IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 41

IN A NUTSHELL.

Punka is favourite for the Wellington Cup. Acceptances for the Wellington Cup meeting are due on Thursday of this week. Kpesian put up tho best gallop recorded over six furlougs at Riccarton on Saturday, Miohaela, Thaddeus, and Itilboyne are booked to race at the Wellington Cup meeting. .'■'"'.**' Nominations for the Dunedin Cup meet* ing are duo on Friday of this week at 5 p.m. Acceptances for the Forbury Park Troti ting Club's meeting are duo on Wednesday, January 22. .Handicaps for the Cromwell meeting are due on January. 17, and acceptances on January 22. " —J. Olsen has been engaged to rjde Michaela and Thaddeus in their Wellington engagements. Another attempt is being made to train Maro Antony, the Great Autumn Handicap' winner of 1916. The Forbury Park Trotting Club's meeting and the C.J.C. midsummer meeting clash again this season. Minteon and Bundura are both reported' to be shaping well in their work for the Forbury Park meeting. The one-time North Otago Btallion Vareo had two winners representing him at tk« Sydney Tattersall's meeting. The death is reported of the New Zca*land Cup winner Vice-Admiral as the result of injuries received' from a kick. The crack pacer Adelaide Direct has ended her racing career, and is to be shipped back to her owner in Australia'.

Zephland landed two races at the Vincent meeting, but both All Heady and Radial failed twice at the same meeting./ - Biplane,' who is said to have cost his present owner SOOOgs, was passed in at 1700ga when under the hammer in Sydney.. —H. G-askill, who has been acting as pri-' vate trainer to Mr W. H. Kitchingham for several years, has resigned his position. Owing to injuries received whilst running in the AucTcland Cup Bonnie Maid will be unable to race at the Wellington meeting.

Wild Night has been granted a chance i to distinguish himself in his new ownership, as he ngures in four races at the Wairia' meeting. '.■•■■ Borealis, the winner of the Trial Plats at Peilding, was bred by the late Mr D,' Buick, and got by California from Auster- ' litz, by Soult. The Advance gelding Micky Free, who ; has been spelling for some considerable time, was taken north with the balance of J. M'Combe's team. . | Kilboyne will not be amongst the runners in the Wellington. Cup, but will start in the Telegraph Handicap, in which Ashley . Heed has been engaged to ride him. The Treadmill mare Mill Queen was i taken bad with an internal complaint after f racing at Manawatu, iand died despite prompt i attention from a veterinary surgeon. ■ • —S. Dohoghue has headed the list of - Winning riders in England for the past five seasons. During the season just concluded he had 270 mounts, and rode 66 winners. Hed Signal, a winner at the Peilding meeting, was bred by the late Mr St. John Buckley, and got by All Red from Aiicilla, by Treadmill from Chryseis, by Clanranald-. Vagabond' is another of Ma'rtian's.' to J score in ah 'important race, .He won the.,,, principal event at Feilding, but has .siricS'J been withdrawn from the Wellington Cup. Punka ■ Was rather superior to Earo when they met at Eiccarton, and the former seems to have a pull in the weights With the latter .: in meeting on even terms in the Wellington ■ Cup. ■.'!• The Riverton Eaeing Club has decided; to increase the prize money for the annual race meeting from 2300sovs to 3Ooosoys. Mp W. A. Saunders has been appointed handicapper. kudos for his handling of Colonel Soult at the Auckland Cup meeting. , Hewitt at his worst is a much better horseman than many others are at their best. .

The English trainer A. Taylor won 36,67450 vs in. stakes for his patrols last season. He saddled up 16 winners of 32 races from his stable. The principal winner .in the stable was Gainsborough. Radial was beaten twice at the Vincent j meeting. After winding over 10 furlong* J Glenwood came out again and beat Radial over six furlongs. The Advance mare Lady Edith also defeated Kadial over five furlongs. The Auckland owner A. Brown has engaged the Auckland Trotting Cup winner, Harold Junior, and Shanghai at the Forbury Park trotting meeting.. Harold Junio* won the Forbury" Handicap run at last sea- • son's summer meeting. Kilmoon has Bst in the Wellington Cup, or lib more than be carried into second place' in the Metropolitan. Kilrush, who finished third, has lib-less than he carried at iticcarton, when Devotion won in 2.32 8-5. Kilrush is an unlikely starter 'in the "Wellington Cup. Reports from the north state that J. Bryce will have a big team coming south for the Forbury Park meeting. Sherwood, . Tamarisk, Inwood, Joan of Arc, Lord Roanchild, Hectorata, Rothcliff, and Bear man Bride are included in the list of nominations from the stable. Glenwood won both the principal events at the Vincent meeting. He beat All Ready and United Service in the principal event, run over 10 furlongs, and Radial over sir furlongs. Glenwood is a four-year-old gelding by Glenculloch, and seems to have improved since he won at Wairio and Gore last season. Murray Hobbs has decided to take Punka, Winter Cherry, Favourita, and Fortrix to the Wellington Cup meeting. Fortrix is a two-year-old filly by Martian from, the New Zealand Cup winner Tortulla.'and Favorita is an English*bred filly by Marajax from Faverolle, by Gallinule—Maisie, by Minting. —At the Sydney Tattersall's meeting held on December 28 Aries beat a big field in the Carrington Stakes, of 800sovs, six furlongs'. Aries went out second favourite, and won with 7.13 in 1.134. She was got by The Welkin from the New Zealand-bred mare Armigera, by Hotchkiss from Armilla. Armigera cost 350sovs at the Elderslie stud . sale of 1912. . —Mr G- L. Stead picked up a bargain when ho bought Pedometer for 140ge at the Elderslie stud sale of 1912. Pedometer is the dam of Surveyor, who is not only the best-two-year-old seen out this season, but also a good colt in a rather good year, as there ara some smart youngsters abroad this season. Mr Stead recently sold Pedometer to an Australian buyer. - If it could be safe to assume that Punka , is less than a length at Sib behind Gloam- ' ing over 10 furlongs as they finished in the Stead Memorial, when both were beaten by Sasanof in 2.5, then she should give a good battle in the Wellington Cup at .7.5. Punka won the Oaks Stakes with 8.10 in 2.37, and l9lb off her back should assist to got a good mile and a-half once more.

