IN A NUTSHELL

Otago Witness, Issue 2955, 2 November 1910, Page 55

IN A NUTSHELL

carton on Saturday. Taskmaster will have the services of A. Oliver in the N.Z. Cup. Furmby easily -defeated Droadless over six furlongs in lmin 19t-?c. Friday, November 18. is entry day on the D.J.C. summer meeting. Formless ran over three furlongs iu 35 1-Ssec at Ricoarton last week. Oiyoi and Balaclava arrived - at Riccarton at the latter end of last week. —lt is understood that James Pine will hftvg the Q&ci in the Cud. .

—My Lawyer, Adjudge, and Adage were to leave for Riccarton early this week. —lt is stated tbat Hector Grey will have the on Bridge in the N.Z. Cup. Taskmaster defeated Countermine over 10 furlongs in 2min 15 4-ssec on Saturday. Boanerges and Polymorphous are doing good work over short courses at Ricoarton. —.dominations are due on November 12 for the Forbury Park Trotting Club"e meeting. Nominations for the South Canterbury Jockey Club's spring meeting are due on November 8. Masterpiece finished in front of Miscast, Avarice, Bootle, and Bronze over four furlongs on Saturday. Colleen Mary, who won a. double at the D.J.C. spring meeting, continues to do good work at Riccarton Martist and Sand3tream galloped 10 furlongs on Saturday in 2min 15 4-osec without being ridden out. of Flavinius had 1000 to nothing each from the horse's owner for Coalfield Cup. ton, although no giallery gallops have bean recorded by last year's Leger winner. —Mr J. Maiir, of Princes street, is giving a gold watch to the most successful jockey riding at the Otago and Southland meetings. Bhss put up an attractive gallop by covering five furlongs in lmin 2sec. which was the best sprint recorded at Riccarton on Saturday. Diabolo arrived at Riccarton on Saturday last, and is reported to be locking fr:sh and well, but if anything a bit on tho big side in condition. The Somnus mare. Lady Emmeline, who threw Lady Fisher, the dam of Maniapcto, haa tliis season been put to the trotting sire Merry Prince. Lntem, the d<a.m of the A.J.C. Derby winner Tanami, has produced a filly to En Garde, the son of St. Simon and the N.Z.bred mare Engagement. King Post wHjo his race in good style at Gore, and the victory was oiot unexpected, as there was r.xmey fcx him both on the ground and away at S.P. Rose Noble is doing good work at Riccarton, and if there is not too much sting in the ground he should give a good account of himself -at the meeting. Husbandman has not been shaping too

