IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3399, 7 May 1919, Page 41

IN A NUTSHELL.

Wardancer continues to stride along in useful work. , Lionskin finished fourth tn the Railway rlandicap. . , Reports from Australia state that bnuD is being schooled over hurdles. Old Gold got badly away in the final event at the Wellington meeting. p. jj. Jones has left for the North Island with Bore, Euripos, and Post .njaste. The reported sale of Surveyor at 2000 gs is now said to be lacking in foundation. The New Zealand-bred Bloodshot had a winning representative at Ascot recently. Huoii Patch has been stepping come good races during the past couple of weeks. Forbury Park Trotting meeting takes place on Friday and Saturday of this week. There does not seem to bs any pronounced favourite for the Victory Handicap. Over £SOOO was invested on the totali&a tor in connection with tho Thompson Handicap. —At Meredith (Victoria) on St. Patrick s day H. Eldridge rode each of the six winner? on the card. Reports from Christ-church state that Willie Lincoln will not fulfil his Forbury Park engagements. Vagabond, Nystad, and Noblemian were nearest the placed lot o,t the finish of the Thompson Handicap. Innovation Handicap, and Nancy Stair 12yds in the Victory Handicap. —At Willianistown on April 22 the- Linacre horse Mistico carried 10.7 and won over six furlongs in Imin 14^sec. The Martian—Forked Lightning gelding Killowatt -won a Trial Hurdle Race in Tasmania on Easter Monday. Wrestler is apparently regaining his former brilliancy, as he skipped! over half a mile on Saturday in 48 l-ssec. Tararu Jack finished fourth in the Great Easter Steeplechase, of lOOOabvs, run at Onkaparinga on Easter Monday. The National Hurdle winner Kauri King is said to be on the improve as the result of his recent racing on the flat.

The Otago Hunt Club's programme attracted very satisfactory nominations, which should provide a good day's sport. —lt is reported that the Spalpeen gelding Thau may bo sent down from Auckland to run at the Dunedin winter meeting. Afterglow had no great difficulty in beating Star Lady in the New Zealand St. Leger Stakes in record time -'or the journey.

—Mr "Vic" Price, part owner of Rorke's Drift, is expected back from the front this week, after fcur years' active service. 'Munster blundered at the last hurdle in the Second Hack Hurdles at Trehtkam, and so spoilt a good chance of beating Yankee Jack. —ln finishing close up to Afterglow and Star Lady in the New Zealand St. Leger. Almoner put up his best performance this season.

The crack pacer Author Dillon is to be treated to a spell, and may not appear in public again until the Grand National meeting. Yankee Jack put up an Australasian record when he put up 3min 12 S-ssec for a -mile and three-quarters' over hurdles at Trentham.

—lt is claimed that the £14,025 invested on tho St. George Handicap at the recent A.R.C. meeting is a totali&ator record! for the Dominion.

The four Kilbroney yearlings purchased at the Eldorslie Stud sale and subsequently handled by Mr Murray Hobbs have arrived safely in .Sydney. The merit of Sasanof's win in the Thompson Handicap was enhanced by the

fact that he suffered interference in the first part of the race. ■ —At the Sydney bloodstock sales a lia.llbrother to fcennoquhair, by Monequeton (Carbine —Musa), was sent out of the ring when bidding reached 82<3gs. —lt was good sportsmanship to find five horsco opposing Sasanof in the Trentham Gold Cup, as none of the quintet had the ghost of a chance on paper. Beta Peter out cue of her feet rather badly whilst being worked on the New Brighton track. It is thought she XBUftt haK> been injured by striking a piece of glasa.

The- Signer—Helen Portland gelding Sonnino, the only horse withdrawn from th* rmg at the sale of Mr E. Short'a team, ia to be raced under leas© by Mr Lance Wood). Despite "Vfiairnatoa-'s win on the flret day at Wellington,, ho dropped into tho position of eighth favourite for his race on tho second day. Still, some people say there is nothing like following winning form.

The leading 1G two-year-olds in the United Slates last year a-9 yearlings coat £5200, and won between tluan iC84,563. Amongst them Dunboyne, who coist J&340, wa» credited with £6406 in stakes. A correspondent writca from Gore r« guard-boards on trotting trades, and suggests that the board could ba brought out to the plumb at Addington by means ot blocks attached to each post. Nelson Bingen was backed down to a , very short price on the first day at New [• Brighton, but he mixed up shortly after th«.' start, and again when within striking dis* ? tance of the loaders towards tho finish.

