TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 53

TALK OF THE DAY.

By Sentink*

THE SUPERVISION OF RACING. One could not wish to witness better sport, than that provided by last week's programme at \Vingatui, if it wore judged by the number of close and interesting finishes which took place. Close finishes, however, are not the everything of racing, and whilst making a. pleasing climax lose a great deal of their value us a . spectacle when there is reason tp doubt the bona fides of some of the runners. And there seemed' good reason for in more cases than one. A M«4ropolitan Club should be particularly careful in its'supervision of racing, because there is a great danger of laxity on its part spreading to the minor clubs. The minor clubs can under the Rules of Racing request the assistance of a metropolitan steward or any private individual presumably holding an expert knowledge of the game to assist in the control of their meetings, but if the metropolitan elubc leave themselves open to criticism it would be farcical for them to think of attempting to supervise the lunning at other meetings. Those with a tendency to deceive the stewards and public gain a courage born of success, and if allowed fee go unchecked invariably work from the individual bye (as it is politily termed) to the combination system, which reduces racing to the basis of a pure swindle utterly devoid of an atom :>£ sport. It is a regrettable fact that- there is an .undesirable element attached to racing, and if every reasonable effort is nofc made to .eradicate the purely money brigadie it is only a matter of time when, the better class of owners will refuse to be associated with a sport which the public regards with suspicion and distrust. Horse*owners who run horses for the love ot sport are not real sportsmen- if they do not possess a keen desire to win, and! if they know the ins and outs of the game it stands to reason they become loth to race their 'horses at meetings where they are more apt to be beaten by trickery (to me^anaiU^*xpargeßion^hanbythei^l

merit of the opposition in the field. At last week's meeting- non-triers were not absent from the scene, and although the stewards carpeted those connected with the running- of one horse, it was not the only one whose form was open to doubt.

THE DUNEDIN SPRING MEETING. The Dxvnedin Jockey Club held thenspring- meeting last week, and despite the existence of one or two drawbacks in the shape of bad weather on the second day and the exhibition of some questionable running, the fixture provided some very inteivtitiTig- sport, and in the main must be regarded as a success. The paddock attendance on the first day was rather disappointing, and it is evident that Dunedin will not strain a point to participate in -a day's sport when the rest of the commercial world is at work. The meeting - , however, attracted a fairly large number of visitors, but the fact of the programme being spread over so much time did not permit them to remain until the end. There is no doubt that the Wednesday and Saturday meeting is a strain on the time of visiting owners and trainers; but the club has to make the best of things by securing the half-holiday and the Saturday, which liberates a large percentage of the population. Still, if the Wednesday's attendance of the future is not considerably better than that of last week, the club should seriously consider the advisability of catering for visitors by racing' on two consecutive days. On entering the enlarged saddling paddock with its new teahouse and totalisators, one could hear appreciative remarks passed on all sides. The change effected is undoubtedly a great improvement, and the. installation ;of several garden seats won a word or two of thanks. • Ths new totalisator house provides ample facilities for the handling of investments, and the large staff provided by Mr W. F. James captured all the betting that was going except that over the last race of the meeting, which was caused through the delay in getting off the previous event. In the ordinary course of events the totalisa-toir ataK miss very little betting, and then only from those who delav matters in perhaps the earnest hope that they will get shut out. A good deal" of credit is due to the caretaker for keeping the course" in order and presenting it in all its attractiveness despite the fact that workmen had been in possession for some time. Altogether it must be said that Wingatui is growing into a very attractive racing rendezvous, and with the provision of fair stakes and good, clean sport, there should be "no doubt about future success being assured.

