IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3003, 4 October 1911, Page 55

IN A NUTSHELL.

It is said that Oiyei has hopelessly broken down, and may not race again. It is understood the betting case Clarke versus M'Comb will be carried to the Supeme Court. The general entries of the Victoria

' Amateur Turf Club number 538, compared with 489 last year. Although the Ashlrarton meeting was apparently a successful fixture, it is understood that " Government tax" eats up the bulk of the profits. Owners are reminded that nominations are duo on Saturday of this week for the Gore Racing Club's spring meeting, dated for October 23 and 24. I * —A Melbourne cable states that Gold Thread and Wimmera have been scratched for the Toorak Handicap at the V.A.T.C. meeting at Caulfield. ] A cablegram states that" Mr S. "Whitworth's gelding Wharekura, by Eton*— , Irma, was offered for sale at Sydney,. but ! was passed in at 24 guineas. I Swynford, whom the cable announces broke a leg whilst doing a gallop, had won £14.814 in stakes up to the time the last mail to hand had loft England. 1 A catalogue of the Kinloch yearlings bred by Mr J. F. Buchanan is to hand. The youngsters are all by Martiaai, and will be put up for sale on Tuesday, November 7. i None of Mr J. Grigg's horses will be raced again until the New Zealand Cup meeting. Mr Grigg. who js at present in England, has sent out instructions to that, effect. The Welbeck gelding. Beckwefi, threw I out at the first fence in the Hack and ; Hunters' Hurdles at Geraldine, but made amends by scoring on the second day of themeeting. i Writing to a friend in Sydney recentlythe llandwick trainer, I. Earnshaw, said that Lord Rosebery's two stallions, Cicero (a Derby winner) and Neil Gow, earn close on £IO,OOO a year m fees. The Kuxow Jockey Club's annual meeting takes place on Thursday of this week, and as the acceptances suggest an unusual strength in the fields, the fixture should draw a good attendance. The entries for somo of the principal events, to be decided at the New Zealand Clip make a very pleasing list, and if a lengthy nomination list is any criterion h successful, gathering- is assured. j Last week the two-year-olds Teviotdale and Canuts, who both contracted influenzt whilst at Randwick, arrived home from Sydney Randiera. who broke down, was also shipped homo by the same boat. 1 —-MTimum's form so far this spring is not in keeping with what he was displaying at the back end of last year. He should, however, have been second iu the Geraldine Cup, and seem® to be improving. 1. The erstwhile New Zealander. J. N. McGregor, was last week suspended by the j Y.R.C. Committee until October 12. It is i explained that the punishment meted out i in M'Gregor's" case is not due to any turf offence. I —Freak, the brother to Outlander, scored a comfortable win in the first day's hurdles at Geraldine, and incurs a 101 b penalty for "Wingatui. On the second day Freak did not get particularly dangerous at any stage of the race. } The success «f the A.J.C. Derby I must be a source of pleasure to Sir George Clifford, who now ownj San Francisco. The son of St. Simon fell into disfavour in Australia because it was 'held that some of his stock were softish. j —Mr R. A. M'Dowell, secretary to the i Oamaru Trotting Ciub. was present «,t the j Geraldine meeting, and received promise of patronage for his meeting from a number of j owners. Nominations for the meeting are due on Friday of this weak. j Malt King, the winner of the Metro- ! politan, was got by Maltster from Patrona, I by Grand Flaneur. Amongst his wins are tho Caulfield Guineas, and in addition to getting second in the last Newmarket, has won some good w.f.a. events. The Melbourne Cup winner Acrasia has produced a oolt to Maltster, and will be bred to Royal Artillery. Acrasia has been a stud failure up to date, although she has been bred to different horses in the hope of finding something as good as herself. Bolton, who is one of the most successful riders in Australia, has ridden 235| winners since October, 1907. "When, in New Zealand, attached to C. Piper's stable. Bolton very seldom got a ride, except on the one or two flat-racers trained by the'former. Volsloane, the winner of the Epsom, runs back on the dam's side to some New Zealand blood, as Tacite was got by Glan Stuart from Themis, by Anteros, from Princess of Thule, by Captivator. His sire, .Volporie, was bred in England and got by Donovan.

The defunct. Australian stallion, The Victory, -who won the Melbourne Cup in. 1902. has left a very useful three-year-old in England in Marco Bozzaris, who thia season has won five races, in eight starts, and has defeated some good horses very easily indeed. ■ Next week will mark the oonxrnencement of the local racing season, when the Dunedin Jockey Club's spring meeting will take plaoe. The first race is timed to start at 1 o'clock each day, and there seems every prospect of the fields providing sport well worth witnessing. A Sydney message states that Posadas and Flamen were scratched for the Metropolitan Handicap. The trainers of Los Angelos and Broadsword were fined for having failed to scratch their horses within the proscribed time for the Spring Stakes, run on Saturday. —J. E. Brewer has bought in England, for the Victorian sportsman, Mr Earnest Claike, two yearling colts, on© by Melton from Sagacity, by St. Serf fromi La Sagesse, by Wisdom; and the other by Bachelor's Button from Dame Agneta (dam of Saucy). They are to be shipped at once. Stepmeterr ran on the outside of a coup 1 -© of horses when started in the Squatters' Handicap, <uid in a fast-run race travelling over extra ground did not help his chance. He was giving 14lb to Pilgrim's Way, and the concession represented a fairly stiff proposition On the second day Step-meter had a berth on the rails, and won all the way. A noble lord from the Emerald Isle; renowned for his ready wit, was walking along a racing - enclosure one day with a friend when the latter, pointing to a newlynuade Peer on the other side of the Jawil, remarked how "dotty" he was going. "Lame in the coronet, I should imagine." replied his companion without a moment's hestitafcion.

