bred mares trotters wero nearly always the result, pacers being few and far between, but now that the. mares are faster and more cleanly, bred natural pacers predominate. Take the case of Rebel Childo.. whose stock, are trotters. He has had few opportunities in the way of wellbred mares; but I venture to say (says "Rothschild"), if he were mated with some of our highly-bred matrons, he would get more pacers than trotters. And if such should bi the case, is it not on the cards that, with the increase of highly-bred mares, the trotting will become a lost instinct to regain which it will be necessary to revert to thoroughbred or ooaching mares.