A VISIT TO ELDERSLIE. The announced dispersal of the Elderslie Stud is a matter of general regret amongst sportsmen, particularly those at this end of the South Island, because stock from its richly-grassed paddocks were the principal factor in drawing attention to the great value of the North Otago district as. a nursery for the thoroughbred, and although we all could not buy yearlings bred on its beautifully-sheltered slopes, we at least took not a little pride in the fact that otagto> raised horses capable of scoring amongst the best in the land. One has only to scan the turf records to find that the stock from the Elderslie Stud have oroved their merit by stamping their names on the winning- roll- of our most important races, and. by their prowess on the turf won deservedly high rank as money-making equines amongst both the best class and the rank and file of racehorses represented by the utility handicapper. It seems strange at this period, when the Elderslie Stud ranks second to none in Australasia as a producer of winners, that its first yearling sale proved a frost, it being a fact that none of the quartet sent up could find a buyer under the hammer. The fact, however, proved an evcellent advertisement, as two of them, in Skirmisher and Outpost, unmistakably demonstrated that good winners could be bred in the Elderslie paddocks. The others were fillies, and' one, in -Pibroch, produced Menschikoff, the best horse of his time Stepniak won his great reputation by stock bred at Elderslie. Up to the end of last season he sired winners St considerably over £IOO,OOO, and this year has had his memory kept green by a few winners still adding to the above total. Stepniak had some very successful years. lii 1905-6 he had 56 winners, in 1906-07 he had 61 winners, and in the two following years 66 and 56. This is a record achieved by no other stallion in New Zealand. It speaks highly of the racing merit of the Stepniak strain and its general excellence on the turf, but it also demonstrates and gees to prove that Elderslie stock evidently gained something else beyond the fact of being "sired by the successful ton of Steppe. In Ireland it is claimed that some of the greatest horses of their day, such as Galtee More and Patrick. Barcaldine, a,nd others, owed their merit through being foaled and reared on limestone country. The great value of such country is freely recognised by English experts, and recognised as having great merits, such as the "blue grass of old Kentucky." English studm asters and authorities always endeavour to produce paddocks with a substrata of limestone for their studs, because experience has placed the importance of such a formation beyond question. At Elderslie—and, in fact, the bulk of the North Otago district —the substratum of the soil is all limestone. Such country must naturally enhance the chance of horses reared on its pastures inheriting good bone and substance, and consequently it is not astonishing to find some of the best winners of recent years hailing from the North Otago district. In other words, the great success achieved by Stepniak, Vanguard, Gipsy Grand, and other sires of the stock raised in the district is in a great measure rightly attributable to the excellent qualities of the land as well as being due to the merits of the sire. No one who has walked some of the paddocks in the district could fail to recognise the fact, and hence the sires of to-3ay are just asi likely to achieve a brilliant success as Stepniak" did in the days when he was lord of the harem. In fact, the possibilities are greater because the mares have been culled and every precaution taken to have cnlv the most likely producers kept in the paddocks. It is some few years since the writer last visited the Elderslie Stud, but even as it existed some time ago a thought of the place always created a mental -picture of the beau ideal of a stud farm. The roomy, well-grassed, and sheltered paddocks, made a picture calculated to inspire more and more enthusiasm in the equine artist who could only paint mental pictures based on the love of the thoroughbred. No stala

herbage was allowed to linger on tee land but each succeeding lot of youngsters had the privilege of grazing on ground specially prepared and freshened for their benefit. Latterly a large area of new ground has been added to the original stud Paddocks, and a few days ago the writer circled a 100acre paddock of a nice undulating surface, which was the right thing to develop the muscle of the naturiallv-inclined-to-galiop thoroughbred. The increased area, also includes several other first-class padlocks of large proportions, and the total estate now stands at something like 270 acres, nearly all of which is a beautifully grassed country or first-claas land capable of growing anything. The paddocks have recently been greatly improved by the fact that board fences have taken the place of wire, and the risk of valuable stock meeting trouble through its agency is totally avoided. Another great improvement has been the installation of a water service, by which the supply is pumped to a reservoir and then piped to troughs in the various paddocks. Bv this means the stock have always a . fresh supply of gocd water, and those that don't thrive and do well must be only deserving of a bullet—in fact -one could hardly pick a better place to re-vitalise a horse or mare. During the recent visit only a brief opportunity was obtained for viewing the stock. In fact the only ones to come under notice were those nearest the home stables. The first led cut was Charlemange 11. Until making his acquaintance a few days ago, the writer had somehow gathered the- impressionl that the son of St. Simon was a small horse; but he stands 16.1. and is as beautiful a type of the English thoroughbred stallion as one could wish to see. He is brimful of quality, and has all the vitality which one likes to see in a sire. Charlemagne „ 11, however, is a beautifully tempered horse, jand does not display any viciousness. On looking at him one can easily believe that only an accident could have prevented Cbarlemanee II from taking high. honours on the turf, He took up his stud "cawer -with all his life before him, and it does not require any courage to predict that such a splendid representative of a» all-conquering line can hardly fail to make the maime for himself in the paddock that misfortune deprived him of making on the turf. Downshire is a different type of stallion to Charlemagne H. The conformation of the former suggests the high-class cup horse and the classic winner, whilst the latter suggests speed, which, of ocure. is also the principal factor irr gathering the cups axtd- classics. Downshire is a rich bay with black points. His carriage and character, together with a magnificent conformation, at once commands admiration. He is, in fact, coe of the finest, specimen's of the thoroughbred that the writer has ever seen, and such a horee that seems with his excellent blood lines to have an assured success before him at the stud. The colts to go under the haimmer next month have all been sent to Christchurch to the Canowrie paddocks, and the only young stock handy to the, stables were three Charlemagne fillies pictured in the illustrated pages of this week's Witness. The dams of Idasa (Seaton Delaval —Ida), Couronne (Gipsy Grand— Coronal), and Anoabelle (Lionel —Anna). They' are three particularly fine racylooking fillies, and each of the trio is fairly well grown. A glance of interest . was 'also given to Neva (the dam Danube) and her paddock mate, Ambush. Both mares have fine Charlemagne II colts at fo"t. We also paid a special visit to see the imported English mare Honetta, a fine type of a young stud ma-trori', got by Bay Ronald from Frusquirretta by St. Frusquin with a ■liandsome Martagon filly produced to English time. The visit. was all too brief because the time at our disposal only gave an opportunity for a mere glance at much that one likes to linger over.