j ■well in his work during the past few days, | "and is said to occasionally show eigns of i bleeding after his gallops. C. Emerson, who rods Outlamder to victory in the Great Autumn Handicap last Easter, will have the mount on Mr Grigg'a horse in the New Zealand Cup. One of the unlucklest mares in Australia, to-day would appear to be Apple Pie. She has not won a race since 1908, but has run four seconds and seven thirds. Handicaps for the Taieri meeting are due on Friday of this week, and owners should note that Tuesday next is fixed for the declaration of acceptances. Cronstadt and Kopu beat off Tribulation in a 10-furloiig gallop, • which they ran in 2min losec from a standing start. Tribulation appears to be going off a bit. At the Warwick Farm (Brisbane) race meeting on October 15, the New Zealandbred Subaltern, by The Officer —Guitar, won the Novice Handicao. of seven furlongs. took Slsec, the next four furlongs 52sec, and the concluding half-mile 51Jsec. The last six furlongs were left behind in lmin lP.seo. Master Laddo was scratched at 11.20 on Monday for all engagements at the spring meeting of the C.J.C. Wimmcra has been scratched for the Riccarton Welter. Revenue will not be a starter in 'he N.Z. Trotting Cup of lOOOsovs. Mr Edwards's stable will probably relv on Mandaiene and Dick Fly. Mr F. Morton, the owner cf Flavinius, is a big mining speculator, and accumulated much wealth out of West Australian enterprises whon that State loomed big a few years ago. Madam Madcap was slightly amiss last week, and regarded as a likely non-starter at the C.J.C. meeting. At latest accounts, however, the filly appears to be working sound again. • Our Wellington correspondent reports, that Sandatream executed a satisfactory gallop over a mile and a-half before being sent on to Riccarton. W. Young will rida the horse in the Cup. The Victorian Racing Club invited tenders for the right of taking moving pictures of the races at the Melbourne Cup meeting. The committee finally decided not to accepi. an j- of thofc sent in. Our Christchurch correspondent reports that trainers are experiencing some difficulty in securing gentlemen, riders for the Lndies' Purse, and the field for that raca is likely to be small in consequence. The betting on the chief sprint events at Core was remarkable for the manner in which some of the hors? 3 travelled In the market. It was a fairly good indication e 3 to how they would travel on the track. Some of these that mis-ed at Gore may be found -amongst the winners at Win'on. On more than one occasion a rideir or two did not appear to be exhibiting a particularly strenuous desire to be first home. Amongst the lesser lights doing good work at Riccarton are Coronifcrtn, Bnaybodv. Piltrrim's Way, Chief Lcchiel. Scotch Plaid, and Theodore. The last-named ran q good gallop over six furlongs on Saturday. ■—The Wi-ming Po3t says that though L-omherg tsok the rosette for quality and blood like appearance in the Doncaater St. Leger field, it never remembers one of his make and shine that was a natural slayer. Pcirene, Culprit, and Orion finished in the order named at the end of f--;r furlongs. ran in -!8 l-ssec. MaMarg. Byrcn. and Mazurka were also in the gallo'o, which •look plaee on the straight four furlongs at Riccarton. Evidently all hope is not yet abandoned of Theodore winning in good company, as the horse is included amongst the recent arrivals at Riccarton. Theodore cost a big figure as a two-year-old, arid it is about time he made good. Mr Dan O'Brien, th." on«-tirce owner cf the mighty Carbine. Tasman, Loyalty. F'.orrie. Gipsy King. Rubins, and other good hor.-:—. is back in Christchurch on a visit, and it is rumoured lie may again take up hii residence at Riccarton. R. Walker, M. O'Brien, and T. Clayton have each ridden two Caulfield Cup winners. W. H. M'L-ach'.an won on Mr.renui in 1908, and dead-heated on Aboriginal last year. Tbft'e four jockeys have established the best riding record in the rr.ee. Abo. who was a winner at Gore, is a. likelv-lcoking gelding who should be heard of -ayain. He looked a bit backward in condition, and should improve. Abo was got by li'in'and from Zillah, a marc that was a frequent winner ssr,me vears ago. Field Gun tailed off in both his races at Gere, but as he appears to be fairly sound, he should rtay his way at the southern meetings. He is being fairly well treated in the handicaps, and if brought back to form shoulavwin a good stake. W. Sanrjjscn, w.ho Sequax>ous'

to victory in the Toorak Handicap, is Wesi Australia's leading light-weight. * Sampson, who is -apprenticed to the Perth trainer, P. J Ward, has been consistently successful i,in the west for the last couple of % seasons. A brother to Heirloom was put unde* the ha-mmer on Saturday, but failed to find a purchaser. A plainish-looking- half-brothel to Ngawera was also seeking a new owner. The former is not a bad cut of a gelding, but showing signs of having weak hocks. Query, the two-year-old by Stepniak 0? Royal artillery from Irene, appears to hava the gift of speed, as he shapes well in hi?' work, and on Saturday was credited witl( beating Swordplay, Muh-cock, Lady Alma* Melchior, and Battalion over four fuTlongs. stood to win £50,000 over him for the Caulfield Cup. After the race they were o{ opinion Bolton used him too freely in ths early stages, but then a beaten jockey ia, rarely ever credited with riding satisfactorily, i '

Merriwa finished several lengths in front of Bridge at the end of 10 turlongs, which! the former ran in 2min 14 3-ssec. Bridge is, said to have put up a disappointing per-'i forraanee, although the gallop is one of! the fastest recorded at Riccarton on Sat-. urduy. '« Gore spoilt the chances of several horses.Oblcng was unlucky to lope the Waimeai* Hack Handicap, and others who ran into places had to make up a considerable/ amount of ground in order to get to the leaders. \ . --iTorohunga looked well to the eye whea facing at Gore, but his chance on the firsfi (lay was Tendered hopeless by getting left. : On the second day he was one of the also started, but the improvement in his appear* ance m«y result in finding him a winneß before long. | Xews comes from Wellington that thai brood mare Airnee Soult, owned by J. H< Prosser, h*d received injuries which necessitated her destruction. It appears that the! mare, while blindfolded, got away from hear attendant, and crashed into a fence, with; the above result. Los Angeles, assisted by Prim and Martine, recorded a good gallop over 12 furlongs at Riccarton on Saturday. He is eaid to have carried a stone over his cup weight, and ran the distance in 2min 42 2-ssecv He finished slightly in front of Prim, who is galloping well, whilst Martine was beatem' off.