Yankee Jack, who won both hurdl* events at the Wellington meeting, was got ■ by t'lie iNew Zealand Cup winner Frisco from ' Willow Bank, by Worry—Cordelia, by Torpedo from Cornelia, tho dam of Alivta. Waimatoa, the winner of .the Railway . Handicap at Wellington, is returned ae being by Bezon.ian from Punawoi, a mare no doubt. identical with the daughter of Waterfall and Benny Blink, by Cadogan from Titania. The principal event run at Williameton ■ on Easter Monday was worn by Court Jester, \ the eon of Cornedy King and the INew f Zealand-bred more Aleger, who was got by • St. Beger from Brown Alice, by Nordenfeldt. Gloaming was slightly lame after Ma

fall cb tho start of the Challenge Stakes at Tre.ntb.am, but it is not anticipated eerioua trouble will result. The Challenge Stake* was to be Gloaming's ].°st race this season. The imported horse "Cynic should develop into a good hurdler when he ha* had more experience at the business. Th« fact' of him being a-good stayer should help to get him into the winning list over tb* battens.

The filly Mhronne broke a shoulder when she fell whilst running in the Paciua Handicap at Treiitham, and had to b« destroyed. She was owned by the. Messra " Riddiford, and got by Martian from Innocence, by Downshire. favourite for the Railway Handicap at Forbury Park. Intolerance wos.-..bcat a neck In the Pea-roe- Handicap ai New Brighton by Pleasant Mount, in Smin 31 l-sscc when giving 3seo to the runner-up. —R. J. Mason leaves for -Sydney in the near future, but k not taking any of hi* team across with him. Anything belonging to Mr -G. D. Greenwood will, as .usual, leave at the bank end of the season in order to dodge the New Zealand winter. ! A Hall, who was disqualified! for fiva i years in connection with the Maiiavsafcu Racing dub's .autumn meeting, recently had four years and nine rao-atlis added to «.<• term of disqualification. No reason has been given for the extension of Hall's disqualification.

Heathercoto has been disappointing a« a three-year-old, but ran a fairly good roc* when Glendower beat him in the Anturnri Handicap at Trenthain. He wias- meeting. th« Glenapp gelding on 101 b tetter terms than in the Sockburn Handicap, -when Glendower won easily. Since the Melbourne Cup winner Acrasia retired to the stud she has produced nothing of any great note, -but at a recent Queensland meeting she was represented by a winner in Countess Acrasia, a daughter of Powhattan.

Trafalgar is getting some winning representatives in Australia, and on April 19 a Slaughter of his in Speedy Gleam' put up a track record by winning over s-sven furlongs- in lmin 27£sec at Mentone. Speedy Gleam also won at Williamstcn on Api'il 22 over a mile. Embracer suffered interference shortlyafter the start of the New Brighton Derby, and although he afterwards ran up to Docanda Dillon, the latter held him safe at the finish. The stewards fined J. Bryce, the driver of High Admiral, lOsovs for interferen.ee with Embracer.

— Reports from the north state that Nystad has been sold to a West Australian buyer, who takes delivery after the Mania. watoi meeting. Mr Goring P. Johnston has also sold to the same buyer the two-year-old Renunciation (Hallomas—Faa Seul) ami Ha-1-bran, a two-year-old by Hallomas —Parera. At the "Epsom meeting, held on April 19, the New Zealand-bred Broadsword had a winning representative in Section, who beat 14 others in a two-year-old handicap. Section, a bay colt by Broadsword from Circle, by Carbine from Yardley, by Sterling. Section is a half-brother to Blagne, a Newmarket Handicap winner. A eheerv letter has- come to har.id frorp Ben Wildey," who has been with the Expeditionary Fotcos in Samoa for some considerable time. Between military duties ho hca participated in both racing and trottmgf meetings, and looks forward to getting back to the Dominion. He very kindly sends along some very interesting photos taken in Samoa, and the vie-ws include a trotter in such rapid action that it has fogged the '-late. -—The Wellington handicapper was evidently much impressed by Waimatoa's win on the first day at Wellington, despite the fact that he only boat 80-peep a head after the lattea- got badly away. Waimatoa had to meet 80-peep on 7lb worse terms. Demos, who was beat half a length into third place on Blb, and Acre on 111 b worse terms. Such margins must tell- a tale when they are skipping over six furlongs at batter than 1.12. The well-known KoTth Island sportsman Mr W. Richmond, the leviathan bettor of the turf, is reported to have purchased Spanner at 3000 gs. Spanner is no doubt destined to race in Australia. Mr W. Stone, of Invercargill. will view the sale with mixed feelin°;s. as Mr Allison had almost agreed to sell Spanner to him at 350 gs when Mr Allison, sen., arrived on the scene and persuaded h/is son not to accept the price at which he had just offered to sell. Loeando Dillon, who- gathered the winning honours in the New Brighton Derby, was got by the imported horse Brent Do-' oonda. who was bred in Kentucky and brought ■ out by R. M'Millan. The latest classic winner comes from a feather-legged tap-root, which, however, picks np a good infusion of thoroughbred blood. Ivy Dillon, the dam of Loeando Dillon, was got by Harold Dillon from Ivy Wood, by Wild*-

