IN A NUTSHELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3467, 24 August 1920, Page 40

IN A NUTSHELL.

_—• L. H. Hewitt left for Sydney last week. Aniybhas still remains in the Melbourne Cup. A sister to Artilleryman has been named Winsome Queen.

The English Derby winner, Spion Kop, has four white feet. The Hazlett Memorial has been raised in value to 700-sovs.

The Ashburton Spring programme includes two hurdle races. Nominations tor the Gisbome meeting are due on September 11. —• A satisfactory entry has been received for the New Zealand Cup. The Great Northern Derby of 1922 has been raised in value to 2500sovs.

The handicap for the New Zealand Cup is booked to appear on August 27.

The Auckland Racing Club will distribute 61,000sovs in stakes this season.

—lt is reported that Mannish has been purchased by Mr J. Shaw, of Timaru. —■ The prize list at Wingiatui has grown from 561550 vs in 1900 to 26,80050 vs for 1920. _ Nominations for the New Zeaalnd Trotting Cup are due on Wednesday, August 25. The stakes paid over in Australia last season amounted to 871,00550v5. According to reports, O'Neill received 1200sovs for winning the Derby on Spion Kopu The English-bred mare Catalini reads well in the Electric Handicap at Marton at 7.4.

Roy Used intends to" do some riding in Austnalia prior to his return to New Zealand.

Gloaming's first sprint at Randwick convinced the critics that he is as speedy as ever.

Nominations lor the Ashburton spring meeting close on Monday, September 6, at 5 p.m.

The Sarto gelding Notability has been purchased by a patron of P. T. Hcgan'a stable.

The principal event on the Dunedin summer programme will carry a stake of lOOOsovs.

Comedy King had 32 winning representatives last year, who captored 30,80350 vs in stakes.

The American-bred mare Eager Eyes bag been shipped to Sydney on a visit to Buckwheat.

Amytbas and Sasanof have never met, but they are both engaged in the New Zealand Cup

The Great Northern Steeples and the Great Northern Hurdles are to be worth 20OOsovs each.

The Auckland Racing Club has made a substantial increase in the salaries paid to its officials.'The ex-New Zealamder D. J. Price trains Silver Heart, the winner of this year's Australian Hurdles.

—• It is said that Oakleigh, who has won about 2000sovs in stakes*, cost his owners the small sum of £8

• The Otago Hurdles has been increased in value, to 750sovs,' and the Greenfield Hurdles to 500sovs.

The Auckland Racing Club has decided to abandon fixed penalties and adopt the re-handicap system. Rosyth, an aged gelding by Wallace ■from Cruciform, won a steeplechase run at Caulfield on August 7. Representatives of the No. .19 family won this year's English Derby, Fraud Prix do Paris, and French Derby: Comedy King -sired winners of last season, and Demosthenes got winners, of £30,605 during the same period. — : Vagabond and Battle Song, the winner and runner-up in the last New Zealand Cup, are both •entered for this year's race. The South .Island flat racing reason will open with the Amberley meeting, which takes place on the 18th of next month. ,

—lf Golden Bubble comes back t.-> form he ishoruld soon pick iip> a. race, as. he does not read harshly treated in the weights.

■— Horses of the Musket line in Pistol and Wallace were sixth and fifteenth on the list of winning sires in Australia last season. —The value of the horses shown at the last International Horse Show a.t Olympia. is set down roughly at a little over 1,500,00050v5. The increase of prizei money on the Wingatui programme has been principally allotted'to the spring and summer meetings. —R. J. Mason stated to a Sydney pressman that Gloaming was sold at 7OoOgs to an Indian buyer, but failed to pass the vet. Three Wingatui-trained horses in Silent King, Jock, and Jack Symons are included in the nominations for the New Zealand Cup. Next season the M'Lean Stakes, Champagne Stakes, and Dunedin Guineas will each be increased in value l from oOOsovs to 750scws.

—'Hammerkop, the dam of the Derby winner Spion Kop, raced for several •seasons, but her total number of starts did not exceed 50,

Several recent additions to the nomenclature list include a number of horses got by Land of Song, but so far none of them has been named Italy.

The Australian-bred horse Tenterfield, who acted as runner-up in the lagt Australia© Cup, is amongst those nominated fo»the New Zealand Cup. —'The Treadmill mar© Briar Patch was recently found dead in a paddock. She was m foal to Calibre, and has left a fine yearling filly to the same sire. A two-year-old sister to Onyx was purchased last week at 210 gs, and goes into F. Holmes's, stable; and B. Jardin paid 180 gs for a yearling brother. The Australian Jockey Club -will give 86,50050 vs in added money at the Eandwick spring meeting. No stake on the programme will bo worth less .than 750sovs. ■ Signysian, who wa» one of the winners at the Grand National meeting, was bred by Mr F. B. EosSj- who gave the horse as a prize for a patriotic art union'. —.Artilleryman won, |B,7B4eova to stakes last season. Ppseldoil Wxtt

