IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3403, 4 June 1919, Page 47

IN A NUTSHELL.

I,, E. Hewitt intends residing in Auckland. . Hardy Wilkes has been thrown out of training. ,'"•'.-'* . , -, , Gloaming has been put into work again at Riccartan. The Sydney Cup was worth. 4150sovs to the winner. . ' Jan Or, the winner of the Sydney Cup, cost 175 gs in England. The rising two-year-old brother to Lucid has been named Lord Martian.

Light, the dam of Gloaming, coat SSOsovs when sold in England in 1910. —Wrestler went amiss in his final gallop for the Dunedin winter meeting. There will be a sweepstake of 50sovs each attached to the next Melbourne C.up. The Kilbroney—Symbolism yearling has been named Shamrock —a very apt name. Lady Zeplina is only a pony in height, but she jumps country in attractive style. Nominations for the Waimate Hunt Club's steeplechase meeting close on June 23. The Otago Hunt Club's steeplechase meeting will be held at Wingatui on Saturday, June -14. The' Canterbury Jockey Club expended £ll7l 11a on racecourse maintenance during the past year. Hardshot is travelling well in his work, and may show up well in some of his engagements this week. & present owner 3000sovs, and not 5000sovs, as originally stated. ~.; Sisyphus arrived from Christchurch on Friday night, and! may be seen out during the week at Wingatui. The principal events at the Dunedin winter meeting will bo contested by a rather poor class of horse. Mr P. Armstrong has now lost three good cross-country horses in The Spaniard, Morning, and Yellow-and-Black. ..... — Mr W. R. Kemball is stated to have paid over 500 gs for the 'chaser Negambo, who recently joined his stable. The * field which contested this year's Birthday Handicap is one c£ the weakest that has ever started in the race. The Panther is a strong favourite for the English Derby, which will be run this week on the historic Epsom course. Kilmeedy has failed to build up into anything' like a robust appearance, but she can skip over the ground in good style. Kilkee was GOOsova. Ho has since been resold to his former owner at 700sovs. Mr Percy Miller, of the Kiora stud. New South Wales, is the gentleman who paid sOooga for the impofted hoTse Magpie. Euripos was kicked whilst racing at Wangunui, and sported an enlarged leg when he ran at the Auckland winter meeting Poethogue was scratched for all engagements at the Auckland winter meeting on the Tuesday before the opening of the meeting. Acceptances for the Aehburton Trotting Club's mooting and final payment for the Sapling Stakes close on Saturday, June 7, at 5 p.m Wardancer was not brought south to fulfil his Birthday Handicap engagement

owing to going amiss in his final gallop fox the meeting. Agitation for turf reform tisually takes place at the annual meetings of most of our racing clubs, and then dropped for tho rest of tho year.

Tho New Zealand Grand National meeting will take place on August 12> 14, and 16. The Solferino—Stardnnoer yearling has been named Jazz.

—Bon Hove put up a raoo record for the Great Northern Hurdles when ho won last year in 4.61. This year Oynio won in 4.65 on a heavy track. Although Kilkee has been showing good form, ho looks in anything but racing trim, and should with care prove a much bettor horso next season.

Sleight of Hand, who went out a shortpriced fancy for the double at Auckland, tipped out in the Great Northern Hurdles. Art and Boreoa also fell.

—lt is intended to hold a pont-to-point steeplechase meeting during Fleet Weeic in Auckland. Several officers of the fleet are said to be keen hunting men. Bollin arrived in Dunedin from the North Island during the email hours of Sunday morning to fulfil his engagements at the D.J .0. winter meeting. Forty-nine horses were nominated for the A.8..0. Jervois Handicap and 40 paid up. Tho club thus received 129sovs towards tho 250aovs stako atached to tho race.

The Ashburton Trotting Club has received a splendid list of nominations for its winter meeting, which takes place on Juno 12. Acceptances are duo on June 7.

The Canterbury Jockey Club made donations totalling over £3BB to hunt clubs, agricultural and pastoral .associations, and racing clubs during its past financial year. Mortham was lame after working on Saturday morning, but afterwards threw off his soreness, which was caused by giving himself a knock on the hock whilst rolling. Kill'em, the brother to Kilboy, won the Sandown Park Handicap, run at the Sandown meeting held last month. He won by three lengths, and ran tho 10 furlongs in 2.9 J.

—Mr Hugh Main, the owner of Hem, the winner of the Don-caste? Handicap, only returned to Sydney a few days before the race after three years' active service at the front.

—lt involved a nine days' journey to bring Bollin from' Hawke's Bay to Wingatui. Under such circumstances the D.J.C. cannot expect much patronage from the North Island.

_ — Compulsion is bowling along nicely in his work since winning at Oamaru, and after his race in the Jumpers' Plat should be formidable in the hurdle events during the rest of the week.

—J. Ruttledge has a Kentlock—Jessie Lewars two-year-old in steady work. He is a half-brother to Michaela, and, apart from a doubtful-looking hock, fills the eye as a promising- sort. English sporting scribes will be lacking in loyalty to La Belle France if they do not remark something about "Cherchez la Femme" when attempting to forecast this year's Oaks Stakes. Cattach has a good turn of speed, but unfortunately is troubled with a shoulder lameness, which makes his trainer (H. Coker) rather anxious when giving the All Bed gelding a gallq,p. The yearlings' purchased on behalf of Mr G-. D. Greenwood in Australia joined J. Burton's stable at Randwick, and will no doubt go under R. J. Mason's charge when he arrives in Sydney.