weed from Trissie, by Saturist (son of Traduced) from a half-draught mare. The placed lot in the Autumn Handicap at "Wellington also filled the places in.the Sockburn Handicap at Riocarton. Glendower strode home an easy winner in the Sookhurn, and at Trentham was meeting Heathercote on 10lb worse terms, and Vagabond on-7lb worse terms. Glendower afterwards ran a good second in the Great Autumn, in which he gave Vagabond 101 b. and Heathercote lllb and a beatnng. On these figures Glendower was well' treated at Wellington, but a close finish "justified the figures," as the critics say. i Recent form justified punters in mafe- ' ing Old Gold first choice for the Belmont ! Handicap at Trentham, as he was meeting i a rather weaker field than, for .instance, he ! met when sent out favourite for the Templej ton Handicap, in wheih he ran third to 1 Kilbrogan and Lionskin. He, however, got [ badly away, and failed -to give 31b to Mataf tua, who beat him home two lengths. Mataf tua was got by Birkenhead from Sun Bonnet, by Seaton Delaval from Sunbeam, by Ingomar from Amohia, by Towton. Amohia i 3 the third dam of Boomerang, the Great Autumn wiinner of 1906. —C. Christie leaves this week with a team consisting of Lochella and Graftou > Tot, and perhaps another in the shape of \ Morisco, but the anclusion of the latter had ! not been finally decided upon last week. [At the present time .Christie has a big \ team under his charge, consisting of the • ; above-named trio and East End (Birkeni head—Hoopee), Cape Bret (Birkenhead— I Caleoria), Cartoon (Sarto—Chinook), Lisp, ) Stirrup Cup, and Compulsiion. According to j present intentions LochalLa, and Grafton Tot i will be raced at the principal cross-country j rare-tings in the North Island before being I brought south again. The D.J.C. i Works Committee have de-

' cided to alter the retiring room attached to I the toa rooms at Wingatuif and also enl largo and make other improvements in the | biiilding. It has also been decided to obtain j plans for the proposed new stewards' stand, 1 which will be erected in front of the totalisaI tor building so as to provide a central I birdcage giving equal opportunity to patrons ! of both enclosures to view the horses before I each race. The tota-lisator will be shifted x i beck so as to give ample room for the lay- | ing out of the new birdcage. The improve- [. ments will be much appreciated by patrons J of the Wingatui meetings. i. —lf proof v.'ere required that largo num- .;. bers of folk hold the opinion that Hector ! Cray can carry a horse home a winner it is • ; .furniished by them sending out Vagabond ) first choice in the Autumn Handicap at | Trentham when he held only a remote j chance on paper. In the Sockburn Glen- : dower very comfortably gave him slb and an i unmistakable beatinigi, but with only an 1 additional 7lb in his favour and Gray up ( Vagabond went out favourite and Glendower | third favourite at Trentham. On the Great i Autumn form Glendower also had Vagabond j tit his meroy, and) the fact that Gray got j the Martian gelding so close stands as an- ,: o.bor tribute to his horsemanship.

—ln - commenting on the cause of the ! death of- King Roy, a pacing stallion who i died from an atack of enteritis (inflammaj tiion of the bowels), Mr Millson, a well-known i vet. in Victoria, who attended the horse, ! said the case was hopeless from the start, | and/ hi fact, it is very rare to find a horse ! making a recovery from- the trouble, as the : intestines are of great length, and all are affected. It is said that King Eoy's attack was caused by blistering the forelegs with a preparation of mercury, the inflammation set up travelling from the limbs to the intestines. Before a horse is blistered care should -be taken to have the animal properly prepared and the temperature reduced . by physic. The Australian-bred colt Spanner, just purchased at 3000 gs by Mr W. Richmond, was got by The Nut from Dudu, by "Wolf's Crag—Cythera, by Cellene—'Stolen Love, by Buccaneer—True Love, by Sterling from Carine, by Stoekwell. Wolf's Crag is a eon of Barealdine. The Nut, the sire of Spanner, is a tail male descendent of the Speculum line of Vedette, to whom he is inbred through the Galliard—Galopin branch. Another interesting feature of The Nut's pedigree is the fact that Make Haste, the sire of his second dam, represents a combination of The Flying Dutchman and Voltigeur, but in the reverse way to that which produced GaTopinJ The Nut was got by Amphion from Miss Hoyden, by Galliard from Miss Elma, and is bred on stout, but not very fashionable, lines. The two-year-old Amythas stayed on well in a fast-run race at .Trentham, when he scored with 9.2 in 1.12, and so recorded one of the smartest gallops put up during the meeting. Amythas has been a useful two-year-old this season, and has been running up to the promise he displayed when winning the Irwell Handicap, at the New Zealand Cup meetiing. He also won at the Wanganui autumn meeting, and should develop into a good three-year-old. Amythas' was got by Demosthenes, and comes from a good staying family on the dam's side, as ne was produced by Gold' Treasure by Gold Reef (son of Bend Or) from Pearl Shot, by Torpedo from Pearl Powder, by Captivator— Pearl Ash, and so belongs to the same taproot as Tlio Gaulus and The Grafter, two winners of the Melbourne Cup.