CAP AND JACKET

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 3, 2 October 1880, Page 18

CAP AND JACKET

Sixteen owners of racehorses in Australia won over £1000 in stakes during the season of 1879-80. The "Dunedin Tattersall's" now numbers over 60 members. Betrayer is favourite for theC.J.C. Handicap at 100 to 18, Hornby and Le Loup being next in demand. Mr Morrin's thoroughbred mare Maid of Athol has foaled a grand colt to Musket. Mother and child doing well. Morpheus, the Castaway — Soinnanibula colt, has been thrown out of work, and is in Mr Delainain's hands for sale as a stallion. The highest price paid at the sale of the Sandgate yearlings was £1250 for a br. c. by Bosicrucian, out of Adrastia by St. Albans. On the first day at Liverpool July meeting, Fordhani who had five mounts rode three winners and two seconds. The Lewes Grand Handicap on the last day of the Sussex fortnight was won by Mr B. S. Evans, Mr Dodd by The Miner out of Eiiergetic, the Nathalie filly second, and Espada third. ""At England recently, Mr. Walter Phillips succeeded in accomplishing a quarter of a mile OB the bicycle in 37 seconds.

King of the Ring heads the list of winning sires in Australia for 1879-80 with the haudsonie total of 426724. Yattendon comes next with £5711 and Maribyrnong (£4874) is a good third. Tres Deiice and Lacenford have visited licolinus. The former has dropped a beautiful foal to Albany. Amohia has dropped a beautiful colt foal to Leolinus. According to the "Australasian" of the 18th inst;, Progress stands firmly at the head of the quotations for the Melbourne Cup, no more than 10 to 1 being forthcoming against him. Faublas is next in demand at 100 to 7, and 20 to 1 can always be had about Mata for the asking. A great falling off is noticeable in the nominations for the English Derby and Oaks of 1882. For the former there are 210 nominations, and for the latter 159, as against 257 and 190 in 1880, and 247 and 185 for 1881. The St. Leger of 1881 has only 236 against 259 this year ; that for 1882 is not yet entered for. Plungers who laid 20 to 1 on Mask for the Drawing-room Stakes, at Goodwood, were attacked with "the quakes" when the American-bred Nereid challenged and looked like defeating him. The favourite, however, won by a neckat the finish. Mr W. Long heads the list of Avinning owners in Australia for the season 1879-80 with £3,794, the victories of Petrea, Grand Flaneur, and Geraldine having placed him at the top of the poll, and as he has been one of the most liberal of the purchasers of blood stock he deserves some return for the large outlays he has made. Mr F. W. Delamain has disposed of his colt Prospero, by Castaway out of Belle of the Isle, to the gentleman who races under the name of Mr G. Eraser. Prospero is an exceptionally good-looking colt, and, as will be seen from his breeding, is a very close relative of old Templeton. He goes to Russley, where he will be trained by D. Jones. Grave and distressing rumours are afloat in London Club circles of a young officer of Lancers (whether the sth or 16th is not definitely determined). who, in one night lost the modest little sum of £13,000 at a quiet game of poker at one of the fashionable clubs. An officer of the Blues is said to have kept him company to the tune of £4,000. The " Spirit of the Times" says that Orrin A. Hickok offers to match the famous St. Julien against any trotter or pacer in the world, mile heats, best three in five, for from 5,000 to 20,000 dollars a race. The '• Times" adds : " Unless this challenge is accepted on behalf of Maud S. } we fear there is little chance of a race." The Duke of Westminster was very sore about the Bend Or objection. Lord Dash said to him one day, " I say, what about the Derby ?" " Oh, the Derby can go to the devil !" answered the Duke testily. "I fancy it will — to Robert the Devil!" was the neat reply. The Sydney Amateiir Turf Club meeting, which was held at Kandwick, in honour of our late Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, passed off very successfully. On his arrival at the course, shortly before the first race, Sir Hercules was most enthusiastically welcomed, and when the party took their seats in the vice-regal box, nearly everybody in the grand stand rose to do Trim honor, the cheering on the lawn and course being most demonstrative. Sir Hercules, who was accompanied by Lady Robinson, and Captain and Mrs St. John, remained until after the last race, and as the party left the course, they were again most heartily cheered. The Totalisator Bill brought before the Victorian Parliament, and read a first time is a very short one, and the object of it is stated to be " for more effectually preventing the evils arising from betting on racecourses." It proposes to make it lawful "for the committee for the time being of any duly recognised public jockey or racing club in whom the racecourse used by them shall be lawfully vested, or their