—lt was suggested at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club that the present rule on the coupling of horses held under -lease was a hindrance to breeders who wished to lease fillies for racing purposes

Rorke's Drift was brought to theWingatui course on Sunday morning after an absence of eight days. He has mad© a good recovery since going amiss, but still slightly favours the leg on which he went lame.

Vascular suffers from deep-seated corns, and in consequence had to be treated to a brief spell .after hie dual winning effort at Timaru. Since .arriving at Wingatui he has' been moving soundly enough in his work.

The Comedy King—Rattler colt Comedy Prince comfortably defeated one of the largest fields that has ever saddled up in New Zealand, when he won tho A.R.O. Jervois Handicap. Rattler is the dam of Vice-admiral.

—lf Palisade can get over the hurdles he should not bo long in picking up a race over the small sticks. In" the Trial Hurdles he was allotted 9.13, which is only a burden he has shaped well with in good class fields on the flat.

lan Or, the winner of the Sydney Cup, was got by Martagon from Ena, by lan (son of St. Serf) from Dorothy W., by Love Wisely (son of Wisdom) from Penitent, by Hermit from Strayshot, by Toxophilite (sire of Musket) from Vagd. '—There will be a sale of 'blookstock at Wingatui on Wednesday afternoon, when Mr Fr'iedlander's stud and horses in training, three youngsters from Mir J. Beid's stud', and the brood mare Gowanbrae with foal at foot will go under the hammer. The crossing which gives entrance over the course proper at Wingatui to the training tracks has been badly'in need of a topdressing of tan or cinders. On Saturday and Sunday mornings several trainers, declined to take the risk of galloping their horses over it.

The Riverton Racing Club contemplates making extensive improvements on its course, and with that object in view has purchased an area, of about 100 acres adjoining its ground. The erection of a grand stand will be the first improvement to be put in hand.

The existing track conditions at Wingatui once again draws attention to the need of a winter or wet weather track at our racing headquarters. The D.J.C. is badly, in need of a couple of stewards who would devoto special attention to the Wingatui tracks.

Nom' for the D.J.C. M < Lcan Stakes, oz dOOsovs, to be run at the spring meeting of 1919, close on Friday, June 13. Nominations for the Champagne Stakes, of SOOsovs, and Dunedin Guineas, of 503sovs, of 1920, also close on the same date as tho first-named event. At the annual meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club Mr R. J. Maxwell suggested that the minimum handicap in the Now Zealand Cup should bo 8.0 or 7.10. It seems a brilliant idea, and if increasing the weight will improve the race, why not make the minimum 16.0 The Bloodstock Breeders' Review reports tho death of Old Man, who won the title of being the greatest and most popular of Argentina's racehorses. Old Man was got by Orbit (son of Bend Or) from Moissoneueo, by Dollar. Old Man sired winners of 436 races, worth £267,751. Cynic, the winner of the Great Northern Hurdles', is an imported horse got by Henry the First from Cynane, by Cyllene —Suntai, by Donovan from Distant Shore, by Hermit. Henry the First was got by Melton from Simena, by St. Simon—Flying

Footstep, by Doncaeier—Atalanta, by Galop in. Sir J. S. Barrett suggested at the annual meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club that restrictions should bo placed on betting; Catching the Niagara with a spoon would be just aa easy a task as stopping people from betting when they have money o* credit, or stopping them from drinking when they have a thirst.

—Mr A. Boyle, president of the Canter* bury Jockey Club, declared in his address at the annual meeting that the lack of ao» commodation in Christchurch was a severe handicap on the success of Iticcarton meetings. Dunedin is 75 per cent, worso off la that respect, and at other southern meetings the accommodation is 10 miles below par. Altercation, the winenr of the A. 8.0, Cromwell Handicap, runs back to one of the oldest taproots identified with Australasian, racing history. She was got by Provocation (Birkenhead —Stepfeldt) from Mahurangi, bj San Fran—Lilian, by Puriri—Stolen Moments, by Premier, and so on, back to Spaewife, who came out to Australia in 1826.

There is a consensus of opinion amongst racing men that the D.J.O. is making a mistake in cutting out a day fiom the JEhmedin Cup meeting and adding it to the winter fixture. In the first place, tile weather '• always very risky at this time of the year, and jumpers are much scarcer than flat racers—two factors which may make * very material difference in the success of *. meeting. As a matter of fact, the club has no reason to congratulate itself over the promise of this week's meeting, as the fields in the principal events over jumps and on the flat are anything but high class. Cynic, the winner of the Great Northern Hurdles, only scored in one race prior to his win last week. Last season he won the Te Awamutu Cup, of 150sovs, one mile and a-quarter, in 2.&, and his best performance was his second to Multiply in the A.R.O. Handicap, with Desert Gold in third places Chortle, Fiery Cross (winner of the Auckland! Cup at the same meeting), Menelaus, and several other good performers finished outside a place. On this form one could be pardoned for giving Cynic a chance amongst hurdlers, but the northern critics would not stand him. Cynic, however, did a good school over hurdles on the eve of the race, and at once favour. He appears to have won comfortably, and should capture another good race over small Bticks.