Dams Rumcui states that the country cluh3 arei likely to receive more consideration than the metropolitan clubs when the reduction of racing takes place. If that ill really so, it is probabb; due to the faen that the representatives of the country clubs have been mere energetic than the city folk. —On Saturday morning Forml-iS9 finished two lengths in front of Scotch Plaid at the end of six furlongs, which the former ran in lmin 18 2-ssec. Formless is said to have tired badly towards the finish. Formless is doing splendid work over short dashes, but six furlongs may find her out in small! company. During the currency of the Gore meet* ing, I»adv Miargarei was sold to Mr J. Beck at 125.50 VS and a contingency of half the stakes won, which amounted to 20sovs. Nga- | <vera vaas sold for 70sovs, and goes into H< Carr's stable at Invercargill. NgaweTS. appears to be on the improve, and reads a" cheap horse. ' f> Royal Step had the services of J. en the second da}- of the Gor*i nioetung, and the hcrse was made a strong j favourite despite the fact that he was very sore in front. Royal Step was kept as limber as possible by cantering about on the track, but he could no: get near the leaders in the actual race. Beverage, who won the V.R.C. Derby, is not the only good performer 'that foaa appeared in Australia with a solitary optic. In the SO's Cyclops, who ran third to Lochiel in the Australian Cup, and second m tha Champion Stakes to Matchlock, was appro< priately named, OS he had only one " head* light." as it were. Some close finishes took place at tha Gore meeting, and, as usual on such occasion?, eome of the spectators were inclined to differ from the official verdict. There should have been very little chance of a mistake, as the judge was generally in the box by several of the stewards, but most people prefer to see one responsible man sitting in judgment. Writing to R. J. Mason recently, Hewitt i-»Ti'''in«l Um>* ho had signed on to ride ■for his present employer for three years a 4 ■a retaining tee 01 £'A>JG per annum antt 30a a day for expenses, He sent a photograph of himself and several of his friends in a. big motor car. in reference to which he wrote "Me at the wheel. What do you. thinly of my new 120 horse-power car?" Adjudge was not produced on the first day of the Gore me-ating. but he was elected! favourite for the Waikaka Handicap, run. on the second day. The Dunedin horso was a bit slow in beginning, and got in a bad position going round the first turn, and! finally was taken on the outside of the leaders fta they turn fcr home. Once in the straight, 'the. son of Blsckstonei finished . fast, but Erskine lasted long enough to win by a bead. Carbine'.? stock have not been prominent in England this season, but at the Doncosief meeting a daughter of his named Zohara won the .Prince of Wales Nursery Handicap, defeating 23 others over a mile in 1.33 3-5; and a. Carbine yearling filly made IQOOgf at the sales. The "Special Commissioner 1 ' of the London Sportsman said the filly is* the best-looking youngster ever sired by Carbine in England. Mr O. R. Wife, of Oamaru, recently lost •his mare Santa Clara, a tr Ilarita, who was en a visit to All Red. The mare broke one of her legs by a pure accident, but Mr Buckley very g-enerouslv offered Ml Wiee a marc by Finland from Rose Shields; 'he sister to Royal Artillery, to replace tha one lost. Mr Wise, however, whilst/ hs. highly appreciated the spirit which prompted', the offer, declined to take advantage o: it. dangerous plates are working at Riccarton, and the committoe of the Canterbury JoekejJ Club has, therefore, drawn the attention c 4 . trainers and owners to the drastic rule which was pas-sod at last conference. Thi, penalty if the horse starts in a race wiittf such plates is disqualification, while thej owner and trainer, and any person assisting in shoeing the home, are to be fined not less than £-25. —Mr J. Wilson, jun.. was very wrath when the running of Diubo'.o was questione<t in the last Australian Cup. and "l'erlinga' says it ha.s been understood ever since incident that next autumn will see the owner named go right out of racing. Not only will his racehorses go to auction, but the Ronnyvale stud will be broken up. Still, if Bcbac'ea ar-1 Danaus do really well this npring. Mr Wilson may be tempted to alter his iniinci, and in Victoria it is hoped, so. TVAen the last mail left London, Cyllsne was leading among English stallions, hi* stock having won (up till September 12) ' £'22,434. Leruberg being the largest contribu- • tor with £13.28i>. S*,. Frusquin was a'gcooV second with £19,4% then_ came William Ilfl