L G. King got cut about when Nightlight unshipped b'm tit Geraldine, but nothing of a particularly serious nature happened. J. Collier, who also got a fall, is said to hare escaped without serious injurv. As far as the writer knows, the stewards did not make any inquiry into the probable cause of the accidents which occurred at the meeting-. None of xhe' New Zealander3 running' at Randwick succeeded in getting in the winning list during the two days of the meeting. . Vice-admiral, who has come into favour for the N i ew Zealand Crap, made a bold show in the Metropolitan until reaching the straight; but Los Angeles did not show up The Traqnai.r—Sonoma filly that won the Breeders' Plate for Mr E. J. Watt cost 420ga as a yearling. Tile well-known mare Dudu was destroyed lost week. She was getting on in years, and mercifully sent; to the happy

limiting grounds. Dudu won three Wangarmi Cups, and at the stud produced Djin Djin, the winner of the first Dunedin Cup run at Winga-tui. Other contributions to the Stud Boole included Epaulet, Stratagem, and Safety Pin, a winner at the recent Ashburton meeting. —-Facilities for handling investments at Wingatui have been so largely increased by the erection of a. new totalisator house and the provision of new machines, that patrons of next week's meeting are cautioned to bring more material to shoot the winners; otherwise the operators will not be kept busy except by those who dally until the . laat moment, and get shut out simply because they are frightened to win for fear of losing. Dry weather greatly affected the tracks in. England last month. Some were considered by owners as too hard to race am, and at Nottingham on August 1G only 22 horses ran during the afternoon. One race resulted in a walk-over, while in another, though 20 figured on the card, mot even one went to the post. As the prize was £250 it seems strange that the amount accruing fiom a walk-over did not cause ©onus to be represented. Another lesson that English racing authorities can learn from- Australasian is the use of skull caps by jockeys who ride in jumping races. After the lamentable death of P. Cowley, a writer in a London paper asked if, m view of the fatal accident to P. Cowley, it is not possible to design a cap with a strong inner lining for the use of riders in steeplechases, whibh would act as a protection to the head in case of a toss. Skull caps have prevented many a jockey from having his head cracked 1 . Elmstead, a brother to Sundridge, and! Comus, by Cyllene from Galeattia, left England a few months ago for South America, for which country they were purchased. This re- " calla the purchase lot South America, of horses hke Ormonde, Neapolis. Kendal, Polar Star, Cyllene, Diamond Jubilee, Dundcmald, Post Obit, Bismarck, and others. Some of those were bought for long prices, notably Diamond . Jubiieo- (30,000 guineas), Cyllene (25.00dsovs), PoJar Star (18,000 guineas), Ormonde (12,0EXkovs), and Kendal (10 000 guineas). Pilgrim's Way, who is one of the speediest horses about, came out at Geraldine and won the- Squatters' Handicap with 8.11 in lruin 2- 2-ssee, without being fully extended. He had a 51b apprentice allowance omn» to having J. O'Brien in the saddle. Pilgrim's Way pulled up 'well, and the merit of his win was .accentuated by the fact that he locked and displayed signs of being a bit backward in condition. The Taco should osrtaialy bring him on, and unless the son of Nautiloid goes amiss again he should be- a sure winner over short courses. Swynford fla< j gunstair were <a long way at the head of the winning horses in England at latest dates, just as Lord Derby and Mt B. Joel were with winning owners, and there was little or no prospect of a third creeping in to divide them this season. Swynford had won £14.81-1," and Sunstar" £14,380, while Lord .: Darby's winnings amounted to £25.624. and those of- Mt J. B Joel to £24,804. But, Hornet's Beauty (10) and Baainbekburn (six) had won the most races, while the owners with the best records as regards races won were Mi G-. Edwardes 23, Mr J. B. Joel 22, and Mr L. de Rothschild 19. —An old mare that is still doing well at the stud is Swing, who was at Bonny Vale until Mr J. Wilson, jus., sold out. She was foaled in 1886, and bred by Mr John Croner. A'though 25 vears of age she produced <a foal to Bobadil a few weeks a«o. Speaking of the mare recently, Mr Wilson said that she is possessed of a remarkably robust constitution, and although so advanced in years she shows a month like .a ten-year-old roar©. In yeans goHe by, whan feed was not so plentiful on Bonny Vfila plains, and some of the brood mares were low in condition, Swing was always fat. She was got by St. Albans from Sea Saw. Writing of the efforts of the stewards to prevent, malpractices, the sporting correspondesit of the Englishman has the following note:—"The Western India Tuxf Club, who seem to be very zealous in their endeavours to keep an eagle eye on the doings of the jockeys, have introduced a novel ■method in Poona. One of the stewards goes down to the starting poet in a light motor oar and starts off with the field, naturally on the outside of the rails. He follows the field till near home, and is thereby able to see what takes place at ell times of the race. The idea is certainly a novel one, but hardly, we think, in keeping with horse racing, and soon we shall probably hear of the race being followed by a. steward on a flyings machine. True Knight was fancied for both hia races at Ashburton, and again on the first day of Geraldine, but, though looking one of the fittest horses that ran at either place, he gave disappointing displays. On each occasion he ran under welter weights, but? on the second day at Geraldine the Sir La-ddo colt oarried 6.12, and, getting to the. front skofftly after the start, strode out like a good horse. So much so that the balance of the field never had the ghost of a chance. It was not a strong field, but under a light scale of weights it would appear that True Knight can gallop, but does not care to carry too much when Earticipatinsr in a tournament. Prior to ia win "they" were saying True KnigM was not half a horse. Flambeau, who showed fairly good and promising form last season, raced with very little vim at both Ashburton and Geraldine-. Last year she ran six furlongs at Bicoarttai in lmin 14 3-ssec at the iS T ew Zealand! Cup meeting, and in the Spring Plate at the same meeting was right on the heels of Dearest, Birkdale, and Vice-admiral when that trio fiMed the places at the end of a mile run in lrn.in 10 2-ss.ee. She also, won the Waimate dip, nine furlongs, hut latterly Murray Hofob-3 has probably had more anxiety than pleasure in sending to the post. Perhaps she may come right again, as she is a fine, well-grown filly, witH plenty of pace when right. Failing that she may find honours in the paddock that she failed to achieve, and at one time seemed' very likely to gather, on the turf. Away from the scene of action many would be astonished to learn that Kohinoor ID aid a fairly big dividend when he won at C-r-raldine. When running a couple of weeks previously at Ashburton the son of Bijou/ looked nice and mellow, and just short of a couple of rousing gallops to bring him)' right. At Geraldine, however, his coat was dry and staring, and he walked in a list-' less manner, which suggested ho was at • least temporarily tired of the sporting life. Furthermore, L. G. King, who had riddenKohinoor earlier in the day, when he ran a fairly good raoe amongst a class of horses, was up on a stable companion in Nightlight. So that there seerorxl no violent temptation to back Kohinoor. Still, he won, and looked a winner a lone way from home; and those who had the form to an ounce and the situation solved beyond argurnent were left lamenting.

