CARAND JACKET

Observer, Volume 1, Issue 17, 8 January 1881, Page 163

CARAND JACKET

MY NOTE BOOK

By "Old Turfite."

The A.R.C. Races were continued on Saturday and Avell preserved their reputation. The first thing one learnt on arriving on the course was that Foul Play had been scratched for the A.R.C. Handicap. Noav, any owner has the right to run or scratch his horse as he may think right, but to say the least, it Avould have been better for a person of Mr. McDonald's standing to have scratched him directly he "bought him, as Foul Play Avas a great favourite with the public, and had. been largely backed both outright and in doubles up to the A r ery last minute. The excuse is that his OAvner stood to Avin a large stake on him for the Wellington Cup, and did not like to incur an extra penalty. If this Avas the case he must have been aAvare of it AA'hen he bought the horse ; and should, in justice to the public, have sci'atched him immediately. The public are_ victimised quite enough ; in fact, I notice that racing (the sport of Englishmen) is gradually groAving into disfavour in NeAv Zealand. A clergyman in the other Island said from the pulpit that he saAV no harm in horse-racing if carried out fairly, but as things were uoav managed it Avas detrimental to the souls of Christians, and A\ r arned his congregation not to attend the meetings. This goes far to prove, that if racing is to Nourish in NeAv Zealand, the steAvards must keep a sharper look out. As I said before, there is no rule in racing to prevent a man iScratching his horse at the last moment if it isuits him. The public, however, have a remedy by not backing a horse till the numbers go up, thus preA r enting the "milking" process.

If I am not much mistaken, Foul Play's case is very similar to the one when Mr. Walters was disqualified from .ever running Peeress again on account of his having scratched her at the last moment for the Canterbury Cup. The stewards then took the matter up very quick, and did not hesitate about disqualifying her, though upon the matter being referred to Admiral Rous, he decided that they were wrong. Still Mr. Walters had no redress, And suffered severely through losing the services of his mare, for which he had paid a long price, besides having a stigma attached to his name and his horses heavily weighted for ensuing handi«aps. I have no doubt if any one else except an M.H.R. or a person with plenty of money had scratched Foul Play, more would have been heard about it. As things are, the public have had to put up with it and pay their money. However, as I said before, by not backing horses till the numbers go up, they have the remedy in their own hands, and will put an end to ; " milking." The sooner, therefore, they do It the better for themselves, and I hope the time is not far distant when P. P. betting will be a thing •of the past. In England only certain races are P.P., and not one-tenth of the money that was formerly laid before the day is now betted till the numbers go up. The official programme was not as correct as usual. Foul Play was entered on the card in one race as aged and in another only as six years old ; in the Auckland Cup and A.R.C. he was entered as aged, and an objection was talked about. lam assured by a gentleman who ought to know, that his <entry was made correctly ; still, neither in the ; tentry-book nor on the card was the age properly given. In some places an objection would certainly have followed, though perhaps not allowed", and as one owner said to me, " What is the use of objecting, it would have been made all right." I am, however, surprised that a man -with the reputed cleverness of Mr. Lance should have allowed the mistake to occur on the second .as well as on the first day. The racing commenced with the Derby, for which Kenflworth was made a great favourite ; he, however, seemed worse than he did on the first day, looking dull in his coat and overdone, which is not surprising, if the report be true, viz., that he had been sweated since the first day, instead of having a rest. Rewi is a nice colt by the Mute out of Mina Mina. Unfortunately he wrenched his fetlock- j oint soon after his arrival here, and his trainer has not "been able to give him any work. Be, however, ran a game horse, and with & rest and a blister I have no doubt he will come round again and prove himself the good horse he is known to be. He, with the other horses belonging to Mr. Farmer, is to be sold Iby Mr. Buckland to-day, and . should be worth looking after. Tim Whiffier, who seemed well and was ridden by Wattie, contrary to my expectation, Avon pretty cleverly in sloV time. 1 think, hmvever, that he is not the horse people (suppose him to be, and that when Rewi and KeniTworth are really fit, they will turn out better animals. Billingsgate gave us another iaste of his quality in Avinning the Publicans' Purse easily from Maid of Honour and Paramena, and again in the Selling Race, Avhere he met Paramena on 211bs. Avorse terms than in the first race, but this made no difference, and he Avon as he liked. Billingsgate has improved immensely this year, and is one of the smartest toilers that has been seen in NeAv Zealand for a long time, indeeditAvouldbe an interesting thing if he was sent over to Sydney to oppose some of the Australian cracks OA'er short courses. The A.R.C. Handicap Avas reduced to seven. Foul Play, who had been made a great favourite for the race ever since the Aveights came out, Avas scratched, and loud and deep Avere the groAvls at his OAvner's conduct. Yatapa, Avho has greatly improved since last season, upset an immense pot on Grand Duchess, though the result must have been different had not Lone Hand carried 15lbs. ovenveight. Grand Duchess Avas made a great favourite ; she is a fine raking mare, and looked well, but after three-quarters of a mile she was never in the race. This mare has been long expected to do a, good thing, but I am afraid she will disappoint her owner, as from the way she runs her