■with £17,353. Marco's earned £ 15,2-VA and Swynford won five-sixths of the £12,170 opposite John o' Gaunt. Following in order were Dssmond, Persimmon, Sundridgo, Count Schomberg, Bay Ronald, Santoi, Symington. Gallinule, Tredennis, and Grey Leg winds up the list with £5492. red-letter day in light harness racing will take place next week, when the field goes to the post to contest . the lOOOsovs e take that is hung up by the N.Z.M.T. Club.!The growth and the popularity of trotting (have been little short of marvel'!ous,_ as it is "not so very long ago that the public looked ■ syith little interest at the sport and the [ js.P. men handled commissions under almost iforbidding conditions against the backer. \ .'Still, the sport has won its way to the front, ', and now forms a strong rivalry to the more. i aristocratic form of racing provided by the L /thoroughbred. U i— The two chief even.ts on the Gore programme provided interesting races. On the first day Warsaw and Adage dead-heated for /'first place, and on the second Erskme de- ; "feated Adjudge by a head. Both Adage aaid <;Erskine were probably lucky to win, as they had the advantage of a. berth on the rails in their races. On the other hand, Warsaw had to make his run. on the outside of his horses, and the same occurred to Adjudge. This gives a decided advantage to the inside horse, particularly where the turns are a bit on .the sharp side, as at Gore; but in any case there was net much of it,' although on a bigger track both Warsaw ' and Adjudge would have won their races. At one time. matches were the mcs.. important features of racing in England. They have almost died out. However, Mr Jam'as Rothschild and Lord Derby have revived old memories by recently arranging what should be one of the most interesting events in turf history. What is more, it is a most interesting event tc Australians. At the yearly sales Mr Rothschild purchased -a colt by The Victory from Mercui. by Merman, for 500 gs; while Lord Derby purchased a colt by Merman from Bannagore, by St. I&idan, for TSOgs. The owners have agreed (to a. m'atch between them to run five fur>■longs as two-year-olds; cue mile and a-half as three-year-olds, and three miles as four-year-olds. On returning to the weighing enclosure after her Taee in the Shorts Handicap at Gore, Oblong was showing a cut stifle and another wound on the inside of the eff fore knee. The former wound was the result of a kick at the starting-post, and the latter was probably caused during the race. Oblong and San Severo were racing together at the head of affairs when about two and a-half furlongs from home when the latter dropped back three or four lengths. San Severe appeared to get a bump, and it was probably caused through Oblong striking herself. In any case San Severo was put out of court, and she shewed marks of contact with the rails when she returned to the paddock. The prominent American breeder, Mr J. E. Miadden, will race horses in France in 1911-12. and in referring to this he recently said:—"l sent my stallion Pifludit over to France last year, and he was mated to a number of mares. The conditions of many of the races in France are closed to nativebred - horses. In order to fill the requirements of those conditions, I sent Plaudit to that country. His progeny will form the nucleus of my start in France. It is my intcrsiion to ship a number of brood mares abroad next season. As they will foal in I will derive the benefit of it. I believe the American thoroughbred has no superior in any part of the world, and the stallions and matrons of Hamburg Place will leave yet an indelible mark on the turf xecords of Europe." A Sydney paper relates how Mr "Fairie," the owner of Lemberg, Bayardo, and other horses in the first flight at Home, came into his immense wealth. Mr "Fairie," whose heal name is Mr Cox, who was then manager of a- small station, ac-' cepted an invitation to stay on a brief visit at a place in the neighbourhood of Broken Hill. His host, Mr M'Culloeh, offered Mr Cox a fourteenth share in Broken Hill ftt loOsovs, but M'r Cox offered lOOsovs. After argument, it was decided to play a game of euchre to decide whether the price was to be 120sovs or 150sovs. Mr Cox won and took the share. After holding for some time Mr Cox tried to sell a portion cf his interest, but failed to find a buyer. In a little while the share worth l,loo,ooosovs. The rest was easy. At Ricarton, early last week, several two-year-olds were given a gallop down the straight on the course proper. The first lot to face the barrier were Masterpiece, Query, Avarice, Muircock. Melchior, and Swordplay. From a good start the named pair led the way home, Masierpiece finishing half. a length in front of Query, the others being eased up after going three furlongs. .The time registered was olsec. Orton, Culprit, Mailing, -Brion. Lady Alma, and Glenroy were the next lot to break away, but they were eased off after going two furlongs, at which point Orton and Culprit were well clear of the others. The forfii'er of these two created a favourable impression, and is evidently a smart galloper. Peirene and Mazurka (Martian —Two Step) afterwards cantered up the straight and camo down at half speed. The training honours in connection with the Doncaster St. Leger rest with John Scott, who h&s prepared no fewer than 16 winners (says the Winning Post). The fact that he was known as the "'Wizard cf the North" has doubtless caused many to regard him as a Xorthcountryman, but, though he spent the greater part of his life and died in Yorkshire, he was a Southerner. He was born in 1794, at Chippenham, in the Duko of Beaufort's famous hunting country; but at an early age removed to Oxford, where his iather kept, ran, and trained horses. At the age of 13 "the Wizard" rode in races, and •had his first winning mount an the Port Meadows, where Oxford races were held until 1880. He had been in several establishments before finally settling down to Whitewall, Malton, the scene of his wonderful triumphs. ,and where he died in 1871 at the age of 77. He survi%-ed his younger brother, William, the celebrated jockey, 21 years. Writing from London to a friend in Perth, Mr A. M'lntosh. the West Australian veterinary surgeon, says:—"l shall soon be back in ' God's own land,' where a body is allowed t« breathe free air. I was down at Doncaster yesterday to see the St. Leger run. Left London at 8.40 a.m., arrived 12 p.m., distance 150 miles. The. return faro was 28s; grandstand. 30s; dinner, ss; and race took, 6d. The St. Leger course, or rather Doncaster, is a fine place, and very pretty. I guess there was a crowd of over 230,000 people, and only seats or conveniences are for the lords and their ladies. The public—well, all they do is stand anywhere they can. I saw four men arrested for welshing before the start of the St. Leger. The St, Leger was a grand race. Swynford, the-winner, is a fine horse, and F. Wootton, who rode him, a fine horseman. He rode a grand race. He made a pocket for Lemberg, who, according to all good judges-, ought to have won." The following story is told of the late ■ King Edward regarding Persimmon's win of the Derhxr—*s the Prince, after the race,