and Koesian should give a good account of themselves at the present treatment in handicaps. Form TJp seems to have lost his punch, but there is no reason to discard Koesian, who ran a. good third in. the last Great Easter, when giving Nystad 12lb, and now in the Telegraph Handicap at Wellington meets him on 19lb better terms. Anyone who witnessed the running in the .New. Zealand Derby would be disinclined to make Kilmoon 91b in front of Heathercote over a mile and a-half, the margin between them in the "Wellington Ciip. Kilmoon, however, is a. solid customer, and runs to the top of his form, whereas Heathercote, despite his win at Auckland, has still to justify his Derby form at Riccarton.

—,A recent issue of the London Sportsman ia alluding to the success of Montmartin in the Prix de Nourdenay in- the colours of M. Jean Prat, states that the colt is a three-year-old, by Doricles or Cadet Eonsel 111 from Musa, whom M. Prat bought in England at 4000 gs, along with her foal, Mirska. Both' Marsa and Mirska'were winners of the English Oaks. Sprig of Erin, one of the imported mares to be sold at the Elderslie stud sale, was got by Desmond from' Sweet .Vernal, a daughter of Musa. . Snub looks nicely treated at 8.1 in the "Wellington Cup, but he is apt to get beaten for speed, and so get badly placed over tho run down the straight and round .the sharp turn into the back stretch. He had 9.2 in the Metropolitan, and a drop of 151 b is liberal enough, but, the 'distance and shape of the Trentham {rack over the first part of the journey may be against him. It would not, however, be surprising to find him making a i bold bid in the race. His Canterbury Oup l win was not the fluke which some people believe. •—Amongst the owners of recent winners is-one whom, it ia an open secret, i 8 said to have been disqualified for a period of Iwd years, and people are wondering why his. horses are still eligible to race. The. »wner* in question can, however, still race, as the .rule on the point reads: "No decision of the stewards or committee of any club imposing any disqualification shall have any effect unless and until it has been approved by the District Committee, except only in bo far as may be necessary for the purposes of any race meeting actually being held at the time when it is imposed." Kilboyne is. engaged in the Wellington Cup.; It is a remarkable fact that a Dunedinowned horse has never won a Wellington • Oup, and Kilboyne will have, to do much better than he did at Invercargill before having a chance of breaking the* spell. Kilboyne, however, looked and pulled up suggesting that he was not ready to gO the Invercargill Cup distance, and the fact was not a matter of astonishment, as the horse had i-een comparatively idle for- some time after returning from the New Zealand Cup , meeting, owing to the unfortunate death of ID'., Henderson, his previous trainer. ~— lt did not take long for the Advance f elding Hurry Up to run to the top of the andicaps, but the "Highden" stable seem 3 tojhave found a useful sort, .as he has won three times on end. Hurry Up belongs to a Very patchy family as far as racing merit is concerned, but may be one of the oases in the desert of mediocrity that keeps one hoping for winners from a trioe when common

sense plays a discard. Hurry Up was got -by Advance from Martian—- ; Cuiralba, by Cuirassier from Albatross. *. ; ;', Since Albatross threw Merganser (a great • racing borse,' but ultimately proving a stud ■■■ failure), one naturally baa been expecting •;' something else ,of similar calibre from tlie tribe; but beyond Nystad nothing of note has ./..happened along since Merganser was foaled . in 1888. Perhaps the line, like some gold mines, only runs to " pockets/' and not a continuous flow of merit, and such seems to .be the case when Merganser, Nystad, Nyland, Boanerges, and, perhaps, Hurry Up, are the • only good ones produced by the family in a quarter of a century.