The Few Zealand Cup candidate Martin© was made a pronounced favourite in the

Geraldine Cup, and on her Ashbuiton running it looked the best of good things for her. In the actual raoe Mumura, who represented the strongest opposition, was not too well handled and the mare won nicely enough without making the wm look too easy.. Martino looked a shade on the light side for a Cup candidate, who will no doubt be required to go through a fair amount ot work before going to the post at Kiccarton. but that need not create any anxiety, providing that the lightness does not mean a lack of dash in her galloping. It is not uncommon to find Cup horses at this time of the year looking far too big to carry •themselves over a journey. Then they get a stack of .work dieaped on to the tail ot their preparation, and only good, lionhearted horses can stand that sort of treatThe Pilgrim's Progress horse John Bunyain is improving each time he appears in public, and so far this season has won four out of five Taces. One of these carries little merit, as it was run - at a " picnic' meeting. Still, there is' more of the progress and less of the pilgrim (the word carries two indications of speed) about his racing. John Bunyan was troubled with. a. bad splint, and hence did not start racing until, he was a four-year-old, but now seems sound, and has struck winning form, although the class met up to date has not been particularly high. He was got by the English horse Progress jnow defunct) from Catherine, a half-sister to a readmill. " Catherine. was got by Phaeton (son of Trenton) from Catherine Wheel, by Maxim (son. of Musket) from Miss Kate. Catherine has not been a good producer, but John Bunyan may give her a boost. She was bred to an Arab sire in 1909, and this suggests a mesalliance or a poor estimation of her. stud value. -_ On the voyage from New Zealand to fhis port (says a Sydney paper) some weeks ago the racehorse Elfbolt is said to have contracted what is called ".ship's pneucmonia," and in referring to that misfortune a New Zealand paper asks " whether it would not be in the interests of then clients for shipping companies to see that, after discharging live stock, the stock quarters should thoroughly fumigated. At the present time, when large shipments of draught horses are being sent weekly to Sydbey, ship's holds are apt to retain disease germs, and then there is a chance of trouble for any horse unfortunate- enough to be shipped. Owners would willingly pay * little more-'for the passage of a horse if they were assured that such portions of the ves*eel had first been fumigated. In this connection it may be of some use to owners to show what the Yaldhurst trainer R. J. Mason, v/ho regularly visits Australia with his horses, does to ensure them being immune from disease. A stable hand is dispatched from Lyttelten to Dunedin, and on the voyage north his whole time is taken up in thoroughly fumigating the quarters to be occupied by the horses." :