races she appears to be an arrant jade, therefore if she does ever Avin a big event it Avill be when least expected. To confirm my opinion, lam informed, on good authority, that she can do AA'hat she likes Avith the others when at home. In the Grand Stand Handicap little Libeller, who did not look much the Avorse for his fall the first day, upset a great favourite in Foul Play, who had been backed this time by his OAvner to AAdn a good stake. Libeller Avon as he liked with plenty to spare. I doubt Foul Play's being able to give Libeller 26lbs. when the latter is fit and well ; still, he should not have Avon in the easy fashion he did, as the moment Derritt called on him he had the top Aveight settled, and coming aAvay Avon as he liked.

The A.R.C. meeting was brought to a conclusion on Monday. The racing, as might "be expected, was not of a very exciting character, the horses having been run through during the two previous days. The Mares' Produce (Stakes only brought three to the post. Moonstone was made a great favourite, and managed to pull through by half a length, after a good race with Rosarina. This filly has been amiss with the strangles, and on looking her over in the paddock it could easily be seen that she was very weak and totally unfit ; however, she made a good race of it to the distance, where she died away to nothing. Rosarina is sister to Libeller, and takes very much after her dam, Yatterina, and with time "will grow into a useful animal. Prince Charlie ran the brute he looks, and Avill never make a racehorse. Foul Play had no difficulty in winning the Auckland Plate from Ariel and Kenil worth, who finished in this order. Ariel has evidently got slow, though he ran as game as possible ; but I ani afraid that he will never be seen in front again in a big race. Kenilworth requires at least two months rest, as he has been frightfully overdone and is as stale as a post horse. In my opinion, if his owner keeps on running him, he will be useless for racing purposes, as his heart will be broken. There was one thing that I noticed with regard to this colt, and that was the absurdly short martingale his trainer put on him. It is wonderful to see how few people in the colonies know how how to put the martingale on. If too short, a horse cannot race ; if too long, it is useless. A horse, Avhen racing, should have two reins on and the martingale the proper length. Then, if the jockey has any hands at all, he can control him. The Steeplechase was much better than Avas anticipated, the field keeping pretty Avell together the first time round, then Agent turned on the steam going over the hill, where he had all of them settled, "with the exception of old Sportsman, avlio stuck to him all the Avay to the finish, when speed and breeding told its tale. The Agent has thus again proved himself a thorough good horse. Hia fencing was magnificent, never dwelling a moment. His owner may Avell be proud of him, and say as did just before the race, "he has never failed me, and Avill not this time."

Lone Hand again proved himself an unreliable brute, and took to refusing early in the race ; his rider -wisely pulling him up after going two miles. The Ghost got the course, which is more than can be said of the others, but he was sadly out of place with such horses as Agent' and Sportsman, though he may win at country meeting. Many remarks were passed in the paddock -with regard to Migononette. It is really surprising that men can be found to ride such brutes and risk their lives. She has neither size nor substance to go over a country. The Stewards' Handicap was the means of a good deal of speculation. Billingsgate, with whom Mr. Walters declared to win, was made a hot favourite, but the distance was too far for him, and, dying away at the finish, Libeller had to come and win from Foul Play. It Avill be found that Billingsgate will never get beyond a mile in good company, but up to that distance hardly any weight will sto]) him. This race proved that the running of Foul Play and Libeller the previous day was correct, as the distance Avas only a trifle shorter and a difference in the weights of 21bs. only. The meeting was brought to a close with the Consolation, where Lone Hand showed tremendous speedfor a big animal, and, after lying last for some distance, came with a rush, smothering his" horses and winning with great ease. The Maid of Honour, who ran second to him, lias gone off, and requires rest and careful preparation for her next engagements, as she is evidently a delicate mare. It was a pity to see the Slander filly pulled otit for such a race, as she wants time, and nothing is so pernicious to young ones as running them unfit. The meeting, taken as a whole, was fairly successful, but the complaints of the public backers were k»u4 and deep with regard to the curious way some of the horses were worked, also the handicapping, which cannot be praised ; and I do not think Mr. Griffiths will go down with the public in general as a handicapper for the whole colony. It is also to be hoped that before another year that the Committee of the A. 11 C. will get their rules revised and stick to them, as there was not a day during which the rules, as they now stand, were not ignored. The entries are also taken in a very careless manner. lam perfectly certain that if an objection had been laid, against Foul Play's entry for the Auckland Cup, and the case brought before the Stewards of the Newmarket Jockey Club or of the V.It.C, that he would have been disqualified. I have repeatedly urged the necessity of racing rules being strictly adhered to, as there is even then plenty of opportunity for unscrupulous owners to rob the public. If the A.R.C. desire to see their races flourish they must protect the public, as they are the people that support racing. Many I know, now keep aloof from having any connection with the races on account of* the way they are managed.