three-year-old, and the best year Carbine iied was when he won 146250v5. ' " -

One result of the pemalty conditions attached to the New Zealand Cup is the nomination of last year's winner, Vagabond, in the six-furlong l race at Marton. There is plenty of money in the world when Hands Off and Plastic, two horses not worth a row of pins as racehorses, can find ■buyers at 25gs and logs respectively. There is a good demand for Gay Lad's services this season, and the son of Cellini and Gaysome will thus receive an excellent opportunity to make good as a sire. Arrowsmith was not nominated for the New Zealand Cup, probably because he would have no chance with Aniythas at «, fair weight over a distance of ground. —lt is said by some critics that Emilius would have beaten Author Dillon on the last day at Addington if a sounder pace nad been set in the early part of the race. The racing clubs of New Zealand would give a tremendous sigh of gratitude when they heard that Mr Massey had decided not to make the income tax chargss retrospective. t

The Australian Jockey Club recently mad© the retrograde step of allowing pony faces to be included on. programmes of registered meetings within a 65-mile radius of the metropolitan centre.

A movement is being made in South Atistr-alia to. legalise the bookmakers. In this country they are endeavouring to legislate the fielder out of existence and make his business a serious crime. .

—On all sides one hear* strongly-pro-nounced opinion© tha.t the Canterbury Jockey Club will have to wake up and give increased stakes if it desires to keep near the front as a patron of sport. There is said to be no truth in the report that the Auckland Racing Club has paid over the income tax charges, which the Treasury Department endeavoured to nmke retrospective back to 1916. Patronua, the sire of Coalition, was got by the Melbourne Cup winner Patron from Placida, by Lord Milton—Fcnella 8., by Wellington—Fenella, by Fisherman—Rose do Florence, by The Flying Dutchman. t —The Dunedin M.P.'s, Messrs Sidey and Statham, both voted against the proposed amendment to the Gaming Act which would have permitted the publication of dividends and telegraphing bets to a racecourse. —At the annual meeting of the Victoria Racing Club a member took exception to members of Parliament being granted free passes to race meetings, and expressed the hope that the privilen-e would be cut out. The penalty conditions attached to the Auckland Racing Club's programme provide that a winner after declaration of weights shall be re-handicapped within 72 hours of the advertised starting time of the race won. \

The cross-country rider Kamgi Thompson has decided to retire from the saddle and go in fci- vanning. Thompson won the Grand National on Paiitutu and St. Elmn, and was unlucky that he did not win this year on Guanacoi —lt was claimed in the House of Parliament thai the publication, of dividends would tend to increase the volume of betting. ■ Our legislators should prohibit public clocks on the ground that if people were aware of the flight of time it might speed up the rate of living. Prior to winning the Grand Prix de Paris Comrade beat the English Derby winner, Spion Kop, in a, trial over a mile and three-quarters. The v fact is worthy of note, because it shows that he most successful trainers* in England still gallop their horses over the distance and not leave a good deal f» guesswork. —The Auckland Racing Club has struck a progressive note by deciding to abandon fixed penalties in favour of re-handicapping in connection with the Auckland Cup. It would have been an even better move if both fixed penalties and re-handicapping| had been struck out of the conditions attached to the race.

—i Silver Heart, the -winner- of this year's Australian Hurdles, was got by Challenger from Pianola, by Harmonist from. Melodise, by Goldsbrough from Melody. Melodise is a sister to Melodious, the dam of Wallace. Challenger was got by Isinglass from Meddlesome, by St. Gatien. —ln commenting' on the fact that two jockeys- were cautioned at Caulfield for lookin<r round vn a race, the Sydney Referee writer "Pilot" stated that some Sydney jockeys offend in. a, similar fashion. If ajockey is not capable of looking round without jeopardising, his chance he should bo punished for incompetent horseniacn-c-.hip; but it is ridiculous to say that a rider is not entitled to have a peep round to see what danger is abroad. When Matchlight finished third in the last Trotting Cup Be took a mark of 4,27 8-5. When handicapped for the he lookecUat first blush harshly treated in, getting only 3sec from Author Dillon, who is a 4.24 3-5 horse. Trix Pointer, who has a 4.30 mark, was, however, only in receipt of 1-see from Matchlight. so that the latter did not read so badly off as far as the mare was concerned. Matchlig - ht has not : been seen out since last spring, and that perhaps is the reason why he appears to be kept on a tight mark.

The following foalings are reported from the Waikanae stud:—Bebe (Bezonian — Bluewater), on August 5, bay filly to Boniform; Peace (The Officer —Content.), on August 7, bay colt to Boniform; Prelude (Merrle England—Prologue), August 15, bay or brown colt to Boniform. The imported mare Lady Wayward II is not in foal this year, but she has been producing la>te foals, and her miss this year should prove a .blessing in disguise, as. she can now be mated up early -this season.