wa3 leading his colt Persimmon to the- | weighing enclosure, he had to shake hands | with scores -of people, including gypsies and labouring men of all kinds. At one time I he was swept off his feet by the throng, but : he was cool, collected, and kindly through it all, and seemed to enjoy hugely tiiei j patent evidence of Ins unlimited popularity. ] " It was told by one who ought to knew j that on the Prince's return to the Royal box, breathless but happy, one of his j daughters said " How dirty your gloves are, j papa; you Had better throw them away and put on" another pair." He replied: "That d'irt, my dear, comes from honest hands, the owners of which have honest hearts. I [ would not part with that pair of dirty gloves for all the money I have won to-day!" And | he never did part with them. They still : hang in his study at Sandringham, or did when he died, under a portrait of his famous horse, Persimmon. B. Dc-eley, the Auckland jockey, arrived home from Sydney a few days back, and in an interview with an Auckland Star reporter he gave some of his impressions:—Taken on the whole (he said) the handicap horses. were better than those racing in the Dominion, but their weight-for-aga horses were no better than ours. The tlires-yen.r-okis wore fair, the A.J.C. Derby winner, Tana-mi, being a real good sort. Blairgour, who has ba-:n boomed as a champion, was very fast for three or four furlongs, but was a sour brute, and curled up quickly. The Phoebus Apollo gelding Annapolis,' who earned such a reputation in the West, was suffering from influenza, and was not teen at his best. Master Soult, who only arrived at. Oaulfield at midnight before the first dav's racing, was unable to be started in the Oaulfield Stakes, but was produced on the second day, and won the Eclipse Stakes. His victory was not gained so easily as most people thought, and Olivaster had him hard at it, and it was only in the last half furlong that he got the best of it. In the Caulfield Cup, he was lame after doing his preliminary, and although ha> got a good run. he never had the dash to/take advantage of several opennigs. Under the circumstances, he ran well, and was only about six lengths away from the winner, Flavinius, who had to fight throughout the race, after being one of the last to leave the mark, and any opening he. got he had to make himself, so his win was a most meritorious one. Britain, who finished third, also ran a good race, and his trainer, the cx-Aucklander, P. Tsolan, is confident of his putting up a good performance in the Melbourne Cup. In the race won by Advantage, ridden by B. Deeley, the Xe-w Zealand mare had a lucky run on the rails at the finish, and landed the stake by half a head, there being only a neck between the first four. Referring tc the jockeys he saw on the ether side, Deeley gave it as bis opinion that W. H. Smith was the best, but Hickey, Foulsham, and M'Lachlan were all good riders.