agents, to use the machines or instruments known as the ' totalisator/ the_ ' Pari Mutuel,' or any other similar pooling machines or instruments upon their racecourse during their race meetings, but only for the piu-pose of, and as a mechanical means for, public pools or sweepstakes, and for no other purpose whatsoever. Provided always that it shall be lawful for the committee for the time being of such public jockey and racing clubs to retain from the said public pools or sweepstakes a certain percentage for the payment of expenses and other purposes for the promotion of racing, such percentage not to exceed 7-J- per cent. on the gross amount of such pools or sweepstakes." The "Australasian," reviewing Dr L. L. Smith's Bill for legalising the use of the Totalisator in Victoria, says : — We are not called on in this portion of this joiimal to discuss the morality of horse racing and betting thereon. A section of society would, no doubt, prefer that both should be utterly abolished. We have always done our utmost to keep the Turf as " straight" as possible, and our sentiments regarding " the ring" are well known. We might go so far as to say that we are perfectly aware that by the majority of the ring (and it is a significant fact " the ring" are the bitterest enemies of the totalisator) we are most cordially detested for our strictures on the betting fraternity. We accept the fact as a compliment rather than the reverse. We believe, then, with Mr. L. L. Smith— and we hope.also— that the totalisator would be the means of lessening the evils that spring from excessive betting on horse-racing. Whether it would interfere with the sweep is a question time will answer. But it would undoubtedly cause money now invested with "ring sharpers" to find its way into the more legitimate and respectable coffers of the totalisator. Small investors would keep their money for the racecourse, and not, as is now too often the case, throw it away weeks or months beforehand. It is the small investors who help to maintain the swarm of "ring sharpers," and it is by this class that most of the turf swindles are brought about. And if the totalisator did no more than curtail the number of these little ring men, the sooner Parliament legalises its use on racecourses the better for the cause of public morality, and turf morality also. Perhaps no man could have had a more disastrous volume than the late Mr. Morris (whose death I referred to last week) had over the Derby of 1870, won by Kingcraft, and no book had a fairer beginning. On the occasion of Kingcraft making his dubut at Ascot he was thought such a good thing that Mahonia only opposed him. No one would back Mahonia, but Mr Morris, not having laid Kingcraft for the Derby, or havin<* done so only partially, laid men like Lord Hardwicke such bets as 10,000 to 600 against Kingcraft winning the race immediately under notice and the Derby, and all this money was brought off the first go, Mahoma beating Kingcraft by about a neck. It was soon after that the terrible Maegregor came prominently before the piiblic. Now, Mr. Merry, strange to say, had always a prejudice against Maegregor. At Goodwood he took Mr. Morris' Derby book about Sunshine and Sunlight, both of whom were clippers, but he would not back Maegregor for a farthing, and as a matter of fact, we believe that Maegregor was not intended for the Derby until after Sunshine met with the accident which ruined her. This Mr. Morris naturally took as the best possible of tips, and he never missed an opportunity of laying Maegregor. He also, having a horse of his own that he fancied very much in the race, fielded strongly against others, more especially Kingcraft, whom he believed, and as we think rightly, to be soft. So matters went on until the Two Thousand was run. The result of that race was that Maegregor became, by easy stages, an even money favourite for the Derby, and finally, on the day of the race, such was the panic that Lord Dudley offered in vain to bet £25,000 to £10,000 on the horse. This was a nice state of affairs for a man who was standing some tens of thousands against Maegregor, whose Derby victory appeared one of the greatest foregone conclusions ever known. Mr. Morris himself was fully of this opinion, and in order to save himself he took back his Maegregor money at a ruinous price, and at the same time betted what he could against the others. The odds were actually 20 to 1 bar one. The first bet he laid against Maegregor was to us. It was 500 to 10. On the day of the race Mr. Morris laid us 150 to 100 on the horse to hedge. On such a minor transaction as this he stood to ! lose either £400 or £140, let the result be either waj r , and this will give a fair idea of his position with over 430,000 originally betted against the horse. All the world knows Maegregor did not win, and what might have been a good race for Morris had he been at all unscrupulous—was a very bad one. Saul.